The conjunction between Mars, Sun and Earth will be on October 23, 2006. The interrupted communication is around 3-4 days. During that time, MER only do basic activities such as monitoring the atmosphere with miniTES or PANCAM. No driving, just sitting.

Simple Question:

When will Oppy finally start moving again and when is restricted sols begin?

Not sure that the below command sequence means that the problem is already solved since the most command sequence is not of my full understanding. I incurr to USMF if someone would shed light to it.

Trying to interpret the half encrypted the command sequence for Oppy:

924 p2906.01 0 0 0 0 0 0 mi_open_minloss2_LUT3_critical_DNTH2000

• Many times, Not yet understand it. Maybe it is related to the variation of voltage or ampere?

924 p2936.02 0 0 0 0 0 0 mi_open_minloss2_LUT3_veryhigh

• Many times, Not yet understand it. Maybe it is related to the variation of voltage or ampere?

924 p2957.01 0 0 0 0 0 0 mi_open_minloss3_LUT3_high

• Many times, Not yet understand it. Maybe it is related to the variation of voltage or ampere?

924 p2977.02 0 0 0 0 0 0 mi_open_min3_DN2000_LUT3_medium[list]
[*]Many times, Not yet understand it. Maybe it is related to the variation of voltage or ampere?

Is there any word from "insiders" on the IDD issue and how long they are planning to troubleshoot?

I'm on a narrow band connection today so you'll have to wait till tomorrow for the full res version.

ASTRONOMY LOSES "MAJOR SCIENCE" STATUS, SAYS WORLD SCIENCE FEDERATION

In a surprising announcement, the World Science Federation said today
that the field of astronomy will no longer be recognized as a major
science along with the likes of physics and chemistry. Instead it is
being reclassified as a "trans-earth auxiliary scientific pursuit"
according to a new taxonomy laid down by the WSF, the international
scientific community's governing body.

"This is a painful issue that we've been grappling with for some time," said Dr.
Jean-Sven Johansson, president of the WSF. "The study of the heavens has been
considered a science since prehistoric times. But if it were just discovered
today, with all we've learned in the intervening millennia, there's no way we
would categorize astronomy as a major science. It is too soft, too based on
speculative theories, and too far removed from the everyday world."

"[The reclassification] is a difficult but ultimately correct decision," read a
supporting statement from the United States Council of Scientists. "While we
are sympathetic for practitioners of astronomy, we believe that the sanctity of
science demands a more rigorous test for inclusion than merely a few centuries
of tradition."

The news is a bitter pill for astronomers to swallow. For years they have
endured derision from their colleagues in the so-called 'hard' sciences of
physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Only recently had astronomers believed
they'd earned a measure of overdue respect from the broader community of
scholars. Stunning discoveries from the Hubble Space Telescope, plus new
theories on the origins of the universe, had put astronomy into the
forefront of public consciousness.

The WSF's announcement changes all that. While astronomy will still be studied
in schools and research institutions, its practitioners may no longer refer to
themselves "scientists". No future Ph.D. degrees may be conveyed by accredited
universities of science. However, a grandfather clause allows current doctoral
students to complete their studies and earn degrees within 18 months.

Perhaps the most significant changes are in matters of protocol when
scientists meet. Astronomers will still be permitted to attend academic gatherings, but
they must defer to official scientists in lectures, workshops, and buffet
lines. They must also refrain from displaying items that identify themselves
as scientists, such as t-shirts or vanity license plates.

Reaction to the WSF's announcement among astronomers was a mixture of
disappointment and outrage.

"I am very saddened by this decision," said Dr. Velikov Vonk, noted
planetologist and author of the seminal paper 'On Renaming The Big Bang To
Something More Dignified.' "Astronomers have added much to the rich history of
science and to our understanding of the universe around us. I pray the WSF will
reconsider."

