Discovery News: Reporter Journal

Treasures in Arizona

Dave Mosher here again, and lots of catching up to do!

Kasey-Dee Gardner (video journalist extraordinaire) and I have been bugging people across Arizona with a big ol' camera these past few days – especially our gracious hosts at the University of Arizona.

We got a first-hand peek at UA's Science Operations Center, where scientists and engineers are breaking a sweat as the Phoenix Mars Lander closes in on a May 25th appointment with Mars. One way or another, project scientist Mark Lemmon told us, it's going to meet the Red Planet… here's to hoping for a safe landing!

You can see the full-scale, completely operational model of the lander in an area called "the pit," where specialists run the insectoid-looking machine through its paces. After landing, the idea is to arrange all the rocks and dirt to match the yet-to-be-seen landing site, and then plan out the spacecraft's maneuvers. I guess you'd say Phoenix is a big shot CEO, and the operations team is like a top-notch secretary. (Ok, so that might be a bit stinky – but I challenge all of you smarty pants out there to invent a better analogy.)

Also: Peter Smith, the mission's principal investigator/head honcho, was around with Phoenix juice flowing through his veins, and showed us his new (fake) tattoo. Having brains *and* brawn is never a bad thing for sending a big robot to Mars, I suppose…

And as if a really cool Martian spacecraft wasn't cool enough, Kasey and I also got a sneak peek at the ginormous Discovery Channel telescope mirror. At 14 feet in diameter and 6,700 lbs, it's quite a monster! Opticians are still slowly grinding this bad boy down to size, and polishing it to a shine should start in June. Stay tuned for some video on this super-cool process.

I shall close with a fascinating find in downtown Tucson: The floor of a fine eatery called the Cup Café is made entirely of pennies! How many, you ask? Let's get a few guesses in the comments section, and then I shall share the magic number. Sorry, no recess passes to hand out for the winner :)

Arizona Adventures

I haven't blogged since my Alaska Iditarod adventure and I can tell you, this current trip to Arizona is about as polar opposite as you can get. No snow, no cold, no layering of clothes, no Jorge, and of course no puppies.

Instead, space producer Dave Mosher and myself are out in the hot Arizona sun (it's well over 100 degrees today) covering the Discovery Channel Telescope the current Mars Phoenix mission. There's been some bumps, brusies, and snakes along the way.

Yesterday we were at the Happy Jack site -- the future home of the Discovery Channel Telescope -- and we decided to get "creative" with our shots. We climbed up a small formation where Dave quickly saw a snake -- no rattle though. We were able to get our standup shots atop a small rock formation with the observatory in the background....but on the way down back down...I lost my footing and slide down the hill. It hurt, but at least I didn't land on the snake and the camera is still okay ( don't worry James and Lori).

Now, we're off to Mars.....

Big Telescopes, Beef Jerky and Heat

This will be the first-ever post for yours truly: Dave Mosher, Discovery's new Space Producer. Think astronomy, spacecraft, and floating in zero-gravity – not that TV show where they come in and clean up your house real good.

I'm on the road in Arizona with Kasey-Dee Gardner and we're headed to Flagstaff to get the skinny on the new Discovery Channel telescope, which will be part of the Lowell Observatory. When the $40 million eye on the sky is done next year, it'll sport a 4.2-meter mirror (or 13.8 feet for you non-metric folks) and will be the fifth largest observatory in the contiguous U.S. That's about as big as a backyard trampoline that will do a number on your home insurance policy.

We're going to find out how the telescope is shaping up and what astronomers plan to look for with it. Construction began about 4 years ago, and they have only a couple more to wait, so I'm sure they're getting pumped about the big day.

Anywho, the hot Arizona sun is baking my keyboard a bit, so I'm going to go before my fingertips blister. Check back later as we post updates on our tour-de-Arizona, including visits to the University of Arizona to see how things are going with NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander.

P.S. Kasey-Dee has never had beef jerky before – until now. The yuck face says it all: "It's like eating meat-flavored plastic… how can anyone eat this (expletive)?!"