EDITORIAL : METRIC MIX-UP; WEREN'T PLANS TO IMPLEMENT THE METRIC SYSTEM SCRAPPED BEFORE THEY EVER CAUGHT ON IN THE UNITED STATES?SO it turns out the Mars Climate Orbiter The Mars Climate Orbiter (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) was one of two spacecraft in the Mars Surveyor '98 program, the other being the Mars Polar Lander (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander). wasn't mysteriously hijacked by angry Martians who didn't want the Red Planet to be explored. Darn! Apparently, as the story NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory “JPL” redirects here. For other uses, see JPL (disambiguation). Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a NASA research center located in the cities of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA. tells, the spacecraft burned up because it got too close to Mars. And it got too close because there was a mix-up in calculating the measurements used in powering the orbiter. Lockheed Martin Corp. built the craft to English specifications, meaning the system of weights and measures Noun 1. system of weights and measures - system of measurement for length and weight and duration system of measurement, metric - a system of related measures that facilitates the quantification of some particular characteristic you use in your home, and transmitted information in inches and pounds of thrust. The scientists at JPL (language) JPL - JAM Programming Language. in Pasadena thought Lockheed was using metric measurements, like meters and newtons. What, in Sam Houston, is a newton? How this situation got all fouled up is perplexing per·plex tr.v. per·plexed, per·plex·ing, per·plex·es 1. To confuse or trouble with uncertainty or doubt. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. To make confusedly intricate; complicate. . Weren't plans to implement the metric system metric system, system of weights and measures planned in France and adopted there in 1799; it has since been adopted by most of the technologically developed countries of the world. scrapped before they ever caught on in the United States? The miscommunication between Lockheed and JPL cost the American taxpayers a mere $125 million. Not too mention all the valuable information we were about to cull about the Martian weather patterns. So if you've been wondering whether Mars has Santa Ana devil winds or water spouts, you're out of luck for now. At least we learned a valuable lesson out of this foul-up: A newton is the metric measurement of force which imparts to mass of one kilogram an acceleration of one meter per second squared. Huh? Maybe that's why we gave up on the metric system. |
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