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Philae's Batteries Have Drained; Comet Lander Sleeps

astroengine (1577233) writes "In the final hours, Philae's science team hurried to squeeze as much science out of the small lander as possible. But the deep sleep was inevitable, Rosetta's lander has slipped into hibernation after running its batteries dry. This may be the end of Philae's short and trailblazing mission on the surface of Comet 67P, but a huge amount of data — including data from a drilling operation that, apparently, was carried out despite concerns that Philae wasn't positioned correctly — was streamed to Rosetta mission control. "Prior to falling silent, the lander was able to transmit all science data gathered during the First Science Sequence," said Stephan Ulamec, Philae Lander Manager. "This machine performed magnificently under tough conditions, and we can be fully proud of the incredible scientific success Philae has delivered.""

337 comments

  1. Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    3D printing and private space means that we'll soon have dozens, no, hundreds of private space probes out there searching for mineable asteroids and comets because there's just so much money to be made out there!

    1. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We will need the cheap Delta-V first.

    2. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LUDDITE!!!!

    3. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your mom is my 3D printer and I've programmed her to spit you out a new little brother.

    4. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LUDDITE! You will not stand in the way of the species' glorious 3D printed private space future!

    5. Re:Hey don't worry by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

      We will need the cheap Delta-V first.

      Just print it! Geez guy, haven't you been keeping up?

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    6. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Easier solution: just print the asteroids here and mine them without even leaving the planet.

    7. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know what. FUCK THE LOT OF YOU. You want humanity to die out on one planet so you can count pretty shiny virtual coins. FUCKING IDIOTS. It may not be time to go into space in a big way yet but we need to learn about it instead of being so concerned with virtual accounting of wealth. Fortunately if we do survive we'll have evolved past morons like you. Sincerely FUCK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

    8. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your mom is my 3D printer and I've programmed her to spit you out a new little brother.

      you might have programmed her, but i fed in the filament.

    9. Re:Hey don't worry by hairyfeet · · Score: 2

      I think in the future Gerald Bull will be proven right and for non human payloads a supergun will be the way to go. Sadly he was hampered by the tech of his time but I could see something like a coilgun up the side of mountain on the equator being doable, hell you could probably harness both the wind on the mountainside and geothermal if you picked the right mountain and drive costs way down.

      You might even be able to one day use it for human launches by firing it in stages, similar to the V3 of WWII

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    10. Re: Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He has no job and no social life, what do you expect?

    11. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > That must mean that you are constantly at the computer and obsessively reloading Slashdot.

      That must mean you are technically illiterate, and really should not be here.

      I once whipped up a Perl script which used wget to check slashdot once a minute for new articles. Would beep when a new one was up. Took me about fifteen minutes to write and test. I got a couple frosty pisses under my belt toot sweet, but it was mildly amusing for a little bit.

    12. Re:Hey don't worry by CRCulver · · Score: 1

      None of what you say contradicts my point. Even had he whipped up a Perl script, doing so just to post Space Nutter first posts is itself a sign of obsession, and it would also imply that he were always around the computer. Whether he is doing things in a clumsy manual fashion or using some scripting solution, it's not healthy either way.

    13. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He/She has been here for years. Once upon a time he had to create fake, over the top posts to have something to point at as being a stupid space nutter. He even admitted it frequently, because nearly every time his strawman was so outlandish that other posts would counter them first, and he would act all surprised, as if realizing he might not be the last sane person in the world. But things have gone downhill from there, to the point he argues against even people who trying to argue against manned space travel to various degrees. At this point, he does a better job as an advocate for space colonization considering how stupid some of the arguments used are, even for things that have very reasonable arguments against, and just because a half-troll, half-strawman working against the cause he claims to fight for. Plus the whole obsession thing, which is funny considering he seems haunted by obsessions he sees in other people, but will argue near ad infinitum on topics (not quite to APK levels).

    14. Re:Hey don't worry by gargleblast · · Score: 1

      Bro I feel your pain. But we were discussing injected-Bitcoin-guy one para up on the main page.

    15. Re:Hey don't worry by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1, Funny

      He almost had one, guess he shouldn't have picked Saddam Hussein as his financial backer LOL His mega-gun was one of the top targets in Desert Storm.

    16. Re:Hey don't worry by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

      a sign of obsession, or maybe he just likes to piss people off. Still not a "good thing", but being a troll is a bit better than being so OCD you write a script to get FP on / lol

    17. Re:Hey don't worry by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

      he's a STRAWTROLL.

    18. Re:Hey don't worry by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Humanity will die out on one planet or many. You can't win against entropy and thermodynamics. See you in the black hole!

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    19. Re:Hey don't worry by camperdave · · Score: 1

      What do you think we're searching the asteroids for? The only thing of value in space: water. Water outside of a gravity well is propellant. Just run it past a hot nuclear pile, and it turns to steam. Voila... cheap delta-V

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    20. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If only there were no pesky atmosphere. You know, the stuff which is such a drag when returning from orbit.

    21. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "just"... Santa Madonna! The delusions of the space fanbois! You're either 12, or 72. Naive, or senile.

    22. Re:Hey don't worry by itzly · · Score: 1

      Water outside of a gravity well is propellant. Just run it past a hot nuclear pile, and it turns to steam. Voila... cheap delta-V

      You have a curious notion of "cheap". How much does it cost to get your hot nuclear pile near the water supply and to operate it ?

    23. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh brother. Space melodrama. Never mind the "black hole thermodynamics" guy down there, but YOU'RE going to die anyways, are you doing something to extend your life beyond one body? No? So why should we care about the entire species if you don't even care about yourself?

      And guess what? Evolution is still happening. There was no humanity a million years ago, and there won't be one in another million. Unless you think we've hit the peak of biology? Who are you to decide? And if you can decide that, how come I can't decide to extend our lifespan?

    24. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So it should be pretty easy to find some of these posts in which I make these admissions?

      And if you think these arguments are stupid

      http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the...
      http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the...

      when they're based on solid physics and math and reality, well you're right. We're not having a reality-based discussion.

      What we're having is one guy shouting and waving quasi-religious space propaganda posters from the 1970s, and a healthy skeptic using reality.

      It's quite amazing the reactions when you tell people no one's going anywhere and the space dreams of the past are ludicrous.

    25. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reality doesn't exist for Space Nutters. I think their discussions are along the lines of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...

      It's basically space scholastics. The Space Nutters cling more and more desperately to the space dogma of the 1960s and '70s. And like any deeply-held religious belief, you're not going to change that belief with facts or logic.

      The change will have to come from each Space Nutter individually.

    26. Re:Hey don't worry by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Funny

      a supergun will be the way to go

      I'm sure the idea will be popular in the US. You could fund it with NRA sponsorship.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    27. Re:Hey don't worry by resfilter · · Score: 1

      well,

      although a near impossibility, i like to have faith that on some level everything will work out for us, and that a future incarnation of what we've grown into will witness the final years of the universe, rather than just being a bunch of coincidental meat sacks that will instantly die out when something random smacks into our planet, or a bunch of space fleas that jump around to various planets in our solar system to survive until we witness the death of our sun, and that's the end.

      that stupid impossible thought, that what we're doing here today could have some eventual influence on how eternity on the scale of the universe plays out, drives me to learn and understand as much as i can in my life.

      i hope that's a driving force for some of the people that design these space probes and experiments too

      or it's possible i've just read too much asimov, whichever

    28. Re:Hey don't worry by aaaaaaargh! · · Score: 1

      Don't know why this has been modded funny, it just depends on the interpretation of "soon." Give it another hundred years and the solar system will indeed be crawling with private robots, unless we somehow manage to seriously fuck up our civilization until then. On a cosmic time scale another hundred or two hundred years is nothing.

      What annoys me a bit, though, is that I'm probably born too early to be able to download my consciousness into a machine during my lifetime, so I won't see what the future brings. :(

    29. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Two of the heaviest fuels known - fissionable material and water. Sounds like a perfect plan.

    30. Re:Hey don't worry by sir-gold · · Score: 1

      This was thought up LONG ago. Except the idea was to propel hydrogen plasma, not water.

      There was too much backlash against the idea of nuclear rockets, due to the possibility of launch failure (turning the launch zone into a radioactive nuclear wasteland)

    31. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He almost had one, guess he shouldn't have picked Saddam Hussein as his financial backer

      Well he did not really have his first pick of "sponsor" after the US military cut him off and killed his projects.

      Of course you could turn that around with Von Braun:

      He almost had one, guess he shouldn't have picked Adolph Hitler as his financial backer.

    32. Re:Hey don't worry by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Bull was probably pretty pissed when the US military killed his project.

      I wonder how he felt when Mossad killed him!

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    33. Re:Hey don't worry by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Give him a break, at least he reads good SF.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    34. Re: Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As opposed to adults clinging desperately to 50 year old space propaganda?

    35. Re:Hey don't worry by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Nobody's accusing you of being wrong (except the space nutters).

      You're just accused of being obsessive.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    36. Re:Hey don't worry by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      I've heard of moving the goalposts, but in your case the goalposts have gone relativistic.

    37. Re:Hey don't worry by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Nerd challenge: Design an experiment that will determine whether Space Nutter Troll is a bot or a person.

    38. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And people clinging to half-century old space propaganda aren't?

    39. Re:Hey don't worry by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Hmmm. It's reading stories about a non-existent man in the sky in languages nobody speaks, versus a bit of coding practice.

      Think I'd be reaching for the Camel book.

      You're not in a position to criticise anybody for how he uses his time.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    40. Re:Hey don't worry by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      The crucial question is, won't using Bennett Haselton as the nozzle material clog the printer?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    41. Re:Hey don't worry by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      You only need a very small stage if you leave the barrel at a few km/s. In fact, you would still need a stage to achieve orbit even without the atmosphere because it's a two-impulse maneuver, so you just need some extra fuel to compensate for the atmospheric drag you experience within the first two or three seconds (and an ablative shield to survive it), but overall, the idea isn't all that bad.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    42. Re:Hey don't worry by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1
      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    43. Re:Hey don't worry by itzly · · Score: 1

      Give it another hundred years and the solar system will indeed be crawling with private robots

      Private robots suggest there's profit to be made, which is rather far fetched.

    44. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      a supergun will be the way to go

      I'm sure the idea will be popular in the US. You could fund it with NRA sponsorship.

      Don't forget the legal defense: "I was standing my ground against all that dark matter!"

    45. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What annoys me a bit, though, is that I'm probably born too early to be able to download my consciousness into a machine during my lifetime, so I won't see what the future brings. :(

      Don't worry, once your brain dies, so does your consciousness. Even if you could "copy" your consciousness into a machine just before your physical body died, you would still cease to exist upon death. All that would be left is an echo, a simulacrum of what you used to be, not a continuation of your self. Pleasant dreams, Mr. Kurzweil!

    46. Re:Hey don't worry by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Depends on the amounts of Delta-V you need. That's a bulk solution - high fixed cost, but can scale up almost indefinitely on the cheap. Not really what we're working with currently - lots of gravity assists, decades-long missions, budget cropped to the minimum. If you need a ton of stuff transported to the Moon, that's a very bad solution - plain chemical rocket will be better. If you want a regular route between the Asteroid Belt and Earth, transferring 500 tons in either direction, chemical, ion etc don't nearly scale up this nicely. Bringing the reactor to the orbit would be very costly, but once there it could operate at marginal cost for a long time producing a lot of delta-V on the cheap as long as you can just supply water.

      Think of it as a truck engine. If you're going to a grocery store at the corner (orbit), you walk there, or take a bicycle, because using a truck would be ridiculously expensive. Now if you need to move a truckload of raw materials 100 miles (outer planets), walking or bicycle will be a poorer choice than renting a truck - and cost more summarily, in food and accomodations along the way. Currently if we want to travel that 100 miles, what we do is walking + hitchiking (gravity assists) which is cheap, takes time, doesn't let you to take a lot of cargo and gets you weathered from all the time you spent traveling (old equipment fails).

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    47. Re:Hey don't worry by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      You're giving too little credit to human curiosity.

