Bob Marcialis |
I worked on the flight hardware for four missions.
Until spring of 2000, I worked with Peter Smiths MAGI group, which stands for Mars Atmospheric and Geologic Imaging. Basically, I played eye doctor and calibration engineer for several of the cameras sent to the surface of Mars. Youve all seen pictures from the Mars Pathfinder? That was our first toy. It sent over 24,000 pictures to Earth. I was the lead on the Secondary Sun Search team: after landing, the first thing the spacecraft does is point its high-gain antenna towards Earth, which is approximately in the direction of the Sun. It was to be used if any cirrus clouds in the Martian atmosphere stymied the Primary search algorithm.
Unfortunately, we also had two cameras aboard the doomed Mars Polar Lander mission, which crashed on Mars in December, 1999. Most likely the crash was due to a dumb mix-up in the spacecraft software. During descent, the landing gear deployed using a set of springs. Upon deployment, the legs overshot their intended neutral position. This overshoot confused the EDL software. Thinking the legs had contacted the surface, the retros turned off. After millions of kilometers travel, it fell to the surface the last few kilometers. The mission ended in an unplanned lithobraking manuever, with rapid terminal disassembly upon intersection with the Martian surface. End of mission; end of our jobs.
Other NASA missions failed in rapid succession about this time. (For example, the Mars Climatological Orbiter.) MCO burned up in the atmosphere of Mars due to a mix-up of imperial (lbs force) and metric (Newtons) units. Eventually NASA had to re-think the Faster, Better, Cheaper policy dreamed up by a former administrator with no hands-on experience in the trade. Reality is more of a triangular phase diagram; Faster, Better, Cheaper: pick two. You can't get something for nothing!
In the four years I taught Astronomy at Pima Community College, I always deducted 50% from a students answer if they didnt include the units. Unfortunately, none of the folks in charge ever took my class.
Next I worked with William Boyntons Gamma Ray Spectrometer group. This instrument flew on the Mars 2001 Odyssey Orbiter. At Mars it achieved its mission goals and still is operating today (2024) as a relay for communications with rovers on the surface. GRS made compositional maps of the martian near-surface. The most likely places where subsurface water might be found were identified (see my work links). You can also check out NASAs Mars Odyssey web site for information. Our preliminary results were summarized in a paper, published in 05 July 2002 issue of Science magazine.
I also worked on the Mars Phoenix mission cameras for a period, through PDR (Preliminary Design Review). However I left when a massive, undeserved pay cut (due to budget woes with other aspects of the mission) forced my hand.
By training, I am a planetary astronomer. My field of expertise is the outer solar system, specifically the planet Pluto and its satellite Charon. I would love to continue active scientific research some day. Although I am not very active in the field of late, I always keep my ear to the ground, and maintain bibliography databases on the Pluto system, the Kuiper Belt in general, and its derivative, 2060 Chiron. I occasionally participate in stellar occultation expeditions, which allows sizes, shapes, rings, and potential atmospheres (or comas) around these distant bodies to be determined.
When not doing rocket science, I am usually found on the softball diamond and soccer pitch. I have been a fastpitch softball umpire since 1975, and work a rather busy schedule for several organizations, including the the Mountain West Conference, Conference-USA, the Lone Star Conference, the Western Athletic Conference, the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, and Tucson Parks & Recreation, and the alphabet soup of organizations that schedule youth softball across the country. Ive proposed and had adopted several rules changes over the years, closing loopholes and clarifying the codes. Ive worked 23 National Championships, the National and Olympic Teams of several countries (including Team USA) and continually strive to improve my game. You are only as good as your next call.
I am Past-President of the Tucson Softball Officials Association.
I also currently serve as President of the Reflections in the Catalinas Homeowners Association.
In my remaining spare time over the years I have typeset three (soon to be four) books and several journal articles about the Tohono 'O'odham people of Arizona. Projects led by my good friend, Harry Winters, a speaker of 'O'odham. These works are efforts to preserve and document the language and culture of the indigenous people of our area of the Southwest. They detail how places in Arizona and Sonora got their names, and at a critical time: the elder, native speakers are rapidly passing. An article on 'O'odham astronomical terms is one of our current projects, as is a four-semester course on teaching the 'O'odham language.
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Bob Marcialis
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Last Modified: 2024 March 30