NASA Remains Silent on MSL News
Keith’s note: Last week NASA PAO was telling the media that there would be an announcement (of what they did not know) of MSL results at the AGU meeting tomorrow next week. It has been a week since this story broke – one that spoke of results that would be “Earthshaking” and “one for the history books”. Since then NASA has tried to unspin those characterizations but has said nothing officially (no media advisories, etc.) It would seem that no one at NASA knows what will be announced – or if anything will be announced – and that they do not care about telling the public – or the media – what is going on.
Given NASA SMD’s recent botched PR efforts with regard to life in the universe i.e. “Arsenic-based life” and “Earthlike planets“, yet another false alarm or flurry of unsubstantiated arm waving and hype followed by spin control would really undermine SMD’s credibility.
Press Conference: Mars Rover Curiosity’s Investigations in Gale Crater
“Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, California Monday, 3 December 9:00 a.m.”
Keith’s update: NASA has not made any statement about this event – nor have they said whether the press briefing will be webcast/televised or if media who are not at the meeting will be able to participate.
MSL Results: “Earthshaking … one for the history books” Or Not?, earlier post
The people knowing whats going on have signed the rules of the road not to tell anybody, icluding other people at NASA. Why should they tell something? If anybody finds out they lose their exclusive right to be part of the mission. There is more to come in the next two years. You can have a career and a few Scinece papers. The risk to lose that for a not that earthshaking discovery you should not take.
NASA routinely gives several days advanced notice of time/location of media events – and details as to how media can participate via telephone or the Internet. NASA has yet to do so for this event.
The reason for that may be that they are not in control of this particular press event, the AGU is. Just a guess.
The AGU meeting is actually next week, not this week. The press conference schedule released yesterday by the AGU includes an MSL press conference at 9 am PST Monday: http://fallmeeting.agu.org/…
I haven’t seen a media advisory from NASA yet about this or other press conferences about NASA missions (Opportunity, GRAIL, Voyager, Van Allen Probes) scheduled for next week at the AGU meeting.
PAO told me last week that there’d be a media advisory out yesterday. It never appeared. It is clear that no one knows what the news is – if there is indeed any news to begin with. Stay tuned.
You can watch it live to find out:
http://fallmeeting.agu.org/…
The AGU meeting is _next_ week. http://fallmeeting.agu.org/…
The media is looking to nitpick, and they are not going to blame themselves.
An NPR reporter spliced together a narrative, using Grotzinger’s words, but in the wrong order, to imply something Grotzinger didn’t say.
Instead of getting into a mud slinging fest, NASA is doing the professional thing, ignoring this sensationalist storm-in-a-cup, and doing what they intended all along, which is reveal the results in a professional venue.
I am far from being a blind NASA advocate, but they are in the clear here.
No, NASA is back peddling, trying to make what was said into “what he meant to say”. NASA has never denied the “Earthshaking” characterization. Stay tuned.
Enlighten me then – what did Grotzinger say before it was edited into the interview?
Because if you read the transcript, it’s clearly a combination of half-sentences, some quoted directly, some paraphrased, all mashed together. Here’s the NPR transript: http://www.npr.org/template…
NASA PAO has been asked multiple times if what Grotzinger said – or is quoted as saying – or implied – is inaccurate. They have yet to say “No”. Grotzinger has been silent as well.
“PALCA: Put a sample of Martian soil or rock or even air inside SAM and it will tell you what the sample’s made of. Right now, SAM is working on a Mars soil sample, and Grotzinger says the results are earth-shaking.
GROTZINGER: This data is going to be one for the history books. It’s looking really good.”
Exactly.
Grotzinger’s direct quote above is generic and not sensationalist. The word “This” refers to something unknown, since NPR spliced a descriptive summary in front of it which is kinda attributed to something Grotzinger said.
So the listener is left THINKING that Grotzinger was referring to some sample, whereas in fact… who knows.
NASA has chosen to simply ignore the silliness and rather than get into a blame game, simply wait for the official release, which will speak for itself. Fair enough.
At the risk of beating an increasingly dead horse here, Grotzinger evidently didn’t use the word “earthshaking”. In fact, I believe it was NASAWatch that first implied that he did. This doesn’t involve NASA PAO. It’s not up to NASA PAO to argue about what Grotzinger was alleged to have said, nor is it up to PAO to be argumentative about what the word “earthshaking” means. PAO probably has yet to say “No” because they have other things to do.
