"Dude I'm totally downloading the new Indy movie right now."
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:46 (fifteen years ago) link
It's entered the atmosphere hunh hunh hunh
― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:47 (fifteen years ago) link
at 32kbs from Mars Global Surveyor
― Jarlrmai, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:48 (fifteen years ago) link
A friend of mine works for the European Space Agency, I wonder if he's been involved with this.
― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:49 (fifteen years ago) link
They are using the ESA satellite as a backup signal relay
― Jarlrmai, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:50 (fifteen years ago) link
they have a signal from Odyssey.
looks good
― Jarlrmai, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:51 (fifteen years ago) link
xpost
Yeah I saw that, I'll have to email him tomorrow or something.
― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:51 (fifteen years ago) link
Yup!
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:51 (fifteen years ago) link
clapping and smiling !!
― jergïns, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:51 (fifteen years ago) link
telemetry from Phoenix 90m/s
looks like its slowing
― Jarlrmai, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:52 (fifteen years ago) link
waiting for radar
this is when they fire the boosters
There's a lot of guys looking v. pleased there right now
― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:53 (fifteen years ago) link
2000m!
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:54 (fifteen years ago) link
boosters ready to go
― Jarlrmai, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:54 (fifteen years ago) link
GET IN THERE
boom!
― jhøshea, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:54 (fifteen years ago) link
Right on!
It's down in one piece.
― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:55 (fifteen years ago) link
Nice!
But would it have killed them to have an extra room mike in there!
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:55 (fifteen years ago) link
hmmm any data since landing?
― Jarlrmai, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:56 (fifteen years ago) link
yes
Ha, it's all, "We've landed! Let's go home."
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:56 (fifteen years ago) link
In five minutes it'll just be the janitor, he presses the self-destruct button, Martians declare war.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:57 (fifteen years ago) link
Anywhere up to half an hour before pictures come back, I think.
― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:57 (fifteen years ago) link
"It is most gratifying that your enthusiasm for our planet continues unabated, and so we would like to assure you that the guided missiles currently converging with your ship are part of a special service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients, and the fully armed nuclear warheads are of course merely a courtesy detail. We look forward to your custom in future lives ... thank you."
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:58 (fifteen years ago) link
they seem happy about the landing angle.
― Jarlrmai, Sunday, 25 May 2008 23:59 (fifteen years ago) link
lets see if we get a debrief about the EDL telemetry.
Nice to see Jesse "The Body" Ventura there giving his congratulations.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:00 (fifteen years ago) link
No, wait, Elvis, it'll be something like this:
"We said all these worlds are yours, but we didn't mean THIS world."
They should totally slip some clips of The Martian Chronicles over the webstream just to fuck with people.
― Noodle Vague, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Supposedly, the solar panels open up in fifteen minutes (gives time for the dust to settle). After that, then photographs.
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:02 (fifteen years ago) link
"It's a midwestern town, sir! Wanna go stay at your parents' place for the night?"
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:02 (fifteen years ago) link
At least some pictures of this angry red fellow:
http://www.scifidimensions.com/Mar00/mars_a5.jpg
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:03 (fifteen years ago) link
"Welcome to Malacandra! DO NOT BRING YOUR EVIL HERE."
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:04 (fifteen years ago) link
"There's some fat bastard in a red suit telling us to get off his land or he'll sic the elves on us."
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/31/Marvinthemartain.jpg
"Oooh I'm so angry I'll have to use the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator"
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:07 (fifteen years ago) link
"No, no, you want the Lost Sea of Korus. That's on the other side of the planet!"
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:10 (fifteen years ago) link
"Sir, Sax Russell is bothering me about some stupid project again."
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:12 (fifteen years ago) link
Anyway, believe they said that more info should be along in a few minutes...
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:39 (fifteen years ago) link
Sounds like all the basic equipment is checking out for transmitting etc.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 00:48 (fifteen years ago) link
link for future photos as they arrive http://fawkes4.lpl.arizona.edu/gallery.php
― jergïns, Monday, 26 May 2008 03:49 (fifteen years ago) link
somebody said big photos right? http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/25/lg_313.jpg
― jergïns, Monday, 26 May 2008 03:50 (fifteen years ago) link
http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/25/lg_310.jpg
http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/25/lg_318.jpg
― jergïns, Monday, 26 May 2008 03:51 (fifteen years ago) link
A nice flat landscape to work with (not a complaint, looks like it was an ideal landing location!)
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 04:30 (fifteen years ago) link
Nice detailed briefing going on now -- sounds like it was a near-textbook landing all around, great to see.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 26 May 2008 04:33 (fifteen years ago) link
Me, excited: man, isn't it great, that a bunch of monkeys like us can land on another planet?
Annoying collegue: oh look, rocks. Yay. Well, that was worth every penny, wasn't it?
