I had not found APOD yet somehow, thanks for that!
Landing in less than 30 mins.
yep
are you also watching the stream? stage separation in 7 minutes
Got it on in the background. Interrupted Frasier for this, so hope it doesn’t mess up.
just hope the solar panels deploy, but so far everything worked perfectly
Looks like they landed on some rocks… Hopefully they’re not in the way of any instruments.
should not be a problem. For the instruments where it would matter there is the arm
Scott Manley was saying that the drill for the thermometer is only designed to go through soil, so if there’s hardcore under the topsoil, they’re in trouble.
now every science tuber is gonna go crazyyyyyyyyyy
does not look like solid rock though
whats 1 meter if not 5 meters below
that if its hard rock gonna screw that drill
yeah, it’s a calculated risk (in the most literal sense of the word)
Is this the first time Cubesats have been used for an interplanetary mission?
depends on your definition of cube sat
it was the first time they were used to monitor EDL though
Edit: seems like they were really the first interplanetary cube sats, can’t find any other
yes
for mars missions like this
Saturday, Dec. 29: APL mission operations and science operations centers tours; opportunity to gather b-roll footage of critical working areas that will be closed to media and the public the following day and throughout flyby activities.
Sunday, Dec. 30: Media center opens; possible media briefing on mission status and timelines.
Monday, Dec. 31: Final approach to Ultima Thule, with media briefing on mission status and latest approach images. Team member presentations on mission science and operations.
Wednesday Jan. 2 through Friday, Jan. 4, 2019: Daily briefings and/or media availabilities to discuss spacecraft status, new images and data/findings.
A detailed list of media events and coverage will be released at a later date.
I just love the precise choice of words in these articles. “NASA’s InSight has sent signals to Earth indicating that its solar panels are open and collecting sunlight on the Martian surface.” It’s not “The solar panels are deployed” because that would draw conclusions, but we have data indicating they opened.