      Our skies are nearly crawling with privately-owned drones and very few of them are flown for profit.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    48. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And people clinging to half-century old space propaganda aren't?

      Most of the time, of yes. Being wrong or holding silly beliefs doesn't make you obsessive if you can function normally on a social level, and not do stupid stuff like trying to turn every discussion in to a talk about the same self-centered issues. Considering how often posts get made to stories of computer hardware about how wrong space nutters are, this person(s) has much more obsession with space considering they need to discuss it regardless of the topic at hand.

    49. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nobody's accusing you of being wrong (except the space nutters).

      No, he's being accused of being wrong too, even by those of us that view manned space travel as a boondoggle and think his ramblings do more to convince people otherwise half the time. When making statements that make that amount to saying the Apollo program was impossible or that there is no need for satellites around Earth, it is more about blind obsession than any concern for actual facts.

    50. Re:Hey don't worry by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Evolution is still happening. There was no humanity a million years ago, and there won't be one in another million.

      We have dogs, but wolves still exist. We have "homo sapiens", but neanderthals still exist (just watch Jerry Springer for proof). Coelacanths are still swimming around, when they were believed to have gone extinct 66 million years ago.

      Who's to say that whatever is next along the evolutionary line might not want to keep us around, both as a genetic reservoir, and because we're interesting?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    51. Re:Hey don't worry by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      What annoys me a bit, though, is that I'm probably born too early to be able to download my consciousness into a machine during my lifetime, so I won't see what the future brings. :(

      Don't worry, once your brain dies, so does your consciousness. Even if you could "copy" your consciousness into a machine just before your physical body died, you would still cease to exist upon death. All that would be left is an echo, a simulacrum of what you used to be, not a continuation of your self.

      I think a lot of people would be willing to settle for that, when compared to the alternative. Besides, your "self-aware persona" isn't in continuous existence from the day you were born until the day you die. People fall asleep all the time. We just take these interruptions in our existence as normal.

      Who you are is in constant flux - you're not exactly the same person you were yeterday, never mind 10 years ago, or when you were a kid. The alternative would be a "50 First Dates" existence.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    52. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chopping off your balls might do that. Know anyone like that?

    53. Re:Hey don't worry by itzly · · Score: 1

      Sounds great, except for the fact that we don't have any need for transferring 500 tons to and from the asteroid belt.

    54. Re:Hey don't worry by itzly · · Score: 1

      Are you suggesting that in the next century, people have enough disposable income that they'll fly interplanetary probes for a hobby ?

    55. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's the best car analogy I've read in a long time. Thanks!

    56. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep. Think how much weight you save with the smaller tankage.

    57. Re:Hey don't worry by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 1

      You actually want to put it on the highest mountain you can find, since that gives you less air to fly through, and therefore less drag loss.

    58. Re:Hey don't worry by zippthorne · · Score: 2

      With the gun club and United States references, surely he was referring to well-known Bad SF.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    59. Re:Hey don't worry by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 1

      Space is already a $300 billion/year industry. Just servicing and fueling GEO commsats would be worth billions a year. That's enough to finance mining and repair stations in orbit.

    60. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Suck my balls. My script got me this first post:

      http://news.slashdot.org/comme...

      It was well worth the fifteen minutes spent.

    61. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "being so OCD"???? Suck my balls. My script got me this first post:

      http://news.slashdot.org/comme...

      I had fun doing it. I've spent 15 minutes doing worse things than that.

    62. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hilarious, the scientific method from someone pushing the most unscientific crap possible.

      Challenge: find something wrong here
      http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the...

    63. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I did one just for you! Customized with your UID and stuff!!!

      http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...

      I should have added extra line breaks to the paragraphs, but next time :)

      You wanted trolling? I got your trolling! How you like me now?

    64. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean GEO satellites not designed to be serviced or fueled? Brilliant! Let's get right on that!

      Mine *what* in what orbit? What are you talking about? It's like you take for granted several impossibilities before getting to your tired old space clichés.

      They're never gonna happen, you realize that, yes?

      So sorry, the OP was talking about the Solar System, yet what you call "space" is just GEO.

      As usual, you Nutters can't keep your facts straight. Lies, damned lies, and space baloney.

    65. Re: Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The lulz are a good incentive. (See your Jerry example)

    66. Re:Hey don't worry by Askmum · · Score: 1

      The Rosetta mission cost 1.8 billion US$. So you only need to find 66 grams of Californium 252 to get your money's worth. But that element has a relatively short half life time, so I doubt you'll find that much in a comet.
      I wouldn't get my hopes up.

    67. Re:Hey don't worry by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      There's benefits and costs to that idea. Yes, you get up to about a second less of high-drag regime, but you're paying for it with inability to control azimuth, elevation, and launch site. The people who did the numbers probably concluded that sea would be better for a number of reasons, including sonic conditions around the site. (Firing heavy hypersonic projectiles out of a barrel can't possible make your neighbors happy.)

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    68. Re:Hey don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're right; Earth has all the resources we will EVER need.

    69. Re:Hey don't worry by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      ...yet.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    70. Re:Hey don't worry by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Yes. Cubesats are currently within most university space enthusiasts clubs budget now, and launched in such number thae ISS got a launcher/gun for them installed to streamline the process. I can easily see small probes going that way once cost per kg out of Earth gravity well gets on par with current cost per kg to LEO.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  2. ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think we're all more interested in the shirt drama than any of this science stuff!

    1. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm blissfully unaware. Clue me in?

    2. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      http://lmgtfy.com/?q=shirtstorm

    3. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah, only the social justice warrior hypocrite trolls and their mangina supplicants.

    4. Re:ShirtStorm by weilawei · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Holy shiitake. How could anyone possibly imagine that might be okay in a professional context? Wear it at home or to the beach... but that ain't a work shirt.

    5. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you been to Europe?

    6. Re:ShirtStorm by weilawei · · Score: 0

      Indeed. I spent a large chunk of my childhood living in Germany. Billboards with naked women and such. But your own shirt? Is that the image you want to advertise for yourself? (I mean, I guess if you're a pimp...)

    7. Re:ShirtStorm by ihtoit · · Score: 0

      can't be any worse than the BBC which has a statue of a naked boy standing in front of a priest above the main entrance to its London headquarters:

      https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/...

      That is NOT photoshopped.

      These are the fuckers who're out "protecting" our children?

      Oh, these would be the same ones who covered up Jimmy Savile's vile deeds?

      These would be the same ones who employed Esther Rantzen for years, who is not only founder of Childline and patron of the NSPCC, she was also very chummy with Savile.

      I don't need to draw you a fucking picture here, it draws itself.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    8. Re:ShirtStorm by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

      wow, and the flute...that makes it even worse. Quite phallic! Only way for that to be worse is if the title of the statue was "The Skin Flute" or something

    9. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah, only the social justice warrior hypocrite trolls and their mangina supplicants.

      Oh, is that what SJW stands for? I thought it stood for Slack-Jawed Whores, as it would explain why the drooling morons apparently not only don't care about landing on comets, they don't appear to know what a comet is.

    10. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      He's a scientist who can land a robot on a comet 10 years and 500 million kilometers away (well, it's a team effort, but anyway.) His girlfriend made him this shirt for his birthday. He gets to wear his lucky shirt on the day of the landing, capiche? There are still places where doing a good job is more important than looking the part, whatever that means. Need I remind you that the "computer people" didn't/don't look very reputable to business folk either?

    11. Re:ShirtStorm by camperdave · · Score: 2

      Nakedness is an artistic symbol for innocence, and the BBC doesn't protect anyone from anything. It is a broadcasting company, nothing more.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    12. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not that I agree with wearing a shirt like that to work, but it appears a woman tattoo artist made it for him.
      https://twitter.com/ellypriZeMaN

      The tattoo shop has a picture of him in it.
      https://twitter.com/eternalartessex

    13. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      He's a scientist with a doctorate in physics. How shallow do you have to be to make a grown man cry and apologize for wearing a shirt that his girlfriend made for him? You fucking bastards! If you could do half as much science in your politically correct, dress-code compliant uniform as that man, you'd realize how destructive your comments about his appearance are. But you wouldn't spend years of your life working to design science experiments in obscurity. Otherwise you wouldn't put someone down on the day all that work comes to fruition. The people who take offense at that shirt are a disgrace to humanity. Get your priorities in order, embrace diversity and have some decency, for heaven's sake. Don't shit on a someone's work because of the way they dress! You'd think of all people geeks would understand the concept.

    14. Re:ShirtStorm by real_b0fh · · Score: 1

      amen to that.

      this world as it is today is a complete disgrace. idiocracy at its finest.

      --
      "Contrary to popular belief, UNIX is user friendly. It just happens to be selective on who it makes friendship with"
    15. Re:ShirtStorm by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 3

      Worse: the guy is probably going to face some flak from his superiors over this. His bosses and coworkers probably didn't think much about his shirt, if they even noticed it: it looks more like tattoo art than "pin up girls" and calling it "mysogenic" as one newspaper did is a bit silly. But now that the press is all over it, they can't let it slide. I don't know what is worse: people looking at everything with a magnifying glass so they can find something to feel offended by, or the people who take the "perennially offended" seriously.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    16. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Worse: the guy is probably going to face some flak from his superiors over this. His bosses and coworkers probably didn't think much about his shirt, if they even noticed it: it looks more like tattoo art than "pin up girls" and calling it "mysogenic" as one newspaper did is a bit silly. But now that the press is all over it, they can't let it slide. I don't know what is worse: people looking at everything with a magnifying glass so they can find something to feel offended by, or the people who take the "perennially offended" seriously.

      Thank you. You've summed up quite nicely the two sides of the issue with PC today.

      As a matter of fact, I've been working with Personal Computers for a very long time. I'm rather offended by the term "PC" being used in other ways. 'Scuse me while I contact my attorney now and prepare the lawsuit papers...

    17. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The BBC is a quango funded by a poll tax on TV reception equipment and run by our political elite, not a company.

    18. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I sincerely hope he doesn't. At least from the looks of it, it appears that his colleagues have his back. Words still fail to express how angry it makes me that he's in trouble. Nobody talks about the politicians who brought nothing but platitudes to the table on the most important day of a decade-long scientific project, but when there's an enthusiastic guy who actually knows his stuff and talks science, all everybody notices is his shirt (which matches the style of his extensive tattoos by the way.) Pearls before swine.

    19. Re:ShirtStorm by PopeRatzo · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      He's a scientist with a doctorate in physics.

      That and $2 gets you a bus ride.

      He might be a little bit of an attention whore too. Dude's got full-sleeve tattoos on both arms. Probably a Prince Albert on his junk. He thinks rules don't apply to him. On his big day in the media he decides to make it all about himself.

      You ever see pictures of the guys who landed a team of astronauts on the moon almost half a century ago? They all wore white shirts and ties and you could barely tell them apart. Because they weren't hipsters narcissists. It was about TEAM, not getting 15 minutes of TMZ fame and making your colleagues look bad. .

      By the way, women have been tweeting some pretty funny images of equivalent pictures of scantily-dressed and over-sexualized men that if those were worn by female scientists would have had some of you shitting all over the floor in fury. They're about the same as this now-famous pic of what it would look like if male characters' costumes for video games were designed the same way as women characters'.

      Here you go: It's sort of NSFW, in the same way Euro-rocket hipster douchebag's shirt was NSFW: https://i.imgur.com/ofjksF0.jp...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    20. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You ever see pictures of the guys who landed a team of astronauts on the moon almost half a century ago? They all wore white shirts and ties and you could barely tell them apart.

      These guys? Has it eluded you that those were all white men? (Actually there is a woman in that picture, but you get the point.) Would you rather have the 60s back or can you abstract from outward appearance and value people for the science they do? I find it appalling that you consider full-sleeve tattoos a bigger deal than a doctorate in physics.

    21. Re:ShirtStorm by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      This illustrates why real space programs, especially those which involve serious risk to human life, are going to have to go private. Any governmental program is bound to get pecked to death by Luddites on one side and agenda-driven single issue warriors like the Shirtstorm crowd. The more global elite billionaires responsible to nothing and no one who get involved in space, the better off we will be.