:-(
― StanM, Monday, 26 May 2008 08:16 (fifteen years ago) link
Phoenix against Heimdall crater as it lands This amazing image was captured as Phoenix came in for its Mars landing on May 25, 2008. The HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter pointed at Phoenix, which is seen here against the background of a 10-kilometer-diameter crater called Heimdall. The dramatic view makes it appear that Phoenix is falling into the crater, but in fact Phoenix was 20 kilometers closer to HiRISE than Heimdall, and it landed nowhere near the crater. The photo was taken 20 seconds after Phoenix' parachute opened. Credit: NASA / JPL / U. Arizona
― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 20:22 (fifteen years ago) link
fuck
― Jarlrmai, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 21:05 (fifteen years ago) link
So cool. I heard about this on the radio this morning.
― Michael White, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 21:06 (fifteen years ago) link
And HiRISE snaps Phoenix on the surface (along with the heat shield and parachute)
http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/phoenix-total-580x560.jpg
― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 23:05 (fifteen years ago) link
That is just so cool! Thanks!
― James Morrison, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 23:55 (fifteen years ago) link
The crater pic in particular blew my mind.
― James Morrison, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 23:56 (fifteen years ago) link
JESUS that crater photo. Holy god.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 00:39 (fifteen years ago) link
I, for one, welcome our new polygon overlords.
― StanM, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 09:39 (fifteen years ago) link
The crater photo is astounding. Especially if you follow the link and look at the enlarged version.
― I am using your worlds, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 10:07 (fifteen years ago) link
new desktop background
― RabiesAngentleman, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 12:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Is the ground around Phoenix darker due to the landing thrusters do you reckon?
― Jarlrmai, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 15:15 (fifteen years ago) link
I like what Bad Astronomy had to say about the parachute picture:
That is exactly what you think it is: Phoenix descending to the Martian surface underneath its parachute. This incredible shot was taken by the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. You can easily see the ‘chute, the lander (still in its shell) and even the tether lines!
Think on this, and think on it carefully: you are seeing a manmade object falling gracefully and with intent to the surface of an alien world, as seen by another manmade object already circling that world, both of them acting robotically, and both of them hundreds of million of kilometers away.
Never, ever forget: we did this. This is what we can do.
― Alba, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:19 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, what he said^. This is what the word "awesome" was invented for.
― Ned Trifle II, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:51 (fifteen years ago) link
Sublime, in the truest sense of the word.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 20:51 (fifteen years ago) link
ICE IS NICE
A view of the ground underneath NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander adds to evidence that descent thrusters dispersed overlying soil and exposed a harder substrate that may be ice. The image received Friday night from the spacecraft's Robotic Arm Camera shows patches of smooth and level surfaces beneath the thrusters. "This suggests we have an ice table under a thin layer of loose soil," said the lead scientist for the Robotic Arm Camera, Horst Uwe Keller of Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg- Lindau, Germany. "We were expecting to find ice within two to six inches of the surface," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, principal investigator for Phoenix. "The thrusters have excavated two to six inches and, sure enough, we see something that looks like ice. It's not impossible that it's something else, but our leading interpretation is ice."
The image received Friday night from the spacecraft's Robotic Arm Camera shows patches of smooth and level surfaces beneath the thrusters.
"This suggests we have an ice table under a thin layer of loose soil," said the lead scientist for the Robotic Arm Camera, Horst Uwe Keller of Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg- Lindau, Germany.
"We were expecting to find ice within two to six inches of the surface," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, principal investigator for Phoenix. "The thrusters have excavated two to six inches and, sure enough, we see something that looks like ice. It's not impossible that it's something else, but our leading interpretation is ice."
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/234082main_under-427.jpg
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 1 June 2008 06:31 (fifteen years ago) link
I also want to add that "lead scientist for the Robotic Arm Camera, Horst Uwe Keller of Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research," is the greatest name/title/affiliation combination ever.
is the DVD copy protected?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Phoenix_mini-DVD_on_Mars.jpg
― StanM, Sunday, 1 June 2008 10:05 (fifteen years ago) link
This isn't really coming from Mars though, is it?
http://twitter.com/MarsPhoenix
― StanM, Sunday, 1 June 2008 15:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Well the data is coming from Mars, scientists are interpreting it and an intern is anthropomorphising it and posting it to twitter.
― Jarlrmai, Sunday, 1 June 2008 16:11 (fifteen years ago) link
what a job!
― StanM, Sunday, 1 June 2008 17:10 (fifteen years ago) link
OK, this is from Spirit not Phoenix, but whatevs. Holy shit.
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/117989main_image_feature_347_ys_full.jpg
― caek, Wednesday, 11 June 2008 14:30 (fifteen years ago) link
alien!
In phoenix news I hear they are having problems getting the dirt in the oven for mass spec.
― Jarlrmai, Wednesday, 11 June 2008 14:37 (fifteen years ago) link
xpost -- Well it's nice to know what the new Jesu album cover will be.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 11 June 2008 14:51 (fifteen years ago) link
That Spirit shot is gorgeous.
