Here’s the summary from the Guardian:
- Simulations suggest battery power will last long enough for tonight’s data transmission from Philae between 21:00 and 23:00 GMT.
- Esa is considering whether to spin Philae’s flywheel (designed to keep the craft upright during flight) to ‘bounce’ the lander into a new position where its solar arrays will get more sunlight to recharge its batteries.
- 80-90% of the intended science will have been carried out, but there’s some doubt over whether all the data will be uploaded before the lander loses all power.
- All the lander’s instruments are working well. MUPUS and APXS instruments were used last night and the drill was activated. Esa will know this evening whether drill samples have been taken successfully. There will be more CONSERT radar data tonight, which will be used to try to locate Philae.
- As the comet reaches its closest approach to the sun next year, there may be enough power from Philae’s solar panels to wake up the lander.
- 84 images of the comet are being awaited from Rosetta, which will be used to try to locate the lander. There will also be descent and touchdown images relayed from Philae to Rosetta.
- A manoeuvre command has been sent to Rosetta to keep the Philae landing area in sight over the coming days.
Also, I watched some of the ESA briefing this morning and Matt Taylor was wearing a dark blue hoodie. If he weren’t so pasty white, he could be shot on sight in any Florida gated community, but otherwise there’s nothing controversial about his attire today.
Open thread.
Villago Delenda Est
Philae should have stopped by the Kwik-E-Mart on the way to the comet and picked up some spare AAAs.
Taylor should have worn a “Yes, I am a dumbass, why do you ask?” T-shirt.
Belafon
They should have put a reflector mirror on Rosetta.
Keith G
Too late. My respect for him has already been destroyed. I would never want my daughter to work with him. Wait, I don’t have a daughter. Oh well, I wouldn’t want my cats to work with him.
Trentrunner
Taylor tearfully apologized.
Good on him.
Amir Khalid
I hope the team get all their science done and get all the data back. May the Force be with them.
the Conster
@Villago Delenda Est:
He’s apologized, so all is forgiven. Now I actually feel sorry for him. He had ONE JOB when the spotlight was on – to represent this great accomplishment – and he blew it. If his little gig with ESA doesn’t work out, there’s likely an opening with the Patriots’ social media team today.
pacem appellant
I was disturbed that an otherwise good Atheist feed I subscribe to on Facebook was vehemently opposed to the “PC, feminist” backlash that was rendered unto Taylor. A lot of the comments were of the quality “dude landed a probe on a comet, he can wear whatever he wants”. No, stupid Facebook commenter, he did not, and he cannot. He was part of a 10,000 person team–an important member, but just one nonetheless. What he chose to wear was a disgrace to women, to scientists, and especially the intersection of the two. I’m glad he apologized. The ESA is going to have to learn about message control. Even the famous Mohawk dude on the NASA Mars lander was respectfully dressed while still being encouraged to keep his personal identity.
Belafon
@the Conster: As much as I want to focus on the lander, I want to make this comment: He fucked up with the shirt, but did he learn afterwards? The true test for him is if he can learn.
—
I am still blown away by the pictures taken close to the comet. Just the fact that we can get something that close is awesome.
jibeaux
I think that was a solid and sincere apology, and while it was a bad choice of shirt both artistically and otherwise, I don’t think the magnitude of it exceeded that apology. Really, all you can ask is that people own up to insensitivity and try to correct it, because we are all going to do it.
jayjaybear
How could someone smart enough to land a freaking spacecraft on a freaking comet be stupid enough to wear that shirt for a public photo?
Amir Khalid
@Keith G:
Apparently, he’s learned his lesson. If you sent the kittehs to work with him now, I trust he would know better than to go on TV wearing a shirt disrespectful to cats.
Belafon
@jayjaybear: Because they’re not the same thing. How can someone smart enough to build a rocket not be able to properly ask a out on a date?
There’s a reason the nerd stereotype exists.
Belafon
@Amir Khalid: Even if he got it on Sky Mall (Hanes commercial reference).
srv
I’m too lazy to search, anyone know why this is Obama’s fault?