      And how will we measure success? As soon as we start to hear yammering along the lines of "Musk is strip-mining the Moon!" That's when.

    22. Re:ShirtStorm by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      mysogenic

      What have mushrooms got to do with it?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    23. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eat shit and die. You are worthless scum and will not be missed.

    24. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're thinking of "myco".

    25. Re:ShirtStorm by jcr · · Score: 1

      I heartily invite you to go fuck yourself. Your approval of his attire is neither sought nor required.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    26. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If only they were slack-jawed. No, they won't shut the fuck up about any of this garbage. It is fun to see the same SJWs that are attacking gamers getting up and arms about a shirt, though. It kind of gives you perspective on just how god-damned meaningless their lives are that they'd get worked up about things like video games where you "save the princess" and the shirt a scientist was wearing.

      Then you realize that the scientist in question was forced to apologize for his choice in "shirts given to him by his girlfriend" and you start to realize that maybe, despite being utterly worthless pieces of human shit, SJWs are actually harming people. I can only hope that the majority of people wake up to just how dangerous and toxic these SJWs really are.

    27. Re:ShirtStorm by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 1

      Those who think that images of women in lingerie are degrading need to visit a therapist. Female sexuality is not degrading.

      The shirt is unprofessional. Sexuality is an awkward subject, and bringing it up in the workplace is delicate. Not a subject for t-shirts.

      But holy crap I love the response shirt: https://twitter.com/SMLXist/status/532928903778934784/photo/1

    28. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That and $2 gets you a bus ride.

      I didn't know that a doctorate in physics got you a discounted bus fare!

      now-famous pic of what it would look like if male characters' costumes for video games were designed the same way as women characters'

      That is hilarious! I hope he has some sort of special dick attack move! I'm trying as hard as I can, but I can't imagine being even slightly offended if male characters were portrayed that way in video games.

      Heh. Captcha: cucumber

    29. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably a Prince Albert on his junk. He thinks rules don't apply to him. On his big day in the media he decides to make it all about himself.

      Projecting a bit? Because stuff in your pants or under your sleeves is about breaking rules at work so people will notice you?

    30. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ha the women had that sought of thing all over the office diet coke men in very little , footballers etc . They just said it was a bit of fun and called anyone who complained a kill joy.

    31. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The British Broadcasting Corporation is a statutory corporation publicly owned by Her Majesty's Government.

    32. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yep because jcr obliges public stupidity. wait until you see my awesome shirt of pedophiles on your children. you'll love it!

    33. Re:ShirtStorm by weilawei · · Score: 1

      I think I probably should've chosen different words to state that. I'm not against how a person represents themselves--but when you act as part of a team, you represent the team. Does an athlete show up in attire of their own choosing, or that which their sponsors/team settles on collectively?

      You're free to express yourself however you like. I'm not going to stop you. And you're free to tell me to fuck off. I just think that it's in poor taste to advertise the team that way, because it isn't representative of the team (only one person). What you do on your own time, as a representative of your own views, is your problem. Do whatever you like. Go naked. I don't care. I'm not a prude. But if someone pays me money to represent their interests, it typically comes with the expectation that I won't be promoting my own agenda in a way that overshadows theirs.

      Alright, go ahead. Keep modding everything I say as Troll. (The redefinition of that is obnoxious too, but c'est la vie.)

    34. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK but think about the children! or some other shit stupid muricans thought out to keep themselves busy.

    35. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By the way, women have been tweeting some pretty funny images of equivalent pictures of scantily-dressed and over-sexualized men that if those were worn by female scientists would have had some of you shitting all over the floor in fury. They're about the same as this now-famous pic of what it would look like if male characters' costumes for video games were designed the same way as women characters'.

      I don't think guys tend to react in fury when objectified or sexualized. I'd even go so far to say we'd be happy about that. If I saw a scientist chick on TV with scantily clad men on her shirt, I wouldn't be offended at all. I'd want to bang her.

      "Treat others as you want to be treated" doesn't work very well when it comes to sexuality. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus.

    36. Re:ShirtStorm by tloh · · Score: 1

      You're not wrong. But Please! Get over it people! Your teachers lied. Santa Claus isn't real. Your parents had sex. Your children will have sex. Let's just get our heads out of our asses and be grown ups about this. Space exploration and science literacy has nothing to do with dubious fashion sense. Why don't I see outrage over the fact that Kim Kardashian doesn't know her amino acids from her Armani hand bags or whatever.

      --
      Stay sentient. Don't drink bad milk.
    37. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fockityfock is this nonsense?? Internet, the place where common sense is overtaken by

      1) sickeningly reinforced feelings of self-righteousness,
      2) tendency to break violent unnecessary shit storms,
      3) over-sensitive knee-jerking based on vague feelings of paranoid controversy, and
      4) out-of-proportion social activism among social media hipstersphere

      If the Internet really is bringing human intelligence to an aggregated collective consciousness, we are doomed.

    38. Re:ShirtStorm by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 1

      > Santa Claus isn't real.

      Saint Nicholas of Myra is quite real. His bones are buried in two places in Italy (long story). He's the original whose story and image have been mutated over the centuries. The modern mall Santa image comes from Clement Clark Moore's poem, the Saturday Evening Post, and Coca Cola (http://www.arts-stew.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/1936-Vintage-Coca-Cola-Christmas-Ad.jpg). The modern version incorporates no small amount of pagan imagery.

    39. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not familiar with this or this site but was searching around and stumbled across this. No offense, but i wouldnt want this guy representing us if they actually _found_ somebody up there. You nor i have any idea what any type of life out there may be offended or not by this guys shirt. I just dont think he is a good scientist or ambassador to such type of mission.

    40. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And if anyone needs any evidence of the deranged thought patterns of Space Nutters, here it is.

      Holy Sweet Moses I can feel the heat of his schizoid Randian delusions through my monitor!

    41. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right, silly me, trying to have a conversation with someone about something. I should just go to Google whenever I want to have a conversation with someone

      Asshole.

    42. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it had been a women actually dressed like the women on his shirt, they'd be calling her brave and any criticism slut-shaming. It's just bullies and hypocrites being bullies and hypocrites and calling it social justice.

    43. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, if even those tattooed hoodlums and neon-haired floozies would stop being attention whores; there's no other conceivable reason why they would choose to dress/style themselves that way than for our enjoyment. It's like a woman wearing a revealing top; why else would she wear it but to attract attention and lead people on?

    44. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You ever see pictures of the guys who landed a team of astronauts on the moon almost half a century ago? They all wore white shirts and ties and you could barely tell them apart.

      Yeah. They were all white males. Come to think of it, they still pretty much are, aren't they?

    45. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "When the finger points at the stars, the imbecile looks at the finger."
      - Chinese proverb.

    46. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See the comment by weilawei: Holy shiitake. Please stay on topic.

    47. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if the man is geek who meant no harm? What if his girlfriend made him wear it?

      http://www.stemwomen.net/astronomy-sexism-rosetta-shirtstorm/

    48. Re:ShirtStorm by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      And if a woman scientist on this project had worn a revealing shirt with a picture of a guy with a big boner on it, all you 8chan betas would be howling about how she was an attention whore trying to grab 15 minutes of fame.

      Sure, the guy wore his shirt because that's his privilege. His male privilege. His WHITE male privilege.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    49. Re:ShirtStorm by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Because stuff in your pants or under your sleeves is about breaking rules at work so people will notice you?

      It wasn't "under his sleeves". He wore clothes to make sure it was visible.

      And I don't know where you work, but there is no workplace anywhere that doesn't serve alcohol that would allow a shirt like that. Because it's creepy.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    50. Re:ShirtStorm by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      They know what to say to be accepted on the team. Of course women are going to say that. Because if they didn't, they'd end up getting harassed out of their profession.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    51. Re:ShirtStorm by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      I don't think guys tend to react in fury when objectified or sexualized.

      You must not be following the gamergate kerfuffle.

      Men are from Mars, women are from Venus.

      Actually, since neither of those planets is habitable by humans, no, they are not.

      They're both from right here on Earth, and one of those groups has been standing on the necks of the other for a long long time.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    52. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look, if it upsets you that much, post your address and I'll be glad to mail you a hankie. A nice pink one to go with your politics.

    53. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If we're so fucking equal, how did one of us end up standing on the necks of the other?

      The only people who believe in equality are those who are decidedly inferior.

    54. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I don't know where you work, but there is no workplace anywhere that doesn't serve alcohol that would allow a shirt like that. Because it's creepy.

      I've worked in multiple research labs and consulted at several companies that would be just fine with clothing like that, and have seen worse on jobs. Sometimes it is just in blue-collar areas of the business, sometimes it is the whole business, sometimes everyone is wearing a tie. Some places thinks clothes affect your performance heavily, others don't care as long as you perform your job and coworkers' concerns are respected. The latter results in even places nudists can find work, although they will put on clothes when customers (or consultants) come by.

    55. Re:ShirtStorm by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      I've worked in multiple research labs and consulted at several companies that would be just fine with clothing like that, and have seen worse on jobs. Sometimes it is just in blue-collar areas of the business, sometimes it is the whole business, sometimes everyone is wearing a tie. Some places thinks clothes affect your performance heavily, others don't care as long as you perform your job and coworkers' concerns are respected. The latter results in even places nudists can find work, although they will put on clothes when customers (or consultants) come by.

      How about on the one day in the person's career when he is absolutely certain to be all over the media? You think it would be acceptable then?

      In the "multiple research labs" where you worked, if you were to be presenting your findings to the worldwide media, do you think it would acceptable to management for you to wear those clothes on that day? Is that how much respect you have for the places that have employed you?

      Ah, the bro in full....mansplaining how it's no problem for you to wear offensive clothing because shut up you feminists. I've got a goddamn PhD and I'll wear what I please.

      And then people wonder why there are so few women in STEM. It couldn't possibly be because of the preponderance of total a-holes in those fields, now could it? A woman going into any of those areas has to either get on board and learn to be OK with a locker-room mentality or GTFO. Right?

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    56. Re:ShirtStorm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are so few women in STEM for the simple reason there are so few women that can cut it, and most of the ones who are in it are affirmative action hires. Riddle me this - if we're all so fucking equal, why don't the women start their own fucking STEM companies where they don't have to be bothered with fucking men?

      Ever notice that "equality" always means white males being "inclusive" with institutions that they built, never the other way around? I wonder why that is, don't you? Maybe because white males are the only ones building institutions worth being "included" in?

      If women don't feel comfortable in situations that were designed by and for men, then yes, they're welcome to GTFO. Civilization has done quite nicely for itself for thousands of years without them butting in to male dominated spaces.

      Can you name a single technologically advanced matriarchy in history? C'mon, just one! If we're all so fucking equal, that one should be a no-brainier.

  3. We may hear from Philae later by AbrasiveCat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    While the main battery is nearly depleted and at this point there is not enough solar power striking the solar panels to boot it back up, as the comet approaches the sun the light intensity should go up. We can hope that the existing conditions provide enough power to prevent damage to the landers electronics. Then as the comet approaches the sun and the comet either changes origination to provide more light or just Philae get more intense light it may rise again. That would be grand!

    1. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Zordak · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Of course, the comet will also start shooting off monster steam blasts, which could easily blast Philae off at escape velocity. The next Twitter update from Philae could be "I'm Lost in Space!"

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    2. Re:We may hear from Philae later by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Is it really "monster steam blasts"?

      At what point from the sun do we normally see them?

      What I mean is that melting ice on the earth isn't really a "monster steam blast", but sure it generate steam ..

      Then again I guess it can lose grip if enough is melted away too.

    3. Re:We may hear from Philae later by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

      heck, just the comet shaking BEFORE it starts out-gassing might send Philae off. A human there could easily punt Philae off the surface way over escape velocity. Luckily Rosetta will see that happening pretty quickly; but your probably right it will get shaken off before it can recharge much. Maybe if it can recharge a bit first they can actually fire the harpoons. ARG, A HUMP LIKE A SNOWHILL! IT'S COMET 67P!

