New Mars Forums

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/natu … 53.stm]BBC

Why not? The more the merrier.

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

*I'm all for it.  I mentioned my hopes for a joint mission of this sort shortly after Beagle 2's demise. 

By the way, why does the British press refer to it as "Nasa"?  It's an acronym:  NASA.  It's not a word.  Geez. 

About MSL returning Marsian rocks to Earth -- that would be marvelous.  Reminds me of an article I read and posted in a new thread months ago, about Mars potentially smelling...badly.

Guess we'd find out (among other things).  :laugh:

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

laser is an aronym too 

To be honest, Pillinger's talk about the sample return doesn't make much sense, IMO... MSL isn't going to do that, so what is he talking about?

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

laser is an aronym too 

*Two wrongs don't make a right.      

I'm a stickler for it being NASA for some reason.  ???

Back on topic...(and here's hoping there'll be a Beagle 3!)

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

atitarev

Member

From: Melbourne, Australia

Registered: 2003-05-16

Posts: 203

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

...By the way, why does the British press refer to it as "Nasa"?  It's an acronym:  NASA.  It's not a word.  Geez. 

Maybe the same reason you keep spelling the word Martian with an S, not with a T, they just like it that way. Only joking, Cindy.     

It's great! I am all for cooperation.

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Anatoli Titarev

Gennaro

Member

From: Eta Cassiopeiae (no, Sweden re

Registered: 2003-03-25

Posts: 591

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

Well, if NASA is kind enough to take rag tag Europeans and torn Pilliger for a ride I only wish to express gratitude. Go NASA!

And it is NASA, guys...

GCNRevenger

Member

From: Earth

Registered: 2003-10-14

Posts: 6,056

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

*Groans* Oh great... if Pilliger ever manages to suceed, you know that it will just be allll "well HE did it for $10M, it would cost NASA $100M!." I hope they say no, or the thing fails again.

---

[i]"The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw[/i]

[i]The glass is at 50% of capacity[/i]

RobS

Banned

From: South Bend, IN

Registered: 2002-01-15

Posts: 1,701

Website

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

British spelling generally does not capitalize acronymns the way American spelling does; thus Nato, for example. They also leave off the period on Mr, Mrs, Dr, etc. And of course they do not automatically put the period or comma before a closed quotation ("like this."; Americans don't do this either, but their American editors will fix them!).

         -- RobS

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

And of course they do not automatically put the period or comma before a closed quotation

Some time working on Project Guetenberg (aka Distributed Proofreaders, great project, BTW..) will fix this, though! I'm European, so learned British English, but read more AE... Confusing after awhile, -ise, -ize, color, colour etc.... Took me ages to 'rewire' myself to put the stuff back between quotemarks...

hubricide

Banned

Registered: 2004-07-26

Posts: 49

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

Placing punctuation within quotations is madness.  The quotation itself didn't originally contain the punctuation (probably).  Whoever came up with that rule needs to burn long, burn long in the hot place.  Editors only know how to complain, not how to ENJOY.  I'LL SEE YOU DOWN BELOW, YOU SANCTIMONIOUS MONKEYS.   :band:

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

Hah, you should go and take a look at the contributers discussion at Wikipedia... Those guys seem to take things like spelling 'color' as 'colour' etc. as a personal insult. You can almost hear the foam at their mouths sizzling

GraemeSkinner

Member

From: Eden Hall, Cumbria

Registered: 2004-02-20

Posts: 563

Website

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

Hah, you should go and take a look at the contributers discussion at Wikipedia... Those guys seem to take things like spelling 'color' as 'colour' etc. as a personal insult. You can almost hear the foam at their mouths sizzling

It's always gonna be 'colour' to me as I'm English    If I was writing something for use in America I'd just set the spell checker to American and let it get on with it (lazy or what!).

GCNR...

I hope they say no, or the thing fails again

And I hope this was a joke, hoping that something fails as people are going to be happy it worked for less money is a pretty poor show. Surely the data it returned would be worth it if it worked.

Graeme

---

There was a young lady named Bright.
Whose speed was far faster than light;
She set out one day
in a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
--Arthur Buller--

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Beagle 3 hitching a ride on American Rover? - science-package on 2009 rover?

GCNR...

I hope they say no, or the thing fails again

And I hope this was a joke, hoping that something fails as people are going to be happy it worked for less money is a pretty poor show. Surely the data it returned would be worth it if it worked.

Graeme

*Good grief, GCN.    (No, I don't think he's joking based on previous similar comments). 

I don't want to see such a science project fail! 

--Cindy

P.S.:  As for "colour" versus "color" -- I'm glad we Americans have dropped the "u" from most of the Brit use of it.  Makes less work for me (1 less keystroke adds up!).

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)