Comments on: Obligatory NASA Post

Obligatory NASA Post

garethspor — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 22:37:27 -0800

European Space Agency's Huygens Probe Ready for Spectacular Mission to Titan
Mission managers for the European Space Agency's Huygens probe said the spacecraft is on course for its descent to Saturn's mysterious moon Titan on Friday, Jan. 14. The probe, which detached from NASA's Cassini orbiter last month, will be the first object to explore on-site the unique environment of Titan, whose chemistry is thought to be very similar to that of early Earth, before life formed. The data gathered during the probe's 2 1/2 hour descent through Titan's atmosphere will be transmitted from the probe to the Cassini orbiter and then back to Earth.
Make sure to stay tuned in this morning for updates.

By: Fat Guy

Fat Guy — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:41:17 -0800

John Varley unavailable for comment. But seriously, I work on the Swift spacecraft, and I wish nothing but the best for both the Cassini and Huygens operations teams. I'm sure we'll be seeing some great photo ops from their mission operations room.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:44:57 -0800

Clearly all these worlds are ours. Except Europa. We should attempt no landings, there.

By: Merik

Merik — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:46:04 -0800

Nasa TV should have cameras in the control room during the data reception faze which is about 10 am Eastern. (Here are some mirrors of the feed) And check out #space on irc.freenode.net; its a good source of up to date information. I watched the mars rover landing through irc+nasa tv , it was quite an experience.

By: dhruva

dhruva — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:46:38 -0800

Here's a countdown thingy.

By: interrobang

interrobang — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:48:06 -0800

I always love space news. Thanks for this, garethspor. I'm also really excited about July 4th of this year, when that rocket we sent out today is going to interact with that comet.

By: Merik

Merik — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:51:24 -0800

heres the correct link for the irc channel: #space on irc.freenode.net

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 00:29:33 -0800

I am so friggin' excited to see pictures and hear friggin' sound from across the solar system. I know it's all out of everyone's hands now, but PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 01:10:31 -0800

exciting stuff. pity that space exploration takes a back seat to space occupation. when was the last time the international space station accomplished ANYTHING of scientific note. NASA alone anually spends 25 billion US on the ISS much of which is wasted on stupid high school science projects. unmanned probes is where this money should be spent and hopefully a successful landing on titan will drive this point home. *PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK.*

By: CKZ

CKZ — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 01:27:28 -0800

ESA has a little flashapp detailing the stages of descent on its homepage.

By: Fat Guy

Fat Guy — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 01:32:32 -0800

unmanned probes is where this money should be spent and hopefully a successful landing on titan will drive this point home. Thanks three blind mice for trotting out the "manned versus unmanned" dead horse. NASA sends humans into space because that is what the American public wants.

By: nightchrome

nightchrome — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 02:00:36 -0800

...because everyone knows a spaceship without a penis is not gonna get the alien babe...

By: pjern

pjern — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 02:48:34 -0800

Some sort of signal has been received.... ohboy ohboy it's alive....

By: pemdasi

pemdasi — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 02:55:45 -0800

Carrier signal. I've been playing with the nick Huygen_Fails on european Unreal Tournament 2004 servers, but in all seriousness I hope this works. I want to see some pictures looking out over a hydrocarbon lake with giant icy mountains in the background, with the orangish haze of an atmosphere as a backdrop for it all.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 04:41:41 -0800

NASA sends humans into space because that is what the American public wants. thanks fat guy. i guess this means the issue is settled. the total cost of the huygens probe is 2.4% of what NASA spends every year on the ISS. the fact is that the "scientists" at NASA could do with a lot more with a lot less of the public's money if they focused on science instead of public relations. pity NASA seems to employ only politicians who are more concerned with how deeply they can reach into the public's pockets instead of engineers concerned with the pursuit of science. "The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia, USA, a part of the global network of radio telescopes involved in tracking the Huygens Titan probe, has detected the probe's 'carrier' (tone) signal. The detection occurred between 11:20 and 11:25 CET, shortly after the probe began its parachute descent through Titan's atmosphere. The extremely feeble signal was first picked up by the Radio Science Receiver supplied by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This signal is an important indication that the Huygens probe is 'alive'. However, it does not contain yet any substance; the latter is expected to come a few hours later via the Cassini spacecraft." Yeah! It's ALIVE. At least we know the ESA didn't have a problem converting meters to feet and inches. I can't wait to see the first photographs.