    4. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      The density of particles around the comet should go up too. You don't get much sunlight in a dust-storm. Not to mention it's not very good for the solar panels. While it's good to be hopeful I personally believe that Philae's mission is over.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    5. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      I wonder if you could kick it back into Earth orbit. That would be cool.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    6. Re:We may hear from Philae later by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Philae has the same orbital parameters as the comet. it would take quite a lot of delta-v to convert that orbit to orbitting the Earth. After all, it took ten years and four planetary slingshots in order to get it there in the first place.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    7. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Especially when escape velocity on a comet is a white guy's jump.

    8. Re:We may hear from Philae later by ByteSlicer · · Score: 1

      Of course, the comet will also start shooting off monster steam blasts, which could easily blast Philae off at escape velocity.

      Only in Hollywood movies.

      Meanwhile they asked this question to the ESA people (watch the press conference), and it turns out that (1) the expected mass emissions of the comet are not that large, so no monster blasts, and (2) the lander is still pretty massive (about a metric tonne) so it has a large inertia, and will be hard to move by the escaping gas. In summary, they didn't expect it to go anywhere soon (unless it got hit by a meteoroid).

    9. Re:We may hear from Philae later by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Considering Philae weights almost 100kg (which is not its gravity mass but its inert mass) the blasts may actually push it out of the hole it fell into, and then it may land back, at a better spot. It's not like they happen all over the comet - they are quite localized.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    10. Re:We may hear from Philae later by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Generally we see them whenever the comet is near the sun - as the "comet tail" - you know, the distinguishing feature of comets that sets them apart from asteroids?

      And melting ice on Earth happens in ~1bar atmospheric pressure. Meaning water is liquified instead of vaporized, and presence of air limits the range of any steam blast to several meters at most, while in vacuum a "steam tail" may run for many kilometers with no atmosphere to disrupt it.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    11. Re:We may hear from Philae later by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Nope.
      A human could -push- it over escape velocity. With a good shove.
      Philae is still 100kg of inert mass so kicking it will either injure your foot or break the panels. OTOH its weight is around 10g, and the escape speed is some 0.8m/s, so propelling it to escape speed really doesn't require much work.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    12. Re:We may hear from Philae later by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Since the comet crosses Earth orbit, yes, with enough luck you could *crash* Philae into Earth without all that much delta-V. Now to *land* it...

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    13. Re:We may hear from Philae later by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      You got the mass an order of magnitude too big. It's a little under 100kg. And while a *blast* is unlikely to do anything, a continuous push, even very weak, can move it. You need only around 1N of force to get Philae to move up against the gravity; even less in horizontal direction.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    14. Re:We may hear from Philae later by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      he lander is still pretty massive (about a metric tonne)

      You're off by an order of magnitude. The lander is still pretty massive (about a metric tonne)

      The lander has a mass of 97.9 kg. That's 215.8 pounds.

      Escape velocity is about 3 feet a second, or 2.2 mph. That's not even a brisk walk, so if there were a human in a spacesuit hanging around, they could get it (and themselves) up to escape velocity if they could avoid first sending themselves (and the probe) into orbit instead.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    15. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      67P's perihelion is ~1.25 AU, it doesn't cross Earth's orbit currently.

    16. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering Philae weights almost 100kg (which is not its gravity mass but its inert mass)

      Gravitational mass = inertial mass in current theories and to as best as we can tell in measurements. It doesn't weigh 100 kg currently, it has a mass of 100 kg. If you just used the right terminology, you wouldn't both need the parenthetical note and be conveying things in a way that would get you intro in freshman physics.

    17. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      It's a lot easier to get back from the comet than to get to it. The escape velocity of the comet is not exactly that great. The rest would be simply a matter of timing. A stable orbit would be impossible, but given the right time and angle I'm pretty sure you could at least loop it around the Earth, cause it to re-enter the atmosphere or if you're really good get it into an unstable highly elliptical orbit that would rapidly decay. And it would be cool! GO KERBALS!

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    18. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Kevin+Fishburne · · Score: 1

      That's what I was thinking too, until I realized someone would have to go up there and hit the power button to bring it out of hibernate. Dammit.

      --
      Buy your next Linux PC at eightvirtues.com
    19. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I heard your penis is off by an order of magnitude too, Tom.

      Incidentally, being a dickgirl and claiming to be straight in the same breath? COMEDY FUCKING GOLD! . . . You're a man who either tucks it in or has had his surgery scar crudely fashioned into a fake meat pocket. . . .

      With me so far? So you're a guy. A guy with a fake vagina maybe, or a guy like the nutter from Silence of the Lambs, whatever. . . .

      . . . .

      Either way you look at it, you're about as straight as a sideroad in fucking Italy. . . . You're a man. A man with a serious illness between the earholes.

      You're a living, walking lie to yourself and the world...and it's fucking HILARIOUS. . . .

      Well, I'm glad you finally got that one off your chest. Feel better now? Or do we need to get you and "Barbara" together for an intervention?

    20. Re:We may hear from Philae later by camperdave · · Score: 1

      It's not escaping from the comet that's the difficult part. It's the slowing down enough to enter Earth's orbit. First, Philae is already travelling well beyond Earth's escape velocity, so you've got to slow down a lot before you get anywhere near to an orbit; and Philae and the comet are only going to get faster as the days and weeks to perihelion tick by. Even at Aphelion the comet is travelling at half of Earth's escape velocity. Second, Philae has no heat shield, so you're not going to be able to knock off any serious amount of speed through aerobraking. Third, Philae has only one thruster, which can be fired once only and only at full strength (and that thruster has already failed). Fourth, even if you could somehow remotely fix the thruster, Philae can only orient itself in one plane. So, you only have one chance at a course correction. Fifth, 67P (and Philae with it) doesn't get close enough to the Earth to do any appreciable gravity assist manoevres (the closest it gets is halfway between Mars and Earth). Finally, and most importantly, Philae has no way of launching itself, so its going to have to rely on a violent outgassing, which only happens near perihelion.

      So, Philae would have to be blasted off of 67P by a random yet serendipitous outgassing that throws it clear of the comet, without destroying it, at an attitude that the single reaction wheel can compensate for, on the off chance that the previously malfunctioning thruster can somehow push it on a perfect course of multiple Jupiter/Mars flybys that would cut the lander's speed in half, allowing it to settle into an orbit around Earth. The odds against it are, if you'll pardon the pun, astronomical.

      The only way Philae will see Earth again, barring some future trophy hunting space jockey, is as a harbinger of 67P's crash into the planet.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    21. Re:We may hear from Philae later by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Or a very lucky/well timed aerobraking maneuver...

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    22. Re:We may hear from Philae later by camperdave · · Score: 1

      You have a far better chance of winning the top prize in every major state lottery for the next ten years.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    23. Re:We may hear from Philae later by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Yeah s*.

      But the point was how near to the sun do they have to be? And are they really having "monster steam blasts" - whatever that is, explosions? - or is it just melting away on the surface?

      Thank you for the pressure part though. So it's vaporized at a lower temperature too (?)
      Guess that explain why one see the trails at what I thought might had been a pretty far distance from the sun.

      That make it harder for me to have any idea for how violently it may "boil off" relative a surface temperature too.

      I have no idea how the surface will be behaving at different times really =P

    24. Re:We may hear from Philae later by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Yes, the comet's perihelion is about 1.3AU so not much farther than Earth's orbit (and so Earth surface heat input), and yes, ice melting temperature drops significantly with pressure. As for what forms the emission takes, this is one of the huge questions Rosetta is suppoed to answer - we've never observed a comet from near enough to see how exactly the melting process works. In one hand, the chance that they will be explosive is quite low (though non-zero, under-rock ice pockets heating up and accumulated steam blasting its way out), on the other hand Philae weighs about 1 gram while on Chury, and its size is around 1 cubic meter. That's about the parameters of 1m^3 sized soap bubble when it comes to reacting to "wind". So the emission doesn't have to be anywhere near to explosive; even mild zephyr from under the surface can move the lander.

      Since we still don't know about the character of the emissions from the comet, we can only guess whether the point when Philae heats up enough to starts charging its batteries happens before or after the comet produces enough steam to blow it away.

      Of course, had the harpoons deployed, that would be moot. Currently the outlook isn't too good. Philae is in a hole, which can channel the steam into a stream. Plus its systems could have been damaged by extreme cold, plus even the intensified sun input may be insufficient, plus the 'seasonal shift' of shadows can (though is unlikely) to worsen the shadow conditions... Still - until the comet actually begins emitting steam and we see how it does it, we have really no clue what's going to happen.

      Check this nice graph for water behavior in different pressures.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  4. Amino acid data? by rfengr · · Score: 1

    So did they collect the data that tests for chiral amino acids? I assume that would be the mass spec?

    1. Re:Amino acid data? by pjt33 · · Score: 1

      I think it's the gas chromatograph rather than the mass spectrometer (surely chirality doesn't measurably affect the mass of a molecule?), but they're built in to the same instrument, COSAC. This abstract sounds like a chromatograph to me.

  5. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It does seem like #shirtstorm has gotten more press than @Philae2014.

  6. Sleep well, sweet dreams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What does a robot lander dream of, I wonder?

    1. Re:Sleep well, sweet dreams by DrJimbo · · Score: 2

      Electric Sleep?

      --
      We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.
      -- Anais Nin
    2. Re:Sleep well, sweet dreams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Electric Bleep.

  7. the latest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    @esaoperations Lander now performing 'lift & turn' of the main body on the landing gear - will last about 10 mins. telecomm link is good #CometLanding

    @esaoperations The @Philae2014 Lander has switched to stand by due to low power. All instruments off. Comm link still active #cometlanding

    1. Re:the latest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      @esaoperations Mission team at #esoc watching closely as science data flow from @Philae2014 #cometlanding pic.twitter.com/ZiqUHILelY

    2. Re:the latest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      @esaoperations Science from an alien world: #COSAC instrument data among info now flowing from @Philae2014 #cometlanding pic.twitter.com/s7aBNAaaUq

  8. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Beck_Neard · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I had to google "shirtstorm" to see what you're talking about... holy shit there is no hope left for society

    --
    A fool and his hard drive are soon parted.
  9. "Yeah, but fuck science... by Rinikusu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because the scientists wear shirts featuring pin-up girls!"

    --
    If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
    1. Re:"Yeah, but fuck science... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      ...designed by women!

    2. Re:"Yeah, but fuck science... by Skidborg · · Score: 0

      Just because a member of a demographic creates something doesn't mean that the rest of the demographic has to like it. It doesn't even mean that that thing is in the demographic's best interests.

      --
      Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
    3. Re:"Yeah, but fuck science... by itzly · · Score: 1

      Who cares what the rest of the demographic likes ?

    4. Re:"Yeah, but fuck science... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Neither does it mean that the "rest of the demographic" is seriously offended by that shirt and is agreeing with those feminists. Most sane people, with actual feminists among them, probably couldn't care less about such an insignificance.

      But yeah, science is dead! We need science+.

    5. Re:"Yeah, but fuck science... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who cares what the rest of the demographic likes ?

      Some stuffy asshole does. A real prick that gets offended by even the air around him. Goes by the name Politically Correct.

      Actually I can't tell if he's a man or a woman. Seems to change quite often, probably because someone got offended.

    6. Re:"Yeah, but fuck science... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is why SJW is a useful term, to separate the progressives from the despicable stealth regressives. Just remember, it's not 'social' as in 'society,' it's 'social' as in 'social media.'

  10. On the comet by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    The dark gray comet
    The Philae sleeps tonight
    woo-oo-OO-oo..

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:On the comet by sysrammer · · Score: 2

      Wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh

      On the comet, the mighty comet,
      the lander sleeps tonight.
      On the comet, the quiet comet,
      the lander sleeps tonight.

      woo-oo-OO-oo..

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  11. Re:Who cares about the lander? by dbIII · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Google suggests SJW is "social justice warrior" which is apparently used as an insult.
    Why do I have to learn this shit to follow things on a technical site instead of some far side of crazy teabagger site shoving politics in our faces?

