Post Conjunction: Santa Maria to Cape York, The Journey to 'Spirit Point' Options

[SFJCody]

Another move on 2670?

02670 p1154.01 0 0 0 0 0 0 front_hazcam_idd_unstow_doc
02670 p1165.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 flhaz_IDD_check_subframe_2bpp_pri_41
02670 p1211.03 0 0 0 0 0 0 ultimate_front_haz_1_bpp_pri_15
02670 p1254.02 0 0 0 0 0 0 front_haz_fault_pri15_4bpp
02670 p1311.07 0 0 0 0 0 0 rear_haz_ultimate_1_bpp_crit15
02670 p1354.01 0 0 0 0 0 0 rear_haz_fault_pri15_4bpp
02670 p1977.22 0 0 0 0 0 0 navcam_3x1_az_162_3_bpp
02670 p2111.06 0 0 0 0 0 0 pancam_drive_direction_3x1_L2R12
02670 p2111.06 0 0 0 0 0 0 pancam_cal_targ_L234567Rall
02670 p2571.27 0 0 0 0 0 0 pancam_Great_Detached_Reef_L257R2
02670 p2572.27 0 0 0 0 0 0 pancam_Madeira_Island_L257R2
02670 p2573.27 0 0 0 0 0 0 pancam_Gibraltar_L234567Rall
02670 p2601.05 0 0 0 0 0 0 pancam_tau_L78R48
02670 Total 0 0 0 0 0 0

[Eluchil]

Wan't to know how the rover planning day was for this drive? http://opportunityendeavour.blogspot.com/ from Matt Lenda.

I love the over the shoulder view of the great MER engineers. I assume I wasn't the only one, seeing him as RP-1, rooting for Paolo to complete and deliver his sequences on time. As I've learned from Scott's blog and other sources IDD work may not be as glamorous as 120m drives but can be annoyingly finicky to code.

It's amazing how not only do we humanize the rovers whose journeys we have followed all these years, but we feel that we share in the triumphs of the scientists and engineers who built and operated them. MER has done a stupendous job of outreach. Even though I have never met one of them in person, I have been privileged to share in the (continuing) adventure of exploration. Thank you MER!

[Nix]

The dark flat feature in the new navcam image really seems oddly flat and featureless for CY, which makes me think it could alternatively be our first glimpse of the dark material that is filling the north-center bottom of Endeavour, lying higher than the margins and the south part. ...........

The anaglyph does seem to show a crater on top of a hill.. which makes me think of Spirit Point.

[jamescanvin]

The dark flat feature in the new navcam image really seems oddly flat and featureless for CY, which makes me think it could alternatively be our first glimpse of the dark material that is filling the north-center bottom of Endeavour, lying higher than the margins and the south part.

Yeah, maybe, however my thoughts are the other way around: it looks exactly as flat and featureless as I was expecting for CY and I wouldn't expect a distant (and hence very large) feature to be so flat and straight.

The anaglyph does seem to show a crater on top of a hill.. which makes me think of Spirit Point.

I think we can still only see the northern half of CY. SP is still over the horizon at the moment.

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Another move on 2670?

From that blog, sounds like they are going back to something they drove past.

[Stu]

No, I think the "back up to the second MI stack" reference means they were asked to re-take some microscopic imager pictures, it's not a drive back to a previous target.

[Guest_Oersted_*]

I think we can still only see the northern half of CY. SP is still over the horizon at the moment.

Ah, so you don't say "under the horizon" in English? - What a wonderful language...

[jamescanvin]

I wouldn't personally have said "under the horizon" but over/below/beyond would all be equally acceptable to me. (Note English was never my strong point!)

Back on topic, Stu is right I didn't see anything to suggest they are going back. Furthermore as new drive direction pancams are planned I think tosols drive is more than a bump to reposition at this outcrop. I'm betting on a longish drive and if we make it past the little crater ahead I think most of CY could come into view. An exciting afternoon/evening ahead!

[fredk]

it looks exactly as flat and featureless as I was expecting for CY

Agreed. Also, remember the pancams we had of CY on 2665 - that's clearly a local feature, not far rim. The far rim is so far away (22km!) that even a jet black feature would appear light grey because of all the haze in the air right now.

(BTW, "over the horizon" is used in a similar sense as "over the hill", ie "you'd have to go over the hill to get there". But of course the quirks of English could take up a whole thread, or a whole forum...)

[Matt Lenda]

I love the over the shoulder view of the great MER engineers. I assume I wasn't the only one, seeing him as RP-1, rooting for Paolo to complete and deliver his sequences on time. As I've learned from Scott's blog and other sources IDD work may not be as glamorous as 120m drives but can be annoyingly finicky to code.

It's amazing how not only do we humanize the rovers whose journeys we have followed all these years, but we feel that we share in the triumphs of the scientists and engineers who built and operated them. MER has done a stupendous job of outreach. Even though I have never met one of them in person, I have been privileged to share in the (continuing) adventure of exploration. Thank you MER!

It's a fun gig!

No, I think the "back up to the second MI stack" reference means they were asked to re-take some microscopic imager pictures, it's not a drive back to a previous target.

This is correct. We did a set of four 1x1x5 MI stacks.

For sol 2670, I believe they planned a drive that included a "back up and take a peek at the IDD'd targets" and then a 100-meter or so drive. Though I can't quite remember. I'll check in later today. (on my *off* day!)

EDIT: They planned only about 70 meters. This was intentional -- they wanted to look at a filled-in crater.

[Stu]

Welcome, Matt! About time you joined us!

And thanks again for the great blog you're now writing. It's giving us some great insights.

[fredk]

they wanted to look at a filled-in crater.

Thanks for the update, Matt! That'd be Stu's "Almost There" crater, with the big dune on one side.

Regardless of how we define "arrival" at Endeavour, I say after the next drive it'll be official: We're almost there!

[elakdawalla]

I had dinner with two icy moons scientists last night. They had no idea that Opportunity's finally at her destination. I filled them in

Welcome, Matt!

[marswiggle]

To clarify my line of thought re the navcam observation: yes we have indeed seen the top of CY, that's not questionable. But we have since moved considerably to the southeastern direction and the high part is now rather far to the left of the 'Cyclops' crater. Sol 2667 navcam for comparison. So we should now have an unobstructed view to Endeavour over the lower part of CY, which according to relief maps and anaglyphs should not rise too many inches above our current level on the plain, nor be visible separately of the plains.
But I am not going to waste everyone's time by pursuing this any more before the new pancams will solve the problem!

[jamescanvin]

Looks like ~65m from the tracking data.