UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Solar Discrepancies: Mars
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Solar discrepancies: Mars exploration and the curious problem of inter-planetary time A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Communication (Science Studies) by Zara Lenora Mirmalek Committee in charge: Professor Valerie Hartouni, Chair Professor Yrjö Engeström Professor Robert Horwitz Professor Edwin Hutchins Professor Andrew Lakoff Professor Susan Leigh Star Professor Sharon Traweek 2008 © Zara Lenora Mirmalek, 2008 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Zara Lenora Mirmalek is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California, San Diego 2008 iii Dedicated to Carol Robideau, Veda Talat, & Aaron Hossein iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page........................................................................................................................ iii Dedication................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents...................................................................................................... ............... v List of Figures......................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ viii Vita........................................................................................................................................... xi Abstract of the Dissertation.................................................................................................. xiv Introduction………………………………………………………........................................ 1 Chapter 1 The Inter-planetary Workspace: the Organization of Community................16 Community members..........................................................................................................18 MER mission operations .....................................................................................................22 The Rovers.............................................................................................................................25 Chapter 2 Mars Exploration and the Curious Problem of Inter-planetary Time ...........30 The inter-planetary work system.......................................................................................33 Coordinating mission operations: the tactical timeline..............................................35 All in a sol’s work............................................................................................................41 Working time with support technologies ....................................................................55 Maintaining time through work ........................................................................................77 Chapter 3 Dreaming of Space, Imagining Membership ....................................................83 Organizations, membership, and media representations ..............................................86 Media representations of organizations and membership ............................................87 Representations of rewards............................................................................................91 Drawing from dreams of space exploration.....................................................................96 Organization heroes ......................................................................................................100 Organizing NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers mission, 2003 .....................................109 Time management.........................................................................................................112 Breaking down time ......................................................................................................114 The stigma of being human..............................................................................................115 Preconditions to stigmatization...................................................................................118 Stigma and identity on MER........................................................................................121 v Chapter 4 The Sound of No Clock Ticking: Mars Mission Ops in an Agrarian Era ....129 Tracing organizational temporality through the changing relationship between time and work .............................................................................................................................135 Leaving the body behind ..................................................................................................149 Chapter 5 Membering the Rover.........................................................................................159 Humanizing rovers: from artifact to member................................................................161 Kinship, appendages, & emotions...................................................................................165 Appendages....................................................................................................................170 Emotions .........................................................................................................................174 Life, death, & agency: coming to life through the discourse of death........................177 Simulating work without the time constraint of death ................................................184 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................193 Bibliography....……………………………..………………………………………………...202 vi LIST OF FIGURES Introduction Figure 1 Calling attention to time in a post-it note................................................................9 Chapter 1 Figure 2 Athena Science team.................................................................................................18 Figure 3 MER mission members ............................................................................................21 Figure 4 Inter-planetary work slow.......................................................................................23 Figure 5 Remotely operated space vehicle............................................................................26 Figure 6 MER mission landscapes .........................................................................................27 Figure 7 The inter-planteray workspace of MER.................................................................28 Chapter 2 Figure 8 Tactical timeline. .......................................................................................................35 Figure 9 Science operations timeline .....................................................................................37 Figure 10 Translating Mars time to Earth time. ...................................................................44 Figure 11 Mars time for MER rovers. ....................................................................................46 Figure 12 Mission scientists following Mars time. ..............................................................49 Figure 13 Cartoon of frustration.............................................................................................51 Figure 14 The MERBoard. .......................................................................................................56 Figure 15 MERBoard in situ....................................................................................................57 Figure 16 Scientists discuss a Martian terrain image ..........................................................58 Figure 17 Scientists collaborate around a piece of paper....................................................59 Figure 18 CIP display of the tactical timeline.......................................................................62 Figure 19 CIP on a MERBoard................................................................................................63 Figure 20 Three MER boards ..................................................................................................64 Figure 21 Callas Rainbow........................................................................................................68 Figure 22 Mars watches...........................................................................................................69 Figure 23 Mars watches being worn by mission member..................................................71 Chapter 3 Figure 24 Media representations of space exploration .......................................................97 Figure 25 A scientist falls asleep...........................................................................................121 Figure 26 Rover prayer . ........................................................................................................123 Chapter 5 Figure 27 A rover “on” Mars and its suite of instruments ...............................................162 Figure 28 Building a rover.....................................................................................................165 Figure 29 The Rock Abrasion Tool as a humanized rat ....................................................173 Figure 30 Affective rovers .....................................................................................................181 Figure 31 Rover in the sandbox............................................................................................184