MSL Route Map Options

[Phil Stooke]

And back we go, for a run around Jock Butte to try that approach. I think it might work if we aim for the northern tip of the Murray Formation outcrop in that area.

Phil



EDIT: Answering Floyd's question below: I'm only guessing, but I was thinking of moving to a place south of Apple on that crop of my map, and then southeast around the drifts here, where it looked to me as if we could reach the light-toned rocks just a bit outside the right edge of this map. I assume they will want to minimize the time it takes to get to the target outcrop.

[Floyd]

Here's an update - correcting the drive on sol 976 and adding some names. Oh - and moving West Ridge to the place i now think it should be.

Note: to see image go to Phil's post. Tried all ways I could think of to get the link to Phil's image here, but just get HTML and no image....

This is a map that shows a wider view. Phil, are you suggesting we will go east skirting the dunes until south of Daughter of the Sun and then cross the narrowest spot?

[ngunn]

Trying . .
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...st&p=220161

I also like to see the wider view and would would welcome it being posted more often.

[nogal]

Update to Sol 987.
Fernando

 MSL_Curiosity_Route_Map_Sol_0987_2015MAY18.kmz ( 249.39K ) Number of downloads: 612

[Phil Stooke]

OK, a good drive, as Midnight Planets told us. My guess... from here, south to the west end of Logan Pass and back down it to the east to get to the Mt. Stimson outcrop. Time will tell.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

We had an uphill drive on sol 991, and the Navcams may be showing us the contact we are aiming for here.

Phil

[nogal]

Update to Sol 991.
Fernando

 MSL_Curiosity_Route_Map_Sol_0991_2015MAY21.kmz ( 249.62K ) Number of downloads: 522

[Phil Stooke]

A different view of the route map. If you see a map like this with white squares for the in situ study sites (I mean, places where the arm instruments are used, usually MAHLI and APXS, but also DRT and drill), it's one of my atlas illustrations. Right now I am collecting material for Volume 3 - for completion in 2020, maybe. Volume 2 (Spirit to the end of Curiosity's primary mission) is on the publisher's desk, out at the end of this year.

I'm using this because it is enlarged a bit from my standard route map, so I can fit in more feature names.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

Quick update. I'm working on an extreme closeup map of this site for the next one.

Phil

[nogal]

Update to Sol 997.
Fernando

 MSL_Curiosity_Route_Map_Sol_0997_2015JUN08.kmz ( 249.97K ) Number of downloads: 579

[Phil Stooke]

Three close-ups at once to document recent activities.

Phil

[blake]

Saw this in my google news feed this morning, hope it's okay to post here:

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/amateur-maps-...er-rival-nasas/

Some good explanation of the process and purpose of this very thread.

Thanks for your efforts.

[charborob]

I wouldn't call Phil Stooke an "amateur". And by the way, the article mentions Mars being "about 140 billion miles away". Sigh!

[Phil Stooke]

I wouldn't call me an astronomer, either!

Phil

[Floyd]

Astronomer / cartographer / philosopher are all qualities of a Renaissance man or scientist of old. They were mostly amateurs as they had to hold real jobs to feed themselves--such as teacher or cleric. Or you could do science as a hobby if you were wealthy...

Phil does a great job in the 21 century and would no doubt have done well as a cartographer/scientist in centuries gone by as well.

Most laypersons upon seeing Phil's maps of distant objects in our solar system would probably come up with the word astronomer before the word cartographer for the one who created them--so I'm fine with Phil being an astronomer...