Amir Khalid
@jayjaybear:
It’s a question of different domains. Being smart in space science doesn’t necessarily imply that one is smart in, say, social settings.
Citizen_X
@jibeaux: He actually said “I’m sorry I offended,” not, “I’m sorry if I offended.”
Note to assholes: the former’s an apology, the latter is not.
(Not that assholes will listen.)
Anyway, hope the lander can eventually complete its mission and upload the data.
Amir Khalid
@Belafon:
Great minds think alike.
Villago Delenda Est
@jayjaybear: Narrow vision…very smart at probe operations, not so fashion conscious.
It’s an unfortunate byproduct of our heavily specialized work structure.
On edit: WOW, great minds are on the same brainwave today!
/highfive
jibeaux
@Citizen_X: exactly.
Villago Delenda Est
@Citizen_X:
Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy…we’re talking to you, fucktard.
Villago Delenda Est
@srv: Because. Reasons.
/insert random Palin word salad here.
Villago Delenda Est
@Amir Khalid:
This is ALWAYS a very good idea, as the moment they develop opposable thumbs, we’re at their mercy. Every missed meal, every underserving of treats, every time you blocked a sunbeam…you will pay, hairless ape. You will pay.
Belafon
@Villago Delenda Est: “Well, if Obama had just listened to Republicans, they wouldn’t have had to cut funding to NASA, and we could have sent the satellite to the comet, destroying it before it would have hit the earth. Then mankind would have been saved thanks to the grace of God.”
kdaug
IIRC, Philae will fry on the approach to the sun, but is this true for Rosetta too?
Villago Delenda Est
@Belafon: You know, channeling Snowbilly Snooki has been determined by the Surgeon General designate to be hazardous to your health. Drain Bamage may result.
NotMax
@srv
Philae sounds like filly.
A filly grows up to be a mare.
Mare is Latin for sea.
Benghazi is on the Mediterranean Sea.
Amir Khalid
@Villago Delenda Est:
It could. alternatively, just be a case of fools not differing. But let’s stick with the more flattering option.
Villago Delenda Est
@Amir Khalid: Further proof that the flattering option is closer to the truth.
Or perhaps the opposite.
Dunning-Kruger ftw!
Villago Delenda Est
@NotMax: Irrefudable!
Roger Moore
@jayjaybear:
Privilege. It’s the biggest single answer to all kinds of questions like this. One of the big points of privilege is that you don’t have to stop and think about how other people will respond to what you’re doing.
Roger Moore
@srv:
Since when are reasons required to blame Obama?
Marc
Why is it worth attacking someone over something so completely trivial as the shirt that they wore? Why is it worth attributing bad intent to everything?
Jesus Christ, I need to take a break from left blogistan. It’s becoming something ugly.
Roger Moore
@Villago Delenda Est:
We’ll be at their mercy as soon as they can wake up from their naps and take a break from chasing the red dot. I’m not holding my breath.
srv
@NotMax: Perfect. I’m just mortafied by what is still going on there.
Calouste
@Amir Khalid:
And that’s just one example.
As another example, burnsie no doubt will show up at some time today to demonstrate that one can be very smart about law and totally clueless about justice at the same time. Just as there are doctors that are very good at dealing with diseases and excruciatingly bad at dealing with patients.
Calouste
@Roger Moore: I blame Obama for that requirement.
Someguy
Why hasn’t that fuckhead Taylor been fired yet?
Gotta be Tories running that space program.
Calouste
@Marc: It wasn’t just the shirt. The guy also made a comment about the lander that dripped with sexism, something along the lines that “she wasn’t easy”.
Phylllis
@NotMax: That’s rather scarily brilliant.
the Conster
@Marc:
As a thought experiment, imagine the dude wearing a shirt that had pictures of Little Black Sambo, Bojangles, Aunt Jemima and minstrels in blackface all over it, and then make the same comment.
