The Planetary Society Weblog
Chat Log
08:09 marslive : OK - we're going to give it a go
08:10 marslive : Questions please - start them with QUESTION :
08:11 Timothy_Reed : QUESTION: Since the MERs have lasted through two winters,
do the project engineers have a revised estimate of what hardware failure will
finally do them in? Or will the performance just degrade to the point where they
won't be funded anymore?
08:14 smh : Question: Any idea when they gonna deliver the sample to TEGA?
08:14 RaginJosh : QUESTION: Hello. Are there any more pictures of, or anything
further known about the apparent crusting/deposits on the phoenix leg(s)?
08:16 UK_Victor : QUESTION Hi Do we know why we have not seen any Optical Microscope
pictures since the first set?
08:16 BigBobUK : Cool
08:17 surreyguy : QUESTION: why can't the Phoenix team just let the ice in the
TEGA sample sublime, and then put the residue in TEGA?
08:17 Funkopolis : In stores for Christmas?
08:17 smh : LOL
08:17 Timothy_Reed : "That's not a moon. It's a space station."
08:17 dragonsyoung : rofl
08:17 surreyguy : I.e. we know what the ice itself is, it's H2O, it's the gunk
in it that's interesting, right?
08:19 Timothy_Reed : Yes. As Carl Sagan said, we're all made of star gunk.
08:20 UmairRahat : QUESTION: Till how long can Pheonix work and survive after
the warrenty period?
08:20 BigBobUK : Smart europeans
08:21 surreyguy : Or 'cheapskate', as we like to call ourselves.
08:21 ronjones : I see from Tom Pike's blog on BBC that have used the AFM to
image a calibration substrate. Any info on when the Phoenix team expects to get
the first surface samples into AFM and when we could expect to see the first
images/results.
08:22 Timothy_Reed : QUESTION: Can you discuss and compare the bizarre polar
features of the gas giants? I.e., Saturn's south polar "hurricane" versus
the north polar hexagon, and any similar features on Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune?
08:28 marslive : Any more MER / PHX questions? (I've got 2 more in the queue)
08:28 ronjones : QUESTION: I'll try this again with it marked as a
question: I see from Tom Pike's blog on BBC that have used the AFM to image a
calibration substrate. Any info on when the Phoenix team expects to get the first
surface samples into AFM and when we could expect to see the first images/results.
08:28 slinted : some new OM images came down last night (sol 57)
08:28 marslive : You're is being answered right now Ron :)
08:29 ronjones : got it
08:30 marslive : Any more Phoenix Q's?
08:30 marslive : Apart from the let-the-ice-sublimate-before-TEGA one?
08:31 marslive : (which is in the queue)
08:31 surreyguy : Thanks
08:31 UK_Victor : Thanks for the OM answer
08:32 marslive : That's the last of the PHX questions - time for pot- luck anything
goes questions!
08:33 surreyguy : Heh. I know what adsorbed means.
08:34 surreyguy : Thank you, Emily.
08:34 Funkopolis : QUESTION: Is Ulyssess still hanging on?
08:35 marslive : Oo - that's a good one Funk.
08:35 Funkopolis : No, not really, it's in my space proble death pool.. ;)
08:36 ridingwrobots : QUESTION: what are the prospects for any mission to one
of the icy moons that may have subsurface oceans (europa, enceladus)? Any word
on if we'll see such a mission in the next couple of decades?
08:36 Funkopolis : I dunno, there's a pair of 'em, couldn't we just let 'em populate
mars with little baby rovers?
08:36 dragonsyoung : sadist
08:38 Funkopolis : Get people to write their _enemies_ names
08:38 dragonsyoung : yea
08:39 marslive : Yeah - I sent my Boss on deep impact :)
08:39 marslive : seriously.
08:39 dragonsyoung : nice
08:39 surreyguy : Golly....
08:39 Timothy_Reed : QUESTION: Any news on the status of Johns Hopkins' Solar
Probe?
08:39 dragonsyoung : there all grate
08:40 surreyguy : That's a tough one.
08:40 surreyguy : I'll look at my starred items in Google Reader.
08:40 Timothy_Reed : Obviously the HiRISE TDI entry, of course!
08:40 UmairRahat : QUESTION: How great would it be to have a 200 meter reflecting
telescope at L2 to look at Exoplanets?
08:40 marslive : IT's be really great - but that's not really a question is it
:)
08:41 Funkopolis : QUESTION: Does the discovery that mars was a lot wetter in
the past have any impact on possible agriculture? Could we grow anything on mars?
Are there any plans to send a self-irrigaing farm-type probe? Should there be?
08:43 Timothy_Reed : Space wheat? Space corn? Space oats?
08:45 marslive : Final call for questions
08:45 UK_Victor : QUESTION - Back to Phoenix - Are there plans for a Hi Res 360
pan?
08:46 dragonsyoung : wouldnt be that hard to get plants growing on mars
08:48 UmairRahat : I mean how much data we will be ablr to get
08:48 UmairRahat : i am working on the 200 meter reflecter design
08:49 marslive : I still don't really understand the question.
08:49 UmairRahat : to be lauched in 2019
08:49 Funkopolis : QUESTION: What do you think of sending the ISS to the moon?
08:50 marslive : LOL - Funk - you know the answer for that one :)
08:50 Funkopolis : (or is that too 'manned')
08:50 marslive : I'll throw it in though - for comedy effect.
08:50 surreyguy : LOL
08:52 marslive : That's tonights homework question everyone. At what range from
Phoenix does SSI's resolution fall below that of HiRISE
08:52 dragonsyoung : LMFAO
08:52 Funkopolis : Actually, it does have propulsion - it frequently reboosts
its orbit
08:52 dragonsyoung : 34ft
08:52 dragonsyoung : thanks emiily
08:52 marslive : Yeah Funk - from 400km to maybe 415km...not 400,000km :)
08:52 UK_Victor : the stereo pictures of the RA trenches are wow so a 360 would
be amazing!
08:52 dragonsyoung : woot
08:52 surreyguy : Well, thank *you*.
08:53 ridingwrobots : thanks!
08:53 smh : thanks Emily
08:53 dragonsyoung : i want more on moons
08:53 BigBobUK : http://www.planetary.org/blog/
08:53 Funkopolis : Thanks Emily!
08:53 dragonsyoung : give us a moon
08:53 StellaGaze : thanks a lot!
08:53 UK_Victor : thanks and Bye
08:53 BigBobUK : Cheers Emily
08:53 surreyguy : 'bye!
08:53 dragonsyoung : thanx
08:53 UmairRahat : bye, thanks
08:53 dragonsyoung : did u hit record
08:54 Funkopolis : _now_ you ask
08:54 redmoon : Thanks!
08:54 dragonsyoung : so want more casini data
|
[ what is this? ]