Mars landing pic from Yahoo.

[ColbertWatcher]

Take a look at that photograph. Anything look out of place?



I will copy/paste Reuters' caption for it:

Phoenix Mars Lander scientists celebrate after the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft landed successfully in the first-ever touchdown near Mars' north pole at the mission control room of the Jet Propulsion lab in Pasadena, California May 25, 2008. Shown (L-R) Barry Goldstein, JPL project manager for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, Ed Sedivy, Phoenix spacecraft manager, Lockheed Martin, Phoenix principal investigator, Fuk Li, manager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Exploration Program, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona and Doug McCuiston.

Anyone know how much money the University of Arizona is getting for their contracts with NASA? Can anyone explain to me how the University of Arizona suddenly got involved in a mission to Mars?

Well, enough with the tough questions, let's just celebrate this wonderful achievement.

[Mz Pip]

1. Well, if McCain had anything to do with it

then he did at least one good thing in his career. I'm a big proponent of space exploration.

I still won't vote for him, though. :shrug:

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Anything to do with it?

I'm sure he had someone lobbying the idea for him.

[hokies4ever]

31. Wouldn't this be considered an earmark though?

[ColbertWatcher]

42. I don't know.

Maybe it is, but maybe it's a contract that one bids for?

Either way, I'd like to know how much money is involved and who else was up for the chance to participate.

[MrModerate]

2. C'mon . . . Universities all over the country (the world, actually) . . .

Participate in NASA projects. What's so shocking about Arizona being one of them? If McCain participated in an earmarking exercise that allowed this feel-good achievement to coincide with his campaign, then he's not as senile as I thought he was.

Either way, hardly worth commenting on.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Earmarking?

I'm not calling McCain a politician, he's a straight-talker.

Clean as the day is long. That's not saying he's old or one gets older after a long day is through.

Plus, that's not the question.

How much money are they getting?

[MrModerate]

6. Oh, you want facts? I was really only interested in the innuendo.

I only do facts on alternate days.

[ColbertWatcher]

8. With the way the dollar is tanking...

..any guess would be innuendo.

[MrModerate]

48. Tell me about it . . . I'm in Australia and my salary is in US dollars . . .

Deposited into an Australian account. My paycheck shrinks every time, but things don't get cheaper. It's getting ugly.

[ColbertWatcher]

50. At least you don't have a complete boob...

...running everything.

I know some people like to poke fun at Rudd, but from what I've seen, many people are relieved with his apology to the Aborigines.

[MrModerate]

53. As a Yank myself, I'm reluctant to opine very strongly about Aussie leadership . . .

But Rudd seems like the real deal. I arrived here literally the day after Howard lost so I'm almost innocent of the depredations of his regime. The fact that he was best buds with Schimpanski tells me pretty much all I need to know.

The Apology was a political masterstroke, allowing the country to excise a national cancer and move toward solution. The indigenous people's problem in Oz is huge, but now not only can the government apply resources without significant headwinds, but the Aboriginal people themselves are invited to redefine themselves (at least those who are not lost in the wilderness of dysfunctional lives) as part of the solution and not just part of the problem.

I have this lovely fantasy running through my head that, during his inaugural address, Obama speaks to the world on the behalf of Americans and apologizes for the wickedness and foolishness of the Bush years and asks for forgiveness and compassion -- and gets it!

The most beautiful part of this fantasy is imagining the look on George's face as he sits squirming on the podium while being metaphorically scraped off the bottom of America's shoe . . .

A guy can dream, can't he?

[ColbertWatcher]

57. An apology by the new president for the previous disaster would be beautiful! n/t

[KSinTX]

55. Don't forget - AZ has 2 senators, Kyl

If you really want to know who's getting what go here: http://www.fedspending.org/

If you want to read about UofAZ funding: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/byauthor/216385

If you want to hit McCain on earmarks: Prove it. We'd love to know.

[ColbertWatcher]

59. Thank you for the links!

Interesting stuff at OMB watch!

Well, that does answer some of the questions.

BTW, my intention is not to hit McCain with anything; I'm merely asking questions. I was hoping the DU community would have the answers since I cannot know everything.

