Yeah, what a fake out. I didn't have time to try to figure out how that happened, but I am happy to see that they "walked" more of this segment of the rim.

Shsshhh...don't mention the "f" word, let alone "cat scratches." We don't want to wait for this rover to find it's way to Titan.

Those are the odd places where the sand is blowing away from/seeping into the joints between the evaporite paving stones. These features are shown between red arrows and the one mosaic seam is between the yellow arrow.

Interpret as you will.

--Bill

Here is a crop of sol 742 navcam mosaic illustrating the rover positions on sols 745 and 747.

(274k)

Yes and yes. There is one "join" between two Navcam images in there, but the other linear features appear to be very real.

Same area, autostitched.

(216k)

Are there any driving plans for today?

No - targetted remote sensing only looking at the tracking - I assume a fair ammount of Mini TES at the outcrop to determine if its worth staying around to look at.

Doug

According to this update they have already decided it is not worthy to stay...

Spirit Slides into Home Plate as Opportunity Finishes Work at Erebus

how long have I been waiting for exactly these few words of Steve's

50-100 Sols (less than the total time spent at Olympia alone !) of determined driving
can put us there ... which then hopefully leaves plenty of Sols with still functioning equipment
for the most exciting science target operations at the Great Victoria Crater

Looking forward to following this great coming southward Trek with lots of driving days and lots of new images coming in every day (and the possibility for exciting new discoveries even along the way)
here on the forum

Fabulous picture from navcam:

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...5NP1824R0M1.JPG

Phil:

The scalloping is certainly there, I just wonder whether it is a surface expression of buried structures. Hopefully we'll see enough of such eroded and eroded and eroded crater rims to make a judgement within the next few months!

Bob Shaw

from http://www.planetary.org/news/2006/0228_Ma...ate_Spirit.html:

"From this point on, Opportunity’s objective is to put her pedal to the metal. “We won’t stop for IDD work unless there is something really new and exciting,” said Arvidson..."

I'm sure, even the most "hard line" geologists won't regret this descision when we will have reached
Victoria ! Of course it is a very real possibility that Oppy could prematurely die on its way to this goal ...
but I'm with Steve and the JPL team that it's well worth the risk !
... and at least we will have tried !

Oppy will either reach it's ultimate destination Victoria or will die while trying.

Thanks Sunspot.
Now I have all the pics to do this 360º navcam panorama (sol 747).


(399k)

Fantastic pictures. Around the Spirit's zone has lots of fractures. Under some land zone, has shown lines of drift down sand. Hope that any of them won't be any big fissure. Unless, Oppy might be again stuck into the fissure. It depends upon to the size of fissure with relative to the wheel size.

Rodolfo

Here is Tesheiner's latest panorama in polar form. I find this view particularly interesting.

Phil