Slashdot Mirror
Mars Recon Orbiter Nearing Mars Orbit
DarkNemesis618 writes "The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched 12 August 2005, has nearly completed its 7 month journey to the Red Planet. At 9:24 pm GMT, the MRO is scheduled to fire its thrusters to slow it down enough to enter Mars orbit. NASA scientists are concerned about this final step for the orbiter as Mars has a history of 'swallowing' probes, orbiters, and landers sent to the Red Planet. What makes it more difficult is the delay time between NASA computers on earth and computers on board the orbiter. There is about a 12 minute delay between when data is sent from Earth to the time the orbiter's receivers pick it up, and vice versa. Because of this, onboard computers will handle the burn which adds to the risk."
12 minutes!! That's a little more than the lag I got in any game I've ever played, including MUDs by dialup!!
And I live in a third world poor country!!
I think NASA should hire 3rd world old gamers, at least they are used to the lag...
find -name "*base*" -exec chown us {} \; ; ln -s
Despair gave way to cautious optimism today across the community as K'Breel, Speaker for the most Illustrious Council of Elders, delivered a statement. The statement was in response to scattered reports that the disgusting inhabitants of the evil blue planet were at last feeling the awful toll of war.
Referring to the intercepted communications from the sinister blue planet, which characterized our fair world as 'unpredictable', made references to our past triumphs as our world 'swallowing' their devices of terror, and admonishing their leaders not to become 'overconfident' in their dealings with us, K'Breel waxed poetic on the Speaking Dais, amid much gelsac-swelling:When several of the attending citizens failed to immediately make merry, K'breel denounced them as traitors and ordered their gelsacs punctured on the spot.
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~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Isn't it supposed to say how this probe might discover signs of alien life like every other story about space in the last decade? Leaving that out is like leaving out the period at the end of a sentence.
"The White House is not an intelligence-gathering agency," -- Scott McClellan, Whitehouse spokesman.
The 12 minute delay is due to the Slashdot Effect. Don't buy any of this so-called "speed of light" crap. At least the bandwidth is holding up this time. Most of the last several probes could not handle the Slashdotting and are still down. Even the article mentions this.
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." - Epictetus
Sorry, NASA, I really am a fan but I just couldn't resist.
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If the Rumsfield can keep mutating the name of the War on Terror to the Struggle for Freedom (and now the Long War), just rename the Mars Orbiter the Mars Meteor and call it a day.
If you post it, they will read.
I only hope that his time around, the probe will finally send back high resolution images of some of those hot Martian babes, like Dejah Thoris or Tara.
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General: Be careful.. Half of these things have gotten away on us.
Lieutenant: Don't worry. It was Firtz that missed those other two. I got the beagle. I'll get this one too.
OS Software is like love: The best way to make it grow is to give it away.
MRO cmd:> set engine burn -t 27.0
Engine burn duration set to: 27 minutes
MRO cmd:> start engine burn -now
Begin engine burn sequence: Are you sure? (y/N): y
Have you calculated for correct distance in meters? (y/N): y
Are you sure? (y/N): y
Really sure? (y/N): y
Remember the others we buried? Sure you want to do this? (y/N): y
OK here goes nothing! Hold your breath!
Executing command sequence...
PROGRESS: 15%