Erebus/victoria Entry & Exploration, Would it be worth it? |
Erebus/victoria Entry & Exploration, Would it be worth it? |
Apr 19 2005, 04:57 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 510 Joined: 17-March 05 From: Southeast Michigan Member No.: 209 |
Last year, MER team decided to let Oppy go into Endurance because the value of the potential science gain outweighed the risks to the rover at that time. I remember Steve Squyres saying something like...if Oppy can't get back out, it would be like getting locked in a candy store.
I wonder if the same would be true when we get to Erebus and Victoria. If these craters show something significantly different than we've already seen, and there's a feasible entry/exit route, would they still risk sending Oppy in? If it were me, given the 18 month extended mission and the rover showing its age more and more, any target in Erebus or Victora would need to be very juicy. Then again, there's no guarantee that Oppy will live for the entire extension. Hmmm...depending on what we find when we get there, it could be a hard decision for the team to make! -------------------- --O'Dave
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Apr 27 2005, 11:18 AM
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Even blind drives still have built in high water mark limits for slope, slippage and motor current etc. I'm suprised that it ploughed on as far as it did - but They'll just back out of it I'm sure - however the challenge is..
why is THIS dune so soft? is this going to be the behaviour on dunes in the future? what driving strategies can minimise this? what are the best slippage, slope and currrent limits to continue driving over this stuff? I'm sure eng. meetings are taking place almost as we speak to try and sort this out. Doug |
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Apr 27 2005, 12:01 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 290 Joined: 26-March 04 From: Edam, The Netherlands Member No.: 65 |
QUOTE (djellison @ Apr 27 2005, 11:18 AM) Even blind drives still have built in high water mark limits for slope, slippage and motor current etc. I'm suprised that it ploughed on as far as it did - but They'll just back out of it I'm sure - however the challenge is.. why is THIS dune so soft? is this going to be the behaviour on dunes in the future? what driving strategies can minimise this? what are the best slippage, slope and currrent limits to continue driving over this stuff? I'm sure eng. meetings are taking place almost as we speak to try and sort this out. Doug In THAT case the explanation why she entered the powdery stuff this far, is because it might be of low density compared to the previous soil. I must say the texture and reflectivity does appear different to me in the last meters of the drive. Maybe it is so loosely packed (high porosity), that oppy did not experience any change: as if the layer wasn't there. Maybe it drives ON a more firmly packed soil, 3 inches underneath, topped with powdery, fluffy material with low density/high porosity that is pushed aside very easy? Maybe the slipage like profile we see in the last meter wasn't slipping, but just a manifestation of another, new material under our feet that is easily disturbed and deformed in another way than the soil before. |
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