Space - Engineers and Scientists

I am very keen on science and space exploration. I am still regularly visiting the Mars Rover Site to keep track of the two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity that are still trundling around on Mars 1230 'sols' (Martian days) after landing.

I remember the huge disappointment when Beagle 2 the space craft from Milton Keynes failed to make contact after (crash) landing on Mars on Christmas Day 2003 and I watched anxiously while the engineers tried to regain control of the Mars Global Surveyor after it went out of control following a software upgrade. And I remember the shock and horror when I discovered that the reason that the Mars Climate Orbiter crashed into Mars instead of going round it was because one set of engineers were using metic measures (newtons) and the other imperial (foot pounds) to decide when to fire the retro rockets to put into orbit.

Now there apears to be another Martian 'c*ck up' in the making. The Mars Polar Lander, Phoenix (pictured above), is meant to land at the north pole of Mars next spring and dig for signs of life in the permafrost. Unlike other landers it is using retro rockets rather than balloons and parachutes to land. A great idea, until you realise (as they only just have at Nasa) that when it has landed the area it is going to be digging in - directly around the lander (it hasn't got wheels) will have been blasted by supersonic exhaust gases from the rocket lander itself - either blowing away, roasting or at best polluting the very soil it has been sent there to examine!

Once again it looks like the engineers and scientists are not exactly communicating.

Nice one Nasa!