If you imagined each planet, moon, comet, and asteroid to be an isolated and unique test tube, you would understand why a growing number of people are upset about NASA
April 7th, 2000
More Grief for NASA: Report Calls Deep Space 2 Microprobes Unfit
A recent NASA report found the Deep Space 2 microprobes were unfit for launch but sent to Mars all the same, where they vanished December 3, 1999 along with their mothership, the Mars Polar Lander.
April 7th, 2000
Low Gravity Risky for Ships As Well As Crews, Says Report
It’s no secret that sending humans to Mars poses many risks for the health of astronauts, whose bodies must endure months and years outside the normal gravity of Earth. But exploring beyond orbit entails a less obvious danger to space travelers, according to a report from the National Research Council due for release soon. The same microgravity which affects the way an astronaut’s blood flows can also alter — and potentially disable — mechanical systems crucial to a long-duration crew’s survival.
April 5th, 2000
Planetary Alignment: Feast For The Naked Eye
Astronomers sometimes call it a naked-eye event, and while it has little significance for the experts, this week’s sky show involving four heavenly bodies is one anybody can enjoy. On Thursday, April 6, three planets and the moon will all huddle together in a small patch of the late evening sky. In astronomical terms, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and our only natural satellite will be within 9 degrees of each other (a degree is about the width of two full moons as seen from Earth.)
March 31st, 2000
Fatal Error: Buggy Software May Have Crashed Mars Polar Lander
The software problem that likely crashed the Mars Polar Lander into the Red Planet
March 30th, 2000
Polar Lander Leg Snafu Discovery a Fluke
A software glitch that likely doomed the Mars Polar Lander might have done the same to NASA
March 29th, 2000
Goldin Accepts Blame for Lost Mars Missions
NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin said Wednesday he accepts the blame for the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, saying he had asked the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to do the impossible.
March 28th, 2000
Congress Not Satisfied With Mars Polar Lander Report
Incensed by a report released March 28 detailing the reasons behind the loss of NASA’s Mars Polar Lander (MPL), Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) and other members of Congress asked the agency to release all relevant tests conducted on the craft’s propulsion system.
March 28th, 2000
Scathing Reports Take NASA to Task Over Mars Missions
In two scathing reports released Tuesday, the failure of NASA’s two latest Mars missions — the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) — has been attributed to a combination of bad management, a lack of training and an inadequate system of checks and balances.