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NASA Scientists Get Custom 24h39m-per-day Watches

Posted by timothy on from the private-sale-or-tax-money-I-wonder dept.

blair1q writes "In order to more easily keep solar time on Mars, (or maybe just as a lark) JPL has ordered specially-modified mechanical watches for the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. One wonders why these literal rocket scientists didn't just get a software programmable Linux or PalmOS based wrist-computer and hack together a Mars-time display application into it?"

2 of 553 comments (clear)

  1. Uh... i dunno by et289807 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    "One wonders why these literal rocket scientists didn't just get a software programmable Linux or PalmOS based wrist-computer and hack together a Mars-time display application into it?"

    Maybe because they don't want to waste their time making a watch, and would like to focus on the Mars mission? No, that can't be it.

  2. Huh? by Raven42rac · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Why the heck would they hack together some gaudy looking contraption when a simple watch does the trick? I swear, sometimes /.ers need to take a step back and keep things simple. That would be like saying, "people drive cars, why don't they just strap rocket engines to their feet?". If it doesn't work for Wile E. Coyote, it isn't going to work for me.

    --
    I hate sigs.