Feb. 24, 2000
Status, 24 February 2000, 7:50 PM PST The first set of data since opening MISR's cover has arrived and the images are spectacular. A distinctive feature that shows very clearly in the "first light" pictures is James Bay in Ontario, Canada and the surrounding land. There are also some beautiful clouds to the south. Even at the most oblique view angles, the sharpness of the pictures is striking, and there appears to be very little geometric distortion, indicating that the camera optics and optomechanical systems are working well, and that the spacecraft is extremely stable. Needless to say, we are thrilled. Because NASA has restricted public release of these pictures until a press conference involving all the teams is held, I regret that I am not yet able to share them with you. Until we can find a way of resolving this that would simultaneously protect the sensitive nature of the data, I sincerely appreciate your understanding and patience. We have discovered one unexpected anomaly. The red, green, and near-infrared data from one of the cameras (the one that points immediately aftward of straight down) have signal levels significantly lower than the other eight cameras and the blue band of the same camera. The imagery otherwise appears normal, so we suspect that this camera is not properly reacting to the commands which establish its exposure times. A special test is planned for tomorrow morning to explore this hypothesis. If confirmed, there are several approaches at our disposal for overcoming this problem. This has been a wonderful and exhilarating day. I am extremely indebted to many, many talented and dedicated people who have contributed in innumerable ways to bring this about. Exactly sixty years ago, 24 February 1940, Frances Langford recorded a familiar song from the movie "Pinocchio". The lyrics seem a fitting commemoration: "When you wish upon a star Makes no difference who you are Anything your heart desires Will come to you... Like a bolt out of the blue Fate steps in and sees you through When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true." MISR, carefully crafted in our workshop, has come to life. You can see earlier status reports by checking the "News" link of the MISR web site at
http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov.
David Diner