I think the return to driving deserves a new topic for Oppy. According to http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20070824a.html Oppy is back up to 300 Whrs, and had a small cleaning event!
The release also gives a surprizing reason for the drive to the rim:
No more messing about on the rim or the plains, I think they really need to get Opportunity into the crater as soon as possible - it is, after all what they spent a couple of years driving for. The same with Spirit at Home Plate, the rover has been planning on driving up onto HP in the "next few days" for about 5 months.
One lesson from this dust storm is that they REALLY could lose the rovers at any time. Opportunity may have literally been a few watt hours of energy away from death.
New nav/pancam imagery peering over the rim into the abyss tosol at exploratorium. It looks to me like we've got dust on the left pancam, along the right edge of the frame. I'm sure it's not vignetting - pancams have only negligible vignetting. A sky view would confirm this. So it seems both left navcam and left pancam have been affected by dust.
You can see it easily comparing L2 and R2:
These new set of images was part of the usual "post-drive" imaging sequences.
Obviously, no drive was attempted but either cancelled or aborted.
Some new images down, pointed at the sky, presumably to characterize the dust on the pancams. Remember there's stretching involved in these jpegs, which probably exagerates the effect. But clearly both left and right pancam are affected:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2007-08-28/1P241550106EFF8600P2897L7M1.JPG
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2007-08-28/1P241550188EFF8600P2897R1M1.JPG
And some news from http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn12548-mars-rovers-begin-to-stir-as-dust-storms-recede.html
Opportunity drove a little bit tosol (1278).
One more step and were are into the crater!
http://nasa.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/forward_hazcam/2007-08-29/1F241636590EFF8615P1214R0M1.JPG
Edited: Added this Q&D (quick and dirty) navcam mosaic.
It seems we have only to wait for a (safe) rise of the battery charging now and the ride will begin...
There have been several instance of dust collecting on the Haz Cams and then dissipating. That's certainly possible here. However, it looks much worse than previous occurances. The effect on the right edge kinda looks to me like the dust was able to get into part of the camera. If that is the case, I think it would be permanent. Recent images have shown that it's not too sever. In a worst case, they could stop relying on the affected parts of the frame. Take images that overlap more. Use it as though it were an 800X1024 sensor.
I would like to know if the dust has invaded miniTES. That would be a much bigger problem. That could range from reduced sensitivity to completely unusable.
I like the "back to work" concept. Things are about to get interesting.
One thing I have been meaning to do for a long time is to take http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/tm-opportunity/images/MERB_Sol1272_1.jpg and use it to make a scale that we can import as a movable layer on top of the contour map in an image editing program. I wanted to have a transparent scale that I could drag over the contour lines to measure the surface slopes in degrees.
To make a scale that would be useful over the whole map, it became apparent that it needed to be a circular scale, with the radius scaled in degrees. I'm attaching the scale, just in case someone else might like to measure slopes on that contour map. The scale was made for the full scale HiRise images at 25 cm/px. Note that some of the recent JPL route maps with contours are at other scales. To use the scale, put the center dot on a contour line, and measure the angle to an adjacent contour line. I labelled the three outer circles as 5, 10, and 15 degrees, but it became too cluttered trying to label the remaining circles. All of the circles are 5 degrees apart, so the circles in the scale are 5, 10,15,20, 25,30, and 35 degrees. It helps to zoom in to about 200% on the map when using this scale.
I am also attaching a crop of the contour map from Duck Bay. I used the scale overlay to measure the slope of the surface across parts of Duck Bay and I posted the measurements in degrees on that map. Using the scale, or studying the angles posted on the map, you can quickly get a feel for the slope angles by looking at the distance between the contour lines.
Thanks for the template, Rocker, I'm sure I'll find it useful.
There was a decent gust between sols 1275 and 1277, visible in the front hazcams. That appears to be after the gust we've heard about through official channels, so we can hope for a further increase in power.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/f/1275/1F241372413EFF8600P1151L0M1.JPG
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/f/1277/1F241549760EFF8600P1151L0M1.JPG
And a hazy, near-sunset view of the sun from 1275:
Wouldn't dust devil tracks be visible in Meridiani if there were dust devils there? It's not like the sand and the dust are too uniform in color in that region. Lack of the tracks is a pretty good proof that no dust devils have been present since the last major storm.
Except for those really large dark tracks away from the rim where dust devils have swept them clean of dust.
Brian
I understand you're teasing, Brian, but, just for the record...
Dust devils are very specific weather phenomenah. The definition requires the formation of vortical wind structures large and energetic enough to raise surface dust into the air. Dust devils, again by definition, are visible as funnel-like or rope-like structures due to the dust entrained in their vortical structures.
