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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?"

11 of 553 comments (clear)

  1. Useless, but... by Trillan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Totally, completely useless. A complete waste of money.

    When will they be available to the public? And how much? I want one.

    1. Re:Useless, but... by Unbeliever · · Score: 5, Informative
      When will they be available to the public? And how much? I want one.
      US $150, available after all the Mars guys, then JPL interested guys get them. And as far as I can tell, everybody that bought one paid out of their own pocket. That includes all those nice embroidered shirts and hats you see in the press briefings. The watches were bought at the Watchmaker, and everything else at the JPL Store. Damned rules about sepending Government money! We can't even get freebies! *grin*
      --
      --Carlos V.
    2. Re:Useless, but... by iainl · · Score: 5, Informative

      Urban legend, yes. The US used pencils too, or felt markers (which also work just fine in zero gravity). Then Fischer spent millions of their own cash designing the Space Pen, and sold them at a nominal rate to NASA for the publicity.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
  2. Didn't do what you suggested.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny


    Because its faster strapping on a watch that works already rather than spending a bunch of hours making the linux solution work...

  3. Linux watches?! by bastardsquadmuzz · · Score: 5, Insightful
    One wonders why these literal rocket scientists didn't just get asoftware programmable Linux or PalmOS basedwrist-computer


    Why must everything on Slashdot be Linux-based?! If they were going to make a watch on a different time system to normal then wouldnt it make more sense to just build a slightly different watch? Analogue you just add a few more teeth to the gears and digital shouldn't be too hard to alter. Putting Linux on a watch is just silly.
    --
    --Muzz
  4. Re:do the right thing by DrInequality · · Score: 5, Funny

    That would be a sundial right?

    --
    DROS - Open-Source Robot Software
  5. No, one does not by Sivar · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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?"

    It is always such a relief to know that Slashdot readers know more about Astronauts should do and use than NASA engineers.
    Maybe that was a bit harsh, but have you ever seen a sophisticated piece of consume electronics, such as a Palm Pilot or laptop, taken along with astronauts on their missions?
    Electronics in space have to be able to handle conditions that your favorite PDA engineers did not exactly have in mind--even on an astronauts wrist. Notice that the watch is not even digital, and that if you think about it, it is probably not because the Engineers didn't read The Hitchhiker's Guide.

    --
    Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
    1. Re:No, one does not by Technician · · Score: 5, Informative

      If you want digital, these folks make most of the watch crystals out there. It would be a small order to get digital watches to run at any speed. I've ordered custom crystals for radio's from them. Small orders are no problem and they are not expensive.

      http://www.icmfg.com/

      A standard Tera Firma digital watch crystal frequency is 32.768 kHz.
      They are listed here.

      http://www.icmfg.com/surfacemount_crystals.html

      It would be a small task to get custom crystals made for the Martian day from them for your watch. You may need SMD tools to change it.

      At the bottom of the page gives informatin for ordering non standard frequencies.
      IMPORTANT: When ordering any non-standard crystals, please specify series or parallel resonance. If parallel, the load capacitance (CL) needs to be specifed in picofarads___ pF. All specifications are subject to change without notice.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
  6. Why you ask? by ByronEllis · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'll tell you why they got mechanical watches and didn't hack up a Linux watch:

    1. Generally speaking digital watches are fugly. There's no Movado Digital Watch for a reason.

    2. Commitment. This watch will ALWAYS run ~24h39m. You can give it to your grandkids. Your crap-ass programmable digital watch won't make it that far. Also, it can be made back into a 24h watch. There are no digital watch family heirlooms.

    3. A mechanical watch is a thing of craftsmanship and beauty. A watch running Windows or Linux is cute for maybe 10 minutes then its a watch that does so many other things that they forgot the "tells time" part.

  7. Re:It's time for a non-Earth based time standard by ObviousGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, if we count backwards the generations from now until the creation of Adam, I think we can safely set the 0:00:00 date to about 6,000 years ago (left as an excercise for the reader).

    I'm still wondering how they will account for such things as time standing still for Joshua.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
  8. Other ideas for Martian timekeeping... by SRCShelton · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've always thought the system proposed by (Kim Stanley Robinson) in the Mars Trilogy books was kinda neat:

    All clocks stop at midnight, wait 40 minutes, then tick over to 00:01

    (Yes, there are practicality and "yes, but *WHAT'S the TIME*??!?" issues, but I still reckon it'd be cool)