Author Topic: Send Your Name to Mars onboard the Mars Science Laboratory!  (Read 5953 times)

Offline punkboi

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It's still more than 2 years before the rover launches, so there's no deadline for submission yet. :)

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/

Offline MKremer

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It still amuses me about the thought that whoever collects the disks on our Mars rovers in some future century will also need to be able to figure out what the heck they contain without some serious research on ancient technologies, and then being able to read and translate their contents.

Offline punkboi

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The discoverers are gonna need an electron microscope or something...since it's a microchip that's being placed on the rover this time around :)

Offline MKremer

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The discoverers are gonna need an electron microscope or something...since it's a microchip that's being placed on the rover this time around :)

I think that's completely goofy.  :-\

At least the records on the Voyagers also have a plate that shows how to read them.

Offline punkboi

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The discoverers are gonna need an electron microscope or something...since it's a microchip that's being placed on the rover this time around :)

I think that's completely goofy.  :-\

At least the records on the Voyagers also have a plate that shows how to read them.


True...but does that mean you're NOT going to submit your name to go to Mars? ;D

Offline MKremer

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The discoverers are gonna need an electron microscope or something...since it's a microchip that's being placed on the rover this time around :)

I think that's completely goofy.  :-\

At least the records on the Voyagers also have a plate that shows how to read them.


True...but does that mean you're NOT going to submit your name to go to Mars? ;D

*head down - scuffs foot - acts innocent*
 ;D

Offline madscientist197

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Putting it on a chip is a much better idea -- it can be protected from the elements and you can also draw pictures of a sort to indicate to the reader, how to decode any data (I presume the names will be in binary or something). Encoding names on a CD is a bit absurd.

Anyway, my name is on it's way now.
« Last Edit: 03/23/2009 08:04 am by madscientist197 »
John

Offline MKremer

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Putting it on a chip is a much better idea -- it can be protected from the elements and you can also draw pictures of a sort to indicate to the reader, how to decode any data (I presume the names will be in binary or something). Encoding names on a CD is a bit absurd.

True about the chip data, however there's voltage levels (power, data) and what pin does what (and how) that must be known and configured for before someone hooks it up and immediately lets the smoke out.

Offline madscientist197

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I was actually thinking that you might just etch images into the chip using standard techniques and read it using (as punkboi suggested) an electron microscope -- not actually etch a circuit as such. It would give quite good data density and be easier to interpret.

A functional chip has issues with reading the data, just like a CD.
« Last Edit: 03/23/2009 11:30 am by madscientist197 »
John

Offline punkboi

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I was actually thinking that you might just etch images into the chip using standard techniques and read it using (as punkboi suggested) an electron microscope -- not actually etch a circuit as such. It would give quite good data density and be easier to interpret.

A functional chip has issues with reading the data, just like a CD.

The microchips onboard the Dawn and Stardust spacecraft are imprinted in a way that they're both readable with electron/optical microscopes.

Since it's JPL that's hosting the Send Your Name opportunity with MSL (just like it did with Dawn.  I was too late in submitting my name for Stardust), that should also apply to the MSL microchip as well.  So it's not AS goofy, MKremer :D
« Last Edit: 03/23/2009 05:52 pm by punkboi »

Offline agman25

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Re: Send Your Name to Mars onboard the Mars Science Laboratory!
« Reply #10 on: 04/24/2009 01:23 pm »
They are still accepting names. How late is this microchip going into the spacecraft.

Online eeergo

They are still accepting names. How late is this microchip going into the spacecraft.

Bear in mind the spacecraft is not going anywhere until 2011...
-DaviD-

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