Wonderful sand-worn table sprinkled with blueberries, down there in the creek, taken before Paolo plunged the rover thru it, using it like a half-pipe! How much air did Oppy catch on the other side?! (By the way, thank you for all your enlightening comments in this forum, and to the many other contributors with deep knowledge on these topics!)

Is it me or are navcam views a lot cleaner and more dust free than was the case back in (say) 2008?

It really was a minor bump getting off the curb so to speak. We did have some safety checks in place (we always do) but I'm sure that a drive like this would undergo much more scrutiny on MSL although teh vehicle performance is pretty similar, if not better, than MER. Today we are doing a 1x1x5 MI stack (single stack, five layers deep), no extras with stereo. We will have a meager pass so we might not see much on the next downlink. The really good news is that the manuever they did on ODY today was successful, that means that Oppy will drive tomorrow or in the next few days (always around Whim Creek) and that MSL shoudl have her bent pipe for EDL (I think).

Paolo

Thanks for these, I don't carry around red-blue glasses but it's great to see these features in 3d.

These Whim Creek images are great, among the most exciting to my novice eye. Thanks to the imagery wizards here and especially to Paolo and the others from the team that give us the benefit of your insight and experiences.

Here is that wind worn rock in the creek, before we jumped over to the other side

The narrow dagger-end of Whim is to the right, so it looks to me that the predominant wind direction is blowing sand through that rock from the left ? Which is roughly north to south. If that's true, (big if) it's opposite of what I thought

Or is sand just bunching up on the rock, being blown from R to L? (where is Phoenix's 'tell tale' when you need it!)

Great news! (I think)

Indeed very good news if ole ODY can relay EDL. Let's hope it will keep out of safe modes, despite being a bit flaky lately. JPL engineers have proved masters at coaxing out max. performance from elderly assets at Mars, so I think and hope it should work.

Paolo, I'd like to echo the thanks for your outreach effort, despite your busy schedule rovin' on Mars. To outside ears it sounds as if you rover drivers have reached a level of confidence and experience with the MERs that will be really helpful for the SUV you're soon getting the keys for. When a 25° drop over a dagger's edge is 'no big deal' I think it shows that you will be able to drive MSL aggressively and safely and thereby maximize this new asset we'll hopefully soon see in action. How would you summarize the influence of 'MER driving school' for the adventure ahead?

You're surely welcome to peek over the shoulders of the resident imagery wizards here in the Oppy den. And also to come and visit three floors down, in the MSL lounge, if you find the time...

Grazie mille e ci vediamo sulla superficie di Marte!

I have been driving Scarecrow for the past few weeks in the Mars Yard at JPL and while it retains most of the same behavior as MER, it has some differences that I will need to keep in mind. The new grousers on MSL wheels offer much more traction than MER's and it will turn very useful for driving on bedrock. Fortunately, the terrain where MSL will land should not be too difficult (keyword "should"!) and we will have time to refine our skills in driving our new car on Mars.



Very good Italian sir! I will surely come by and look at the amazing job all of you are doing. Often your products are ready before the official ones are. Thank you again for all your help.

Paolo

The Whim Creek mosaics are definitely a highlight of the mission! All I can add is a sense of scale. To help celebrate our long-awaited arrival, the Mystery Men have reappeared to welcome us:

Thanks to mhoward for the base mosaic and Phil for the polar version which helped to identify locations.

FanTASTIC! Thanks, fred!

Thanks, fred; I always appreciate the perspective we get from the Mystery Men.

Looks like a drive is scheduled tosol (3023); no surprise since Paolo mentioned the possibility.

Thanks Fred, you did it again. Also thanks Stu for your input on RTE blog

Fredk, your mystery men are attaining the status - here on UMSF - of the STIG! - Thanks for putting Whim Creek into perspective. About twice as big as I imagined.

It's always fascinating when rocks shift under Oppy's weight, when it leaves a gap between the rock and the caked Martian dust. Especially in 3D!