To the Cape!, Quackmire and arm troubles |
To the Cape!, Quackmire and arm troubles |
Mar 31 2008, 12:16 PM
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#1
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14432 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
"Hey folks! I’m on-duty with Opportunity this week and it’s going to be pretty exciting. We are in the process of driving the rover over to the wall of Cape Verde to study the layers of rocks there in much greater detail. I will be posting updates all week with the spectacular new pictures that we should be receiving. Stay tuned, it’s going to be a pretty cool week!"
Thanks for the update Ryan : http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/200...ng-to-the-cape/ I wonder how close they'll get. I think no closer than the height projected from it's base ( i.e. 45 degrees ) |
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Apr 18 2008, 10:24 AM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 4279 Joined: 19-April 05 From: .br at .es Member No.: 253 |
Well, after the attempt to exit the "quackmire" on sol 1502 there was no other one during this week and I fear there won't be any during the weekend too.
As already noted by Horton on the other forum, Opportunity was unable to unstow the arm after that "drive" and a second attempt on sol 1504 failed too. A third attemp is scheduled for today (sol 1505). |
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Apr 18 2008, 07:32 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4247 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
A third attemp is scheduled for today (sol 1505). The third attempt to unstow the arm seems to have been a failure too: http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...ABP1151L0M1.JPG |
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Guest_Oersted_* |
Apr 19 2008, 02:50 PM
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#4
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Guests |
Should we begin to get nervous?- What are the possible failure modes here?
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Apr 19 2008, 04:30 PM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 2262 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Melbourne - Oz Member No.: 16 |
Should we begin to get nervous?- What are the possible failure modes here? Well it looks to me like the problem is with the shoulder joint again. I find the fact that it moved a bit then stopped a bit worrying, the usual problem with the shoulder motor causes it to stall at the beginning. I think there is a very real possibility that the second winding could have broken during deployment which would be very bad news indeed, especially given the current position of the arm (not stowed yet not in a useful deployed position) -------------------- |
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Apr 19 2008, 04:56 PM
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#6
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14432 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
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Apr 20 2008, 08:27 AM
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#7
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Member Group: Members Posts: 206 Joined: 15-August 07 From: Shrewsbury, Shropshire Member No.: 3233 |
That's what happened when the first winding died....followed by 3 months of not moving. Arhgh. The latest Planetary society monthly report Jake Matijevic said that Oppy could not stay besides Capo Verde for very long because of the limited solar power available at that location. I think that he was also concerned that less power would be available at that location in subsequent months. Can Oppy survive on the steep South facing slopes at its current location for the rest of the Martian Winter? I would prefer to see Oppy drive out of Duck bay and onto Cape Frio so that it could spend the 3 months taking a panorama of the cliffs on the North West side of Victoria crater. I guess that a potential problem is that shaking during the drive could further damage Oppy's partialy deployed IDD arm. A long term issue for Oppy if the IDD can not be made to work is that Oppy would have to find worthwhile jobs to do that would not require the use of the IDD (or of the MiniTES given that that is also not working). A useful task for Oppy might be to complete the circumnavigation of Victoria crater and and take more of those panoramas I like so much. |
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Apr 20 2008, 03:23 PM
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#8
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4247 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
Can Oppy survive on the steep South facing slopes at its current location for the rest of the Martian Winter? Currently Oppy is on a mostly east-facing slope, (actually a bit east-southeast facing), so that shouldn't be a serious problem in coming months. Also we're still far enough away from Verde that it shouldn't shade us even at midwinter. But I sure hope the Quackmire doesn't become our long-term home... |
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