Martian 'Quicksand'

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Duncan Edwards
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Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby Duncan Edwards » Sat Jan 23, 2010 5:52 am

And rover Spirit remains stuck on Mars. The prospects of extrication are looking dimmer with each passing day.

While doing some site scouting this summer I lost a pair of old running shoes to a wetter version of the lunar regolith. First time that has ever happened to me. I got cocky and didn't remove my footwear as I entered an area that I knew better of. Clay, silt, and gravel form an excellent concrete. So good in fact that I was unable to recover my shoes even after a ten minute battle to get my feets out. Had I been alone or in somewhat less decent shape I would probably still be there.

Let's also not forget the infamous "Stuck Stuck" scene where Brittany managed to become embedded, hip deep. If only Spirit had a friend to lend a hand. 8-)
It's a dirty job but I got to do it for over 20 years. Thank you.

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Mynock
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Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby Mynock » Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:52 pm

Damn shame. I read they were still going to be able to use it as a science platform and do some work with it right were it is, so it's not a total loss.
The first manned mission to mars should load those little guys up and bring them back. They deserve a spot in the Smithsonian.
"Know thyself, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories."
--Sun Tzu

water_bug_62208
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Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby water_bug_62208 » Sun Jan 24, 2010 2:00 am

(Marvin the Martian, after his Christmas break and much celebration for the New Year, returns to the site where he last left Spirit)

"DAMN! This piece of Earthling junk with the unlicenced image of me upon it is still HERE!!!"

(His conniption from last year quickly returns as with rapid footsteps he moves to the other side of Spirit)

"OH! This makes me ANGRY!"

(With rapid footsteps Marvin moves back to his previous spot)

"Very, very ANGRY! Obviously, it'll take more than a single Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator to jettison this piece of human-made crap off MY planet and back to that third rock from the sun once and for all!"

(With rapid footsteps Marvin dashes off into the distance and vanishes over the horizon. He then quickly returns with a huge wooden crate wrapped in his arms. Huffing and puffing, he breaks open the crate and begins placing several sticks of Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator around Spirit)

"A decade's worth of the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator for a single job, but this surely must do it!"

(Marvin begins wiring the pieces of Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator together and ties the fuses off into a signle primary fuse)

"At last I'm ready to finally be rid of this thing!'

(Marvin lights the fuse then turns around with his eyes tightly closed and his fingers in his ears. Suddenly, his eyes open wide. He spins around.)

"Oh, my, I'm much too close to survive the inevitable detonation of the consolidation of Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulators! This will be far more than that dreadful Earth shattering kaboom one would normally expect!"

(With rapid footsteps Marvin dashes off into the distance and vanishes over the horizon. Marvin eventually seeks shelter behind a Martian mountain range several miles away from Spirit)

"This should be far enough away from the super Earth shattering kaboom that'll happen any second now."

(Marvin turns around with his eyes tightly closed and his fingers in his ears. A few seconds go by. Then several more seconds go by. Then a few minutes go by. Suddenly, his eyes open wide. He looks about in wonderment.)

"Where's the kaboom? Where's the planetary, Earth shattering kaboom? Oh, this is SO frustrating! Delays, delays!"

(With rapid footsteps Marvin dashes off from around the mountain range and back to Spirit. He closely examines the situation, sees that the fuses have all burned their way through into the pieces of Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator as expected, then scratches his head in confusion.)

"This is most odd. There should've been a catastrophic, planetary, Earth shattering kaboom!"

(Marvin then notices a note placed upon Spirit. He picks up the note and reads it.)

"Dear, traveler. Your luggage bound for Earth was inspected and found to contain prohibited items, namely the explosive Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. This item also violates United States Customs regulations for the allowance of illegal materials into the jurisdiction of the United States. Therefore, your luggage has been banned for its intended space flight into the United States and the explosives neutralized. Thank you for your cooperation. We're here to serve you. Transportation Security Agency."

(Marvin crumbles the note in his hand)

"Damn Earthling revenuers! How dare they come onto MY planet and prohibit MY launching of their piece of worthless Earthling junk back to where it belongs! OH, this makes me ANGRY!"

(With rapid footsteps and clenched fists, Marvin moves to the opposite side of Spirit)

"Very, very ANGRY!"
Last edited by water_bug_62208 on Sun Jan 24, 2010 10:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Duncan Edwards
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Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby Duncan Edwards » Sun Jan 24, 2010 7:15 am

water_bug_62208 wrote:"DAMN! This piece of Earthling junk with the unlicenced image of me upon it is still HERE!!!"..."Very, very ANGRY!"


Brilliant Waterbug and plausible too. Ever work for Warner Brothers?

Mynock wrote:Damn shame. I read they were still going to be able to use it as a science platform and do some work with it right were it is, so it's not a total loss.


For the time being. Unable to move to a better location before the onset of the Martian winter it is likely that Spirit will freeze. I'm afraid that only a sinker adapted to extremely cold weather might be able to pull off such a rescue.

Nessie? Got your passport? 8-)
It's a dirty job but I got to do it for over 20 years. Thank you.

water_bug_62208
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Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby water_bug_62208 » Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:23 am

Story removed. Sorry.
Last edited by water_bug_62208 on Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:09 am, edited 4 times in total.

bbjohn
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Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby bbjohn » Mon Jan 25, 2010 5:46 am

Waterbug, you make me very happy! VERY happy indeed! I think the late, great Chuck Jones would've loved this.

Big Bad John

bbjohn
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Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby bbjohn » Mon Jan 25, 2010 6:06 am

Post deleted.

Big Bad John
Last edited by bbjohn on Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:03 am, edited 2 times in total.

water_bug_62208
Posts: 2128
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:21 am

Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby water_bug_62208 » Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:40 am

Post removed. Sorry.
Last edited by water_bug_62208 on Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Duncan Edwards
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Re: Martian 'Quicksand'

Postby Duncan Edwards » Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:13 pm

Okay, as of today, NASA confirms that Spirit's handlers at JPL have decided to give up. There just isn't time left to make further attempts at getting free before winter. All further efforts will be directed to getting the batteries in optimal condition to avoid having the rover slip into frozen narcolepsy. Science will continue but driving is done. If only they had checked with us sooner we might have been able to offer some practical help. 8-)
It's a dirty job but I got to do it for over 20 years. Thank you.


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