Phoenix Lander Passes Turing Test...

..but is suspected of cheating.

Phoenix Descending

Here is a dramatic picture of Phoenix descending against the backdrop of the six mile wide, snow frosted Heimdall crater. Here is a larger image. Here are images of the lander, parachute, backshell and heat shield on the ground. All were taken by fellow droid MRO.

I'm so proud of our robotic proxies.

Phoenix and Companions

This picture reminds me that we humans are steadily building up robotic infrastructure on and around Mars; three orbiters, two rovers and a lander, all still functioning, chirping to each other in binary and taking photographs of each other for the folks back home. That makes me happy.

Jesseraunts

Also spelled jessera(u)nd, jesseraunce, jestraunt, gessera(u)nt, gesorant, ges(s)eran, gesseren, gessero(u)n, gestrant, gestran, gestrone, chesserant. In Old French jazerenc, jazerant, jas(s)erant, jazeran.

Very possibly the jesseraunt derived from the Arab kazaghand, which the 12th century memoirs of Usamah ibn-Munqidh describes as mail (in his case a short mail shirt over a long one) covered and lined with fabric. Fifteenth century references to jesseraunts repeatedly describe them as made of mail, but imply that they differ in some way from the ordinary haubergeon. The Howard Household Books record a “gestron keuvred with blake velvet” and “a gestron of my Lordes, keuvered with damask”. King René's Tournament Book describes mounted valets armed in jazerants, and the accompanying illustrations of these men are also consistent with fabric covered haubergeons. They are generally covered with a trellis pattern of lines which may represent a pattern of stitching uniting the fabric and mail.