Martin Rundkvist2d ago

You know there's something wrong with US politics when NASA is forced to communicate in Imperial measurements.

"Orion’s main engine provides up to 6,000 pounds of thrust, enough to accelerate a car from 0 to 60 mph in about 2.7 seconds. At the time of the burn, Orion’s mass was 58,000 pounds and burned approximately 1,000 pounds of fuel during the firing."

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/04/02/artemis-ii-flight-day-2-orion-completes-tli-burn-crew-begins-journey-to-the-moon/

#space #artemis #nasa

Artemis II Flight Day 2: Orion Completes TLI Burn, Crew Begins Journey to the Moon - NASA

NASA’s Artemis II crew is on the way to the Moon.

NASA
Show threadMartin Rundkvist2d ago

OFFS "On the station, crews rely on more than 4,000 pounds of exercise hardware spread across roughly 850 cubic feet." 🙄

#science #nasa #artemis

Show threadMartin Rundkvist2d ago

NASA's use of Imperial measurements is similar to if US biologists started using species names in the Texas dialect instead of in Latin.

#science #nasa #artemis #space

Show threadMartin Rundkvist2d ago

I can't overstate this. NASA's use of pounds and cubic feet in its outreach efforts does not come across to science-literate people, inside or outside the US, as a sign that the country is a badass superpower that can do what it likes and ignore everyone else.

Instead it suggests that the US is a provincial nation of dungaree-wearing banjo players.

#science #nasa #artemis #space

Show threadMute Dog Brewing1d ago
@mrundkvist
Show threadGeorge Dinwiddie21h ago
@Mutedog @mrundkvist Yeah, though how “science literate” are people who can’t do the conversion when they need to.
Show threadPhil Thane ✅13h ago
@gdinwiddie @Mutedog @mrundkvist Yes one can do it, but it's extra load. I used to write about the Oil & Gas business and everyone measures oil in barrels. Which in the US are 50 gallons but only 45 in the UK, not because of barrels are smaller but because our gallons are bigger. Then there are tons. US ton = 2000 pounds, UK ton 2240 pounds so the US version is sometimes called a short ton. The SI tonne is 1000Kg which is almost the same as a UK ton
Show threadGeorge Dinwiddie

@pthane @Mutedog @mrundkvist
@aumalatj

Which means that you should choose the units with an eye to the use, not that there should be one set of units required for every measure.

For NASA communicating with the American public, imperial measures will communicate with the least friction.

2:54pmWeb
Show threadGeorge Dinwiddie7h ago

@pthane @Mutedog @mrundkvist
Another consideration for choosing units of measure is the precision needed. I once read an article that made a good argument to use units that resulted in useful numbers with two significant digits to the left of the decimal point. This allows easy reasoning without calculations.

This article pointed out that the best unit for studying the migration of tortoises was "furlongs per fortnight."

Show threadTuomas Aumala6h ago

@gdinwiddie @pthane @Mutedog @mrundkvist I agree about NASA communicating primarily to the US taxpayers, but it feels silly not to also include SI-units when there is an international aspect to this as well. "For all mankind" and so on. Hell, the service module is from Europe.

The point about decimals is quite inconsequential when SI prefixes and scientific notation (the latter admittedly less useful for PR purposes) are a thing.

Show threadTuomas Aumala6h ago
@gdinwiddie @pthane Oh and about choosing a unit based on context: This misses out exactly on why a universal system is superior. Nothing exists in a vacuum. No context is separate. And where they intersect, an unnecessary unit conversion is at best an annoyance and at worst a horrendeously expensive and embarassing mistake.