Yes, there are problems with NASA Flash. On links slower than broadband, the main NASA URL takes a minute or more for the Flash animation to reach a point where one can click on the "NASA Home Page" link to actually see the home page.
Seriously, though, what was being uploaded were commands, not code. Spirit's software should have continued running and would have interpreted the commands as suggestions of what to do next. (I say "suggest" because the system will stop actions which are dangerous, such as driving off a cliff, and take some harmless action such as sending back a panoramic picture or diagnostic messages.) It is not like burning a BIOS Flash memory. And NASA says that Spirit would ignore corrupted messages.
Hmm. It's been about 19 days since Spirit landed, although it reported its status during landing so it was turned on some time before landing.
The 32-bit CPU on Spirit runs at 20 MHz. Since landing time there have been about 2^45 20 MHz cycles. 2^45 is 2^32 times 2^7, or 2^31 times 2^8.
Maybe a value based on a timer encountered an 8-bit overflow condition? Or an every-8-clock-cycles counter reached a 32-bit overflow condition? (Also, 2^7 or 2^31 may be relevant due to a sign bit)
Not a hack attack.
Just a DOS attack by Democrats on behalf of special interest groups trying to control the Federal courts. It is described here (pdf).
Not to be confused with the planned social engineering of the Senate Intelligence Committee. That was a plan to probe for weaknesses, and announce an investigation whether weaknesses are found or not. There effectively was a DOS when the attack was discovered and the interfaces were turned off to block the attack.
Not only will there be more automated missions to Mars before we go there, there should also be many more people on the Moon and in orbit before we go to Mars. Using Lunar resources (oxygen for the engines, if nothing else) will simplify a Mars mission and related experience will also help.
Actually, there probably should be a refueling station in Earth orbit. Lunar fuel/oxydizer would make trips to the Moon much cheaper. Particularly if reusable Lunar lander-shuttles are active.
Launching directly from Earth to the Moon is quite difficult. That's why most people expected a trip to the Moon would be based from an Earth space station -- nobody expected the ridiculously powerful engines which allowed the Saturn V to exist. The huge Saturn V is what allowed us to toss all the mass necessary for a lunar expedition up to Earth orbit.
At least the computer knows there was a problem and the rover is able to report that.
So, yes, the rover has reported with its red screen of death. Fortunately, I'm sure it does not require the three-finger salute. There instead probably is available a "WAKE UP" scream.
"Do you plan on hijacking this plane?"... inventors say it can tell whether a passenger is a terrorist by analyzing his answer to that simple question in real-time.
"Ich werde definitiv Steuerung der Flache nehmen."
"Tomare definitivamente el control del plano."
"Je prendrai certainement la commande de l'avion."
"Definitivamente prendero il controllo dell'aereo."
"Eu definitivamente estarei fazendo exame do controle do plano."
"Yah, dude, I'm so down on doin' a zap."
Oh, good, they're all telling the truth. Let them go. And the third one is in love with you.
Re:Mice:Beware of their transdimensional existence
on
Mice In Space
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· Score: 1
..and the mice are doing quite well at getting themselves launched in an escape vehicle.
We stand corrected.
On Mars, a mouse weighs 0.38 of an apple.
Space Shuttle is the problem, not the solution
on
The Future of NASA
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· Score: 1
The reason Hubble has problems is because it is dependent upon the Space Shuttle, and the USA has neglected the Space Shuttle and other transportation technologies. It is ridiculous that not only a few ships, based on 1970s technologies, are in use. Particularly because the Shuttle failed to achieve its primary purpose of fast reuse and requires rebuilding before each launch.
Maybe a Hubble supporter can arrange for someone else to refurbish Hubble? Can robotics proponents make devices which manipulate the Hubble? Can spacewalkers from a Russian or Chinese capsule transfer replacements from a previously launched tug container?
I'm not a rocket scientist, but this sounds like a hardware problem.
Maybe NASA can help raise money.
Bring the Apollo 11 lander back from the Moon and auction it on eBay.
(Yes, I know only the LEM descent stage is at Tranquility Base. If my memory serves me right, the rest of the LEM was crashed on the Moon so recovering that will be the hard part.)
Duh. Any by-product which cannot be broken down by natural processes is a harmful one, hydrocarbon or not.
So what is the difference between a piece of plastic and a rock? Both just sit there, on or in the ground. Both can be ground into smaller pieces. Both might float on water. Both can be broken down by appropriate subterranean conditions (a plastic from oil already had this happen once). Both will melt at the end of a subducted tectonic plate.
Well the rate of Alzheimer's has been increasing rapidly, so I don't at all doubt that it can be prevented naturally. Just eat healthy unprocessed foods like our bodies evolved to do, and don't take in so many preservatives, pollutants, etc. Alzheimer's along with a bunch of other diseases would be much less common.
Of course, Alzheimer's has also certainly increased as our lifespan increased past 30 years...
Well, in the case of polystyrene, the styrene being used (or reused) commercially is a petroleum byproduct and not the stuff from plants. The other parts of a batch of oil are used for other things, so it's hard to count those as being "used" for foam.
There are some volatile organic compounds used in some foams. 15% of such compounds in the atmosphere are not from natural sources, but I don't know how much is from foams. Some foams are actually filled with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and I don't think CO2 is a hydrocarbon so can't count that use.
The energy for manufacture? Maybe it's not from oil; do you prefer coal or nuclear power?
Or maybe you think it's better to leave the gunk in the ground, so it can leak on the surface naturally. Maybe more tar pits and oil pools would be useful for tourism, although they didn't seem to be major attractions in 1900 in the Middle East.
