There's something amazing about looking at photos from another world. No matter how drab or dull the features or colors may be, just a glimpse of another world is exhilerating. While I think photos like the one above would look better with an astronaut standing next to a firmly planted American flag, I'm pleased with it nonetheless. I wonder, though, how the powers that be at mission control for probes like Spirit name the rocks they find nameworthy. Is it a rotating system where everyone takes turns naming a rock, hill or outcropping, or do they just agree by consensus? Is there any way to get a Martian rock named after me...?
1 Comments:
My understanding is that the science team picks names as they need them to identify features, usually, but not always, picking something that somehow describes it.
The views that I'm really looking forward to, myself, are the JIMO equivalent of the pictures of Earthrise that the Apollo missions took from orbit. As cool as it was to see the Earth coming over the lunar horizon, I imagine it's going to be just mindblowing to see Jupiter rising over the horizon of one of its moons, filling the sky in a way we Earthdwellers can't imagine. And when we actually have people on the surface, that's gonna be a heck of a view.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home