Fellow stargazers,
As of this hour, the Mars Polar Lander is down... and silent. What with all the drama leading up to it, particularly the loss of the orbiter, I was waiting for the lander touchdown with considerable excitement. And now that it's down, and no word is forthcoming, I'm getting a little tense. The way I heard it, the lander could send an immediate confirmation signal--it didn't--or a subsequent signal in certain "windows" of opportunity--2:04 and 4:04 PST--it didn't. Oh, shit.
Well, if I'm tense, those guys at JPL must be on the edge of nervous collapse. They better have someone there passing out sedatives, or a professional "grief" counselor like they have at the destination airport after a plane crash.
I sure hope the gadget checks in. The suspense is killer.
Best, Jeff Davis
"Everything's hard till you know how to do it." Ray Charles