As to “one for the history books”, my history books are filled with interesting but not necessarily earthshaking things. I look forward to hearing about the Curiosity discovery as something that will belong in the history books, but have no expectations about the Earth doing any shaking.
I must say that this episode offers some lessons for both the NASA science community and the press. This last election season was filled with such stuff, where words were put in the mouths of candidates who were then challenged to defend what they were alleged to have said.
Uh, AGU starts on Monday Dec 3, not tomorrow.
My error. PAO told me last week that there’d be a media advisory out yesterday. It never appeared.
Typical of NASA: Knows nothing about nothing.
I think the transcript speaks for itself. I don’t need NASA to verify or deny what is patently obvious from the transcript, that Grotzinger said nothing about earthshaking.
Assuming that the transcript, as we’ve seen/heard it, has not been altered at any point in time.
My cynical guess is that MSL discovered organic molecules that “could only have been created by life”. Then in the weeks that follow, scientists around the world will show us just how many dozens of completely non-life-related processes could create that same signature.
So yes, this will be in the history books right next to arsenic based life.
Although I could be wrong, I cannot envision anything, I mean ANYTHING coming from Mars that would really excite the general public. Sure, there might be some stuff in the soil to make astro-biologists, scientists, space nuts, etc. excited.
But something really, truly, earth/mars shaking to the public? Nah.
I know it’s more fun to speculate and second guess, but I’m just going to wait and see what they announce (once they do). I’m still holding out hope that it will be something cool, even if it’s not planet-shaking. Whatever it is, it will be for the history books.
Steve
According to Slate, John Grotzinger was quoted as saying how enthusiastic he was about the mission– his statement about “one for the history books” meant the whole mission was one for the history books– and the NPR reporter misinterpreted that enthusiasm to mean he was hinting at a particular science result that was being kept secret. http://www.slate.com/blogs/…
Also, I don’t know if this has been mentioned yet on this board but if there truly was something “earthshaking” then the announcement would come at NASA HQ in D.C., not some AGU meeting in S.F.
Below is a quote from http://www.segodnya.ua/scie… said …”that Elachi (director of JPL) told that Curiosity according to preliminary data found simple organic molecules in Martian soil…….”На Красной планете обнаружили органические молекулы.
В NASA приоткрыли тайну “исторической находки” на Марсе, от которой мировые СМИ ожидали настоящей сенсации.
По предварительным данным, марсоход Curiosity обнаружил в образцах марсианского грунта простые органические молекулы, сообщил директор Лаборатории реактивного движения NASA Чарльз Элачи.
Подробные данные специалисты намерены
предоставить публике не ранее 3 декабря в Сан-Франциско, где откроется
встреча членов Американского географического союза.
“Возможно, Curiosity обнаружил на Марсе
простые органические молекулы. Пока это предварительные данные, которые
еще предстоит проверить”, — заявил Элачи.
Ученый отметил, что речь идет именно об
органических, а не биологических молекулах. Элачи объяснил, что марсоход
не оборудован аппаратурой, способной обнаруживать живые организмы,
однако он может определять присутствие органических форм.
From gazeta.ru
” It is possible, that Curiosity found on Mars simple organic molecules. These data are preliminary, and need to be confirmed”, according to Italian mass-media, said Elachi (JPL director) during a conference in the university La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
http://www.gazeta.ru/scienc…
«Возможно, Curiosity обнаружил на Марсе простые органические молекулы.
Пока это предварительные данные, которые еще предстоит проверить», —
приводят заявление Элачи, которое он сделал на конференции в римском
университете La Sapienza, итальянские СМИ.
Best suggestion is gold, silver or platinum (maybe in nugget amounts).
The Italian “Corriere della Sera” reports:
«Forse abbiamo trovato delle molecole organiche su Marte». Lo ha
affermato Charles Elachi, direttore del Jet Propulsion Laboratory della
Nasa a Pasadena in una conferenza all’Università La Sapienza di Roma. Ma
ha precisato: «Organiche, non biologiche»
Translation:
“We may have found organic molecules on Mars” Charles Elachi, NASA JPL director said in a conference at University of Rome La Sapienza. But he pointed out: “Organic molecules, not biological molecules”.
More at:
http://tinyurl.com/d76cv5j