From: Jeff Davis (jdavis@socketscience.com)
Date: Sat Dec 04 1999 - 00:20:34 MST
Fellow stargazers,
As of this hour, the Mars Polar Lander is down... and silent. What with
all the drama leading up to it, particularly the loss of the orbiter, I was
waiting for the lander touchdown with considerable excitement. And now
that it's down, and no word is forthcoming, I'm getting a little tense.
The way I heard it, the lander could send an immediate confirmation
signal--it didn't--or a subsequent signal in certain "windows" of
opportunity--2:04 and 4:04 PST--it didn't. Oh, shit.
Well, if I'm tense, those guys at JPL must be on the edge of nervous
collapse. They better have someone there passing out sedatives, or a
professional "grief" counselor like they have at the destination airport
after a plane crash.
I sure hope the gadget checks in. The suspense is killer.
Best, Jeff Davis
"Everything's hard till you know how to do it."
Ray Charles
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