Opportunity - Sol2000, Another Incredible Milestone Reached |
Opportunity - Sol2000, Another Incredible Milestone Reached |
Sep 8 2009, 01:50 PM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
To continue the celebrations for the Mars Exploration Rovers...
Tosol, Opportunity reaches the milestone of 2000 sols on Mars. Stu and I have put together a new poster for you all to enjoy. A big thanks to James Canvin for his timely 'Block Island panorama'. Here's the screen-size version.... You'll find two larger versions (4.5/1.5mb) on my blog For the really brave, there is a 10mb full-res version for direct download here. |
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Sep 8 2009, 01:53 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
Hopefully Stu won't mind too much, but here is his brilliant prose on Opportunity reaching 2000 sols.
Don't forget to go and read more of his AstroPoetry here. Rendezvous 2K What were the chances of this brief encounter? One – not even a decade old – A fearless robot of grinding gears That has roved for five long years To reach this place; an explorer born on a world Of painfully-bright blue skies and burnt Marmalade twilight. The other, A graceless child born in the cold, empty space Between worlds, a gnarled and Vacuum-chewed chunk of ancient iron That has not moved even a hair’s width since Falling from sky who-knows-how-many years ago… How many times have those weary wheels turned In the last 2000 sols? One spin for every Dream a child has ever had of walking On Mars? One turn for every time a tired scientist, Leaning towards a flickering JPL screen Has yearned to see Just A Little More? And how many times has this nobbled nugget Of starstone been covered by dirt and ash And then exposed to the flashing stars and sepia sun Of Mars again? A dozen? A thousand? We will never know. But, briefly, Its aeons-long loneliness is over, and standing Between two of Meridiani’s Shai-Hulud dunes It will have company for a while - at least Until the half-hidden humps of Endeavour’s Encircling hills beckon Opportunity again, And then, turning her lightly-dusted back On Block Island she’ll return to roving Once more, ignoring the few Farkers that fail To feel the beauty of her journey as she follows The sapphire blue star of Earth towards Her destiny. Strange, that these two travellers should meet, That their paths should cross here and now. So different, yet so alike; each one only part way Through its journey. The rover will rove on, Drawn to Endeavour like a metal Martian moth To a flame, watching the twin moons wax and wane As the miles are slowly eaten away until, one day, Her wheels finally scrunch on the gravelled base Of the great crater’s sun-soaked slopes And yet another “new Mars” is revealed. The meteorite will stay right here for many Years yet until, one sol in some far future year, The fumbling fingers of gauntleted hands will wrap around it And place it in the great Museum of Mars For all to see! Fat, thick-coated water-bloated Earthers and desiccated, pale Barsoomians alike will all File slowly past it in its case, silently staring through Reflections of their curious faces in the glass to See the famed “Block Island” on its stand, All trying to understand how one oh-so-ugly rock Caused such twittering excitement on Terra in ‘09 Before simply being left behind… © Stuart Atkinson 2009 |
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Sep 8 2009, 02:09 PM
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#3
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
Don't mind at all, that looks beautiful Astro0!! Thanks v much for putting my scribblings with your lovely picture!
2000 sols... what an adventure we're all on... -------------------- |
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Sep 8 2009, 02:35 PM
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#4
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
I just re-read "Roving Mars", and it's beyond entertaining to read SS's hopes of surviving 90 sols from this distant perspective...may it grow ever more distant.
A very moving tribute, gentlemen; thank you both for sharing this with us. Onward!!! -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Sep 8 2009, 05:38 PM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3431 Joined: 11-August 04 From: USA Member No.: 98 |
Nice composition of the image on the poster. Very impressive. Good poem, Stu.
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Sep 8 2009, 05:45 PM
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#6
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10226 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
Mmmmm! Marmalade...
Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PDF: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Guest_Oersted_* |
Sep 9 2009, 09:43 PM
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#7
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Guests |
Farkers?
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Sep 9 2009, 10:19 PM
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
No, not what you were thinking...
"Fark" is a website... forum... place... that discusses web items, news stories, blog postings... a few of the posters there were rather uncomplimentary (i.e. insulting) about my Spirit 2000 sol poem, so I thought I'd put a dedication in the new one for them. -------------------- |
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Sep 10 2009, 04:16 AM
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#9
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Member Group: Members Posts: 530 Joined: 21-March 06 From: Canada Member No.: 721 |
Well, I feel honored for the dedication, Stu. I shall endeavour (snort... guffaw) to maintain my reputation as a farker each time I post.
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Sep 10 2009, 09:38 PM
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#10
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Member Group: Members Posts: 237 Joined: 22-December 07 From: Alice Springs, N.T. Australia Member No.: 3989 |
Fantastic achievement- 2 Rovers to 2 thousand!!
I love poetry - well, sort of. It's not often that the wand of inspiration touches one but this just sort of came into my head and I think I should share it!! There was a Mars Rover called Oppy who charged over sand hills so choppy. Well, she went on her hols and powered through 2000 sols. Don't say 90 days! We'll get stroppy! (hols = vacation) In retrospect.... apologies all, especially to you Stu as this should not really muddy the pixels of your monitor!!! If anyone, can compose better than this, then I will gladly move into the shadows. |
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Sep 10 2009, 10:30 PM
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#11
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
Oh dear, that's brought on a touch of the McGonagalls . . .
Opportunity rover continues Though strained in her axles and sinews She still has her wits And we love her to bits Long may she stay able and in use. |
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Sep 10 2009, 10:38 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 237 Joined: 22-December 07 From: Alice Springs, N.T. Australia Member No.: 3989 |
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Sep 10 2009, 11:04 PM
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#13
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
No criticism intended. Actually I'm a great McGonagall fan. No-one will ever know if he was partly in on the joke.
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Sep 10 2009, 11:34 PM
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#14
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Two thousand sols have come and gone
But memories still linger I held a flight-RAT in my hand Has anybody seen my finger? |
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Sep 11 2009, 12:46 AM
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#15
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
Best one yet! |
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