Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Genesis: Data in good condition

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the can-your-hard-drive-do-that dept.

Oxidation writes "Space.com is reporting that the Genesis satellite crash isn't as bad as it appeared to be in the first place. Furthermore, a prime particle-gathering device "appears intact" states Don Sevilla. (Genesis payload recovery leader at NASA's JPL)"

8 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. Thing is. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    With the possibility of contamination, will most of the scientific world be taken the results gained from Genesis with a pinch of salt?

    1. Re:Thing is. by mlyle · · Score: 4, Insightful

      When they were planning to do things like study distribution of oxygen isotopes from the sun, and they have nanograms of oxygen... probably exposing the probe to a 20% oxygen earth atmosphere probably isn't good.

      Likewise, with a few dozen micrograms of total material, tossing in several kilograms of dirt and doubtlessly several grams of fine dust inside the capsule will make determining what materials are extraterrestial in origin difficult indeed. Determining quantities of any substance which is more than a few parts-per-billion in earth soil or atmosphere is going to be extraordinarily difficult, and any results will be very questionable, unfortunately.

  2. Mirror and Stick? by dostert · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Am I the only one who is disturbed by the line that they were "using a flashlight and a small mirror on a stick to explore inside the fractured, garbage-can-sized capsule." This is Nasa... they can't use a tiny camera in there? They have to tape a mirror on the end of a stick and peek around? Reminds me of a line in "Clay Pigeons" when Deputy Barney is poking a body with a stick and when asked why he said "I was just checkin' somethin'"

    1. Re:Mirror and Stick? by shfted! · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Does your dentist use a camera to look inside your mouth? I don't mean taking xrays. What's wrong with using an old technique if it works just fine? Yes, that's not typical NASA, but these are scientists looking at the wreckage, not bureaucrats -- and scientists tend to be more practical and creative.

      --
      He who laughs last is stuck in a time dilation bubble.
  3. Black Box by Feneric · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I guess I'm not too surprised. Commercial airliner black boxes seem to be able to survive all sorts of crashes and accidents, and while I realize that the weight limits on components sent into space are far more strict than the weight limits on regular aircraft, I'd expect (hope) that NASA has better technology to work with.

    Of course there's also the differences between the scientific equipment used by NASA and the simple recording equipment used in aircraft, but again I'd like to think that NASA is on top of such things.

  4. Good Pictures by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I submitted the *exact* same story two days ago, BUT I'M NOT BITTER! Anyway, although the official web site originally had a bunch pictures of the recovery team with their unprotected hands all over the spacecraft remains, it seems they've moved it to a clean room...

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
  5. worst case scenarios by bani · · Score: 3, Insightful

    engineers often design for worst case scenarios, especially with space probes.

    i wouldnt be suprised if they engineered the probe in such a way that even in catastrophic failure (eg lawn dart) there would still be a good chance of viable data.

  6. should be easy by bani · · Score: 4, Insightful

    should be easy to tell the difference between solar wind particles which impacted the collectors at several km/s vs dust particles which simply settled on the surface.