  12. Everything we knew about comets is wrong by dbIII · · Score: 2

    Of course, the comet will also start shooting off monster steam blasts

    Only if comets are balls of ice, like we used to think. Shooting off monster blasts of vaporized rock needs a lot more heat, so there's probably a chance to charge up the batteries before then :)

    1. Re:Everything we knew about comets is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Large amounts of outgassing water was observed by the orbiter already, so there is quite a bit of ice still involved. That said, this comet doesn't get closer than an AU to the Sun, so rapid, localized outgassing is not expected.

    2. Re:Everything we knew about comets is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It needs a lots more heat and Bruce Willis with a small bomb.
       

  13. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by NoKaOi · · Score: 2

    This may be the end of Philae’s short and trailblazing mission on the surface of Comet 67P, but a huge amount of data — including data from a drilling operation that, apparently, was carried out despite concerns that Philae wasn’t positioned correctly — was streamed to Rosetta mission control, potentially revolutionizing our understanding about the nature of comets.

    And Rosetta will continue orbiting its comet as 67P drops closer to the sun, providing us with a unique and historic perspective on an icy body that could hold the secrets to the formation of our solar system.

    I'm sorry, where does it say that the mission was a failure?

  14. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Kyusaku+Natsume · · Score: 3, Funny

    "No country for young men"

    How much ado about nothing. This ladies will go insane at the hentai floors of the bookstores at Akihabara, and then buy a truckload of boylove manga.

    --
    Mexico: 100% conservative's America now!
  15. LA Time article by SternisheFan · · Score: 4, Informative
    From http://www.latimes.com/science...

    Fifty-six hours after landing on the surface of a comet, Philae sent one more round of data about its new home across 310 million miles of space. Then, its power went out.

    "@Rosetta, I'm feeling a bit tired, did you get all my data? I might take a nap..." read a message on the @philae2014 Twitter feed.

    The Rosetta mission's twitter response: "You've done a great job Philae, something no spacecraft has ever done before."

    All the experiments on board the lander had a chance to run and return information back to Earth. Philae's instruments scooped up material from the comet's surface, took its temperature, sent radio waves through its nucleus, and went hunting for hints of organic material. Cameras took the first panoramic images from the surface of a comet.

    It has been a whirlwind ride for the lander, which was dropped onto the surface of the mountain-sized comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Wednesday morning. Two harpoons that were designed to tether it to the surface failed to fire, and scientists say the lander made two bounces before becoming stable. The first bounce caused the lander to go one-third of a mile into the air.

    Friday morning, ESA officials expressed concern that the lander would not have enough battery power left to send back any more data from experiments it was conducting on its new, icy home.

    When Philae landed on the comet on Wednesday, it had enough battery power for about 60 hours of work. Scientists initially hoped that it would continue to operate on solar power, but the lander seemed to have settled in a hole on the comet, where it was surrounded by rock-like structures that block the sun.

    Stefan Ulamec, the lander manager from DLR, said the that one of the solar panels on the lander was getting about an hour and 20 minutes of sunlight a day. Two other panels got just 20 to 30 minutes a day, he said.

    At a news conference Friday morning before the last signal was received, Ulamec said it was possible that scientists would not hear from the lander again.

    "We are hoping to get contact again this evening, but it is not secured," he said. "Maybe the battery will be empty before it talks to us."

    Happily, that turned out not to be the case. On Friday evening, ESA reported that all the science experiments had been deployed, and that the lander had been rotated 35 degrees in an attempt to get more sun on one of its larger solar panels.

    There is a chance that as the comet flies closer to the sun, the increase in solar energy will allow ESA to communicate with Philae once again.

    ESA officials say the odds of that happening are small, but with Philae, the little lander that could, anything is possible.

  16. Sad by nmb3000 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When you stop and think about the fact that the Rosetta project was launched over ten years ago (something I didn't realize until recently), it's hard not to feel sorry for the scientists and others on the project.

    The statements the ESA is putting out have a positive spin on them (for multiple reasons, I'm sure), but at the end of the day this has got to be a pretty hard blow to the people personally invested in the project. After the effort required just to get it launched and a decade of waiting, it must be hard on them. Wish them the best of luck for a second chance when the comet nears the Sun.

    --
    "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
    /)
    1. Re:Sad by steelfood · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes and no. On one hand, it wasn't the perfect landing. On the other hand, they waited 10 years for a successful landing. And it happened. That's gotta count for something.

      Remember that ESA probe to Mars that died when it got there? These guys could've waited 10 years to find out that their probe crashed into the comet, or overshot it, or some other calamity befell the lander rendering it inoperative.

      Instead, they did their science, got their data, and have a chance at doing a bit more in the future. That they couldn't do more is unfortunate, but there's a reason they demarcated certain tasks as primary and put enough juice into the thing to complete all of them.

      The probability of abject failure was much higher than the probability of any success, even if imperfect. The fact that this was a partial success, and I would argue it's mostly a success, is worth something.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    2. Re:Sad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At the end of the day, when all is said and done, in the final analysis, after everything has been taken into consideration, with full hindsight, to sum up, in conclusion, on the whole, ultimately

      it was a success.

    3. Re: Sad by troon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Hey, it landed, did its science and lasted longer than the Soviet Venera landers on Venus, which were a resounding success â" lens caps asideâ¦

      --
      Ydco co ,df C erb-y go. a Ekrpat t.fxrapev
    4. Re:Sad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Imagine the scenario of a small chunk of metal landing on a spinning mass of rock, it's fascinating that it even managed to land in one piece. Sure, the timeframe was a little short but it has supplied photos and other information back. I find the fact it was even able to get close to the comet pretty satisfying.

    5. Re:Sad by jellomizer · · Score: 0

      There tends to be a commonality with Europeans to ignore problems of their own. If this was an American project, they will be in full flame on stating how this mission was a complete failure.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    6. Re:Sad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's hard not to feel sorry for the scientists and others on the project.

      Don't be. They themselves think the mission is a huge success. Only the media (and you) are focusing on what didn't go perfectly.

      It would have been great if the lander could have gone on an extended mission, but there never even was a guarantee that the landing would work in the first place.

      Not only did they land on a comet, but all of the science experiments had a chance to run and send back data. So the mission goals have been accomplished. Who knows, the place they ended up in may even yield more interesting results than the flat region they were aiming for.

      Meanwhile, the orbiter is still fully functional and continuing its mission. And there is even a chance the lander may reactivate in the future. Until then, there is loads of data to analyze, so the science is just starting and the scientists are more than happy.

    7. Re:Sad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It wasn't successful if it was successful it would have walked away and there wouldn't be this problem.

    8. Re: Sad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you know why probes dont last long on Venus? they MELT, genius.

    9. Re:Sad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Read the comments above, "We may hear from Philae later"... in a few years, the comet will be closer to the sun and the solar panels might juice the battery up again.

  17. [facepalm] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I read the title of this story, a song popped into my head...

    "On the comet, the speeding comet, the lander sleeps tonight...."

  18. Re:Who cares about the lander? by epyT-R · · Score: 1

    Of course.. Something new to maintain that all important perpetual offense..

  19. Fair-weather power sources are lame... by KonoWatakushi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    After all the trouble and expense of sending a probe or lander out into the unknown, it seems a waste not to provide them with an RTG for reliable power. Solar panels have hobbled Mars rovers as well as other spacecraft.

    1. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by itzly · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Given a fixed budget, what part of the mission would you have taken out to replace with an RTG ?

    2. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quiet! He is an internet commentator!

      Everything he says is wise and correct!

    3. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Yoda222 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You cannot really blame ESA to not take into account Mars rovers solar panel problems. I think it's very difficult to take problems which happens after the launch of a spaceprobe during the design of this probe. Maybe ESA should hire some fortune teller?

    4. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Unfortunately we're pretty much out of Pu238. The US just started in 2013 to make it again, but only at 1.5Kg a year. Curiosity used around 4kg of it, so it would take at least 2-4 years to make enough for a single probe. We used to buy decommissioned nukes from Russia and reprocess it, but now a) Putin hates us and b) they too are pretty much out of decommissioned nuclear material to even sell. Maybe by 2017 the USA might have enough to make a single RTG for a deep space mission.

    5. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

      Um, probably would have left off the solar panels and all that charging equipment. Pioneer 10 ran for 30 years off a single kilo. A few grams would have kept this lander probe going for quite some time.

    6. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      what part of the mission would you have taken out to replace with an RTG ?

      The solar panels?

    7. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by itzly · · Score: 3, Informative

      Pioneer 10 used four SNAP-19 radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). They were positioned on two three-rod trusses, each 3 meters (9.8 ft) in length and 120 degrees apart. This was expected to be a safe distance from the sensitive scientific experiments carried on board. Each of the SNAP-19 generators was 35 pounds, not including the supporting trusses.

      So, it seems you're overlooking some aspects of this issue. Namely the weight of the total generator, not just the plutonium. Also, there may be a requirement to mount the RTGs on a truss to keep them away, which would greatly complicate the design of the lander. And of course, apart from the design, mass there's also the simple cost issue. Solar panels are probably cheaper to obtain and install than plutonium based RTGs

    8. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by itzly · · Score: 1

      And what else ... ?

    9. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK, and now compare the price and weight of the solar panels with the price of an RTG.

      Then realize what a moron you are.

      Captha: pathetic. How fitting.

    10. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by tomhath · · Score: 2

      For the weight of an RTG they could have dropped several different probes onto the comet, all of which could have very large solar panels. The lander they have was as much weight as they could deliver; the only thing that failed was the mechanism to attach it.

    11. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by rasmusbr · · Score: 2

      I don't think ESA would ever be cleared to handle plutonium, let alone launch it into space. For starters, I don't know who would have the authority to clear ESA to use plutonium.

    12. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately we're pretty much out of Pu238

      Which is one reason we need LFTR to produce Pu238, among countless other reasons.

    13. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by TheRealHocusLocus · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately we're pretty much out of Pu238

      [FIXED LINK]
      Which is one reason we need LFTR to produce Pu238, among countless other reasons.

      --
      <blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
    14. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      As has been pointed out earlier, RTGs are bigger than you think. The real moral of the Philae story is that robots, especially those operating outside the latency boundary of teleoperator technology, are pathetically unable to adapt to local surprises. It would have been trivially easy for a human traveling with Rosetta to go EVA and position Philae in a sunnier place, or to right it if it had landed upside down or fallen into a gully. Building in the life supports to get a human that far from Earth is a Hard Problem, but stories like this are the reason that one day it will have to be solved.

    15. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Okneff · · Score: 1

      Radioisotope thermoelectric generator requires plutonium and they weren't able to use it mainly for political reasons.

    16. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's my understanding that the agency responsible for this mission doesn't have the credentials to use nuclear powered batteries.

    17. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by joshuao3 · · Score: 1

      A bit more detail: nuclear batteries used to power probes like Voyager used plutonium-238, which is available via the US and Russia. Bottom line, the ESA would need to rely on it's supply of americium-241 to create the next generation of batteries. The conversation about using the stockpiles of americium-241 to create batteries really started in earnest (media coverage-wise, at least) in 2012, which was after this probe was deployed.

      --
      Monitor bandwidth usage on IIS6 in real-time: http://www.waetech.com/services/iisbm/
    18. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by itzly · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You must be joking. For the price of a manned mission, we could send 100 robotic probes. Surely, one of those will land correctly. For added science benefit, we could send those probes to 10 different comets.

    19. Re: Fair-weather power sources are lame... by JoeRobe · · Score: 1

      Something I'm wondering about is why the batteries that the panels are recharging can't be intermittently charged for 1.5 hours every 12 hours until they're full again. At that point could they just fire Philae back up and run it until it's out of juice again? Solar chargers on earth are capable of this as long as there's not an external drain on the batteries.

      So basically why can't Philae run with a X% duty cycle, where X is some number less than the 100 they were hoping for?

      I'm sure there's a good reason why that won't work (is there an external drain?) but does anyone here know why?

