http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/doug_im...aving_larry.jpg (476kb)

Larry is the outcropping to the right - Methuselah is the layered rock on the left.

As an interesting point to judge distances - assuming zero slip the marks made by the hold-down-brackets on the wheel tread are 80cm apart - or about 2ft 7inches

Doug

People berrated the poor ESA Press efforst around Huygens landing. It was a PR masterstroke compared to the japanese space program

Doug

Oh - you would be amazed who visits this place.


Doug

(PS - i moved this into the Venus Express subforum )

I guess ones that spend their time further from outcropping are generally older and thus more erroded?

Doug

I think so

Doug

It's a bit further right than that.

Doug

I still see plenty of blueberries in there - but I think they may be becoming less dense, and mainly on one side of each dune.

Doug

Managed to get into a Canadian Newspaper however

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Art.../?query=famelab

Doug

http://athena1.cornell.edu/news/mubss/

I was just nosing around the Athena site ploughing thru old bookmarks and stumbled across a new update from Steve - sounds like our plight as long suffering information junkies has been heard. Big thanks to Steve for taking the time to keep us updated - and long may they last!

Doug

Farnborough eh - you should try and make it up to the BAA meeting on Sat

Doug

Somewhere deep in the bowels of this place there's an image I did based on colour thumbnails from Opportunity of the clouds and the sky which nearly looked at the sun..


(found it )

Doug

Oh heck - careers as well - I'm a medical animator for www.ocbmedia.com - I also begun to move into project management.

Doug

Well duh - advanced alien civilisations playing with a big kite

I cant WAIT to see what Hoagland makes of it - it'll be a good laugh.

Doug

Nearest tube station = Oxford Circus. Walk down Reg.St about as far as Hamleys and turn right

I'm getting quite excited about this one now - should be a reasonable sized and knowledgeable crowd. It's 2pm for a 2.30pm kickoff - and my talk will be at about 4.30ish

I'll have spent the morning in the Apple store just around the corner on Regents street generally lusting and salivating over their 30 inch display

Doug

Oh my - they'll go nuts for this one...

I'm a sprightly youngster at 26, and I started this whole schbang


Doug

'Always destatic yourself before touching the spacecraft or Health and Safety will put a bolt thru your neck'



Doug

I'd estimate about 200m south. There was a shortish drive ( about 40 m maybe? ) on leaving it - and a 160odd which then ended with the steering problem

Doug

OK - who's is the Frankenstein poster

I remember seing an inflatable alien during MPL ATLO, but this is something else

Doug

You didnt look very hard....

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=858

Doug

Well - if you're using RAD's - the colours dont need much matching anyway.

Doug

Yeah - it's going to dig little trenches if it cant steer the wheel.

Just a thought - couldnt they drive it like a tank? Turn the wheels on the left faster than the right to turn right - turn the wheels on the right faster than those on the left to turn left?

A technique like that could certainly compensate for a stuffed FR steering actuator!

Doug

Yes - from time to time, you just have to take things on face value from a couple of very reliable sources who have lines thru to some interesting people. Pando and Mars_Armer are examples of this.

I havnt got any insider contacts unfortunately- but here's my take on Oppy wheel issue..

If the steering motor is stalling, it could well be a mechanical issue in which case it may well be a drive-backwards-and-drag issue. However - it could be a software glitch as well, essentially a 'soft' stall ( if current >Xamps, turn off),

Spirit dug some dangerous holes when trying to climb STRAIGHT up the ridge towards HH - so they're simply heading east and the SE along the NE side of Cumberland Ridge to find more accesable routes up to the ridge - just the same as when we first arrived at the hills.

Doug

Memory usage looks, frankly, horrific This machine only has 512mb and I close EVERYTHING else when using PTGui to align and whathaveyou.

Colour matching I do afterwards in Photoshop - usually column by column using the 'match colour' tool of a good average column.


Doug