[KSinTX]

63. Please DO give him the royal smack-down

Nothing makes my day more than that. I just want to make sure we get it right so we don't look silly (after all, DU is NOT Fox News :))

:hi:, think I've seen you 'round the sandbox before.

[ColbertWatcher]

64. Thank you...

...we'll never know anything until we start asking.

I asked in an earlier thread about his connections to Abu Ghraib.

But, since I'm not a journalist, I can only go by what I gather from the tubes...and from other Duers!

[Massacure]

3. If you insinuating that it is because McCain is from Arizona...

It has nothing to do with that.

This mission has been in the making for years and has nothing to do with the effect that McCain is running for president.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. Absolutely many years in the making.

Probably since at least 2000.

That's a long time. I'm not saying it's any consolation for being slammed the last presidential election, but I do wonder how much money is involved.

[Clovis Sangrail]

13. $325 million awarded in 2003

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/byauthor/216385

but.. I think spending on universities and space exploration is a wise use of money.

[ColbertWatcher]

16. i do not disagree with you.

Although, a real science budget should come before a technology budget.

And good on them for getting all that money.

All that government money.

[Clovis Sangrail]

20. it's what schools do ;)

without NASA NIH NSF et al our universities would be a shadow of what they are now

[ColbertWatcher]

21. So , how does Liberty University get cash? n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

29. Um, they need to figure out that the Earth is round before they can get involved in launching

anything off it.

Kudos to WHOEVER put together the Phoenix lander- it's tough as hell to land anything on mars, particularly with retro-rockets. Until today, it hadn't been done successfully since 1976.

[ColbertWatcher]

37. It is an impressive feat and I join you in the e-congratulating...

...my point about Liberty is that funding from the Bush Administration was never doled out based on competence or qualifications.

I'd just like to know how much money is involved and how they got the money, oh and a new question, what other universities were in the bidding for this lucrative sack of cash?

[Warren DeMontague]

38. I don't think any planetary probe constitutes a "lucrative sack of cash", actually.

They're being done on the cheap, in a big way.

Actually, the Phoenix lander as I understand was cobbled together with backup materials and instruments from the failed Mars Polar Lander of 1999, among other things.

[ColbertWatcher]

49. I think you minimize the amount of money involved in something like this.

Maybe the first one may seem like a little bit of money, but that's not why a university gets into something like this.

[Occulus]

66. They build three Space Arks, and put their students on the first one out.

Make sure they get all the hairdressers and telephone cleaners, too!

[Ikonoklast]

68. They pray for it, silly.

Then God sends it in briefcases sent by Angels in the disguise of Republican lobbyists, stolen from taxpayers.


Read the Bible. It's in there.


Really.

[KSinTX]

65. I think the point was that these are earmarks

That McCain denies. They may or may not be. Having written a few competitive grants (NSF, DOE) I know that there is a lot of pressure by the universities on Congress to push through vulnerable funding and to talk up local proposals. There's nothing sinister in it, it's just that the OP is saying it's a form of backdoor earmarking for a specific constituency. Not many deny that's partially true or that sometimes, despite these efforts, the best proposal is actually awarded.

[Neshanic]

9. THis Is HUgH!!! U of A apparently has a history in space study and astronomy!!!!

Who knew?

[ColbertWatcher]

11. NO CRAP!

The University of Arizona has a long history of space and astronomy study and stuff.

Therefore, they have earned all that money.

However much it was. I am sure it was well earned.

Every single penny.

[Neshanic]

14. I am amazed they named it "Phoenix" considering the revulsion of Phoenix by U of A.

I think they should of named it "Wilbur".

[ColbertWatcher]

17. LOL!

University rivalries make for some strange bed-fellows.

[DaveJ]

10. Makes me wonder why great minds like this....

...are pretty much exiled to live in the desert. If there were such opportunities for me growing up I probably would have pursued them. I admire the Phoenix Mars Lander team's great accomplishments, and invite them to return to civilization, where 'people' are not as bad as one might expect.

[ColbertWatcher]

15. It's one way for Arizona to get a border fence.

I'm not saying Arizona wants money since they've survived this so-called recession that every other state has suffered. I'm just saying that now they have this space exploration, they have every right to demand protection from Mexicans eager to crawl over the border and take our national security secrets and give them to terrorists.

We can't have our enemies in space. Space is ours; space belongs to America.

[Dreamer Tatum]

76. Here's the correct answer

Ever been in the desert at night?

Ever been to Tucson at night?

Ever notice how the former is PITCH BLACK, and the latter is, as cities go, not very well-lit?


World-class astronomy occurs at UA because (a) it gets really dark there, so there is less for the telescopes to
fight through, and (b) it's been supported by the state and feds for A VERY LONG TIME, where "very" means as far back as the
sixties.

[enlightenment]

12. Before you go off on your bizarre tin-foil hat journey,

come down to earth and take a look at this web site:

http://spacegrant.arizona.edu/

and this one:

http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/

crimey.

I'm really hoping you just forgot your "I'm being cute" smiley . . .

[ColbertWatcher]

18. Excuse me.

I'll have you know tinfoil hat technology was an off-shoot of the Apollo mission.

BTW, my "I'm being cute" smiley is out lobbying government contracts for me.

Thank you for asking.

[Whoa_Nelly]

19. UofA has a long history of space and planetary exploration

http://spacewatch.lpl.arizona.edu/

SPACEWATCH® is the name of a group at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory founded by Prof. Tom Gehrels and Dr. Robert S. McMillan in 1980. Today, Spacewatch is led by Dr. Robert S. McMillan. The primary goal of Spacewatch is to explore the various populations of small objects in the solar system, and study the statistics of asteroids and comets in order to investigate the dynamical evolution of the solar system. CCD scanning studies the Centaur, Trojan, Main-Belt, Trans-Neptunian, and Earth-approaching asteroid populations. Spacewatch also finds potential targets for interplanetary spacecraft missions, provides followup astrometry of such targets, and finds objects that might present a hazard to the Earth.

CCD-scanning observations are conducted 20 nights each lunation with the Steward Observatory 0.9-meter Spacewatch telescope and the new Spacewatch 1.8-m telescope, both on Kitt Peak.

more at link

[ColbertWatcher]

22. Define long.

They've had something for a while, but I wouldn't say "long".

What university is in or near Waxahachie, Texas?

[Whoa_Nelly]

25. Since 1916, beginning with the Seward Observatory, then moving to Kitt Peak

92 years is pretty long.
http://www.as.arizona.edu/history/history.html

Some info below, but you could learn more by checking out the links at the above link.

The University of Arizona Steward Observatory and its associated academic division, the Department of Astronomy, form one of the finest centers for astronomical studies in the world.

Astronomers here are among the national and international leaders in observational and theoretical research in astronomy. At the same time, they are making breakthroughs in related technology development -- from new light detectors to giant telescope mirrors -- that promise to be a catalyst for a renaissance in optical and infrared astronomy.

Steward Observatory was officially established in 1916 through the foresight and perseverance of its first director, Andrew Ellicott Douglass, and a generous bequest made by Mrs. Lavinia Steward in memory of her late husband, Henry B. Steward. The Steward gift was used to build an observatory on an isolated tract of university land -- a former ostrich farm. Its construction, delayed by World War I, was finally dedicated in 1923. The 36" diameter Newtonian telescope was the first astronomical telescope to have been built using All-American made products.

By 1963, however, its once solitary setting -- ideal for stargazing -- had been encroached upon by an expanding Tucson, and the observatory's original telescope was removed from the dome and relocated to a darker mountain site on Kitt Peak. A smaller 20" Cassegrain telescope was installed in its place for student use. The original dome, a stately structure covered with cream colored tile, is a campus landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[ColbertWatcher]

26. Sorry, but having a telescope does not necessarily equal...

...going to Mars.

Plus, how much money did they get, and what's university near Waxahachie, Texas?

[Whoa_Nelly]

27. I have no idea re: Waxahachie, TX...look it up yourself

and the UofA is not in cahoots with McCain, nor is its involvement in the Mars Phoenix project on any way a political move.

The UofA has one of the finest astronomy courses in the world, and Arizona,especially Kitt Peak, is well-known for major scientific contributions to the science of astronomy.

Am not going to link anymore of this info for you because it's clear you don't appreciate facts or links or information.

However, I would greatly suggest you do some of your own info look up and learning rather than attacking all the facts provided in this thread by those who have bothered to share some of what they know, what they have taken the time to link to for you.

[ColbertWatcher]

32. Cahoots? Who said anything about cahoots?

A telescope and some classes does not equal going to Mars, many more universities are more qualified than University of Arizona to be involved with such endeavors. Lots of universities have made "major scientific contributions to the science of astronomy", but you know full well that's not how government contracts are awarded. Especially a government run by an administration that expends so much energy into denying science.

Thank you for all the links, but links that do not answer questions from my original thread are wonderful facts, but still don't answer the questions.

Perhaps with all those demands that I "look up and learn" you might take your own medicine in regards to Waxahachie?

[Ptah]

67. Please list some of the "many more universities are more qualified than University of Arizona"

[Warren DeMontague]

30. Okay, let's cut to the chase- who do you think SHOULD have been involved in putting this thing

together? :shrug:

[ColbertWatcher]

33. LOL!

I guess if I don't have an answer or better answer or a satisfactory answer you'll say I don't have a plan!?

LOL!

[Warren DeMontague]

35. I just think you are expressing an exceedingly silly reaction to a singularly impressive achievement

that's all.

[ColbertWatcher]

43. Brilliantly put. A very brilliant, yet simplified answer, however...

...it really doesn't answer the original question:

How did they get the contract?

How much money is involved?

And I got a new question to add: who else was considered for all that cash and prestige?

[Dreamer Tatum]

74. Good GOD

UA is one of the premier astronomy schools in the WORLD, and has been for a very long time. Has more to do with
the darkness in the desert than politics.

But believe what you want...

[Dogmudgeon]

23. Okay, then ... what's your point?

:shrug:

I've read about 2 1/2 hours worth of posts and it's sounding like a guessing game.

Is there some kind of impropriety going on with the U of AZ working for NASA?

--p!

[ColbertWatcher]

24. I hope not.

I'm just asking.

It seems like Texas or Florida universities always get funding for space projects.

Or California or Illinois ones.

I've never heard of any Arizona university having the cutting edge technology to get in front of the older, more established universities.

I mean, how did Waxachie, Texas wind up getting the Superconducting Supercollider? Over Fermilabs?

[Ptah]

70. From the website of the University of Arizona’s Department of Planetary Sciences (PtyS) and Lunar an

The third paragraph answers your question about why the University of Arizona.


http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/welcome.php


Welcome to the University of Arizona’s Department of Planetary Sciences (PtyS)
and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) home page. Let me tell you a
little about this institution.

LPL was founded in 1960 by the eminent planetary astronomer, Gerard Kuiper.
PtyS was founded in 1973. PtyS/LPL is dedicated to the common goal of understanding
and teaching about the formation and evolution of the planetary system. Its faculty,
research staff, and graduate student body are drawn from the diverse backgrounds of
astronomy, chemistry, geology, physics, and engineering. Each field has its own culture,
jargon, acronyms, and traditions which have been molded in Tucson into the multidisciplinary
field of planetary science. This diversity of disciplines is what makes planetary science unique.

The University of Arizona is one of the nation’s major research universities. PtyS/LPL
has developed a well-deserved reputation for world class research and graduate education.
The research enterprise is constituted of spacecraft missions, laboratory-based research,
theory, and astronomical observations. PtyS/LPL is one of the most productive research
organizations not only on campus, but in the nation.

[Warren DeMontague]

28. What the fuck are you talking about? Yes, they do science at universities, believe it or not.

best attempts of the Flat-Earthers in the Bush Administration (and a few clueless neo-luddites on the "left") notwithstanding.

Those aren't "tough questions" in your op, they're not even questions.

Um, are you trying to say that the Phoenix lander- which was done pretty fucking cheap, mind you- was tied into Arizona because of John McCain?

You do realize that the Governor of Arizona is a Democrat, right? :shrug:

[ColbertWatcher]

34. I see.

So, the democrat (sic) governor lobbied the GOP-controlled congress when this was originally funded? The democrat (sic) governor was in on the appropriations committee headed by a republic when this was originally funded?

[Warren DeMontague]

36. Space science is hardly a bonanza of government largesse.

Perhaps you should ask where the half trillion a year for "defense" or the $40 Billion a year to keep Willie Nelson and cancer grannies from smoking pot is going, first.

[ColbertWatcher]

40. This has yet to prove itself to be anything about science.

It's about technology. And probably intellectual property protections for those technologies.

Going to the moon gave us science, but this does not necessarily mean going to Mars will as well.

As far as prioritizing the money, perhaps throwing some cash at finding alternative fuels can be added to your list?

Or curing cancer?

Or providing health care for every American citizen?

Or any number of education-related problems our country has been saddled down with this so-called "small government government"?

Nothing fails a people than a government that doesn't know how to govern.

[Warren DeMontague]

44. If you don't grasp the science inherent in exploring other worlds- like Mars- I can't help you.

Mars is far more of an interesting destination than the moon could ever be.

If you want to grouse about landing a very cheap probe on the surface of mars- in the Northern polar region of mars, for the first time ever, where we may actually find water ice- a HUGE fucking achievement, go ahead. But that's not even what you're doing with this thread, you're trying to make some cheesy political insinuation that somehow John McCain has done something untoward in Arizona because that's where part of the science team is.

Ridiculous.

And why don't you ask some actual scientists if they think "real science" has been done by the Mars Rovers, for instance. We have learned a tremendous amount about Mars in the past 10 years, and we've done it very cheaply. Yes we should fund education, but part of education is LEARNING. And science- LEARNING about our universe- is ALWAYS a good investment.

Feh.

[ColbertWatcher]

47. Don't be presumptuous.

I am asking how did this university get this government contract with NASA? How much money is involved in this government contract with NASA?

And I added a new question: what other universities were up for the bidding?

[Warren DeMontague]

51. You said, and I quote: "Going to the moon gave us science, but this does not necessarily mean

going to Mars will as well."

I'm not trying to be "presumptuous", but I'm going to offer a simple thought experiment, because you brought it up in the context of this thread:

Say you've spent your entire life inside your house. You've never gone outside of your house.

Would it be safe to say that, if one day you DID leave your house, you would learn something new?

Would leaving your house 'necessarily mean' you would learn SOMETHING?

I'd say, odds are, you'd learn a TON of shit.

I suppose there's a slight chance you wouldn't learn much if you left your house... and found that the world outside your house was EXACTLY identical to the world inside your house. But even that would be an interesting, educational data point.

So, yes, going to Mars does necessarily mean that there will be science. Loads of science. Every single successful planetary probe we've sent out has been a scientific bonanza in terms of learning about our solar system, our universe, and our own world as well.

[ColbertWatcher]

52. I presumed FEMA would help people after a hurricane.

You cannot presume anything with the bunch currently in the White House.

They hate science and they hate competence.

One would assume a project like this would yield science, but that was not my question.

I'd like to know, how much money is involved, how they were picked to take on this project and who else was considered.

Oh, and another one, why the other one(s) weren't picked.

[Dreamer Tatum]

75. You're being silly.

Look into the rankings of astronomy programs before you assume it's all political.

[Warren DeMontague]

39. About the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory:

http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/welcome.php

LPL was founded in 1960 by the eminent planetary astronomer, Gerard Kuiper. PtyS was founded in 1973. PtyS/LPL is dedicated to the common goal of understanding and teaching about the formation and evolution of the planetary system. Its faculty, research staff, and graduate student body are drawn from the diverse backgrounds of astronomy, chemistry, geology, physics, and engineering. Each field has its own culture, jargon, acronyms, and traditions which have been molded in Tucson into the multidisciplinary field of planetary science. This diversity of disciplines is what makes planetary science unique.

The University of Arizona is one of the nation’s major research universities. PtyS/LPL has developed a well-deserved reputation for world class research and graduate education. The research enterprise is constituted of spacecraft missions, laboratory-based research, theory, and astronomical observations. PtyS/LPL is one of the most productive research organizations not only on campus, but in the nation.

I'm sorry, but I don't think there's some grand conspiracy here. I think the research institution that is doing some of the space science for this mission (not the same thing as building the probe and getting ALL THE MONEY for the mission, by the way) happens to be located in Arizona.

Big whoop.

[ColbertWatcher]

41. Many universities have credentials as well.

How did this university get picked? What other universities were up for the big contract with NASA? And how much are they getting?

[Warren DeMontague]

45. So.... why don't you launch an investigation.

Get it? "launch"?

'Nite.

[ColbertWatcher]

46. Good night. n/t

[dysfunctional press]

54. first pics coming in from mars...

uh-oh...

[ColbertWatcher]

58. Is that oil!??? n/t

[Forkboy]

56. Can't say as I really care. I'm all for the space program no matter where the funds come from.

:shrug:

[ColbertWatcher]

60. There's only one place for the funds to come from.

I just don't know the answer to any of the questions I asked in the OP is all.

[Forkboy]

61. Well, they come from us, ultimately.

I think it's a great way to spend our tax dollars.

But yes, I wouldn't be surprised if it was tied to McCain and Bush being cozy now.

[ColbertWatcher]

62. I don't know, but I can't seem to find the answer. n/t

[Ptah]

69. If it was a favor to McCain, why was the Phoenix lander built in Denver?

[sudopod]

71. I don't think McCain would have had too much to do with it.

There are probably some PI's in the UA faculty (and their grad students) who've been working hard on the project from the get go. There is substantial collaberation between NASA and universities.

[ColbertWatcher]

81. Maybe not, but who knows? Also, it doesn't hurt to ask.

We can still ask, can't we?

That's still allowed, isn't it?

[Ptah]

84. I think you are the only one that doesn't know.

[ColbertWatcher]

89. I'm one who is asking. n/t

[Ptah]

90. Asking, but not listening.

[ColbertWatcher]

91. No one has sufficiently answered all my questions. n/t

[Ptah]

92. Which of your questions have been answered?

[ColbertWatcher]

93. Good point. n/t

[Ptah]

72. Because: Another piece of UA {University of Arizona} technology stole the show on Memorial Day

UA camera captures image of lander's descent to Mars

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/240790.php


While the UA-led Phoenix Mars lander grabbed all the attention on Sunday,
another piece of UA technology stole the show on Memorial Day.

An image from the UA-developed HiRISE camera captured Phoenix during its speedy descent to Mars,
complete with an open parachute that stands out sharply from Mars’ darkened surface.

Experts with both the Phoenix mission and HiRISE were awestruck by the image,
which mission planners predicted had roughly an 80 percent chance of occurring as the spacecraft
flew through Mars’ atmosphere.

“This is a spectacular image,” said Barry Goldstein, the Phoenix project
manager for Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, Calif. “It’s an engineer’s delight.”





This image, captured by the UA-developed camera on
board a Mars orbiter, shows the Phoenix Mars Lander
and its parachute as it descended to the martian polar surface Sunday.

[lonestarnot]

73. Typo in your response. (University of Arizona)

[Ptah]

79. Thanks.

[lonestarnot]

80. Welcome

:P

[cynatnite]

77. Congrats NASA and Univ of AZ!

It's great that exploration continues on and that universities like U of AZ will benefit. For a very long time now universities all over the country benefited from federal money.

I'm all for anything that helps the students...No matter what state they live in.

[Dreamer Tatum]

78. Desert dark. Astronomers like dark. Arizona like astronomers, give funding.

Simple enough for you?

[ColbertWatcher]

82. New Mexico has them beat, but that's not the point...

...how did they get the contract?

How much money is involved?

What other schools were considered? Why didn't the other schools get the contract?

[Ptah]

83. Why was the lander built in Denver?

[ColbertWatcher]

85. Another good question.

Where was the lander built?

How did the University of Arizona get the NASA contract? How much money are they getting? What other schools were considered? Why were the other schools rejected?

All good questions.

Questions are only bad if you're a republican.

Questions: it's what science is made of!

[Ptah]

87. The lander was built in Denver.

The University of Arizona was awarded the contract because of its history of space science research.

Most of the money went to the builders and launchers, the U of A is just doing the science.

No other schools were considered.

Other school were rejected because they didn't have a congresswoman that is married to
the commander of the upcoming Discovery mission
She got to marry him because the U of A Softball team won two championships in a row.

The Arizona softball team is among the top programs in the country and a perennial powerhouse.
The softball team has won eight NCAA Women's College World Series titles, in
1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006 and 2007 under head coach Mike Candrea (NCAA Softball Championship).
Arizona defeated the University of Tennessee in the 2007 National Championship series in Oklahoma City.
The team has appeared in the NCAA National Championship in
1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007 a feat second only to UCLA, and has reached the College World Series 19 of the past 20 years.

[Dreamer Tatum]

97. Sweet sassy molassey, give it up

Your eyebrows are raised because, after all, it gets dark in New Mexico, too?

Do yourself a favor: learn a little something about the world of academic astronomy and astrophysics research.
You will find a huge amount of cooperation and collaboration between NASA and several universities with top-flight
programs. You might want to be sitting down when you learn that MIT and Cal Tech not only get a lot of money from
the government, but also from the d-e-f-e-n-s-e c-o-n-t-r-a-c-t-o-r-s.

If you want to insinuate that McCain is pushing dollars down to Tucson to build a dune buggy to take pictures of
Mars, you might also wonder how much dough John Kerry and Ted Kennedy funnel to MIT for research into new ways
to blow people to smithereens. If you think New Mexico is as qualified as U of A to provide such a buggy, then
way can't they design missiles at Towson State?

The moral of the story is that from great university programs come cutting-edge things that the government likes to
buy and play with.

[ColbertWatcher]

104. Um, no.

Your eyebrows are raised because, after all, it gets dark in New Mexico, too?

Um, no.

Your presumptions change nothing, nor do they answer my questions.

Thanks for playing.

[Blue_Tires]

86. fwiw

I have colleagues in the Engineering Department at Old Dominion University, and the school is heavily vested into the NASA Wallops Island Facility on the Eastern Shore...They have also been involved with NASA Langley

[ColbertWatcher]

88. So, how come they didn't get the contract? n/t

[Blue_Tires]

96. I couldn't say

But they do have a contract at Wallops Island (well, have a major stake in a facility that got the contract)

http://www.odu.edu/ao/news/index.php?todo=details&id=9265

[Beaverhausen]

94. This thread is nutty. I think there should be a rule that the OP must read all replies and links

provided as answers to his/her question. Also, maybe in this case the OP should have researched the answer him/herself. JMHO.

[ColbertWatcher]

98. It seems nutty, doesn't it?

I mean, who am I (the OP) to question decisions made by this administration?

Dumbya promised to spend billions on a Mars mission and we should just accept that.

Someone posts a link showing that Arizona has a telescope and some old guy studied a bit and did some stuff and that should settle issue once and for all.

OP is asking the great resource that is all of DU to find answers to those questions:

How did UofA get the contract?

How much money is involved?

What other schools were considered?

Why were those schools rejected?

Question 1: not answered.

Question 2: hinted at, not answered.

Question 3: not answered.

Question 4: not answered.

If the GOP's Mars mission is going to be anything like Apollo or Halliburton, then I think everyone would want to know the answers to those questions. Considering that this administration hates science so much, it might be a good idea to question what they plan to do with our money and not accept pretty pictures as sufficient answers to our questions.

There are lots of people on DU, many know much more than I, I am hoping one of them can find the answer to some of these questions.

[Dreamer Tatum]

99. Had you done research yourself, you could have avoided looking like a fool. Too late.

You're not looking for specific answers to specific questions. You're trying to be an investigative reporter, yet you want other
people to do your research. If you don't like the answers you get, you claim conspiracy. That's just stupid.

You are implying that there is something nefarious about a top 5 astronomy and astrophysics department getting grants and contracts with
NASA. Do you really mean to say that the greatest minds at NASA and the greatest minds in the academic community need John McCain's influence to meet up?
If you're trying to say that a top flight program got research dollars purely through Republican influence, and as a result there is now an Erector Set buggy sending pictures from 400 million miles away, I think we'd all have to admit that they sort of got this one right.

You are also implying that the space program is suddenly a Bush scheme. You might want to read up a little on that, taking note of the advances in every administration since Kennedy.

Here is your money shot: "Someone posts a link showing that Arizona has a telescope and some old guy studied a bit and did some stuff and that should settle issue once and for all."

Do you think that grossly ignorant statements like that advance your line of questioning? Again, Arizona is a top-flight program. You are either unable to understand that, or...you're unwilling. Or perhaps this is one of those Colbert goofs, where he pretends to be a persistent yet completely ignorant newsboob.

[ColbertWatcher]

100. The sign of a poor writer is their use of adjectives.

"You are also implying that the space program is suddenly a Bush scheme."

You are inferring that an administration that has been anti-science can be trusted with a science budget.

Do you think that grossly ignorant statements like that advance your line of questioning?

Do you feel dismissing my questions answers them?

How did UofA get the contract?

How much money is involved?

What other schools were considered?

Why were those schools rejected?

[Dreamer Tatum]

101. Answers to your questions inside

Do you feel dismissing my questions answers them?


I'll try my best to answer your questions.


How did UofA get the contract?

It was clearly a Bush* scheme to funnel untold billions of taxpayer dollars to the inexperienced, incompetent boobs at the University of Arizona Astronomy department, whose greatest achievements include 100% membership in the We Hayte Libbrulz club, a picture of Saturn from a Parliament/Funkadelic record jacket, and a sheaf of jokes about Uranus.

How much money is involved?

As I said, untold billions. Skajillions, really. The number is said to be approaching a Shitload.

What other schools were considered?

Several high schools, a dental school in El Salvador, a barber college in Iowa, and elements of an unaccredited truck driving school from Dunedin, Florida. Also, the University of Texas.


Why were those schools rejected?

Given the unpreparedness of the Arizona department (whose telescope consists of two guys standing a few feet away, each holding a magnifying glass), it just has to be a Republican plot. It HAS to be.




See what happens when unserious people ask questions that become stupid and self-parodying?


I'm not defending the Bush regime by any measure, but COME ON. We landed a remote controlled buggy on a rock 400 million miles away, and it's sending pictures back. SOMEBODY done good, don't you think?

[ColbertWatcher]

102. Your "parody" would make Colbert smile, I'm sure...

...but it really isn't as finely tuned or funny as it could be.

Nice try though.

[Ptah]

103. Your "parody" make no one smile.

[ColbertWatcher]

105. Everybody's a critic.

How did UofA get the contract?

How much money is involved?

What other schools were considered?

Why were those schools rejected?

[Ptah]

106. See post #87.

[ColbertWatcher]

107. Saw it.

How did UofA get the contract?

How much money is involved?

What other schools were considered?

Why were those schools rejected?

[Ptah]

108. Last try.

The University of Arizona was awarded the contract because of its history of space science research.

Most of the money ($420,000,000) went to the builders and launchers, the U of A is just doing the science.

No other schools were considered.

[ColbertWatcher]

109. You assume.

No offense, but how do you know no other schools were considered? If this is true, why weren't other schools considered?

The University of Arizona is not the only American university with a cosmology school (not cosmetology) or a telescope. Someone else in this thread said UoA is in the top five; how is it those other 4 weren't considered?

So, UoA is not doing this for any money? No money whatsoever? How magnanimous of them!

I doubt there is no money involved whatsoever.

[Ptah]

110. OK, now I see the problem.

I explained that the bulk of the funds went to the construction and launch.

You thought I said the U of A was doing it for no money.

You comprehension of the written word is lacking.

Please consult a literacy professional soon.

[ColbertWatcher]

111. And yet...

...you didn't answer the other questions.

Now, it is I who sees the problem.

You change the subject to a subject you'd rather discuss.

Fair enough.

The University of Arizona was awarded the contract because of its history of space science research.

Most of the money ($420,000,000) went to the builders and launchers, the U of A is just doing the science.

No other schools were considered.

U of A is just doing the science.

Just doing the science.

Did you mean to imply they aren't getting any money?

Did you mean to imply they are getting all the funds that the builders aren't going to spend?

Because not only did you not say that, you've provided no links supporting your assertions.

[ThoughtCriminal]

95. I would also add that U of A

is in a very blue community of a generally red state.

The University of Arizona has a long and very distinguished reputation for space science. (And basketball - Mo Udall played there)