Amir Khalid
Formula 1 is doomed if they do what Bernie Ecclestone suggests: sticking to an audience of rich old men. If the next cohort of rich old men haven’t learned to give a damn about the world’s fanciest go-karts going around in circles, F1 will have no audience.
glory b
New topic, Senator Jeff Flake’s 21 year old son has pled not guilty to 21 counts of animal cruelty in the deaths of 21 dogs he and his wife were caring for. the dogs were boarded at a kennel his wife runs and they died of heat exhaustion and lack of water (so they wouldn’t eliminate, supposedly). Only one of them had remnants of food in the digestive tract, indicating they may have gone without food or water for possibly 48 hours.
I don’t know of this is the same one who was using ethnic, religious and racial slurs on a gaming site, but Jeff needds to attend to his family.
Linnaeus
One of the main authors of the Choose Your Own Adventure series, R.A. Montgomery, died on November 9.
(Apologies if someone already noted this.)
Mike J
@Amir Khalid: Two teams dead so far this year, good chance that two more won’t start in ’15. There’s talk of some teams running three cars just to have enough on the grid to look interesting.
Nobody should listen to Bernie about anything.
jibeaux
As long as we’re on open thread, is anyone else attempting NaNoWriMo? Find me under this same username if you’re so inclined. I’m new, terrible, and slow at it, just what anyone should be looking for in a virtual friend.
drkrick
@Amir Khalid:
Bernie’s in his mid-80’s and has made his billions. Thinking long term has no upside for him. I really want to hate the guy for stuff like this, but he’s also the one who made safety enough of a priority that the sport can go years instead of weeks between fatalities.
TaMara (BHF)
@Trentrunner: Good for him. Straight forward, no, ‘sorry if anyone was offended”. Took responsibility.
Jebediah, RBG
@srv:
Failure to lead.
Betty Cracker
@the Conster: I used that exact analogy last night to explain to my husband why the controversy isn’t a nothingburger. Taylor’s apology sounded heartfelt to me. I think he gets it now. Lots of people don’t. Some never will.
Trollhattan
@kdaug:
Per the Beeb the orbiter will continue to function for months but the lander will succomb to heat as they approach the sun. Interesting to me was its perigee (if that’s the appropriate term here) occurs outside the earth’s orbit, so it doesn’t get all that close to the sun compared to many other comets. Will guess the orbiter is shielded and the lander is not.
the Conster
@Betty Cracker:
Yeah, I agree. I think he’s a good guy who like most good guys, doesn’t ever have to think about the things non-whites and non-males have to think about. When it became such a thing, he realized he’d been careless, so, apology accepted. What more can you ask? Hopefully in the future his name will be prominently associated with the comet and his choice of shirt will be a footnote buried deep in an appendix.
Someguy
@Calouste: @Marc: It wasn’t just the shirt. The guy also made a comment about the lander that dripped with sexism, something along the lines that “she wasn’t easy”.
I think that’s part of the Navy’s problems – Tailhook and etc. They always refer to ships, planes, all that as She. It’s inherent, structural, sexism. I’m never shocked when scandals break out. Scandal, in this case, is another word for Pulling Back The Curtain.
JPL
My new crush is named Philae.
@glory b: They also lied and told owners that the dogs ran away. Even if properly ventilated, the space was too small for that many dogs. What a horrid situation.
Trollhattan
@Someguy:
Shirt guy will probably survive the kerfuffle. Dude I’d I’d hate to be is the SS agent who was on his personal phone, in a vehicle on WH grounds with his K9 dog and without his backup radio, and who completely missed the dude running to the White House instead of “releasing the hound.”
Would have loved to listen to him mansplain himself out fo that one.
Trollhattan
@Trollhattan:
Should have said “Perihelion” instead of perigee.
Southern Beale
Someone posted over at my blog that Bush The Lesser had pulled the U.S. out of this project, it’s European and cost $1.5 billion. Assuming that is all correct (I haven’t bothered to verify) but I wonder how many people know this is not, in fact, a NASA project?
J R in WV
@Villago Delenda Est:
I’m thinking we should curse the Blankenship borg in every thread, forever.
Forever!
