PI Daily, March 2021
By Lindy Elkins-Tanton Starting January 1, 2020…
a new series of daily mission activity Tweets from Psyche Principal Investigator (PI) Lindy Elkins-Tanton.
#PI_Daily
The goal? To share an inside look at the chores, challenges, tasks, assignments, duties, and more taken on by a NASA mission PI!
Follow along on @MissionToPsyche or below.
Right on the @NASA homepage — the news about @MissionToPsyche spacecraft arriving at @NASAJPL from @Maxar so we can integrate everything and get ready for launch. #PI_Dailyhttps://t.co/A3Rt3h7chL
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 29, 2021
Look at this beauty of a @MissionToPsyche spacecraft arrive at @NASAJPL! HUGE milestone for the project!
See how tight the fit is getting the shipping container into the highbay? We had to do a whole dry run a few months ago to make sure all this was possible.#PI_Daily https://t.co/yuvnZEPDDy
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 29, 2021
Maybe the best part is the message stenciled on the side of the shipping container:
Item for Spaceflight Use
Do Not Drop#PI_DAily https://t.co/pV4sf8nQ1H— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 28, 2021
My quiet on #PI_Daily has been caused by this under-wraps event — the nail-biting shipment of the @MissionToPsyche spacecraft from the Bay Area to @NASAJPL! More tomorrow… https://t.co/pV4sf8nQ1H
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 28, 2021
Working on pre-launch papers abt science & mission planning of @MissionToPsyche. How to integrate the thoughts & writing styles of a team into individual papers? Some ppl write the whole paper themselves, but I (so far) try to unite many pieces from others. 🧐#PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/TJGqER2HwJ
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 27, 2021
How can we be sure to test hardware JUST ENOUGH and not overtest it? #PI_Daily
It's the @MissionToPsyche season of vibe tables, thermovac chambers, shock tests. We rely on experience (much is empirical) & tacit (implicit, not codified) knowledge.
NASA/Chris Gunn image of JWST pic.twitter.com/lpQVCPvI4R
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 25, 2021
OMG it's @Astro_Cady showing our @MissionToPsyche flipbook, which we created to show one of Erik Asphaug's models for how Psyche might have formed. Oh it's a good #PI_Daily. https://t.co/sYKU6WI2SI
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 23, 2021
A lot of today's work was how to reach consensus & move forward. Taking ideas into actions & outcomes is a human challenge. Every day I learn a little more.
We do love using sticky notes! Other times, we need more granular schedules & milestones. @MissionToPsyche pic.twitter.com/xB0rNF5uW5
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 22, 2021
#PI_Daily Checking on Imager and Magnetometer progress, and Day 3 of ATLO…and…
THIS@MissionToPsyche https://t.co/esmVYOJkGm
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 18, 2021
Happy birthday, (16) Psyche! It's Psyche Discovery Day.#PI_Daily @MissionToPsyche pic.twitter.com/cqB1s84BhG
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 17, 2021
Absolutely raises my heart rate to see this beauty coming together! Look at that big high-gain antenna!@MissionToPsyche #PI_Daily https://t.co/jvxZo1gUpF
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 16, 2021
Forgot to add: #PI_Daily! https://t.co/PQLFKGb8Ng
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 16, 2021
Here's the challenge of #PI_Daily.
What I actually did today:– Strategize w [redacted] abt poor performance of [redacted]
– Talk abt how to pull in schedule slip caused by [redacted]
– Discuss $$X request by [redacted] for unbudgeted costs
And..dream a bit..@MissionToPsyche pic.twitter.com/zEHcfs2730
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 10, 2021
Learn about @MissionToPsyche from our magnetometer investigation lead, and general great guy and planetary science genius, Ben Weiss!#PI_Daily https://t.co/vMkRfujmQW
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 10, 2021
Hey #Space and #Engineering ppl:
Might be creating an online micro-MBA for scientist or engineer leaders of major projects (e.g., PI of a NASA mission).
What needs to be taught? Love to hear yr thoughts!
– Mgt & leadership
– Budgeting & forecasting
– Legal issues#PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/cFv2JW0xfX— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 9, 2021
It's @MissionToPsyche Super Tuesday!
All are good mtgs, too:
– Comms scheduling in orbit
– Push back on instrument sched slip
– 1:1 w Proj Scientist
– 1:1 w Lead Engineer
– HQ/Marshall wkly tag-up
– Proj Leadership staff mtg
– Technical/Sched/Cost mtg
– JPL 4X mtg#PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/2zSk81zAtQ— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 9, 2021
Seems like a pretty typical #PI_Daily! https://t.co/NDycUOkGfY
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 9, 2021
Love the solidarity, Bethany! I was transplanting snap peas yesterday, in addition to writing. And dinner with friends. #PI_Daily
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 8, 2021
Look at these beautiful Psyche images from @ESO (Viikinkoski+, 2018)!
Recently @OranSpaceDr & I gave a @earth2earthsem abt @MissionToPsyche & I misattributed the instrument. An author was listening & kindly emailed me rather than embarrassing me on the air. Thank you!#PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/qJZT5waa9M
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 5, 2021
Lots of work on a set of pre-launch papers about @MissionToPsyche for Space Science Reviews: One for each of our science objectives, instruments, spacecraft design and build, and the all-important student collaborations. Stay tuned!#PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/pQG5wjWLz8
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 4, 2021
…checking on schedules…pushing subcontractors…
Wait, way better #PI_Daily for @MissionToPsyche today!
Watching PhD candidate @JohnMChristoph give a talk to 80 ppl on solar wind weathering of troilite (not imaged), nm-scale roughening, and use of results for the mission. pic.twitter.com/U379ez6KFh
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 3, 2021
Here's an intriguing additional set of calculations we need to make: When will the Moon occult a @dsn_status station from the view of the @MissionToPsyche spacecraft? Here's an example with Canberra being occulted. #BigMoonIsAPain @WeLoveOurMoon#PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/hZYRQHx4PT
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 2, 2021
We are digging into the details on 8 example launches in our launch period for @MissionToPsyche .
Some inward toward Sun, some out, some day, some night, some give a long coast later for ops, some do not. Need to be ready for all of them.#PI_Daily
ESA ground tracking network pic.twitter.com/T4QbIS0b5a— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) March 2, 2021