By: NinjaPirate

NinjaPirate — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 04:50:22 -0800

I hate it when scientists say "extremely feeble", it always sounds like "weak heartbeat". Glad to see I'm not alone in grabbing the seat of my wheelie chair and bouncing around the office. Huygens: PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 04:56:48 -0800

I hate it when scientists say "extremely feeble", it always sounds like "weak heartbeat". in this case, it's precisely what they mean. until the probe's uplink is relayed by cassini, the patient remains in guarded condition, but it is a very, very positive sign of health! PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:19:50 -0800

It's my understanding that Cassini won't be broadcasting the signal until it's in line-of-sight with Earth, so the VLA's around the world are training their "ears" on Huygens. While they can't get enough detail to recieve telemetry data, the mere fact that they hear any transmission would indicate that Huygens has at the very least deployed its first parachute (that's when it starts sending). That's a good sign. Essentially they're listening to a battery-powered probe the size of a VW that's 67 light-minutes away, which is just incredible. My fingers are still crossed. OK, place bets now on whether it lands in liquid or solid. I say solid (I hope solid, it means the batteries will last longer, which means more data.)

By: TwelveTwo

TwelveTwo — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:29:25 -0800

Solid or liquid.. hmm, my bet is on Other.

By: Chunder

Chunder — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:31:54 -0800

I say solid (I hope solid, it means the batteries will last longer, which means more data.) Uh... it'll be travelling at 5-6 metres/second - i.e. 18 or so km/h (11mph). *bump* Must have some pretty good cushioning...

By: loquacious

loquacious — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:37:44 -0800

Liquid could be interesting. I'm assuming it's designed to float. But why would it draw more power, C_D? *up late toggling between NASA TV, ESA and NASA/JPL sites.* Ooh, NASA TV is back live with the ESA feed. There's a bunch of grinning nerds there!

By: NinjaPirate

NinjaPirate — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:39:19 -0800

I'm hoping someone'll catch it.

By: NinjaPirate

NinjaPirate — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:42:32 -0800

I don't know though, I mean, does Titan even have stunt pilots?

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:52:37 -0800

I'm betting liquid. The space station isn't a bust, in that it's prompting cooperation and it's a first step towards a permanent human presence in space. the real problem is the complete reliance on the space shuttle to build it which means the real problem is the (wait for it) space shuttle AS IT WAS BUILT. from what I recall, the shuttle was supposed to be built better but congress cut the budget. I think nasa's budget should at least be doubled (that would make it about 30 billion, i think) and a lot of that should be spent on these unmanned projects. but nasa shouldn't cut back on manned projects either. mankind is going into space, the moon, mars and beyond. the only question is who will lead us there. but no

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:53:04 -0800

But why would it draw more power, C_D? Because -241 C is very, very cold. If it lands in liquid methane, the cold will drain the batteries faster. It's not designed to last very long, anyway, and regardless, the Cassini orbiter will be out of range after 30 minutes. But that's 30 whole minutes of potential extra data. 1.2 billion km from Earth and going strong...

By: killdevil

killdevil — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:54:10 -0800

Huygens has landed, and telescopes in Green Bank, WVA and elsewhere were able to detect its carrier signal during the descent. Evidently the probe was still transmitting well after the expected loss of signal due to battery drain. Live updates from the dedicated team at Space.com are here.

By: salmacis

salmacis — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 05:55:53 -0800

I go to coffee with a guy who wrote on-board software for Huygens. I've been joking with him that if his software fails, they'll all be pinning the blame for the failure of the mission on him. Now just off to see if PPARC's webcast has started.

By: brownpau

brownpau — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:17:44 -0800

Based on the relatively flat but nonreflective surface detected by Cassini, I'm going with the "slushy" surface theory. Landed, says Space.com! 9:10 a.m. EST: "The probe is still alive and sending a signal," said Claudio Solazzo, ESA Huygens Mission operations manager. Now that Huygens is apparently on Titan, researchers hope a pair of electronic levels will register any movement of the probe. If it landed on a hydrocarbon lake, the levels would detect any bobbing motion, researchers have said.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:18:13 -0800

Check that: -260 F.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:21:03 -0800

On not previewing: We get signal! WHAT YOU SAY!