Belafon
@Calouste:
Do you have the full quote? “She wasn’t easy” in and of itself doesn’t sound sexist. We anthropomorphize things all the time, generally to the opposite gender. The most recent Liberty Mutual commercial cracks me up because of the woman talking about her car, “Brad.”
ETA: I dated a girl in high school who called her period Fred.
Roger Moore
@Trollhattan:
When the orbit is around the sun, it’s “perihelion” rather than “perigee”. The generic term for any orbit would be “periapsis”.
Amir Khalid
I’ve just started Le Petit Prince (oui, en français). I plan to work my way up to the Project Gutenberg Les Misérables (en français aussi, naturellement), what I downloaded years ago.
Roger Moore
@the Conster:
The only thing more I can ask from him is that he not make a similar mistake in the future. That said, I’m with the people who see this as evidence of an institutional problem, and I’d like to see how the institution responds.
PurpleGirl
@Villago Delenda Est: What would a comment about cats with opposable thumbs be without the Cravendale ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6CcxJQq1x8
Lee
@Southern Beale: NASA has 3 components onboard. I agree most people think this is totally a NASA project.
the Conster
@Roger Moore:
Well, if he truly was a raging fucktard he would’ve doubled down when the spotlight was on him again today. Instead he’s dressed like Bill Belichick. I think he’s learned a lesson.
Cervantes
@Roger Moore:
You did.
His apology was partly (and part of) the institutional response.
Calouste
@Belafon:
http://sen.com/news/philae-on-course-for-landing-despite-thruster-snag
Speaking today at mission control, Rosetta’s chief scientist is Dr Matt Taylor said: “Rosetta is the sexiest mission there has ever been. I say she is sexy – but she is not easy.”
Amir Khalid
@Someguy:
There’s nothing sexist about that. In fact English is kind of an outlier among European languages, in that it almost never assigns gender to anything but humans. The other Germanic languages still do (e.g. das Schiff in German which is a neuter noun), and so do the Romance languages. (Non-human animals get their gender recognised rather more often nowadays, but not so long ago this too was rare.) And calling ships and countries “she” sounds more and more archaic nowadays, so even that is going.
kindness
People. People. Really now, get with the program.
It is all and will always be Hillary’s fault.
Obama is so November 3rd.
blueskies
@jayjaybear: Man, you must have never, ever, and I mean EVER EVER, met an engineer.
Tommy
@the Conster: You have to dress like Bill Belichick not to piss people off. The shirt I am wearing now says “E=MC2.” Just a black tee and that statement in white. Should I have to think it this tee will work on national TV? Harkins made think back to the day of a friend of mine that loved going to Britches in Georgetown where he could buy quality tee shirts with no name on them.
Southern Beale
Also everyone is annoying me today because they’re talking about how the House voted to approve Keystone XL like it’s some kind of news, like the House hasn’t already voted on Keystone about 6 times in the past 4 years. I swear, the GOP caucus issues a news release and everyone trips over themselves. This is like Obamacare being voted on 50 bazillion times.
Call me when the Senate votes. Until then, I could give a flying fuck.
blueskies
@Roger Moore: Privilege? Maybe. Not knowing the man personally, but personally knowing many engineer/scientist types, I’d say more likely it’s obliviousness.
Belafon
@Calouste: OK. “Sexy” needs to be retired from the space program. Taylor needs to pick up words like “coolest”.
Southern Beale
Newly insured Americans love their Obamacare.
Belafon
@Southern Beale: Not enough to vote on it, obviously.
blueskies
@drkrick: Meh. It’s also worth noting that when Bernie started the business, he offered to split TV and other media rights/profits with the teams. They declined because of a $100k (each) upfront capitalization requirement. That’s the braintrust he was working with. $100K for what was clearly a giganormous amount of profits in the very near future and a giganormousX10 amount of profits beyond. Lord March still laughs at / kicks himself (and the other then-owners) that they turned Bernie down.
So, they lost the future profits, and worse, they gave up a lot of the power for how the series is run.