      --
      The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
    20. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Solandri · · Score: 1

      For the weight of an RTG they could have dropped several different probes onto the comet, all of which could have very large solar panels.

      Why do people think RTGs are the huge things the Soviets used to power their remote lighthouses? The RTGs used for space missions with the same power requirements as Philae have been about 12-15 kg. About the same as the solar panels, regulation electronics, and batteries aboard Philae.

    21. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is still heavier than the batteries on the Philea, and is close to the mass of the total power system which includes components you would still needed even if using an RTG. That is moot though, because the problem is the cost, both in money and politics, of getting an RTG, which would have been nearly pointless. The vast majority of the instruments on the the lander only looked at the stuff it was sitting on top of or were of limited number of uses. Of the dozen instruments, only 3 of them could keep running and doing something, one of which would be just getting redundant data beyond a couple days. All of those would amount to quickly diminishing returns that are not worth greatly increasing the cost of the lander, which is just a small part of the mission.

    22. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      There was one more significant concern: the thermoelectric generators have actually pretty low efficiency, something of order of 10%. Lots of heat generated by the generator would affect the ground around, risking melting the ice and causing exactly the problems with "steam blast" mentioned a little above.

      OTOH, Philae could definitely use a couple more thrusters, to be able to control its descent and move around.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    23. Re: Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the batteries have to be heated to 0C (273K) before they can be charged. The solar irradiance where they landed is not enough to fire up the heaters (at least not for 0C), so it can't be charged.

      Damn chemistry in batteries! ;-)

    24. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I assume Akbar there must be joking most of the time. His pro-space, laissez-faire economics are the product of a jejune mind.

      One hopes he furthers his reality education at some point, he's all up on his sci-fi, that's for sure.

    25. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by Cthulhu's+Physicist · · Score: 1

      " Solar panels have hobbled Mars rovers as well as other spacecraft."
      The solar powered rover, Opportunity is still rolling and sending back data 10 years after it landed, not too shabby!

    26. Re:Fair-weather power sources are lame... by samwichse · · Score: 1

      The payload mass of Philae was only 21kg. So we've just kicked half the science off the lander for an RTG (assuming at least 3kg for the solar panels).

  20. true by globaljustin · · Score: 0

    what you say is true, but i think your attitude is a bit off...

    sure those are failures, but ESA has alot of catching up to do...how many ESA astronauts have been killed on the launch pad?

    how many ESA shuttles have be lost?

    ESA should celebrate success wherever they find it...

    no excuses of course...they should just...do better next time!

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
    1. Re:true by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      "how many ESA astronauts have been killed on the launch pad?"

      "how many ESA shuttles have be lost?" Silly questions considering there have been zero ESA manned missions and zero ESA shuttles. Kind of like calling a plumber a successful neurosurgeon because he hasn't killed anyone on the operating table yet...

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  21. Renewable energy doomed the mission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nuclear batteries would keep that sucker alive for decades.

    1. Re:Renewable energy doomed the mission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would have died a few months later anyways, once the comet passed near the sun. They did it only for the photo.

    2. Re:Renewable energy doomed the mission by AC-x · · Score: 1

      Too heavy though, the weight budgets for space are brutal.

    3. Re:Renewable energy doomed the mission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If only they had used a coal fired engine. Or perhaps lng

    4. Re:Renewable energy doomed the mission by RussR42 · · Score: 1

      Looks like a SNAP-19 RTG would have provided plenty of power and added 1.4 kg to the mass (when swapped for the existing power system).

    5. Re:Renewable energy doomed the mission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The mass for the power system includes more than just the batteries and solar panels, plus some buffer would be needed since instantaneous power draw for some of the instruments is on the higher side. Still doesn't justify the cost as there would be not that much return on the substantial investment without completely changing the nature of the mission and goals.

    6. Re:Renewable energy doomed the mission by AC-x · · Score: 1

      What about shielding? The missions that used SNAP-19 power sources kept them on 3m booms to prevent their radiation from interfering with the scientific equipment.

  22. For he's a jolly good fellow, by weilawei · · Score: 1

    For he's a jolly good fellow,
    For he's a jolly good fellow, and so say all of us
    And so say all of us, and so say all of us
    For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good
    For he's a jolly good fellow, and so say all of us!

    1. Re:For he's a jolly good fellow, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you left out a "fellow"

  23. Matt Taylor's Wardrobe Malfunction. by westlake · · Score: 0

    I had to google "shirtstorm" to see what you're talking about... holy shit there is no hope left for society.

    Business Insider posted compare-and-contrast photographs of the live-streaming Matt Taylor in his lingerie tee-shirt and tattoos and his female counterparts in the control room for India's Mars landing.

    The only thing needed to complete the picture was Google Glass.

    Rosetta Scientist Pisses Off Twitter With A Shirt Covered In Half-Naked Women

    It's quite clear in this video that Taylor knows he screwed up badly here. Rosetta mission scientist Dr. Matt Taylor cries during apology over 'offensive' shirt

  24. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    well usually slashdot is a far side of crazy commi site shoving politics in our faces.

  25. mommy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is there a heaven for landers?

  26. Did they install iOS 8? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everything from Crapple has been bad lately. I blame Tim Cook.

  27. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is amazing how ESA continues to have spectacular failures project after project. They manage to reach the target just to fail miserably due to lack of testing or by ignoring basic configurations.

    Considering the highest priority objects, and the majority of objectives by count involve the orbiter and not the lander, the lander could have been never launched and the project would not be a "spectacular failure." Every instrument of the lander got used though, so it is even more distant from that label.

  28. Re:Who cares about the lander? by epyT-R · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Since when is it bigoted for a guy to announce that he likes attractive women? Gay pride activists have whole fucking parades devoted to their preferences, and are always announcing it to the world.

  29. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a detailed insult.

    You seem to know an awful lot about prison sex .... heh ... did your asshole ever recover?

  30. Re:Geez Eurotards! 500 million E and for what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1800 million euros.

    http://www.reuters.com/article...

    Who's the 'tard now, hm?

  31. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yup, exactly that- the perpetually offended are a fucking blight on the internet, people need to revolt at these morons.

  32. Re:Matt Taylor's Wardrobe Malfunction. by itzly · · Score: 1

    On the other hand, in India you get raped on a bus ride.

  33. Not the last contact. by Snufu · · Score: 1

    Earth will get a ticket for dumping.

  34. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Yoda222 · · Score: 2

    I have both sciences, feminist and general news sources in my regular news feed. I've seen much more stuff about sciences than about shirt. Maybe you should reconsider your sources of information and remove some of the "feminist are devil" sources from them.

  35. SONG TIME by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

    Deep in space, in quiet space...the lander sleeps tonight...

    Still hugely impressive, and it might still wake up eventually.

  36. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Yoda222 · · Score: 1

    "social justice warrior" is only an insult when it comes from someone who think that the opposite, "asocial injustice coward" is a compliment.

  37. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Yoda222 · · Score: 1

    What a spectacular list of two items!

  38. What a load of shit!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thats a huge load of shit honestly.

    No basic configurations were ignored because there are no basic configurations for landing on something you have no idea what it looks and what its made of and noone has done before. The Philae lander was a small high risk/high reward longshot compared to Rosetta which -remember is the main mission). A year ago you could hear mission engineers saying the probabilty of even landing succesfully was 50-50.

    Mars is hard and parachutes are notoriously unreliable and wierd. Lots and lots of robots have crashed on mars and some didnt even go that far. Thats exactly why it was such a big deal the indians got to orbit on the first try.

    Honestly the things you mention on the Cassini mission Ive never heard of, and i work for the damn project. Huygens had a nice soft landing and even got a nice picture on the surface. It had a 3 hour battery and no solar panels so obviously it died after that. It was a huge sucess by any fucking standard.

    Also Cassini is mostly a NASA mission.

    The only valid criticism of ESA is that they are not as good as NASA at communicating and PR but thats mostly cultural (i.e. they dont really care)

  39. Re:Who cares about the lander? by DiamondGeezer · · Score: 1

    Twitter #Gamergate

    --
    Tubby or not tubby. Fat is the question
  40. Re:Matt Taylor's Wardrobe Malfunction. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On the other hand, in India you get raped on a bus ride.

    If you're lucky.

  41. SONG TIME by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    No tears it's with Spirit and the Vikings now.

  42. Re:Who cares about the lander? by ctid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Most people can think about more than one thing at a time. So in my head at the moment we have: It's an amazing achievement for the ESA and the team and for humanity at large. AND putting on that shirt was a bit thoughtless if he knew he was going to be on TV. AND if he didn't know he'd be asked to talk on TV and his bosses made him do it, that was a bit stupid on their part. AND if the TV people picked him to be on TV because of his shirt, that was pretty dickish of them.

    See? You can think of more than one thing at a time and none of the other thing detract from the defining achievement of the mission. Unless you're a piss-baby who thinks your world is being ruined by SJWs. Then you can only keep one thing in your head at a time I guess.

    --
    Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
  43. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Dunbal · · Score: 1, Informative

    Mission was projected to remain active until Dec 2015. Lander is dead on 2nd mission day. Yeah, huge success there. Come on leave PC out of it and call a spade a spade. OK some science was done but a roaring success it is not.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  44. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lennart supports them.
    All the systemD fanbois are SJWs.

  45. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Daetrin · · Score: 2

    So sarcasm aside, it sounds like you're annoyed that people got diverted from talking about the science to discuss the politics of a shirt? In fact you were so concerned about the issue you decided to write a post diverting us from talking about the science to discuss the politics of discussing the politics of a shirt. After all, it's of dire importance we raise awareness about people trying to raise awareness about the shirt since none of the people complaining about it were kind enough to complain about it here first where we would be aware of it.

    Well speech is free, and it's not like we can't discuss both issues (or all three issues?) And I am glad you care enough about justice in these kinds of social issues to fight for your beliefs!

    --
    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
  46. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mission was projected to remain active until Dec 2015.

    Liar.

  47. Gerald Bull was an amateur. by FatLittleMonkey · · Score: 2

    What you really want is a Nuclear Verne Gun.

    Launch 3500 tonnes at escape velocity in a single shot. Enough to kickstart a lunar colony. All for roughly the same cost as a single 20 tonne-to-LEO conventional rocket launch.

    Drill a 2-3km shaft into a salt dome, excavate a cavity at the bottom, suspend a 150kT nuclear warhead at the centre surrounded by a reaction mass, such as water laced with a neutron absorber. Above the cavity, at the bottom of the shaft, put a large shock absorber (such as a few hundred metres of oil backed by an ablative-coated pusher plate), with your 3500 tonnes of payload on top.

    Most of the radiation would be contained underground, and a dome over the launch site would capture most of the rest.

    If you want to launch into LEO, you can have a much larger payload, over 10,000 tonnes, but you'll need a conventionally rocket as a "chase ship" to grab it and circularise the orbit. Likewise you'll need an insertion and landing burns for a lunar payload, however you can use Orion-type nuclear propulsion once you're past the Van Allen belts. Launch your delicate payloads (like people) via more conventional means.

    This would be an ideal way for China to leap decades ahead of every other space power in just one or two (somewhat controversial) Verne launches. 3500 tonnes would be enough payload for not only a lunar base, but enough fuel stockpiled in lunar orbit to power a LEO-LLO ferry for the conventionally launched humans (and delicate payloads.) Pretty much as soon as they have their proposed space station built, they have enough technology and capacity to take advantage of the Verne payload.

    Note: 150kT keeps you under the cut-off for the nuclear test ban treaty. However, in an emergency (say, asteroid threat) a 20MT warhead would be able to launch over 200,000 tonnes (almost two Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.)

    --
    Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
    1. Re:Gerald Bull was an amateur. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what precisely will you be shipping that can withstand 100000+ gees of acceleration and some unknown and possibly incredible amount of jerk

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J...

      *and* the possibly 20000RPM spin you need to impart to keep the thing true?

      Did you think you'll just stroll down the aisle at Home Depot and pack up a crate?

      I mean really. Did you re-read your post before submitting it? You sound like an excited 8 year old with a box of crayons.

