Alors ça, c'est fourmidouble...

I think will be done in the vicinity of Sofi crater, let's say on 9 July 2007 (my birthday, should be around Sol 1235).

I'll go 1170 - 13 times the primary mission time.

The navcam and pancam pictures that have come down in the last few day make it look like it would be extremely easy to enter Bottomless Bay and travel down past the rubble layer to the white layer at the top of the layered bedrock. What do you think of a toe dip and making use of instrument arm? How steep is the initial part of the bay—less than 15-20 degrees? I think a quick toe dip followed by more circumnavigation would be a great strategy for maximizing science return and minimizing the risk of dying before at least some Victoria interior data is collected. I therefore pick Sol 1038 (Christmas = Monday) for entry day.

I think the criterion should be "committed", all wheels down the slope.

In the absence of finding an entry point with high probability of extractability, the team will probably want to look close-up at the erosion on the far side of Victoria before sending Opportunity down the hole. At that point Opportunity will be half way round. Since there will be no advantage to back-tracking, Duck Bay will be accessed by way of the unvisited rim. I seem to be way off the average on my guess of sol 1544, but I am going to stick with it. Opportunity is healthy. It seems like a waste to take the one way trip in, when so much more roving is possible.

Four months to survey the north side of victoria, a month to drive back. Sol 1181

These sols have been taken
1038, 1103, 1111, 1119?(March 17 2007) ,1122, 1134, 1143, 1151, 1170, 1181, 1192, 1200, 1205, 1210, 1219, 1224, 1234, 1235, 1242, 1244, 1255, 1270, 1285, 1305, 1313, 1365, 1395, 1425, 1544, 1621

editted to add more guesses

Put me down for 1242. No specific criteria except for the '42' part...

Entry point should be at Soup Dragon Bay on day 1219. That gives plenty of time for recon around the various capes with extra time given for interesting features. Also, some extra time is given for possible minor technical problems. The tilt direction for light should be good for the rover around the Soup Dragon area. I'm not sure about the actual date, but I'm confident about the entry point; otherwise, the MER team would have already tried a toe dip at bottomless bay. It didn't happen; so it not likely to happen anytime soon. There is no need to be in such a hurry with plenty of recon left to do on along the edge of the crater. So my best guess is sol 1219...unless something majorly wrong happens with opportunity before then. And that entry may just be a major toe dip.

I don't know how oppy can move around inside the crater much, once it makes a full commitment. There is simply too much sand around the points of the capes. Further exploration may need to be consecutive major toe dips along strategically placed Capes and Bays, with most of the movement occuring outside the crater.

I think oppy will stay relatively healthy for at least another couple of hundred sols. I'm worried about a major sand storm during the coming season. If she makes it through, I see no reason why she won't make it through next martian winter too. Beyond that coming spring season, oppy will not likely be all that healthy. Now that MRO has arrived and once Oppy has throughly investigated Victoria, why not do a real and deliberate "Thelma and Louis" off one of the steepest cliffs.

The marks from the roll and tumble should be visible from MRO. We might even get lucky by oppy surviving the fall! And since the closest target beyond Victoria is some 12 to 15 kilometers away, there is no way that Oppy could possibly make that long trip. Even if she successfully made such a long trip, her instruments would be in such poor shape that...what would be the point? So a "Thelma and Louis" jump off a cliff at Victoria seems fitting and possibly more productive. It could provide additional valuable science beyond anything it could gain by a slow death in the dune fields south of Victoria. But such a dramatic end should not be considered seriously for a couple of years down the road. Else, maybe Opportunity should be directed toward the very center of the major dune fields within Victoria. I don't think Oppy would get very far. But there might be valuable additional science from either alternative mission extension. Certainly, both would be better than going for the pie in the sky goal of the big crater 12 km away toward the southeast.

Meanwhile, I stick by my prediction of an entry of some sort on or near sol 1219. The first major goal should be Soup Dragon because of the potential depth of the strata there.

Just restrain the suicidal tendencies...
Mad, mad, mad... you're all completely mad. I love it!

Best guess sol 1234

I'll go for Climber's cave exploration ... on the way out while entery using Duck's Bay when sun will provide enough energy to enter safely. It seams you've all forget this don't you?
Sol 1122 will be the one declared as "starts to enter".

Given the team interest on Bottomless bay (based on the pics) I would say this will be the *first* entry point. But first I'm pretty sure they will continue driving clockwise and only make the first attempts to enter VC on the way back from the northern size.

Guess for sol 1313.

I take the 1200

Are you sure this time ?

Shall we start a pool to see if they will enter on the Near Rim, or Far Rim?