Mars Express' 2nd Boom Deployment Postponed

ricshaw2k4 writes "Releasing the second MARSIS radar boom from Mars Express has been delayed after a problem with the first boom was discovered. From the BBC "Officials said 12 out of 13 segments that comprise the first boom had deployed successfully, but segment 10 was not fully locked into place." Lets just hope segment 10 wasn't eaten by the Martians!"

Comments

Late Breaking News:

[TripMaster Monkey]

Yet another chapter in our epic struggle against the disgusting inhabitants of the evil blue planet unfolded today, when it was revealed by the Council that one of the invaders' probes was observed deploying a spindly, antenna-like structure.
Hopes that the antenna would prove to be benign were quickly dashed, as our scientists determined conclusively that the antenna was designed to emit hazardous low-frequency radio waves, capable of penetrating far underground.

K'Breel, Speaker for the Council, stress that there was no cause for alarm:

"This latest nefarious plot by our enemies has successfully been averted. Immediately upon receiving news of this latest aggression, the Council approved an emergency action to neutralize the threat. The structure of one of the segments of the deadly antenna was successfully altered, rendering the device incapable of harm.

When asked if rumours were true that the invaders' probe was actually outfitted with two of the deadly antennas, K'Breel declined to comment.

Re:Late Breaking News:

[Sandbox Conspiracy]

P'shaw. I, for one, welcome our new Terran overlords.

Re:Episode II: the editors strike back

[spun]

Fthe Martians are of course the oldest race of Martians that built the canals, as opposed to the Teh Martians who evolved after the planet began to dry up. Sheesh! I thought everyone knew that.

Boom situation is explosive

[digitaldc]

"Mission staff will now take the time necessary to investigate the boom situation. Foreseen outcomes include confirming that all segments of Boom 1 have been locked into place and determining how the deployment of Boom 1 may affect that of Boom 2."
In related news, Mission staff is now taking the time necessary with things they do, as opposed to the 'hunches', 'guesses' and the 'divine insight from God' methods that were used before. With boom1 not acting properly, they have a couple other forseen outcomes: 1) confirming the boom 1 never locks into place and 2) how this has no effect on the deployment of boom 2.
A new mission has been introduced to send another unmanned robot to massage segment 10 into place and then to quickly self-destruct in order not to interfere with the rest of the mission.
P.S. Boom 3 cannot be played unless you have a high-end PC with a killer graphics card.