Soft Petals are what you attach to your dogs and cats so you can use the Microsoft SuckNShred automatic cleaner. The Soft Petals will softly shock your pet when the SuckNShred gets too close. This urges your pet to move away and keeps it safe from the Faster-Than-Dirt room agitation movements, as well as protecting your pet's coat and limbs from steam or trimming damage.
I think Soft Pedals is what the MSN butterfly requires. It can't land on ordinary flowers, it needs Microsoft Flowers with exclusive Microsoft Soft Pedals technology so as to reduce the effect of crashes.
Selection in this context simply means death. As the article mentions, the threatened creatures are trapped. If they can reach similar areas, they can simply move. If where they are now becomes too warm or cold, they may reach an area which is suitable. If they can't reach a suitable area then they will be in trouble.
Creatures which exist no further north than Texas might be able to move into new areas. Meanwhile, others in Mexico may be able to move into Texas. Something which can't move can get trapped.
Slashdot Mirror
Seriously, though, what was being uploaded were commands, not code. Spirit's software should have continued running and would have interpreted the commands as suggestions of what to do next. (I say "suggest" because the system will stop actions which are dangerous, such as driving off a cliff, and take some harmless action such as sending back a panoramic picture or diagnostic messages.) It is not like burning a BIOS Flash memory. And NASA says that Spirit would ignore corrupted messages.
The 32-bit CPU on Spirit runs at 20 MHz. Since landing time there have been about 2^45 20 MHz cycles. 2^45 is 2^32 times 2^7, or 2^31 times 2^8.
Maybe a value based on a timer encountered an 8-bit overflow condition? Or an every-8-clock-cycles counter reached a 32-bit overflow condition? (Also, 2^7 or 2^31 may be relevant due to a sign bit)
Perhaps the wrong patches were uploaded. I lost track, is Spirit Mars-A or Mars-B?
You forgot the light speed delay is nearly 10 minutes. Set your ping timeout to at least 20 minutes.
Just a DOS attack by Democrats on behalf of special interest groups trying to control the Federal courts. It is described here (pdf).
Not to be confused with the planned social engineering of the Senate Intelligence Committee. That was a plan to probe for weaknesses, and announce an investigation whether weaknesses are found or not. There effectively was a DOS when the attack was discovered and the interfaces were turned off to block the attack.
Actually, there probably should be a refueling station in Earth orbit. Lunar fuel/oxydizer would make trips to the Moon much cheaper. Particularly if reusable Lunar lander-shuttles are active.
Launching directly from Earth to the Moon is quite difficult. That's why most people expected a trip to the Moon would be based from an Earth space station -- nobody expected the ridiculously powerful engines which allowed the Saturn V to exist. The huge Saturn V is what allowed us to toss all the mass necessary for a lunar expedition up to Earth orbit.
Did anyone see a Mars-shattering "KABOOM"?
At least the computer knows there was a problem and the rover is able to report that.
So, yes, the rover has reported with its red screen of death. Fortunately, I'm sure it does not require the three-finger salute. There instead probably is available a "WAKE UP" scream.
Oh, good, they're all telling the truth. Let them go. And the third one is in love with you.
..and the mice are doing quite well at getting themselves launched in an escape vehicle.
We stand corrected.
On Mars, a mouse weighs 0.38 of an apple.
Maybe a Hubble supporter can arrange for someone else to refurbish Hubble? Can robotics proponents make devices which manipulate the Hubble? Can spacewalkers from a Russian or Chinese capsule transfer replacements from a previously launched tug container?
First, warm the planet...
Digital Rights Managment is how I arrange papers on my refrigerator.
Maybe NASA can help raise money.
Bring the Apollo 11 lander back from the Moon and auction it on eBay.
(Yes, I know only the LEM descent stage is at Tranquility Base. If my memory serves me right, the rest of the LEM was crashed on the Moon so recovering that will be the hard part.)
Just do like cows did to make us care for them and use all the ways.
Sure. It's a date, then.
So what is the difference between a piece of plastic and a rock? Both just sit there, on or in the ground. Both can be ground into smaller pieces. Both might float on water. Both can be broken down by appropriate subterranean conditions (a plastic from oil already had this happen once). Both will melt at the end of a subducted tectonic plate.
"Considered Harmful" is Considered Harmful.
Of course, Alzheimer's has also certainly increased as our lifespan increased past 30 years...
Well, in the case of polystyrene, the styrene being used (or reused) commercially is a petroleum byproduct and not the stuff from plants. The other parts of a batch of oil are used for other things, so it's hard to count those as being "used" for foam.
There are some volatile organic compounds used in some foams. 15% of such compounds in the atmosphere are not from natural sources, but I don't know how much is from foams. Some foams are actually filled with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and I don't think CO2 is a hydrocarbon so can't count that use.
The energy for manufacture? Maybe it's not from oil; do you prefer coal or nuclear power?
Or maybe you think it's better to leave the gunk in the ground, so it can leak on the surface naturally. Maybe more tar pits and oil pools would be useful for tourism, although they didn't seem to be major attractions in 1900 in the Middle East.
Define "pollute". Plastic is just a soft rock.
Soft Petals are what you attach to your dogs and cats so you can use the Microsoft SuckNShred automatic cleaner. The Soft Petals will softly shock your pet when the SuckNShred gets too close. This urges your pet to move away and keeps it safe from the Faster-Than-Dirt room agitation movements, as well as protecting your pet's coat and limbs from steam or trimming damage.
Unfortunately, there are some hard bugs.
Creatures which exist no further north than Texas might be able to move into new areas. Meanwhile, others in Mexico may be able to move into Texas. Something which can't move can get trapped.