Of course I expect some driving to get to targeted sites but driving 1 km to get science is certainly preferable than having to drive 30km!! Requirement for mission success is 2 years for MSL which is more robust than MER... yes I see your point Doug but it doesnt mean that it will last that long.....dont get me wrong, I wish MSL all the success and better science returns than MER but you never know what MARS may hold for MSL!!??

Congrats to Emily! well deserved for her effort to update us all with the latest space news.

I'm still GO for Mawrth!! Lets get down to business straight away and not waste time driving .....we'll have time to study ancient martian history which we havent done yet from the ground..done with that, we can then drive to other sites provided the goals are met early in the mission.. all extra will be bonus!! Besides we dont have any guarantees the mission will last as long as MERs

I m thinking by June ,we should be at the shores of Cape York!

The article just released regarding methane rains along equatorial latitudes answers my earlier question of wetter times in this region as suggested by the huygens landing site.

congrats to the messenger team..a job well done!

So how do I subscribe to mars exploration magazine?

When are results of mossbaauer due?

From what I've seen from the presentations I am inclined to favour Mawrth Vallis as my first choice for Curiosity!Eberswalde would be my second choice ..wish we had a twin rover that we could target this site as well!Mawrth being the oldest location out of the 4 landing sites makes it top choice.We should start reading a history book from the first chapter ..later chapters will make more sense if we get the the first chapter right.

looking at 3d detailed views of some rocks really show up some fine razor sharp edges there!

i've just seen a programme on weird or what>? must have been discovery channel

yeah i've seen that from jvandriels panorama that the rover moved..plan is to get to se rim round mid January.

I know probably that the rover drivers are having a well desereved xmas break but when do we get moving again??Cant wait to get to the opposite wall where the water bearing sulphate rocks are !

I'm just wondering why the northern rim looks so different from the rest of the crater wall...seems to be less eroded and better preserved.The darker dunes on this side of the crater seem to be indicative of prevailing wind conditions and erosion??

The darker dunes look like el dorado type at spirits landing site!

This place is amazing...we have rock layers to study and that ledge on the opposite rim looks like an accessible safe parking space to do just that...sand dunes at the centre bottom of the crater..dark dunes on the side wall...not to mention the ejecta rocks around the crater itself!

AWESOME!

whats the countdown for??must be missing something here!

Magnificent Mars!

I know perfectly what you mean by the ecstatic feeling of being there in person and able to see something you've been hearing about and watching on tv for most of your lifve and then getting to be there for real.It happened to me on my first visit to London in 2000;blackpool tower i've seen as well and been to golden gate bridge in san fransisco last summer and just missed out on yosemite as we didnt have enough time..but thats a good reason for me to come back to california!!!

think it deserves a topic on its own

crocodile rock seems darker than the bedrock .

there's nothing new with the rim that we havent seen before..i'm just curious about the nearground rocks particularly the smaller ones..they seem to have different texture to what was seen seen up to now..dont u agree??

watch out for that edge!dont fall in oppy! wow the relief in 3d view looks scaringly dangerous to drive around now that we're so close to the crater pit.

very scientific indeed!