Blog #7- JPL- LakeLyn
This trip to Jet Propulsion Laboratory was quite a different experience compared to the last one. Coming into the field trip, I was not prepared to endure a lecture that lasted so long. After finding out the lecture was going to be about the Tree of Life project, I was looking forward to it. I had questions going to this lecture. Information was not provided by Julie Christensen during our first visit.
Tony Freeman introduced the Tree of Life project by having everyone introduce themselves and name their favorite tree. I thought this was an exciting way to start the lecture, but also made me more intrigued and knowledgable about different types of trees. Freeman introduced Julia Christensen, in which she began to discuss the Tree of Life project, focusing on longevity. She started out by explaining this idea of upgrade culture in our society. Technology is continually changing and becoming “better.” This idea of “better” draws people in to purchase new technological devices. Where do their old ones go?
There are two main parts of this project. Proxima B is a spacecraft that is going to do an interstellar mission. The CubeSat is a satellite that is going to be orbiting the Earth, sending and receiving messages to an antenna tree. This antenna tree is an antenna that sends sounds from the tree to the CubeSat. This allows the tree to tell a story about life here on Earth. With that data, they are going to etch the sound waves using physics. This disc is going to be placed on the interstellar mission, in what I assume would be to communicate with the other life that is out in our universe. Since physics is a universal idea, whoever receives the etched disc can decode it and understand information about our planet.
Walking out of the lecture, I felt very disappointed and frustrated that I had so many unanswered questions. I continually asked myself, why were there so many unanswered questions if they have received approval and funds from many other outlets? There are a lot of problematic things with this project. Julia explained that the CubeSat is going to be receiving the sounds of the tree. She kept saying that this is a duet. The two-way communication has not yet been addressed. Is the CubeSat going to be sending messages to the tree as well? The way the radar works was also in question. How is the radar working? What types of trees is the radar going to be detecting and communicating with?
Another thing that I wish she touched more upon was this idea of upgrade culture and tech waste. She wants this project to last 200 years with the plan that the technology of the CubeSat will not be upgraded, therefore falling into the upgrade culture. But what happens if this fails? Is that the end of the mission plan? Is the CubeSat now going to space waste, cluttering up the universe with junk? Some of the other questions I had that were asked but not answered yet were: Can the longevity of the tree affect the sound of the tree overtime? Will the sounds change over time, and Can the tree tell the satellite about the current environment, which would help keep the public interested? I am hoping these questions can help them think about some of the problems they might have.
Tony Freeman introduced the Tree of Life project by having everyone introduce themselves and name their favorite tree. I thought this was an exciting way to start the lecture, but also made me more intrigued and knowledgable about different types of trees. Freeman introduced Julia Christensen, in which she began to discuss the Tree of Life project, focusing on longevity. She started out by explaining this idea of upgrade culture in our society. Technology is continually changing and becoming “better.” This idea of “better” draws people in to purchase new technological devices. Where do their old ones go?
There are two main parts of this project. Proxima B is a spacecraft that is going to do an interstellar mission. The CubeSat is a satellite that is going to be orbiting the Earth, sending and receiving messages to an antenna tree. This antenna tree is an antenna that sends sounds from the tree to the CubeSat. This allows the tree to tell a story about life here on Earth. With that data, they are going to etch the sound waves using physics. This disc is going to be placed on the interstellar mission, in what I assume would be to communicate with the other life that is out in our universe. Since physics is a universal idea, whoever receives the etched disc can decode it and understand information about our planet.
Walking out of the lecture, I felt very disappointed and frustrated that I had so many unanswered questions. I continually asked myself, why were there so many unanswered questions if they have received approval and funds from many other outlets? There are a lot of problematic things with this project. Julia explained that the CubeSat is going to be receiving the sounds of the tree. She kept saying that this is a duet. The two-way communication has not yet been addressed. Is the CubeSat going to be sending messages to the tree as well? The way the radar works was also in question. How is the radar working? What types of trees is the radar going to be detecting and communicating with?
Another thing that I wish she touched more upon was this idea of upgrade culture and tech waste. She wants this project to last 200 years with the plan that the technology of the CubeSat will not be upgraded, therefore falling into the upgrade culture. But what happens if this fails? Is that the end of the mission plan? Is the CubeSat now going to space waste, cluttering up the universe with junk? Some of the other questions I had that were asked but not answered yet were: Can the longevity of the tree affect the sound of the tree overtime? Will the sounds change over time, and Can the tree tell the satellite about the current environment, which would help keep the public interested? I am hoping these questions can help them think about some of the problems they might have.
Comments
Post a Comment