Dawn approaches Vesta, Approach phase, 3 May to 16 July 2011 |
Dawn approaches Vesta, Approach phase, 3 May to 16 July 2011 |
May 3 2011, 03:44 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 544 Joined: 17-November 05 From: Oklahoma Member No.: 557 |
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Jun 2 2011, 02:08 AM
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 5172 Joined: 4-August 05 From: Pasadena, CA, USA, Earth Member No.: 454 |
Yes, that's true. No matter how stingy the PI (and there are lots of stingy PI's) the data has to get to the PDS eventually, and "eventually" has been a shorter and shorter period of time with each passing decade. Time's passage gives more and more people the bandwidth and skills to do cool stuff with PDS data. I care less and less about quick release of images for "pretty picture" purposes; I even lay off of Cassini and rover raw images knowing I'll see and be able to manipulate better versions in under a year, with each PDS release. But there's really nothing better than numerous, rapid image releases to allow enthusiasts to follow along with the ongoing, unfolding drama of an active space mission that's exploring a whole new unseen world (or, in the case of the rovers, new unseen landscapes and vistas). It looks like we're not going to be permitted to enjoy that at Vesta. At least I can trust that I will be able to enjoy that unfolding drama at Pluto, and on Mars with Curiosity, and (I think) above Jupiter's poles with Junocam. Hopefully if we make enough of a stink we'll be able to enjoy it at Ceres. The thrill of opening up each new image and seeing something new -- or not, and knowing you're going to have to quell your anticipation for a little while, waiting for celestial mechanics to bring your ship a bit closer to your goal -- shouldn't be something that only the few people intimately involved in a mission get to enjoy. That's the old way of doing things. The excitement of opening up a new image and a new view of a new world can be spread around Earth -- why not spread it, and create enthusiasm for more missions to explore more strange new worlds?
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