    2. Re:Gerald Bull was an amateur. by Smallpond · · Score: 2

      What a nitpicker. A shock absorber was specified. Just add a 100m layer of marshmallow peeps and it should be fine.

    3. Re:Gerald Bull was an amateur. by operator_error · · Score: 1

      If I'm reading and understanding you correctly, you're suggesting that 150kT should be enough for anybody, right? (Although wouldn't 20Mt would be oh so grand.)

      Huh, amateurs. Who'da thought otherwise?

    4. Re:Gerald Bull was an amateur. by Kevin+Fishburne · · Score: 1

      Drill a 2-3km shaft into a salt dome, excavate a cavity at the bottom, suspend a 150kT nuclear warhead at the centre surrounded by a reaction mass, such as water laced with a neutron absorber. Above the cavity, at the bottom of the shaft, put a large shock absorber (such as a few hundred metres of oil backed by an ablative-coated pusher plate), with your 3500 tonnes of payload on top.

      Most of the radiation would be contained underground, and a dome over the launch site would capture most of the rest.

      Is that like the geek's version of "hold my beer"? Holy shit.

      --
      Buy your next Linux PC at eightvirtues.com
  48. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Remember the Mar's Beagle?? The probe made it to Mar's

    Maybe they should have taken it one Mar at a time?

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  49. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by FatLittleMonkey · · Score: 1

    That's a possessive, not a plural. "Made it to Mar's" means "Made it to the place owned by Mar."

    --
    Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
  50. HUGE Fiasco sold as a triumph by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is the second time that a multi-million dollar space project fails spectacularly for the reliance on Solar Panels.

    1. Re:HUGE Fiasco sold as a triumph by tomhath · · Score: 1

      Second out of how many? There are thousands of successful space projects that use solar.

    2. Re:HUGE Fiasco sold as a triumph by stooo · · Score: 1

      it didn't fail. it ended it's mission sucessfully.

      --
      aaaaaaa
    3. Re:HUGE Fiasco sold as a triumph by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unlike that apostrophe.

      It's means it is. Is it really that difficult to understand?

  51. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by FatLittleMonkey · · Score: 1

    Remember the Mar's Beagle?? The probe made it to Mar's, just to have a spectacular crash.

    Beagle 2 was a lander, not a probe. The ESA's Mars probe it was carried on was Mars Express, which is still operating successfully after ten years orbiting Mars.

    Remember the Cassini–Huygens mission??

    The flaw was on Cassini (run by NASA), not Huygens (run by ESA) which performed perfectly even though it was landing on a completely unmapped world with an unknown surface. (Could be rock-hard ice, could be liquid ethane, could be some kind of organic sludge. Turned out to be sludgy liquid with a thin hard crust.)

    --
    Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
  52. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by itzly · · Score: 1

    The lander is dead, but the orbiter is still alive.

  53. I read this in the voice of Scott Manley by CptJeanLuc · · Score: 1

    Sounds better/funnier if you imagine it read to you by Scott Manley. Too bad batteries are not recharging, but I bet ESA still managed to unlock som new goodies in their tech tree with all the science they got.

  54. photos? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where are the photos? We seen first ones but then what...? Even tonight there was info that philae is sending new awesome photos.... but have you seen them? I can't find them anywhere... so what exactly happened?

  55. why no rtg by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    Reading the pre mission discussions, they already knew that the geography of their target was going to be challenging, so I'm curious why they went with solar power (that requires some pretty consistent orientation data) instead of rtg's for Philae? It was further clear that once the comet started outgassing nobody has any clue how that thing is going is going to spin our tumble, an even better reason for rtgs.

    Anyone know?

    --
    -Styopa
    1. Re:why no rtg by itzly · · Score: 1

      Mass, availability of Pu-238, price, complexity of the design, interference from the radiation on the instruments, just to name a few things. Also, given the unknown geography, and the challenges of landing, there was a big risk anyway that it would end up with the drill sticking in empty space, and the camera facing a rock. In that case, an RTG would be a waste of resources.

    2. Re: why no rtg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As far as I know this mission was originally a joint project by ESA and NASA. The RTG was supposed to be provided by the NASA but since NASAs budget was cut in the 1990s they dropped out of the project. At that time ESA didn't had the techology to develop a RTG and the costs were just too high.

    3. Re:why no rtg by Overzeetop · · Score: 2

      Money and fear. Pu-238 is in pretty short supply and (afaik) is not being "made" because the toxicity and complications of manufacture can't justify the price. It was, iirc, a byproduct of nuclear warhead production and now that we're not actively building up an arsenal to turn the planet into radioactive glass there's none to be had.

      The fear part is, of course, the danger that a fairly hot (if small) sample would be a hazard in the event of a launch failure. Now, in reality I think RTG hot products are packaged in MP35N, a high-nickel stainless which, as it was explained to me by a NASA engineer, "in 10,000 years when all traces of the human race are at the bottom of the ocean, the parts that are still shiny will be the ones that were made of MP35N." Still, OMG R4di04CtiV3!11!1!

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    4. Re:why no rtg by stooo · · Score: 1

      >>in 10,000 years ... the parts that are still shiny
      yeah, except when irradiated. Then they deform. crack, leak, and just turn to (very toxic) dust.

      --
      aaaaaaa
    5. Re:why no rtg by stooo · · Score: 1

      >> I'm curious why they went with solar power

      they went with battery power, solar was a bonus.

      --
      aaaaaaa
  56. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The lander is not dead, just batteries are empty. As the comet turns and tumbles Philae might see a sunrise and wake up. Just because you have never seen a sunrise on a comet doesn't mean there isn't one. Question is when.

  57. The real issue by koan · · Score: 0
    --
    "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
  58. "Science data" by Theovon · · Score: 1

    Why does NASA's use of the term "science data" sound so weird to me? I mean, sure, it's data collected for scientific purposes, but the turn of phrase just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it sounds pretentious.

    1. Re:"Science data" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe because it's the ESA, not NASA?

    2. Re:"Science data" by gclef · · Score: 2

      "Science data" as opposed to "telemetry data". It's a bit of a jargon term, but makes sense to me.

    3. Re:"Science data" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ESA! Not NASA.

    4. Re:"Science data" by An+dochasac · · Score: 1

      ESA (who launched this probe) and NASA (who once had an interplanetary space program) probably use the same terminology. Suppose you have a probe to earth bandwidth of between 7 bits per second and 28 kbps. How do you use this bandwidth?

      • Telemetry indicating health of space probe (e.g. whether or not the harpoons fired?)
      • Navigational telemetry (including position of various movable parts)
      • Scientific data collected from planned experiments (e.g. photograph, spectrographs, audio...
      • Non-scientific data to help inspire humans (Vger's pale blue dot photo fits into this category)
  59. RTG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If people were not so afraid of radionuclides Philae would be awake.... for years.

  60. Note to self by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Note to SCIENCE ENGINEERING GENIUSES, when running a 100 million first of it's kind science project that depends on sunlight to run batteries. DON'T PARK IN THE SHADOWS!!!! It ain,t rocket science, ya know?

  61. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Golden_Rider · · Score: 1

    It is amazing how ESA continues to have spectacular failures project after project. They manage to reach the target just to fail miserably due to lack of testing or by ignoring basic configurations.

    I fail to see how "all the experiments on board the lander had a chance to run and return information back to Earth" (from LA times article) makes this mission a failure. Philae did everything they wanted it to do, the "charge battery and stay in contact" was just an optional extra.

    Considering the official statement was that just LANDING there had only a 50:50 chance of succeeding, this whole thing was an incredible success.

  62. Pfft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A billion dollars down the toilet and what did we get? Some .useless data.

    1. Re:Pfft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No worries You American fucktards didn't pay for it. It was a European project - America dropped out they couldn't afford it. You obviously had to buy some more guns for your military or Blackwater needed the offices repainting.

    2. Re:Pfft by clarkkent09 · · Score: 1

      Actually NASA budget is around 17 billion and ESA budged is $5 billion. In fact, NASA budget is greater than the budgets of European, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Indian space agencies put together.

      --
      Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
    3. Re:Pfft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rosetta project evolved from a joint NASA & ESA project, where the NASA half was called CRAF. NASA's half got dropped due to being deemed too expensive and ESA took over. The project evolved quite a bit since then though, as it was originally going to involve a sample return.

  63. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Shhh! Do you think *he* knows that?

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  64. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Mission was projected to remain active until Dec 2015

    This is the expected end of mission for the orbiter. The instruments on the orbiter are considered far more critical to the goals of the mission and were expected to last much longer. "Very optimistic" expectations for the lander were a couple months at most. Just look at the instruments on the lander, and the vast majority of them were limited use, and would not be able to do anything beyond several days. And 2 of the three that could be used beyond that quickly get diminishing returns in the longer run.

  65. Re:Who cares about the lander? by lolocaust · · Score: 2

    This ain't even a joke. My "Boy Love" fanatic ex also thought it was okay to have videos of 12 year old boys showering and hugging inappropriately, all the while blaming anyone unfortunate enough to be male for starting at her nearly exposed breasts, and calling every regretful sexual encounter "rape". The feminist double standards have really gone too far, affected the minds of girls who are now young adults, and have begun to remove all safe spaces for men to be themselves. Speaking out against this gets you labelled as a misogynist without further discussion leaving many men without a voice, which is the actual definition of oppression.

    --
    Why does my post history abruptly stop? I want to laugh at the stupid things I posted as a kid.
  66. The Shirtstorm explains Philae Lander name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I had been wondering if someone was quietly pranking us all with the name Philae Lander. Then I see the Shirtstorm meme and the stars align.

    Is there a Mr. Ander in the room? A Mr. Phil Ander?

  67. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I see you've ended your Intel boycott and can finally read things on the Internet again. Welcome back!

    AND putting on that shirt was a bit thoughtless if he knew he was going to be on TV. AND if he didn't know he'd be asked to talk on TV and his bosses made him do it, that was a bit stupid on their part. AND if the TV people picked him to be on TV because of his shirt, that was pretty dickish of them.

    Uh, wrong. It's a neat shirt that was a gift from his girlfriend. Why shouldn't he be allowed to wear things that his girlfriend picked out for him?

    Unless you're a piss-baby who thinks your world is being ruined by SJWs.

    Crap like this demonstrates exactly how the world is being destroyed by SJWs. Their whining is potentially going to be career ruining to a guy who's only crime is wearing a shirt that was given to him as a gift. A shirt. All because it hurt some SJW's feelings, because they can't stand the thought of people looking at pretty women.

  68. Hahahahahahaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "It" sure does! Barb's /.'s own resident "TraNsTeStiCuLar MoNsTrOsiTy"

    1. Re:Hahahahahahaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      R O T F L M A O @ "TraNsTeStiCuLar MoNsTrOsiTy"

  69. You're off (way, way off) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're a radically abnormal "TraNsTeStiCuLar MoNsTrOsiTy" (R O T F L M A O)

  70. You should be on Jerry Springer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You "TraNsTeStiCuLar MoNsTrOsiTy" (R O T F L M A O)

  71. Modded up +1 for being wrong? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The end of mission for the orbiter is 2015, which is independent of the lander that was not expected to last anywhere near that long, even if it went long like the Mars rovers did.

  72. This is why we still need humans in space by Whatsmynickname · · Score: 1

    Neil Armstrong flying over a boulder strewn crater and finding a suitable landing site on the fly vs. Philae happily flying into a hole.

    1. Re:This is why we still need humans in space by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh huh, now all you need is to keep a human alive for 10 years in a cube the size of a washing machine and make sure he arrives sane at destination, and remembering all his training.

      You're insane.

    2. Re:This is why we still need humans in space by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know a lot of humans who are as dumb as rocks and act like amoebas. Freeze dry them, add water and sunlight upon arrival, and maybe you can use them to start your lander!

  73. Re:Geez Eurotards! 500 million E and for what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You.

  74. Re:Who cares about the lander? by umghhh · · Score: 1

    I suppose the poor guy may have made a mistake but the nazimfems and their serfs that go after him and his shirt should be sent to uranium mine for their stupidity and lack of spirit and understanding for other humans, especially if those are equipped with rape toolkit formerly known as penis.

