Making hole, making progress

[jay]

We drilled 46 cm today, and now are at 1.27m depth. This is as deep as the 2013 flight drill in the Mars Scout proposal was supposed to go, for reference. We had a couple of software glitches, a couple of parameters or limits that needed to be reset, and one recovery procedure needed a change to keep the drill turning when going into safe-mode. There's a bit of hole collapse/ice melt subsidience whenever we pull out the drill... we'll probably start tomorrow fresh at 1.22m. Still, we continue ahead of schedule, today was nominally supposed to be the first day of drilling. Good weather has helped, although showers are forecast for the next few days (possibly snow on my birthday :). And the IP phone works fine, as long as the satellite link stays up (CRC was apparently hit by lightning, sop our ground station on the other end was flaky today). I got the webcam in the drilling tent up, but it is only visible on the Devon-side network. For now...

Minor issues... team is getting tired after three successive 14-hour days, and time spent while drilling can be dull... leading to pent-up behaviors. Like ATV wheelies or doughnuts... not that I'm not sympathetic to some extent, but I need to have a talk with the guys tomorrow.

Meanwhile...

	Drilling to 1.3m Drilling operations, in the tent inside the crater...
	My drillsite workspace Today I set up a Toshiba webcam, brought over an IP phone from Sarah, and spent time both with the tests and communicating with media folks.
	Icy fragments in the cuttings This year, the software can request a bit change when we hit ice lenses or harder rocks... here's the coring bit with gleaming ice bits in the cuttings.

Comments

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

that is SO nifty. Yay!

[hopeforyou.livejournal.com]

That rate of penetration is looking really good...

Is this more dry drilling without a lubricant?

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

*tries to figure out if Hopeforyou is joking or being serious...* ;-)

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Possibly both.

[hopeforyou.livejournal.com]

You know me so well. =)

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

I'm glad things are going well. When is the demonstration? Maybe since you're a bit ahead of schedule, you can let your guys have shorter days.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Heh. As soon as I do that, all sorts of unforeseen glitches will then prevent us from making our goals... better to press onward until we can't, anymore.