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:22:21 -0800

How to pronounce Huygens

By: gravelshoes

gravelshoes — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:34:08 -0800

8:35 a.m. EST: Huygens mission controllers report that the probe landed somewhere between 1:45 p.m. and 1:46 p.m. local time in Darmstadt, Germany (CET) I reckon it was a hard landing, unless it hit the Rhine

By: brownpau

brownpau — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:35:55 -0800

By the way, Celestia tells me that Cassini is 8.07 au from Earth, which translates to about 66 light minutes. That's how long the signal takes to get from there to here. If you get the latest version of Celestia (not updated on OS X, unfortunately), it'll have orbital and texture info for Cassini and Heowgens (as per P_G's pronunciation), and you can actually follow them through space. (The Huygens data is a bit off, though; it's not shown hitting Titan, just getting really close and then flying back off into space.)

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:40:33 -0800

For those without Celestia, the ESA's flash site shows the location of Cassini, Huygens, Saturn and all its moons. You can look at its current position, or fast-forward to where Cassini will be in a couple of years (it will make several moon fly-bys).

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:47:41 -0800

great link pretty_generic. 8:00 a.m. EST: The first Huygens news briefing post-Titan descent has concluded. ESA mission managers said Huygens' carrier signal, the only signal researchers expected to detect from Earth, has also been detected by the Parkes radio telescope in Australia. The signal has been blaring strong for two hours now, researchers said. blaring strong for two hours! by now cassini's memory banks must be loaded with lots of information. hopefully instead of a silly stories about the food supply on the ISS, and how the "astronauts" celebrated christmas, NASA will treat us with something utterly fantastic.

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 06:56:49 -0800

As an aside, "joule" should actually be pronounced the same as "jowl". Unless you want people to understand what you're talking about, of course.

By: killdevil

killdevil — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:22:56 -0800

Updates from Space.com: "10:15 a.m. EST: Huygens is still pounding out a signal to the surprise of ESA engineers, but any science data it is currently transmitting is falling on deaf ears. The Cassini orbiter, Huygens' only connection to Earth, has turned away from the probe and is preparing to relay the probe's data home, mission controllers said. "The probe has been living for more than five hours," said Huygens mission manager Jean-Pierre Lebreton. "But we knew at a certain time Cassini would have to stop recording."

By: unreason

unreason — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:33:56 -0800

Space.Com: 10:30 a.m. EST: Applause broke out briefly at ESA's ESOC spacecraft operations center in Darmstadt, Germany. Apparently, mission controllers have detected the first data from Cassini's Huygens receivers, spacecraft engineers said. That doesn't mean that any Huygens science has arrived, just that the receivers aboard Cassini designed to record that data were functioning at the start of the descent, they added.

By: kyrademon

kyrademon — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:40:18 -0800

There is much excitement in the kyrademon household today. Incidentally, my girlfriend was on the team that took these lovely pictures of Titan. (And she's hot, too.) (OK, I'm done.)

By: fossil_human

fossil_human — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:52:41 -0800

shmegegge- There's already a mission in the works to put a lander on Europa.

By: grateful

grateful — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 08:30:23 -0800

11:19 a.m. EST: Shouts and applause erupted from Huygens mission control, and presumably some data from the probe has apparently arrived. "We have it? We have it!," said one mission team member before the shouts. Stand by for confirmation.

By: gubo

gubo — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 08:38:53 -0800

Confirmed!

By: cmonkey

cmonkey — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 08:45:12 -0800

So when are they going to release the audio recordings and the photographs?

By: yupislyr

yupislyr — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 08:47:19 -0800

When all the data is received. On every board talking about this people are demanding pictures. You're too used to your broadband connection. Space communication doesnt work that way, yet.

By: gubo

gubo — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 08:50:53 -0800

Here's a page linking to test images from the Descent Imager taken over Arizona. I'm looking forward to something like this from Titan ...