Another Holocene Human
@pacem appellant:
Otherwise good–? You’re not aware that anglophone atheism has been divided into two camps, pro- and anti-feminist for TWO YEARS NOW?
You think Rebecca Watson was making stuff up or something? You just woke up from your nap underneath a rock?
Nemo_N
https://twitter.com/ellypriZeMaN/status/533287464497332225
When did liberals started relishing in being assholes? Where did all this thing go so fucking wrong?
Trollhattan
@Roger Moore:
Thanks. (At least I didn’t say paregoric.)
Another Holocene Human
@glory b: The Flake crime family.
Another Holocene Human
@Linnaeus: Aw. Dang. I enjoyed those as a whelp.
Another Holocene Human
@Nemo_N: Concern troll is very concerned.
Why don’t we have more empathy for white male lurkers who might have to rethink some small aspect of their lives because they heard that a woman or a person of color or a member of a sexual minority or a religious minority had a problem with something? WON’T ANYBODY THINK OF THE LURKERS WHO DON’T RELISH THINKING?!
Nemo_N
@Another Holocene Human:
Oh yes I forgot! Women are such fragile things that they might give up on their space exploration dreams because of a shirt! Protect the women! Protect your daughters!
Villago Delenda Est
@PurpleGirl: Thank you.
I should macro that or something…
the Conster
@Nemo_N:
Please explain to me like I’m five years old why it’s too much to ask for a man to not wear something over the top offensive to women?
Matt McIrvin
@Southern Beale: Too bad they’re going to lose it.
Gravenstone
@Nemo_N: And what specifically (details matter) is your connection to the STEM community that you know for a fact that women don’t have an uphill climb for various systemic reasons?
Nemo_N
@Gravenstone:
Ah yes, women are being put down by silly shirts.
Cervantes
@Nemo_N:
Thought experiment: Can you imagine a work environment so creepy that you constantly feel unwelcome? (It’s a yes-no question.)
Gravenstone
@Nemo_N: A question was asked, interesting that you choose to avoid it. I see no reason to believe you are a credible person on any subject. Goodbye.
the Conster
@Nemo_N:
Way to miss the point, you dismissive asshole. Privilege – you’re soaking in it.
Nemo_N
@Gravenstone:
Good riddance.
@Cervantes:
If my boss (a woman) wore a shirt with a bunch of half-naked men in leather I would think she is pretty awesome.
Roger Moore
@blueskies:
Obliviousness to how other groups will perceive you is a privilege. A woman in STEM who was that oblivious to men’s feelings would never have gotten far enough to be in that position.
Roger Moore
@Cervantes:
That’s true, but we don’t know what the institution was responding to. Only time will tell that. I want to see if the response is limited to PR damage control or if they actually do some institutional soul searching and try to change their culture in ways that make it genuinely more accepting of women.
Cervantes
@Nemo_N:
That’s great, really, but it’s not what I asked.
Here’s my question again: Can you imagine a work environment so creepy that you constantly feel unwelcome?
It’s a yes-no question.
Nemo_N
@Cervantes:
How does that have anything to do with a silly shirt? Also, I think your yes-no proposition is bullshit, but hey, I suppose you have to limit the answers if you know your argument is bullshit.
Omnes Omnibus
@Nemo_N: It’s not just the shirt. It’s the shirt coupled with all the other sexist crap you (I am assuming) and I don’t have to deal with every fucking hour of every day. Lots of little things can add up to create a very unwelcoming environment. I am sure that many of those things are “no big deal” individually, but collectively it is different.
Tree With Water
I have problems programming my TV set, and those people are communicating with a laboratory they landed on an asteroid.
Nemo_N
@Omnes Omnibus:
For starters, we have no idea what the environment at ESA is, other than one of their guys wears silly shirts made by a girlfriend. And second, if there are sexism problems in their institution, silly shirts shouldn’t be part of it. I’m an old school liberal, so my solution to this “problem” is to let the women wear shirts with half-naked men (if they wish do to so), not make a shitstorm out of this particular one.
