Failure?
So one thing about me is I am a bit of a nerd. I like exploring, space, and science things like that. As such I’ve been watching a couple space science shows on Netflix lately and something really caught my attention.
When NASA was testing out the equipment for the Curiosity Mars Rover mission they had to come to a difficult realization, they had to make something fail. This came up when they were testing the parachute for the Rover. The first test was a success with no issues. The second test (just for good measure) was a catastrophic failure. Because the first test had gone so well they opted to not record in high speed the second test. After the chute failed they tried to find the cause but without the high speed cameras they needed more data. It took 20 more tests that were all a perfect success before they had another one fail. One of the engineers said he had never been so frustrated in his life trying to get something to fail only to have it work flawlessly.
We don’t often think about how we can fail, It’s not something that we really like to do. But failing is a part of life, there’s a chance of failing in everything we do. The NASA team knew this and knew it was important to know why something failed instead of just saying “Well there’s a very small chance so lets not worry about it.” Understanding failures in our lives is a key part of being successful.
When you fail at something you shouldn’t just pretend it didn’t happen, learn why you failed and learn what you can change to prevent it from happening again. Even if it is a small chance, there’s still a chance. Acknowledge, Understand, Resolve
When NASA was testing out the equipment for the Curiosity Mars Rover mission they had to come to a difficult realization, they had to make something fail. This came up when they were testing the parachute for the Rover. The first test was a success with no issues. The second test (just for good measure) was a catastrophic failure. Because the first test had gone so well they opted to not record in high speed the second test. After the chute failed they tried to find the cause but without the high speed cameras they needed more data. It took 20 more tests that were all a perfect success before they had another one fail. One of the engineers said he had never been so frustrated in his life trying to get something to fail only to have it work flawlessly.
We don’t often think about how we can fail, It’s not something that we really like to do. But failing is a part of life, there’s a chance of failing in everything we do. The NASA team knew this and knew it was important to know why something failed instead of just saying “Well there’s a very small chance so lets not worry about it.” Understanding failures in our lives is a key part of being successful.
When you fail at something you shouldn’t just pretend it didn’t happen, learn why you failed and learn what you can change to prevent it from happening again. Even if it is a small chance, there’s still a chance. Acknowledge, Understand, Resolve
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