Posthuman Blues

A guy with the Mentorn film crew thought I looked a little like Steven Soderbergh. I just ran a Google image search to see for myself. Perhaps he was onto something.




"Hey Steven! Give me back my glasses!"


By the way, the documentary (as yet untitled) will air on the Discovery Channel early next year. Besides the requisite interview (filmed in a somberly lit motion simulation theater), Mentorn took lots of footage of me gazing at various screens and manipulating the "eyes" of a full-scale mock-up Mars Exploration Rover. (Dramatic stuff.)

I also got to meet Larry Crumpler, who has the rare distinction of having "driven" the Spirit rover from the comfort of Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. I didn't have a chance to ask him about the "rabbit" (presumably airbag material from the rover's violent descent), but we talked about the "anomalous cleaning events" (NASA's term) that have kept the rovers' solar panels unexpectedly dust-free as well as the enticingly algal-looking "Magic Carpet" feature unveiled when the airbags were retracted.

Crumpler was quite excited about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (now on its way), which features unprecedented four-centimeter surface resolution. I compared the MRO's resolution to a spy satellite's and Crumpler confessed he was a little surprised NASA had been able to acquire it. I got the impression NASA's space technology, seemingly cutting edge, is at least a generation or two removed from its military equivalent.

Photos forthcoming.