PI Daily, August 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.
Is Psyche all metal? Mostly metal? Is it part of a core?
The thing is, we don't know. It's a journey of discovery! No mission has been near Psyche, and we don't know what it looks like.
A thread on what we know and what we hypothesize…(1/13) #PI_Daily @MissionToPsyche pic.twitter.com/hJwTUXobAu— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 31, 2021
Just got my long-sleeve t-shirt w this logo! Good timing bc most of today was working on @MissionToPsyche imagers, checking my test and calibration data. #PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/vwc21IiKYU
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 30, 2021
Well THANKS @TheAtlantic for giving me a #PI_Daily nightmare I didn't yet have: PIRATES.
Thank goodness @MissionToPsyche is not traveling by boat! https://t.co/O6j2jPZNBd
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 27, 2021
Right now, (16) Psyche is on the other side of the Sun from us. It's not too far from comet Tempel 1. #PI_Daily @MissionToPsyche pic.twitter.com/8f47G9i4Z9
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 26, 2021
Last morning this week @NASAJPL. All day is @MissionToPsyche monthly management review. Right now, payload section. Soon, a quick spin through the high bay and then jump in the car and drive back to AZ, listening to the rest of review from the road. #PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/A1K1uGrtS3
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 25, 2021
The system integration and test process for @MissionToPsyche is well underway. Looking like a spacecraft! And as of yesterday, the gamma ray and neutron spectrometer are installed on the booms…stay tuned for new photos. Moving so fast! #PI_Daily https://t.co/QtGHKibhhs
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 24, 2021
Real-life #PI_Daily.
At @NASAJPL working challenges and congratulating @MissionToPsyche ATLO team for amazing progress.
Learn suddenly one of our ASU courses needs emergency instructor help…thought I would not need to teach during launch year, but apparently was wrong. pic.twitter.com/030ihbZNhF
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 23, 2021
How does (16) Psyche compare to Bennu in size? (Q during @NASAJPL von Kármán lecture last night)
Bennu at scale of other asteroids is the tiny dot in the small box. But don't confuse this with actual smallness: Bennu would be a formidable impactor!@MissionToPsyche #PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/IufWpwH18w
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 20, 2021
Let’s play…debunk myths about (16) Psyche! 🧐
Myth #1: The Psyche asteroid is coming toward the Earth!
No, it isn’t🙄. It’s in a stable orbit 3 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. It is never going to threaten Earth.@MissionToPsyche #PI_DAILY pic.twitter.com/Lmbx6QLXj1
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 19, 2021
Wildfire smoke coming in to San Jose. @MissionToPsyche #PI_DAILY pic.twitter.com/nvUGNXvL8K
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 18, 2021
Off to the Bay Area to visit @Maxar today. See you again tonight, Camelback Mtn! @MissionToPsyche #PI_DAILY pic.twitter.com/faQddcsHCg
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 18, 2021
Today in @MissionToPsyche Scenarios meeting we're discussing how the spacecraft ephemeris are updated (that is, how we know where it is). This video is a nice primer on declination and right ascension, the primary parameters of the ephemeris.#PI_Dailyhttps://t.co/Kj77iyqYF8
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 17, 2021
Cool to think how Psyche might be part of an unmelted planetesimal, that is, NOT part of a core but with rock and metal still intimately mixed, like this CB chondrite.
We're designed the mission to be able to tell the difference.@MissionToPsyche #PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/aqxADP0QaW
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 16, 2021
How can we systematically identify the cause of an error? A fishbone diagram, aka cause-and-effect diagram.
We're working one now on @MissionToPsyche. Great tool for, well, everything. #PI_Daily
I failed to find a satiric one to share…ahem…https://t.co/LSeusWz1Om
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 13, 2021
Writing #PI_Daily today from @NASAJPL, working w the @MissionToPsyche team, seeing our growing spacecraft! Usual challenges, keeping our brains active & alive.
Inspired by Edna Mode:Confront the problem. Fight! Win! And call me when you get back, darling. I enjoy our visits. pic.twitter.com/WkVyaThLwN
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 10, 2021
Super new paper out today from de Kleer, Cambioni, and Shepard. Temp, emissivity, polarized emission data agree that Psyche is likely a metal/silicate mixture, but what kinds? What origin? @MissionToPsyche will answer big questions we can't answer from Earth.#PI_Daily https://t.co/gHyS6DeHeh
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 6, 2021
Big activity of @MissionToPsyche this week! Beautiful GRNS is ready to be integrated into the spacecraft. #PI_DAILY https://t.co/8YRniILvu2
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 5, 2021
What do you call the bracket that holds and orients your SPT Hall-effect thrusters?
DSM. It stands for DAPM-Actuated SPT Module. And DAPM stands for Dual-Positioning Mechanism. And SPT stands for Stationary Plasma Thruster. Simple.#PI_Daily @MissionToPsyche pic.twitter.com/KCujx07p55
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 4, 2021
Go Lucy!!#PI_Daily https://t.co/xh9Bseh8BR
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 4, 2021
It's @MissionToPsyche Super Tuesday! Lots of high-level reports, and also decisions. Ex:
– Shall we fund from reserves some additional hardware review
– Should we decide now to make our fall all-team meeting 100% virtual
– And about 30 others…#LaunchMinusOneYr#PI_Daily pic.twitter.com/fzxTqDFaLX— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 3, 2021
New #PI_Daily participant! Chris Ruf, PI of CYGNSS, improving hurricane strength predictions, and more! https://t.co/weybSr7wQI https://t.co/ro12NL17sQ
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 3, 2021
Go @LucyMission!
This will be us, @MissionToPsyche, in April: Loading for transport to the Cape! Show us the way, Lucy!#PI_Daily https://t.co/vAVaJcsqc6— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 2, 2021
My friends, our @MissionToPsyche launch period opens on August 1, 2022, one year from today! Here are thoughts from some of the team.#PI_Daily https://t.co/rxSinXHgdS
— Lindy Elkins-Tanton (@ltelkins) August 1, 2021