Run For The Hills!, The flight to Winter Quarters... Options

[Bob Shaw]

Bob: This kind of fracturing appears to be fairly common in exposed, flat-lying beds. It is even visible at a larger scale in some of the Mars orbiter images. Do you think think thermal activity (contraction- expansion could have anything to do with it??

neb

Neb:

Well, there has to be *some* common(ish) process, and that would certainly be a planet-wide phenomenon. I don't remember seeing any numbers for temperatures at or just under the surface of Mars - you tend to see air temperatures quoted and figures for depths where water might exist, but not much inbetween. And I'm sure somebody will prove me wrong! Certainly, Lunar sub-surface temperatures are pretty static near the surface, barely seeing diurnal change - Mars, though? Maybe there's some THEMIS data out there...

Bob Shaw

[Bill Harris]

I'd suspect that the diurnal thermal processes result more in exfoliation than the formation of the "paving slabs". This type of fracturing has a polygonal aspect and my first and continuing impression is that it is like mudcracks or frost polygons. There may not be a 1:1 analogue with these terrestrial processes, but the appearance is similar. Once a minute fracture forms, I'd suspect that the aeolian sandblasting over eons chips away at the fracture and significantly widens it.

OTOH, at Meridiani, I have noticed some apparent recent movement in the slabs so it lookss as though these are complex processes with many causes. Our Earthly experiences do not include rock that can lay on the surface for a billion years and be slowly weathered and eroded, so the timeframes are quite different.

I did a "google heatflow mars" and came up a lot of relevant topics to Bob's subsurface temperature question. A bit OT but still useful was http://www.mantleplumes.org/index.html .

--Bill

[Toma B]

This is a surprise to me...take a look...
Spirit Discovers "New" Highest Peak in "Columbia Hills"

[SigurRosFan]

Holy ...

[djellison]

That's this winter's holiday trip sorted then....we're going climbing again

Actually - I wonder if they will go for the summit again, with the aim to roll to the top by next summer - would there be any benefit, or would it make more sense to head to different terrain.

Doug

[RNeuhaus]

At the top of Mc Cool Hill would have a 23 meters higher than Husband Hill. Climbing during the winter until reaching the top would be very tough! I don't know if it is worth to effort to climb up to there again. Let see !

Rodolfo

[paxdan]

They have to go for the summit.

as for it being higher, i'm actually several kinds of supprised nobody here spotted it first

[odave]

I suppose the decision to get to McCool's summit might be driven by what comes out of the home plate analysis. If they do want to return to HP in the spring, would it be worth the time & effort for Spirit to top another peak? ISTR Steve saying that he and several team members are climbers, so there may be an emotional factor there too...

[Bob Shaw]

A bit OT but still useful was http://www.mantleplumes.org/index.html .

--Bill

Bill:

Interesting site!

Bob Shaw

[RNeuhaus]

Now Spirit has stopped close to Mitcheltree Ridge and is currently spending three sols studying a rock target called "Fuzzy Smith" using three instruments on the robotic arm: the microscopic imager, Mössbauer spectrometer, and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...BCP1131L0M1.JPG

During the coming week, Spirit will communicate with Earth in UHF-only mode while NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at the red planet.

Does anyone know about the speed (bit/sec) and reliability of UHF communication between MER and Earth (Stanford University Radatelescope in California). It will be much lower than 128 bps? It is probably that the transfer rate of image will be slowed down since UHF is much slower than the X-band communication which is perfomed by Odyssey and MGS. How long will last with this protocol of comunication, UHF?

Rodolfo

[Pertinax]

as for it being higher, i'm actually several kinds of supprised nobody here spotted it first

I can't exactly say that I nailed it (I didn't trust my 'gut', my experience, enough), but I wondered about it: http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...indpost&p=17789

Higher or not it would be nice to view from the surface the south slopes of McCool Hill. I would question the value of doing so however with so many tasy things to explore in the inner basin yet.

-- Pertinax

[Deimos]

During the coming week, Spirit will communicate with Earth in UHF-only mode while NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at the red planet.

Does anyone know about the speed (bit/sec) and reliability of UHF communication between MER and Earth (Stanford University Radatelescope in California). It will be much lower than 128 bps? It is probably that the transfer rate of image will be slowed down since UHF is much slower than the X-band communication which is perfomed by Odyssey and MGS. How long will last with this protocol of comunication, UHF?

I'm pretty sure the MER-Stanford communication is at best 1 bit. Not per second, just signal/no signal. Normally Spirit is commanded via X-band from Earth and downlinks via UHF through ODY; occasionally Spirit downlinks via X-band to Earth. Spirit will still talk to Odyssey via UHF, but the DSN stations aimed at Mars during the time Spirit would be commanded from Earth will be occupied by MRO. So, UHF only: uplink and downlink. That changes the timing of the uplink communication so as not to conflict with MRO (the Earth-ODY communications would have to occur when MRO doesn't need the DSN). So, Spirit will be in restricted sols (driving every other day at best) since there will be less time to write commands, but the data will continue to flow.

[centsworth_II]

The rover drivers took a lot of time learning how to climb Husband Hill, also, a lot of time was spent examining new types of rock outcrop. They may surprise us with how quick McCool Hill can be climbed with a combination of previously learned climbing techniques and less time spent examining already seen rock types. If that's the goal.

[GregM]

.

[centsworth_II]

I would hope that they climb to the summit and drive along the ridge from McCool hill to Ramon Hill

This assumes a decision not to return to Home Plate/Pitchers Mound in the spring. That may be a difficult decision to make.