Endeavour Drive - Drivability analysis Options

[djellison]

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200809191

You can listen via NPR, or via one of the web feeds that are listed on the site, but make sure you do listen if you can.

[Phil Stooke]

I accidentally posted this in the other thread so I'll put it here too:

"Due south from Victoria is very feasible. The drifts never get as big as to the north, and after a few km they give way to surfaces nearly as smooth as the area near Endurance, but with more flat outcrops - this from the HiRISE image extending furthest south and east. So, south until the drifts disappear, and then southeast via the Endurance-like crater to the isolated hill on Endeavour's rim is very realistic.

Phil"


Looking at the way-points, the big drifts at M6 are exactly what you want to avoid, if long-distance/sol driving is the goal. The SE path from the annulus to M6 is quite bad for driving. But head due south off the southern rim of Victoria, and the N-S oriented drifts allow driving in that direction quite easily, and soon get smaller. Then the path can meander through the smaller drifts and outcrop areas quite easily until the mini-Endurance crater is reached. There the surface looks easy to drive on.

Phil

[BrianL]

But head due south off the southern rim of Victoria, and the N-S oriented drifts allow driving in that direction quite easily, and soon get smaller.

Sorry, Phil but I can't see it. Admittedly, I don't have the big JP2 files to look at* but from the smaller images, due south just looks like a route fraught with peril. The dunes seems very large, and oriented E-W so Oppy would have to cross them. Algorimancer had that area blocked off in his post from last year's discussion. Help me see what you're seeing, Phil.

* And if someone can give me a JP2 for Dummies lesson to help me view these pictures, it would be much appreciated.

[Tman]

In the HiRISE Online Image Viewer can you select an image to explore in full-resolution. They are labeled for faster find - btw. for PSP_001414_1780 what's the meaning of that "possible" - a typo?