  75. Re:ESA's spectacular rash of achieving failures by umghhh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    the statements about dead of the lander are slightly exaggerated. It may still wake up. What was the last time when your project delivered all you started it for, did it on time and possibly (as we do not know it yet) did not reach goals on ambition level? I would like project that I work on be as good as this one. But than I have the biggest evil in the whole universe to fight against: bean counters.

  76. Re:Who cares about the lander? by SharpFang · · Score: 1

    Actually, it's insult when used by people described as "cishet scum" by the SJW. "Cishet scum" means non-transgender heterosexuals. Anyone who isn't currently described as "discriminated" is scum. According to SJW if you're white male, with male identity and not homosexual, you are pretty much the worst blight of this earth.

    The core of the SJW legion is female supremacists - the kind of extremist feminists who are absolutely not satisfied by the idea of equality of genders, claiming e.g. that all men are supporters of the rape culture (and about 10%-20%, (varies with different groups), are actual rapists.)

    They also take a great offense in assuming one's gender basing on physical characteristics, and using plain pronouns like 'he, she' when referring to people, without first asking them which gender pronoun they want used (xe, shi etc...?). It's the kind of people who will protest when presented with a form that requires you to enter your gender and provides two checkboxes - [ ] male [ ] female - ability to check either, both or none is insufficient to describe their genders...

    --
    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  77. Re:Matt Taylor's Wardrobe Malfunction. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Which one is lucky? The one who contracts a heretofore unknown disease or the one that gets to call in sick to the call center?
    A. neither. Obama hasn't got obamacare past Indias parliment. Although outsourcing Pelosi to India might do it.

  78. Landing on a Comet 315 Million Miles Away by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was sorely disappointed that more thought hadn't gone into the Power Supply for this adventurous comet lander and catching it outward bound from our sun would have given us more insight to where this comet comes from as well as images. But still, its better than anything I've done lately by about 314 1/2 Million miles!

  79. Re:Space Guns by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 2

    I was manager at Boeing on a Gun-Launch propellant delivery system study, and using them for space launch is quite feasible. They have been used in hypersonic research for decades, like this one at Arnold Engineering Development Center: https://upload.wikimedia.org/w... You just need to make one somewhat larger, and install it on a mountain with the right slope.

    Gas guns are preferred over electromagnetic ones for low launch rates. The power supply for a space launch gun would be immense, because the power draw is very high for a short time. High pressure gas can be stored in a tank, and released all at once. Electromagnetic would be more efficient in the long run, but you need to overcome the high initial cost.

    For humans and spacecraft equipment (as opposed to bulk items like fuel and structural parts), you are limited to about 6 g's (60 m/s^2). There are a few locations on Earth where you can install a 20 km pipe, which lets you reach about Mach 5. The gas pressure for that level of acceleration is surprisingly low, about what is put in vehicle tires.

  80. Comet Data Has Arrived! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Prior to falling silent, the lander was able to transmit all science data gathered during the First Science Sequence..."

    Here it is:
    100 100 100 1

    Next time land in the sun. Is that too hard?

  81. Re:Value in Space by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 1

    > The only thing of value in space: water.

    You have a very limited view of what is valuable. The amount of solar energy passing the Earth, closer than the Moon's orbit, is equal to the whole world's known fossil fuel reserves every minute. Tapping even a tiny fraction of that could power our entire civilization. What's that worth?

  82. Re:Value in Space by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You have a very limited understanding of what is actually possible with real technology. And if you thought the climate change was bad NOW, imagine pumping in even more energy!

    Thank deity that none of you children are in charge of anything more complex than the soft drink fountain at the 7/11.

    http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the...

    Ain't ever. EVER. gonna happen, EVER, under any understanding of reality.

    E V E R.

  83. Re:Space Guns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, sounds trivial then. Why don't you ping Elon Musk and I'm sure by next week you'll be breaking ground! You've only been dreaming about this for a quarter century now!

    What delusional fantasy nonsense.

  84. Re:Who cares about the lander? by ctid · · Score: 1

    I'm sure you understand that I am not wrong. I have an opinion. So do you. My opinion is different from yours. Neither of us is "wrong" or "right". We might gauge whether one of us is more in line with social mores at a particular point in time. At the moment, my observations are correct. That is why he came under so much pressure. You never know; people like you might be able to convert sufficient other people so that your view becomes the majority. We will still neither of us be "right" or "wrong". We'll just be more or less in line with social mores at a particular point in time.

    Crap like this demonstrates exactly how the world is being destroyed by SJWs. Their whining is potentially going to be career ruining to a guy who's only crime is wearing a shirt that was given to him as a gift. A shirt. All because it hurt some SJW's feelings, because they can't stand the thought of people looking at pretty women.

    You can be a child if you want to, but society has a view of itself, just as it always has. At the moment, one of the big issues for society is the imbalance in career choices between girls and boys. Remember, there's no "right" or "wrong" about this; it's just one of the many issues that (our Western) society is debating at the moment. That is why this guy is taking heat for his shirt. This is grown-up stuff, and it takes thinking about. You and the other piss-baby can join the debate like a grown up and take your chance at convincing society that your POV is correct. Saying that "the world is being destroyed by SJWs" can be your opening argument in this debate, if you like, but I don't think it is going to convince anyone. There's no organisation called "SJWs". There's people like you and then there's lots of grown-ups in our societies who are trying to think hard about this stuff. These issues are important. Either think about them and join the debate like an adult, or fuck off.

    --
    Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
  85. Re:Who cares about the lander? by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Thanks. You've very narrowly defined that group in such detail that it appeared no-one has to worry about the three of them - then I remembered this is a vast internet and there will be a lot of bunches of three.
    All those dogs that have been kicked and turned mean (obviously an analogy) can now visibly snap out at anyone that comes nearby, so we get to be aware of some people we just did not notice before.

  86. Re:Value in Space by camperdave · · Score: 1

    The amount of solar energy passing the Earth, closer than the Moon's orbit...

    I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are you talking about a disk sized collector the size of the Moon's orbit?

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  87. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, it isn't "grown up stuff." It's losers whining about a grown man's SHIRT. Because it has pictures of women on it. It doesn't get any more childish than that.

    At the moment, one of the big issues for society is the imbalance in career choices between girls and boys.

    And you're going to solve this by destroying a man's career over his SHIRT?!! And I'm the childish one?!!!

    There is an objectively right and wrong here. Freedom of expression is objectively right. He's not harming anyone with his shirt. It's a SHIRT. It can't hurt anyone, it's not going to prevent anyone from becoming a scientist. It. Is. A. SHIRT.

    Trying to get a scientist fired over a SHIRT, on the other hand? That harms things. It harms science. It harms other people's freedom to wear what they choose.

    I never said there was an actual organization of SJWs. I'm fully aware that the bulk of SJWs are just a loud group of idiots on Tumblr. (And, clearly, some idiots who also post to Slashdot.) But the SJW mindset IS damaging. It IS destroying things. It's dangerous and it needs to be stopped.

  88. Re:Who cares about the lander? by ctid · · Score: 1

    And you're going to solve this by destroying a man's career over his SHIRT?!! And I'm the childish one?!!!

    Nice strawman. You can read my views on the shirt. No offence but trying to argue like this makes you look like an imbecile.

    Freedom of expression is objectively right

    And yet you argue by pretending that one person's expression of their ideas does not exist and attempting impose something else so that you can attack it.

    But the SJW mindset IS damaging. It IS destroying things. It's dangerous and it needs to be stopped.

    This is just hyperbole. Grow up.

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    Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
  89. Re:Space Guns by aurizon · · Score: 1

    In fact, it is the AC who is in denial and delusional in his belief that this is a doomed area.
    The limiting factor is the fact that the projectile is discharged into air, with huge drag.
    If you look at the rail guns made by the US military, you can see the plasma created by travel through the air after it exits the vacuum seal = huge drag. Even a 20 KM vacuum tunnel at a 45 degree angle that discharged at 14 Km above ground would still have a lot of drag to battle, however, we must also realize that every rocket launched must pass through that same regime..

    Thus, you might be able to launch a multi stage rocket from an equatorial mountain at 45 degrees to reach a fairly high velocity at about 4 miles up, fulfilling the role of the first stage and the second subsequent stages ignite in the atmosphere after exiting the launch tube.

    Would there be a net saving that offsets the cost of the tube? With no need to limit the acceleration to human limits, it might be well suited to supply missions.

  90. Why no RTG, RITEG or Pu/Nuclear Battery? by Zymergy · · Score: 0

    SO, with the mission cost being over 1.6 billion for this mission, why did it not have a RTG, RITEG and/or other Pu/Nuclear Battery? I realize solar and other chic renewable rechargeable green technologies are all the rage these days, but when reliable electrical power for critical mission status is required, accept no substitutes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...

    1. Re:Why no RTG, RITEG or Pu/Nuclear Battery? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The lander was only a $200M slice of that, and its operation was not a part of "critical mission status," as the emphasis for that was on the orbiter.

  91. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nice strawman. You can read my views on the shirt. No offence but trying to argue like this makes you look like an imbecile.

    If your view is anything other than "it's a shirt" then you're the one with the problem, not me.

    And yet you argue by pretending that one person's expression of their ideas does not exist and attempting impose something else so that you can attack it.

    If SJWs were only expressing their ideas, that would be one thing. They're actively harassing the scientist to the point where he had to issue a public apology to try and get them to back off. (But, of course, SJWs don't understand the concept of "apologies" so it, of course, didn't work. Anyone with a penis who is straight and doesn't play at being a woman is the devil in the world of the SJW.)

    The harassment and active attempts to ruin people's careers coming from the SJW camp would be hilarious given their crusade against "Internet harassment." If not for, you know, the lives they're ruining.

  92. Re:Who cares about the lander? by ctid · · Score: 1

    If your view is anything other than "it's a shirt" then you're the one with the problem, not me.

    This is grown-up stuff. The thoughts you had as a fifteen year-old don't cut it when you're discussing with grown ups.

    If SJWs were only expressing their ideas, that would be one thing. They're actively harassing the scientist to the point where he had to issue a public apology to try and get them to back off.

    You can read my views on the shirt. Just don't misrepresent them, child.

    --
    Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
  93. Re:Who cares about the lander? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is grown-up stuff.

    I don't know how many more ways I can say "it's a shirt" before it penetrates that armored skull of yours. IT IS A SHIRT. Getting worked up about a shirt for any reason is not the sign of a balanced individual and most certainly not the sign of an adult.

    You can read my views on the shirt. Just don't misrepresent them, child.

    I never said you personally were trying to destroy this man's career over his choice of shirt. But those SJWs you're defending? They ARE and that is WRONG. The SJW mindset is corrosive and damaging, that is a fact. You're quite correct that you can personally talk about how offended you are about a freaking shirt and not harm anyone. That's great. But that's not what's happening in the real world. SJWs have caused real and actual harm, all in the name of a shirt.

    You sure you want to be on that side?

  94. Re:Who cares about the lander? by SharpFang · · Score: 1

    Spend some time on Tumblr, see some blogs of these. They are very much the same, echo chambers / mutual admiration societies, the word 'misandry' uttered with pride. Or look into how some men's rights organizations were snubbed.

    Here, have a link to get you primed on a sample of what you're facing.

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  95. Re:Who cares about the lander? by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Rather not. Hearing about it from posts like yours is enough for me to get a bit of an idea and remind me of people I've met best described as kicked dogs snapping out at outsiders. Such stuff I think covers the entire political spectrum (and it IS politics here despite there being gender issues involved), but we notice it more in "unusual" cases, and it figuratively sells more papers.

  96. Re:Who cares about the lander? by SharpFang · · Score: 1

    See no evil, hear no evil, say no evil...

    The linked post is exactly about turning the argument of "margin cases" on its head.

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    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  97. Re:Who cares about the lander? by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Ok, I'll take a look when I'm out of the workplace (middle of week long shitstorm due to the wrong person clicking on the wrong link and getting malware resulting in a lot of pissed off people) . Thanks for the link.