"It is disheartening, but not altogether unexpected," added Arpad Arkabaranan, a
researcher at the University of New Jersey. "Rumors have been circulating
throughout the scientific community for several months. Personally, I
find it the pedantic act of a self-important panel. It accomplishes little more
than fostering confusion among schoolchildren and requiring countless
textbooks and encyclopedias to be rewritten, all for the sake of purity of
nomenclature. Does the WSF not have any more important issues to worry about?"

Other astronomers accepted the news with less equanimity.

"Who died and left them boss?" fumed William McGilly, a propulsion engineer with
NASA's Goddard Research Center. "I wonder what science is next on their
hit list. If I were an anthropologist or a geologist or a cosmetologist, I'd
be putting together my resume quickly."

Dr. Johansson points out that astronomy has not been kicked out of the
scientific club entirely Rather, it will become "auxiliary scientific pursuit
#1", the first in a new category of demi-sciences under the WSF's revised
hierarchy. "We will rename astronomy as 'trans-earth studies' to reflect
its new status," says Johansson. "We believe that after the disappointment
fades, astronomers will be proud and excited to act as the trailblazers in this
exciting new arena."

Still, the WSF's announcement could not have come at a worse time to a field
that was felt it was close to turning the corner. Notable breakthroughs in
coming years would have included the Mars Lander, the International
Space Station, and the much-anticipated results of a joint Canadian and
Japanese task force to develop a pronunciation of Uranus that would not make high
school students giggle. ("That was going to be huge for us," says Vonk
forlornly.)

The new classification takes effect on April 1st, giving astronomers precious
little time to solve what might be their last problem as scientists.
For years, English-speaking children have been taught the phrase 'My very
earnest mother just served us nine pickles' to remember the names of the nine
planets in order. ('My' stands for Mercury, 'very' for Venus, etc.). If
astronomers downgrade Pluto to a minor solar object as planned, possibly as their
final act before losing their own official status, a new mnemonic will be necessary.
The solution has eluded astronomers and linguists from around the globe.

Ponders Arkabaranan: "My very earnest mother just served us....nutmeg? Nachos?
New England Clam Chowder? Oh, poop! Give us time, we'll think of something."

[nps. Thanks to Mr. R.A. Lafferty for his assistance in this story.]

(JV: This was based on the rumour that the IAU declared that Pluto was not
a planet in January 1999. The IAU denied this later. It only added it to
the list of trans-Neptunian objects. What is a planet anyway?)

He even said that there is every chance we will find something the size of Mars or even Earth..but we'll have to call it a dwarf planet.

Er, I just remembered the funny little movement on sol 904. The movement occurred just before the right side of the pan was done -- so there may be a major problem in stitching this panorama using autostitch. I will try PTAssembler and see what it looks like.

Nice work, guys. I liked this panorama so much that I tried it too, but no matter what I tried I could not force Autostitch to completely mend that tear hortonheardawho mentioned. I did manage to minimize it to only one column, and I learned a thing or two about Autostitch in the process, so I guess it wasn't a total waste of several hours.

Victoria was named by the MER team, according to their scheme of naming craters after vessels of exploration (Victoria was Magellan's circumnavigating ship).

Well I'm assuming that the McMurdo pan *isn't* finished yet, there are still a few gaps I would like to see grouted. But I've grown tired of waiting so here's my latest.

Do any of these bright features at the rim correspond direction-wise to the feature we identified so long ago it seems as The Beacon? That is, do they sit at the spot on the near rim where the beacon is currently indicated on the MOC image?

I was enjoying peering at the new 'glyphs posted today and I think I can see the raised rim of Zeta emerging behing Epsilon - kind of a soft rise most obvious to the left and behind the nearer crater. Does anyone else agree?

I have a question about what could be causing the really rough looking terrain to the far left of the pans. It looks like far away montains or rising broken evoporite with no dunes or white dunes. I can't see anything on the maps from above that explains it.

Just finished by month-long holidays and I'm now trying to "catch the train" (is that correct in english?).
Too many things happened during these last 30 days but, fortunately to me , Oppy has not yet arrived at VC; I really don't want to miss this event.

Now I think I'll need the rest of the week to sync' myself and have a look to all those images and mosaics at/around Beagle...