Cape York, Landfall! |
Cape York, Landfall! |
Aug 10 2011, 06:30 AM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 4279 Joined: 19-April 05 From: .br at .es Member No.: 253 |
It’s finally time for a new thread. THE thread, I would say.
It is now sol 2681 and after virtually one thousand sols, beginning on 1683 when Opportunity left Victoria for good, and also after more than 21km driving on these flat fields, this little rover and obviously the brave mission’s people behind, made landfall on Cape York. A bunch of pictures and thumbnails are already on the ground (should be public in an hour or so) and the very limited data we can gather for the time being are just enough to guess a drive of around 60m. I’ve prepared a new picture to use as a map to follow this part of the mission and which I will update, as usual, on the route map thread once more data are available. Here’s a copy of it. Use this thread for comments, discussions, mosaics, images result of activities at / after sol 2681 and keep using the Post Conjunction: Santa Maria to Cape York, The Journey to 'Spirit Point' thread for posts related with stuff from before sol 2681. |
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Aug 11 2011, 12:33 AM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1281 Joined: 18-December 04 From: San Diego, CA Member No.: 124 |
Thanks to all the engineers and scientists who's genius, creativity and late nights have made this possible. MER has been a mission that just keeps giving! It is amazing to contemplate that just as this 90 day journey has stretched to many years, so will the data gathered drive academic research for decades and inspire a whole new generation of scientists and planetary explorers...
A special thank you to Steve Squyres and Jim Bell - your decision to open up the images to all of us in the "cheap seats" has led to an incredible sense of bonding with the exploits of these robots as they travel. This outreach decision has fueled countless teachable moments amongst students, friends and family, it has fostered a community who cares about science and what is possible, it has spawned new friendships amongst us enthusiasts and it has launched careers. By inspiring us and igniting our imaginations, you have profoundly changed this world for the better. Your openness and generosity have set a high bar for other missions, and you deserve the accolades you have been given. Who could imagine that the mainstream press would be using adjectives such as "plucky" or "hard working" to describe machines quietly making their way a few meters per day on a planet millions of miles away? Such words reflect the deep connection people have felt to MER, and that attachment is a direct result of your decision to let us ride along and see what you see, every sol of the way. Thank you. -------------------- Lyford Rome
"Zis is not nuts, zis is super-nuts!" Mathematician Richard Courant on viewing an Orion test |
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