Interaction: Phoenix Mars Lander

Myers: Hello, and welcome to this week’s edition of Interaction. We’re discussing the upcoming landing of NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, and we’ve got a lot to discuss, starting with the course of events. Tomorrow, Phoenix will aerobrake in the Martian atmosphere and deploy its main parachute. Then the heat shield will separate, the landing legs will unfold, and the lander will drop toward its target near the Martian north pole. Of course, the last time NASA attempted this sort of landing on Mars, the Mars Polar Lander failed and crashed near its intended landing site at the Martian south pole. Does NASA have what it takes to succeed where once was failure? Will Phoenix tell us whether the Martian north pole used to be under a Martian arctic ocean? And are all the lines of code correct? Joining us today are our four panellists. In Pasadena, CA, USA, we have several space experts on hand, starting with the lead engineer for Phoenix’s parachute cord number 4, Mr Kelly Samuelson.

Samuelson: Hi.

Myers: The director of the California Institute for Knowing Stuff About Space, Mr John Weissmiller.

Weissmiller: Hello Debbie.

Myers: The editor of the “Fucking Hot Orbital Dynamics” blog and author of the book Getting In the Mood: How to Prepare for the Biggest Space Event in the History of Space Events, Ms Evgenia Nolopakova.

Nolopakova: Hi.

Myers: And with me here in Warwickshire, the Niles T Cammerranch professor of geobiology at the University of Nowhere, Ms Lecia McCorvey.

McCorvey: Good evening.

Myers: And thank you all for joining us here today. Kelly, Phoenix has been much in the news lately, and there is speculation about what problems may have been overlooked this time. What problems may have been overlooked this time?

Samuelson: Well, Debbie, we’re hoping none of them. We believe we are ready to land on Mars and that we have planned for everything that might happen, but of course that might not be the case, and if it is, that would suck.

Myers: I think we can all agree to that. John, Phoenix is something of a rarity these days: a chance to reuse hardware from a mission that was cancelled. What other cancelled programmes might also be seen again?

Weissmiller: None.

[Pause.]

Myers: Well, noble sentiments there. Evgenia, are people really excited about this mission?

Nolopakova: I think they are. I think going to a new place on Mars is an incredible thrill. Phoenix might even discover water ice beneath the surface, which would be an incredible finding and could mean that Mars was once warm, watery, and fun.

Myers: That’s certainly an important point to consider. Lecia, Mars is, of course, a very different planet to Earth, but there are many similarities, are there not?

McCorvey: There certainly are. Both are terrestrial planets. Both have similar tilts of their axes and similar day lengths. Both are very fun, and both are made of matter.

Myers: Well, going back to that point, Evgenia, Mars may be similar to Earth, but today it is a cold and dry world. What may have happened to Mars in the past?

Nolopakova: I think that Mars was a victim of its own success. There were water oceans, but as its internal heat ran down, that water froze and was eventually covered by dust and rocks.

Myers: John, what could Phoenix find, other than water ice beneath the surface, that would tell us that such a model of Mars’s history is correct?

Weissmiller: Carbonates or sulfates.

Samuelson: Yes, the robot arm will try to dig for, if not water ice, then other sorts of materials that could have been formed by liquid water.

Myers: Good. Well, it’s now time to open the forum to viewer questions, and there are several ways for you to get your questions to us. Examine your television screen now and you can see that you can reach us by E-mail, snail mail, telephone, text message, facsimile, or airdrop. Our first question is an E-mail from Barbara in San Vicente, CA, USA. Barbara wants to know if there could be oil on Mars, and if so, whether it could reduce gasoline prices. Evgenia?

Nolopakova: If there was any, Martian oil would increase gasoline prices to about US$12,000,000,000 per gallon.

Myers: Really?

Nolopakova: That’s an estimate that I posted on my blog. It’s not scientific or anything, but it sounds about right, doesn’t it?

Myers: No. Our next question is from Carly in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Carly, are you there?

Carly in Edinburgh: Yes.

Myers: Hello Carly. Welcome to the programme. What is your question?

Carly in Edinburgh: My question is for Kelly. Kelly, was it harder to develop parachute lines for this mission compared to some of the Mars missions of the past? Oh, and one more thing: Reds rule! Yaaay!

Samuelson: Yes, reds do rule. Particularly red planets. Anyway, the answer is: I don’t know. This is the first Mars mission I’ve worked on.

Myers: Is that typical? I mean, are there many members of the engineering team who have never worked on a Mars mission before?

Samuelson: There are a lot of us, the “young whippersnappers”, they like to call us. But we actually have a good balance of youth and experience. So I think that the young people have helped the old people find a way to maybe do things more efficiently or in a little better way than they’re used to.

Myers: John, you’ve watched the industry for some time. Is there a shift in attitudes, or ways of doing business, as the space race-era engineers are retiring?

Weissmiller: Sort of, but not really.

Myers: How is that?

Weissmiller: In many cases, new staffers have tried to find another way to do things, only to find that the old geezers’ way was pretty good after all.

Myers: Would you agree with that, Kelly?

Samuelson: No, I wouldn’t. One guy I work with has been using the same spreadsheets for twenty years. I showed him some better things to do, and now the spreadsheets have even more features.

Myers: Well, good for you. We’ll move on now to another question. It’s a text message from Staci in New York City, NY, USA. She asks if mrs will b clnzd b4 mun. Evgenia, will mrs b clnzd b4 mun?

Nolopakova: Omg bth @ sm tm lol!!!!!

Myers: We have time for one more question. Ron from Dublin, Ireland, are you there?

Ron in Dublin: I’m here. Hi.

Myers: Hello Ron. Welcome to the programme. What is your question?

Ron in Dublin: If there is life on Mars, would it eat the lander?

Myers: That’s a unique question. Lecia, would you care to address this question?

McCorvey: No. Shut up.

Myers: There’s no need for televised rudeness. If you don’t wish to answer the question, just say so.

McCorvey: But I did address the question.

Myers: Oh. By telling him to shut up?

McCorvey: Right.

Myers: That’s my bit. Don’t steal my bit.

McCorvey: Now who’s utilising televised rudeness?

Myers: All right. If that’s the way you’re going to play it, this programme is over. Thanks to Ms Lecia McCorvey, Ms Evgenia Nolopakova, Mr John Weissmiller, and Mr Kelly Samuelson for being here with us today. Next week we’ll be discussing the runoff election in Zimbabwe. We’ll be joined by strategists for each candidate, as well as the leading political author in Zimbabwe and the leading political author who’s exiled from Zimbabwe. So don’t forget to visit our website at interaction.goobnet.net and submit your questions to them. So until we next see you, good night.

Weissmiller: I like televised rudeness.

Samuelson: I hope the landing isn’t at the same time South Park is on.