Winter campaign at Cook Haven, Sol 3512 - 3599 (December 13, 2013 - March 10, 2014) |
Winter campaign at Cook Haven, Sol 3512 - 3599 (December 13, 2013 - March 10, 2014) |
Dec 13 2013, 04:31 AM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3431 Joined: 11-August 04 From: USA Member No.: 98 |
She's there! Opportunity drove down to the "Cook Haven" bright outcrops on Sol 3512.
Even better, news via Twitter that currents on the front right wheel are back to normal. Phew. |
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Jan 20 2014, 03:11 AM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 507 Joined: 10-September 08 Member No.: 4338 |
A few possible scenarios:
1. One rock acting as a lever, one rock acting as a fulcrum, the rover weight on the lever. 2. Rover starts passing over a slab with a hollow underneath. When the rover is halfway the rock breaks under the weight of the rover. The part that is not under the rover gets flung into the air by the force of the so-called normal reaction to the weight of the rover. (This is similar to Fredk's suggestion except it is the weight of the rover rather than the forward momentum that snaps and throws the rock.) 3. Ngunn's suggestion about spring-loading. The rock may have been under stress to begin with and Oppy's turn was the "straw that broke the camel's back." 4. The soil under the hard crust may be under pressure in places, or perhaps sparks or heat from the pressure of the rover weight reacted with some volatile. More interesting than the origin may be what the rock can tell us about the subsurface. Perhaps we should try to duplicate the event that produced the rock in other likely places. |
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