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The PR is how they're reporting it. "We want an minimum of 20, but it could make upwards of 200 flights before giving out" isn't as punch as they want. They wan

by bnralt 3y ago

The PR is how they're reporting it. "We want an minimum of 20, but it could make upwards of 200 flights before giving out" isn't as punch as they want. They want to say, "We only are planning on 5 flight. WOW, 15 flights?! Wait wait wait...NOW IT'S UP TO 40 FLIGHTS?!?!" (And if your target is at least 20 but you say it's 5, you can miss your target and still claim you succeeded.) Look at the reporting from NASA. For instance[1]: > “Less than a year ago we didn’t even know if powered, controlled flight of an aircraft at Mars was possible,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “Now, we are looking forward to Ingenuity’s involvement in Perseverance’s second science campaign. Such a transformation of mindset in such a short period is simply amazing, and one of the most historic in the annals of air and space exploration.” ** > “This upcoming flight will be my 22nd entry in our logbook,” said Ingenuity chief pilot Håvard Grip of JPL. “I remember thinking when this all started, we’d be lucky to have three entries and immensely fortunate to get five. Now, at the rate we’re going, I’m going to need a second book.” "One of the most historic in the annals of air and space exploration"? Or here[2]: > NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completed 71 flights since first taking to the skies above the Red Planet on April 19, 2021, far exceeding its originally planned technology demonstration of up to five flights. Of course, this makes it to the Wiki article[3]: > The helicopter's performance and resilience in the harsh Martian environment have greatly exceeded expectations. The aircraft surpassed its required altitude and flight duration specifications soon after beginning operations on Mars. This allowed Ingenuity to perform far more flights than were initially expected of the aircraft. Or look at how XKCD has a comic about "Wow, I can't believe this rover exceeded our expectations by so much!" for both Spirit[4] and Opportunity[5]. At this point, it's hard to not see this framing as NASA spin, one that people keep falling for over and over again. [1] https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9146/nasa-extends-ingenuity-helicopter-mission/ https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9146/nasa-extends-ingenuity-helic... [2] https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Helicopter-Highlights https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Helicopter-High... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingenuity_(helicopter) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingenuity_(helicopter) [4] https://xkcd.com/695/ https://xkcd.com/695/ [5] https://xkcd.com/1504/ https://xkcd.com/1504/

glenstein 3y ago
The XKCD comics do not at all suggest that we are supposed to treat the unexpected longevity of the missions as spin from NASA. One is a playfully satirical exaggeration of capabilities. To the extent it offers a commentary, is fully crediting a rover for it's toughness and longevity. The other approaches the longevity from a perspective of sentimental affection for an innocent rover who grows increasingly lonely as it's mission grows longer and longer. It does not imply prior knowledge or PR spin on the past of NASA.
- bnralt 3y ago
  The whole reason why people think of it as being an incredible amount of longevity is because of the NASA spin. Both of those say the planned mission was for 90 days, and so you get things like the exchange in the Opportunity comic of "11 years, wow."/"Wasn't the original mission 90 days?"/"This is starting to get weird.", or things like the Spirit comic having "Day 1944 of 90." Neither of these really work if NASA says, "We're hoping for a decade, but our minimum goals are 90 days." It works because of the NASA spin, "Wow, this was only supposed to be a 90 day mission/5 flights, but we can't believe how much these things have exceeded our expectations!" If people are continuously telling you their work is so amazing that they're blown away by how much the results have exceeded their expectations, you should probably question how honest they're being with you.

by bnralt 3y ago

glenstein 3y ago

The XKCD comics do not at all suggest that we are supposed to treat the unexpected longevity of the missions as spin from NASA. One is a playfully satirical exaggeration of capabilities. To the extent it offers a commentary, is fully crediting a rover for it's toughness and longevity. The other approaches the longevity from a perspective of sentimental affection for an innocent rover who grows increasingly lonely as it's mission grows longer and longer. It does not imply prior knowledge or PR spin on the past of NASA.

bnralt 3y ago
The whole reason why people think of it as being an incredible amount of longevity is because of the NASA spin. Both of those say the planned mission was for 90 days, and so you get things like the exchange in the Opportunity comic of "11 years, wow."/"Wasn't the original mission 90 days?"/"This is starting to get weird.", or things like the Spirit comic having "Day 1944 of 90." Neither of these really work if NASA says, "We're hoping for a decade, but our minimum goals are 90 days." It works because of the NASA spin, "Wow, this was only supposed to be a 90 day mission/5 flights, but we can't believe how much these things have exceeded our expectations!" If people are continuously telling you their work is so amazing that they're blown away by how much the results have exceeded their expectations, you should probably question how honest they're being with you.