By: gubo

gubo — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 09:02:06 -0800

Pretty_Generic: apparently James Prescott Joule and his family actually pronounced his name "jool" (rhymes with pool, cool).

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 09:28:29 -0800

gubo: I read different

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 09:52:07 -0800

Pictures will be up at 1:45 EST.

By: gubo

gubo — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 10:03:54 -0800

ohm my, how re-volt-ing, I don't know watt I'm talking about ... sorry p_g, I stand corrected.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 10:16:43 -0800

NASA TV keeps showing Bush delivering an address, and it's making my monitor break out in hives. *waits impatiently for updates* *is generally in a state of tech-awe*

By: basicchannel

basicchannel — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 10:22:10 -0800

Humanity, fuck yeah!

By: zeoslap

zeoslap — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 10:49:05 -0800

titan smells like ass

By: zeoslap

zeoslap — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 10:50:43 -0800

could they not just light a match to keep huygens warm? should would be toasty when all that methane explodes (or can't you light liquid methane)

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 10:52:10 -0800

titan smells like ass Typical MeFi anthropocentrism. Ass smells like Titan.

By: NewBornHippy

NewBornHippy — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 11:03:31 -0800

> titan smells like ass Titan to probe: pull my finger.

By: spock

spock — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 11:04:19 -0800

If only the successes got as much media time as the failures. That's because, in general, the successes are met by the masses collective yawns. I for one shall raise a glass to the project's success.

By: NewBornHippy

NewBornHippy — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 11:05:24 -0800

"We are the first visitors to Titan and the scientific data we are collecting now shall unveil the secrets of this new world," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general for ESA, in Darmstadt, Germany. How presumptuous.

By: drstrangelove

drstrangelove — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 11:19:57 -0800

What a waste of money. Imagine how many Iraqis we could have killed with all the money we spent on this entire mission.

By: dirigibleman

dirigibleman — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 11:37:52 -0800

could they not just light a match to keep huygens warm? should would be toasty when all that methane explodes (or can't you light liquid methane) Well, you could if there were enough oxygen (which there probably isn't).

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 11:41:22 -0800

Images are clearly being held up as an ESA flunky photoshops out lgm.

By: steef

steef — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 12:35:44 -0800

First pic down from the surface! Oh, my god. It's full of... rocks.

By: Fred Mars

Fred Mars — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 12:38:12 -0800

First image from Titan

By: ulotrichous

ulotrichous — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 13:22:05 -0800

Imagine how many Iraqis we could have killed with all the money we spent on this entire mission I hate to participate in such an obvious derail, but I just had to know... apparently the US investment in this endeavor (at today's exchange rates) cost as much as about 3 weeks of occupying Iraq. For those of you keeping score.

By: vraxoin

vraxoin — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 13:45:56 -0800

The notion that some ordinary people--with thoughts and talents and shortcomings that all people have--managed to shoot something halfway across the solar system to land softly enough on one of the moons of Saturn to return snapshots . . . well, that's pretty damn astonishing.

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:04:37 -0800

to return snapshots . . . ...within hours, no less.

By: borkingchikapa

borkingchikapa — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:27:58 -0800

could they not just light a match to keep huygens warm? should would be toasty when all that methane explodes (or can't you light liquid methane) There's very little oxygen on Titan, so the chance that the moon would burst into flames is pretty much zero.

By: borkingchikapa

borkingchikapa — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:28:19 -0800

oops, someone beat me.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:30:01 -0800

to return snapshots . . . ...within hours, no less. And then within the next few hours share them with millions of people over the internet. Fantastic.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:42:55 -0800

C_D: Re: Battery life. Thanks. I don't know why I couldn't figure that out. I guess they'd refrain from using a nuclear battery on the lander for good reason. Now awaiting processed images and analysis! Go ESA! (Also, it's great watching ESA and NASA folks on NASA TV geeking out in a total hodgepodge of languages, switching between them as it suits them.)

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 17:14:48 -0800

I put together a small video (SWF) of the probe's descent. It's not perfect (you'll have to wait for JPL/ESA to get it right) but for now it gives a pretty good sense of the fall. The image is composed of three camera shots. The top is a horizontally mounted camera. http://anthony.liekens.net/huygens_descent.swf (Thanks for the hosting, Anthony).