Calouste
@Nemo_N:
No, you’re not, you’re a libertarian.
Liberals have empathy, i.e. are able to understand problems from someone else’s point of view, something you have exhaustively demonstrated you don’t have.
Cervantes
@Nemo_N:
So you can’t answer either yes or no?
(Another yes-no question.)
burnspbesq
@Calouste:
Fuck you.
Nemo_N
@Calouste:
Well yeah, I admit my empathy often fails me when dealing with people who judge other people based on the silly drawings on their clothes.
I’m not going to think any less of a woman wearing a shirt with half-naked men on it, just as I won’t think any less of a guy doing so.
I’m still a liberal, much to the annoyance of this new batch of puritans disguised as liberals.
Omnes Omnibus
@Nemo_N: Just keep fucking that chicken.
Calouste
@Nemo_N: There’s a difference between puritanism and wanting to have a respectful workplace for everybody.
I could explain the difference to you, but I got a shipment of coal I need to send to Newcastle.
the Conster
@Nemo_N:
It’s not all about what you think you stupid dismissive privileged fuck.
munira
@Amir Khalid: I read Les Misérables en français a few years ago. I’m pretty fluent in French and it still took a long time, but it’s really really good. The only chapter I couldn’t deal with was the one on French slang in Hugo’s time. It was incomprehensible.
SRW1
@Calouste:
His choice of attire for the occasion was stupid, his choice of language was idiotic, the achievments of the project he was an important part of was phenomenal, and his appology seemed utterly sincere.
My admittedly entirely speculative diagnosis is a form of high-functioning autism. If that indeed applies, what I find totally incomprehensible is why none of his colleagues or bosses stepped up to save him from himself. There must have been people who have worked with him and knew him well.
dance around in your bones
@glory b: Oh, the fucking fuck.
Back to Fry and Laurie.
schrodinger's cat
@Nemo_N: Its not really about the shirt at all, the shirt is symbol of the pervasive hostility both direct and implied to women in the hard sciences. Its a signal, stay away or enter at your own risk, this is a boys club.
schrodinger's cat
@SRW1: The shirt says more about the culture in physics and astronomy departments than its say about the individual.
SRW1
@Amir Khalid:
For a crowning challenge I would recommend Albert Camus ‘L’Etranger’ (sorry, can’t locate the missing accent aigu on my keyboard), naturellement en original. We did segments of it for French class in Gymnasium and were mostly left utterly baffled. Apparently, even the French aren’t quite sure about all the ins and outs of its message, though.
Matt McIrvin
@schrodinger’s cat: When I was in grad school, astronomy seemed like much less of a boys’ club than physics. Don’t know if that’s still true.
schrodinger's cat
@Matt McIrvin: Most astronomy grad students (all male) I knew had egos the size of Jupiter.
Cervantes
@Matt McIrvin:
At MIT they’re about the same in that regard.
Cervantes
@the Conster:
That Nemo_N does not understand that is part of the problem.
Another part of the problem is the quality of the thinking — and imagination — to begin with; much lower than advertised.
Omnes Omnibus
Why do some of the exchanges on this issue remind me of this:
Cervantes
@Omnes Omnibus:
Funny.
Less funny, and I’m sure you agree, is some people’s construction of straw men seemingly designed to avoid dealing with the issue at hand. Some think of this behavior as oblivious and attribute it to privilege, but I think the overt refusal to confront the problem may come out of resentment (and the two causes can be related, of course).
Anyhow, Taylor learned something; maybe others did, too; and while institutions always need to be scrutinized, perhaps people can focus on the science for a bit.
Have a good week-end.
divF
@Amir Khalid: When you get done with that, you can take on the Memoires de duc de Saint Simon. 21 volumes of meticulously recorded gossip from the court of the Sun King.
glaukopis
@jayjaybear: Math, physics and engineering skills are not the same as people skills.
Roger Moore
@Amir Khalid:
Not À la recherche du temps perdu?
Jebediah, RBG
@Cervantes:
Lot easier and more comfortable to make straw men than to admit and examine one’s privilege.