tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post7781405655082199021..comments2023-09-23T00:37:29.396-07:00Comments on Mom's Cancer Blog: Quick BitsBrian Fieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16347700145666751363noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-56073007560151012612008-05-27T09:52:00.000-07:002008-05-27T09:52:00.000-07:00Update on the other story:CALGARY, Alberta (Reuter...Update on the other story:<BR/>CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A French parachutist's bid to set a world freefall record was in doubt on Tuesday after the balloon that was to carry him 40 km (25 miles) above the prairie of Western Canada left without him.<BR/><BR/>Doesn't he know that he can just click his heels and say, "There's no place like the stratosphere! There's no place like the stratosphere!"???Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16807727819590358834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-6474536299674290172008-05-26T18:25:00.000-07:002008-05-26T18:25:00.000-07:00I love the parchutist story. Good luck to the guy....I love the parchutist story. Good luck to the guy.<BR/><BR/>Sherwood, I remember when I first heard the airbag idea I thought it was insane. To that end, I enjoyed a recent interview in which one of the Phoenix scientists shared your apprehension about going back to parachutes-and-rockets after the airbags turned out to be such an elegant solution. But, as he pointed out, if we eventually get around to putting people on Mars, they won't be bouncing around inside giant airbags. (Also, I understand Phoenix is too heavy for the bags.)Brian Fieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347700145666751363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-80749972772548307022008-05-26T11:38:00.000-07:002008-05-26T11:38:00.000-07:00Yessir, pretty exciting. Also like the Viking lan...Yessir, pretty exciting. Also like the <I>Viking</I> landers of '76, this one didn't land inside a cocoon of airbags, but settled on rockets. I remember when David Morrison first told me about the airbag scheme for Mars landers back in the '80s -- I thought it was nuts, but it's worked so well three times in a row that this time I was nervous that they <I>weren't</I> being used.<BR/><BR/>Moving around wasn't the only thing that the Vikings couldn't do. Two of their inabilities were pretty embarassing in retrospect: their robotic arms weren't designed to turn over rocks and they couldn't shed even feeble light on their surroundings at night. Ask any little kid to go find life in a strange place, and the first thing he's going to do is start turning over rocks. And he'll certainly want to go looking for creepy-crawlies at night. Carl Sagan said during the runup to the <I>Viking</I> landings that he had nightmares of seeing footprints all around the lander in the Martian morning.<BR/><BR/>Ronnie, you must be well aware of <A HREF="http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/exploration/phoenix.asp" REL="nofollow">Canada's significant contribution</A> to the Phoenix project, right?Sherwood Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575868746160608731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16899684.post-6599767459720701182008-05-26T11:00:00.000-07:002008-05-26T11:00:00.000-07:00Heh. Naturally Husband has been following the Phoe...Heh. Naturally Husband has been following the Phoenix story closely too.<BR/><BR/>The other story he's been following over the weekend is the fellow who is going to try to attempt to jump out of a balloon from <I><A HREF="http://www.legrandsaut.org/" REL="nofollow">40 kms, or 130,000 feet, in the air</A></I>, and parachute back to earth after a 7.5 minute free-fall. If he succeeds he'll break four records.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080526.wjumpupdate0526/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview" REL="nofollow">He had to scrap today's attempt due to winds</A>, but will try again tomorrow. <BR/><BR/>In a way he is the direct descendent of the men who were part of <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Manhigh" REL="nofollow">Project Manhigh</A>, a part of the space race that seems all but forgotten now. Husband has a number of books about it - and he's rooting for M. Fournier.ronniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14044863062652781155noreply@blogger.com