Mars missions about-face...

For the past couple of years, conventional wisdom has been that Mars Sample Return was sometime after 2020... ever slipping further into the future. Now with a new guy in charge of Space Science, he wants it sooner. Much sooner, to the point where we were told Thursday that it could bump the large rover mission previously scheduled for 2016. Which in turn affects my projects... the big rover was focussed on astrobiology, and needed a 1-2m capable drill to get access to non-irradiated specimens and ices. The sample return mission is more concerned with getting small shallow cores of surface rocks.

So... time for an about-face, and to begin writing a proposal to develop an automated coring and shallow drilling prototype that could fly on MSR.

Back home, for now

After a June full of business travel... Hawaii, then JPL, then Washington, then Houston, then JPL a second time... I'm home for three weeks. Time for a respite of sorts, time to see the kids and patgreene and sweeties and friends. Time for a proposal due in a week, as well. Then 7/19 I'm off to the Arctic for three weeks of experiments, followed immediately by a short family vacation... I won't be back in the office until 8/13. And then two weeks later will be off to NYC for a week, for drill testing. That's the rest of my summer... anyone that wants to see me or spend time had better let me know so we can schedule time soon. (wry grin)

Getting rid of baby stuff...

Cleaning out the garage... we have lots of baby clothes, some mobiles and toys, and two strollers to donate, if anyone on my local FL would be interested? Otherwise, these will go to Goodwill.