July 20, 2008 - Scanning Cart (UITAS) Traverse on Beautiful Terrain
Submitted by ewalker on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 16:30.
Photos of the Day: HMP RS - July 20, 2008
[Note: Click "Read More" below for my personal journal that I am keeping as Mars Projects Manager for the Space Frontier Foundation. See MarsOnEarth.org for the daily status reports for the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) that I post as EPO for the Mars Institute.]
It's Sunday! That means we can sleep in until 10am! Not that it matters, since it is always light here, but it felt like a guilty pleasure anyway.
On this day in 1976, the Viking 1 lander, an unmanned U.S. planetary probe, became the first spacecraft to successfully land on the surface of Mars. Stephen Braham (HMP Associate Director) reminded us to take some moments to remember this at the brunch meeting. I am barely old enough to remember the Viking landers. My mother pointed out, as we watched the TV, that it was "very important". She is still a great mom, watching me in the office tent on Webcam 3 and worrying if I leave my desk for too long.
The helicopter came in this morning, aiding Gordon "Oz" Osinski and Neil Banerjee (both from UWO), and some of their students, with some science, viewing geomorphological features and taking them to locations of interest.
Closer to the HMP Research Station, Tim Barfoot (UTIAS) and his PhD student went out with a stereo camera and instruments on what they call the Sensor Cart, just beyond Tent City. I tagged along with them as they took another set of landscape photos (more than this photo journalist can fathom) and other measurements. I got to walk "100 meters" (darn Canadian measurements) and pose in at least one picture as a big red marker in my puffy red jacket, taking the place of an orange tarp they usually use that wasn't handy.
Charles Cockell (Open University) traversed to House Rock that is in the same area. The Arthur C. Clarke Greenhouse is going through the checklist, preparing to close it down for the season. I have yet to interview them, so I must get on that soon.
over and out.
-Elaine
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Elaine Walker
Mars Projects Manager
Space Frontier Foundation
marsfrontier.org
Eclipse
So how was it? Did the weather cooperate?
Lots of Total Solar Eclipse Videos Posted!
The weather did NOT cooperate in the least bit, but we experienced a dramatic darkening that most of us hadn't seen in weeks! I'm posting something on this now.
Elaine Walker
Mars Projects Manager
Space Frontier Foundation
We are ready for the eclipse!
We will be observing the eclipse as best we can visually, although we do expect bad weather at that time. In any case we are fully expecting to make the most of it with our resources. It is a very rare and exciting occurrence and we will enjoy the brief moment of darkness!
Elaine Walker
Mars Projects Manager
Space Frontier Foundation
August 1st eclipse
Hey,
You guys are going to be getting a total solar eclipse up there in a week. I don't know if that is helpful to the Mars project in any way (I can't imagine it is), but it should make for some great viewing.
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