3
$\begingroup$

I spotted this image in this answer and a few things caught my eye.

Both images are cropped from the much larger image PIA22540.

First Braille in Space?

On the left and right sides there is what looks to me to be Braille writing. What does it say?

enter image description here

What is Little Giant, shown below?

enter image description here

$\endgroup$
3
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Puzzlingly, Little Giant is a ladder company — that’s definitely their logotype. littlegiantladders.com $\endgroup$ Dec 8, 2018 at 12:36
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @RussellBorogove Potentially, since the calibration plate is right on the edge of the lander, the 'little giant' is actually on a step ladder or similar that just happens to be in frame $\endgroup$
    – Jack
    Dec 8, 2018 at 13:56
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Jack oh, duh! I finally figured it out. This photo wasn't taken on Mars. I can't believe that it never occurred to me. That the image is 4608 x 3456 pixels should have been a clue. I just assumed that the fact that the image had a PIA number and a JPL web page photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22540 meant that it was a "space image". $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Dec 8, 2018 at 14:08

1 Answer 1

7
$\begingroup$

Capital, Capital (Block Capitals), j, p, l

JPL

http://braillebug.afb.org/braille_deciphering.asp

"I was thinking what else could we put on there that could be a kind of code that people in the know could look at and figure out?" said Bruce Banerdt, InSight's principal investigator at JPL, in an interview with collectSPACE. "I thought, 'What about braille?'

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-112618a-mars-insight-braille-jpl.html

$\endgroup$
3
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ great job, now we just have to find out the story behind it. It may in fact be the first Braille in space! $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Dec 8, 2018 at 14:28
  • $\begingroup$ I think memorial coins for Louis Braille (inventor of Braille writing) that flew on the 2009 Hubble servicing missions had Braille writing on them. $\endgroup$ Dec 8, 2018 at 22:16
  • $\begingroup$ Braille is "...a kind of code that people in the know could look at and figure out..."? ;-) $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Feb 23, 2020 at 13:26

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.