2004 – NASA’s MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board. She survived the 8 minute 35 second flight in good condition.
Birthdays
1908 – Bengt Stromgren developer of the theory of diffuse nebulae (H II regions) such as the Orion and Trifid nebulas. (d. 4 July 1987)
1880 – George A. Van Biesbroeck specialized in the observation of double stars, asteroids and comets. He was awarded the Valz Prize (1928) and the James Craig Watson Medal (d. 23 February 1974)
1792 – John Couch Adams‘ birthday, he predicted the existence of Neptune. (d. 21 January 1892)
1788 – Admiral William Henry Smyth was an English Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer. He published his observations in 1844 in the Cycle of Celestial Objects, which earned him the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1845, and also the presidency of the society. (d. 8 September 1865)
