34: Computers! With Resident Space Expert Dean Mikolajczyk
This week, Beth gains a deeper understanding & appreciation on how COMPUTERS help NASA explore the cosmos with her returning guest and Resident Space Expert Dean Mikolajczyk. Here are the highlights:
- Dean shares his insights from his days as programmer for the MARS rovers Spirit and Opportunity!
- Dean explains how a democratic computer system works down to the second before a launch SAFE MODE (and why this feature on computers is so important).
- The reason why Space X lands on a barge\u2026 (it depends on the payload, and trajectory, and a few other things). It\u2019s a beautiful partnership between computer software and hardware.
- Are the computer programmers the unsung heroes of our lunar landing successes? Dean answers this and all of my Casual questions on this fun episode.
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Quotes from Dean here:
\u201cYou can\u2019t use computers for everything, you\u2019ve got to use computers and people together.\u201d
\u201cHumans are flawed. We\u2019re also three miles from the launch pad. So even with binoculars, we couldn\u2019t be able to see/ assess a problem, so let\u2019s leave it up to the 20,000+ sensors on the external tank and on the Space Shuttle itself.\u201d
\u201cI still think humans are the better judges behind the wheel.\u201d
\u201cBehind the scenes, especially with the [Mars] rovers, from my point of view, you are constantly questioning, \u2018did we do this, did we do that,\u2019 the nice thing about working as a programmer is that you have teams, and we worked democratically.\u201d
\u201cData is flawed if you\u2019re human, but that\u2019s how we learn.\u201d
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About Dean:
BS Technical Photography
MS Astrophysics\xa0
NASA MER Mars program
NASA Public Relations
Astronomy instructor & lecturer
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Where to find Dean: