JPL News conference

Hats off to JPL. Thursday's news conference was excellent. The
participants were engaging and really wanted to show off the interesting
things they have been doing. Their enthusiasm was evident and that is a
refreshing change.

I don't think we can get too up in arms about the slow release of data.
They are an intensely conservative, methodical bunch (maybe explaining
how they managed to get these rovers to Mars in the first place).
Hopefully, though, they realize what a public relations opportunity they
miss when they don't engage the interested public. No doubt JPL could
do much better in this regard.

Here are some suggestions for regular :

Image of the day
Curiousity of the day (Threads, rabbit -- I mean pronged structure,
blueberries)
Speculation of the day
Interesting findings
A day in the life of ...
Types of meetings being held
Summary of meeting discussions
FAQ
Pictures of the team at work
Animation of MER-B EDL.
Description of process behind certain composite images from the person
who made them.


Why no FAQ? Why why why? THey promise in the canned response to the
Feedback link that they will post interesting questions. Nothing to
date on this though.

One could be disappointed if the stuff that is coming out wasn't so
fascinating, even in the small spoonfuls they dole it out.

Mark