― James Morrison, Wednesday, 11 June 2008 23:13 (fifteen years ago) link
Phoenix watches the clouds pass by
http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/phoenix-clouds.gif
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 1 September 2008 22:53 (fifteen years ago) link
Snowfall!
Remember the movies of clouds floating above the Phoenix Lander? Further study with the lander's Lidar instrument has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. "The clouds are composed of ice crystals, and some of the crystals are large enough to fall through the atmosphere," said Jim Whiteway, lead scientist for the Meteorological Station on Phoenix. Whiteway and several researchers shared recent findings from Phoenix at a press briefing today. "So snow is falling from the clouds and we are going to be watching very closely over the next month for evidence that the snow is actually landing on the surface. This is a very important factor in the hydrological cycle on Mars, with the exchange of water between the surface and the atmosphere.""Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," Whiteway added.From Phoenix images and data, scientists have observed water condensing in the atmosphere. In recent weeks, as the temperatures fall in onset of winter on Mars' northern plains, frost, ground fog and clouds are prevalent. "This is now occurring every night," said Whiteway. "The Lidar is able to probe the inner structure of the clouds. It emits pulses of light upward into the atmosphere and detects what is scattered back. The laser emits pulses of light 100 times per second, so if you were standing beside the lander looking upward, you'd see a continuous green beam." Data and images of the beam show bright spots in beam is where it is reflecting off ice crystals, and also where it reflects off clouds, a few miles above the surface.The snow starts falling from a height of 4 km and fall down to 2 km. At that point the observations stopped, as they were initially set up for a limited amount of time. Further observations will be done to see if the snow is actually falling down to the surface of the planet.
"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," Whiteway added.
From Phoenix images and data, scientists have observed water condensing in the atmosphere. In recent weeks, as the temperatures fall in onset of winter on Mars' northern plains, frost, ground fog and clouds are prevalent. "This is now occurring every night," said Whiteway. "The Lidar is able to probe the inner structure of the clouds. It emits pulses of light upward into the atmosphere and detects what is scattered back. The laser emits pulses of light 100 times per second, so if you were standing beside the lander looking upward, you'd see a continuous green beam." Data and images of the beam show bright spots in beam is where it is reflecting off ice crystals, and also where it reflects off clouds, a few miles above the surface.
The snow starts falling from a height of 4 km and fall down to 2 km. At that point the observations stopped, as they were initially set up for a limited amount of time. Further observations will be done to see if the snow is actually falling down to the surface of the planet.
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 29 September 2008 22:42 (fifteen years ago) link
:-D I love stuff like this.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 29 September 2008 22:45 (fifteen years ago) link
Snow on Mars! Such a beautiful image, would love to see it.
― shoving leopard (ledge), Monday, 29 September 2008 22:47 (fifteen years ago) link
More on the snowfall at night
― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 3 July 2009 00:41 (fourteen years ago) link
By the way, there's carbon-dioxide snow on Mars too
In 2008, we learned from the Phoenix Mars lander that it snows in Mars northern hemisphere — perhaps quite regularly – from clouds made of water vapor. But now, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data has revealed the clearest evidence yet of carbon-dioxide snowfalls on Mars. Scientists say this is the only known example of carbon-dioxide snow falling anywhere in our solar system.“These are the first definitive detections of carbon-dioxide snow clouds,” said Paul Hayne from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lead author of a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. “We firmly establish the clouds are composed of carbon dioxide — flakes of Martian air — and they are thick enough to result in snowfall accumulation at the surface.”Scientists have known for decades that carbon-dioxide exists in ice in Mars’ seasonal and permanent southern polar caps. Frozen carbon dioxide, sometimes called “dry ice” here on Earth, requires temperatures of about -125 Celsius (- 193 degrees Fahrenheit), which is much colder than needed for freezing water.Even though we like to think Mars is a lot like Earth, findings like this remind us that Mars is indeed quite different. But just as the water-based snow falls during the winter in Mars’ northern hemisphere, the CO2 snowfalls occurred from clouds around the Red Planet’s south pole during winter in the southern hemisphere.
“These are the first definitive detections of carbon-dioxide snow clouds,” said Paul Hayne from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lead author of a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. “We firmly establish the clouds are composed of carbon dioxide — flakes of Martian air — and they are thick enough to result in snowfall accumulation at the surface.”
Scientists have known for decades that carbon-dioxide exists in ice in Mars’ seasonal and permanent southern polar caps. Frozen carbon dioxide, sometimes called “dry ice” here on Earth, requires temperatures of about -125 Celsius (- 193 degrees Fahrenheit), which is much colder than needed for freezing water.
Even though we like to think Mars is a lot like Earth, findings like this remind us that Mars is indeed quite different. But just as the water-based snow falls during the winter in Mars’ northern hemisphere, the CO2 snowfalls occurred from clouds around the Red Planet’s south pole during winter in the southern hemisphere.
― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 14 September 2012 04:51 (eleven years ago) link