Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ames.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!mhuxn!mhuxr!ulysses!allegra!oliveb!hplabs!ames!eugene From: eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) Newsgroups: net.space Subject: Re: Voyager at Uranus Message-ID: <1229@ames.UUCP> Date: Mon, 28-Oct-85 21:28:53 EST Article-I.D.: ames.1229 Posted: Mon Oct 28 21:28:53 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 30-Oct-85 07:16:02 EST References: <22000008@hpfcla.UUCP> <740@spuxll.UUCP> Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA Lines: 57 > >> Does anybody know if the Planetary Society is going to let members get > >> anywhere near JPL during the Voyager Uranus encounter? > > > I doubt it. When the Viking missions landed in '76, they sent home most > > of the JPL employees (!) for half a day. > > What was the reason for sending home "most of the JPL employees"? > > Statements like the above make me wonder what the > Planetary Society/JPL/US Govt. etc would do if a confirmed encounter > with intelligent non-earth life were made? Would there be full disclosure, > or would there be a coverup to avoid a possible panic? I cannot verify the statement on Viking. They did not send people home on Voyager encounter days, but I can see reasons why: the Parking Situation at the Lab is the "1" topic of discussion. Strictly pragmatic. I've posted this response before: Regarding Government paranoia: the Planetary Society would have no official way of transmitting such info. I suspect most scientists would not know what do do if such an event happened. I'll ask the SETI people for you, however, they are several buildings over. I will give you two insight based on two events. The first took place after the release of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Lunchtime discussion [highly official stuff this ;-) !] centered around the handling and the portrail of the Government. Several planetary scientists [no name please] at the table came to the conclusion that if an encounter occurred as portraried in the film, they [these scientists] would use a cover much like the nerve gas cover in the film. It was not clear to my friends that exposure to the general public would be health for aliens or the public, to the point of using nerve gas to keep civilians away. On the other hand, as Sagan would point out, a civilization capable of interstellar travel could damn well inform as much of the Earth as it well pleased. The second real incident occurred during the 1st encounter with Voyager at lunch again. A day or so after encounter. A planetary scientist [this person was responsible for teaching Neil Armstrong about the geology of the Moon] walked up to the table, tray in hand and said, "Guys, you aren't going to believe this, but they think this discovered a volcano erupting on Io [nearest large Moon of Jupiter]." Someone else, "Why do you realize the odds of actually taking a photograph of such an event?" Later an official meeting was held to cover the release of this information which occurred three days later. Clearly all sorts of checking and official wording was taking place. Nothing like actually being at the Lab when its happening. More later upon talking to SETI friends. From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers: --eugene miya NASA Ames Research Center {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,decwrl,allegra}!ames!aurora!eugene emiya@ames-vmsb