Dust devils do not leave broad fan-like surface markings -- they tend to leave sinuous, worm-like tracks which do not vary in width by more than 20% to 30% along their lengths. The dust streaks emanating from Victoria begin at wind-stricture points along the crater wall and fan out to be several hundred percent wider by the time they fade to invisibility.
Calling every erosional or depositional wind event on Mars a dust devil is like calling any energetic wind event on Earth a tornado. It's an extremely poor, misleading, and just plain incorrect use of the term.
All that said, I'm really not as anal about this as it sounds. I just want to state the case clearly, and hopefully establish a level of terminology use on the forum that maintains us at an "impressively high level."
-the other Doug
Back in business again after the storm.
A panoramic view taken on Sol 1275 with the
R0 Navcam.
jvandriel
The L257 Duck bay image from yestersol (B1281)
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~jcanvin/mer/index.html#B1281
As fredk pointed out, we have a dark band on the right edge of the left pancam probably due to dust. I'll need some new code to deal with the lower contrast in this area and so the mosaic is not great. I don't have the time to work on the problem at the moment so this'll have to do.
James
I had thought that the pancam head used a lens cover and tilted to point downward when not in use. If that's the case, why the dust on the lens? Was it so dusty that the occasional pics taken were sufficient exposure for the dust to accumulate? Or am I just remembering incorrectly?
It's not a particularly effective lens cover - it's not a good seal.
Doug
I wonder if the need for Oppy to conserve power meant that it didn't always 'stow' the Pancam when not in use (the actuators would need to be heated at certain times of the day to allow it to be moved).
I thought that we were just one step of entering VC, but after reading the http://www.planetary.org/news/2007/0831_Mars_Exploration_Rovers_Update_Spirit.html it seems that they are still planning to enter it by the other side of the bay.
The plan was always the far side of Duck Bay. I've never seen anything to suggest that the choice of the best place to enter the crater has changed just because there has been a delay.
Doug
I hope it'll be one of the last view of the plain for a while (note the still fuzy horizon)
> I hope it'll be one of the last view of the plain for a while
Let's wait for today's images. I've just checked the planned sequences (a.k.a. "secret codes" ) and Opportunity might be on the move now or in a few hours. Another question is if we are going in (probably not) or just moving closer to the planned entry point.
I'll answer myself...
SS revealed me the secret behind Paolo...:
"Paolo is one of our rover drivers. We've chosen the site for entry into the
crater based on his recommendations, and that's where we're headed."
This is it boys...
Downward Oppy!
Oh...and on another issue of major importance here's our PI arctic reaction:
"The bear? How on earth did you guys hear about me and polar bears???"
Headed to the entry point.
Here is the latest navcam mosaic taken on sol 1285.
Eduardo: I surely can remember our excitement from that time. That is what drives our species toward explorations.
I don't know how we missed this, but there is http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20070905a.html tonight.
I've been looking back through earlier images, and it appears that the cleaning event may have taken place between sols 1269 and 1270. Notice the changes in the dust on the instruments and the hazcam lens in the attached animation. The optics and the instruments were cleaned. No wonder they are running back to Paolo's planned plunge point. I can't wait to see the panels.
"Spic-and-span solar panels boosting power"
"Opportunity may have enough vitality to venture into Victoria Crater, the largest yet explored by either rover. "
Now wait just a darn minute. I think Gusev Crater is a wee bit larger than Victoria.
Ladies and gentlemen... swear boxes at the ready...
Very cool Stu. Thanks
Apologies for my earlier effort, this is much more like it I think...
We are back again almost to the point where we arrive at Victoria.
Couple slightly doctored views... The way they sort of match up is just a happy accident. They are actually "viewed" from different positions.
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1339362390&size=l http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1338477269&size=l
Edit: Oops.... flickr initially made them 'private' for some reason. It should be fixed now.
Just checked the imaging plan for tosol (1287) and it's almost all related to the MI.
Given that there's no visible rock target on the IDD workvolume I think they are probably taking pictures of those old tracks from sol 955 in front of the left wheel.
http://nasa.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/forward_hazcam/2007-09-06/1F242348631EFF86FIP1212R0M1.JPG
BTW, no driving planned for today.
No problem at all, since my bet at the entry pool was for sol 1313.
I'm really looking forward to that moment when the pancam is below the visible horizon. Will that be the first time since Endurance for Opportunity?
No disrespect to the counties of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, but I need some height about me.
Andy
A new http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2007-098 came out today. It describes the toe-dip and the target objectives. They could go in next week, after finishing some instrument tests. Apparently there is some concern that the mini-TES scanning mirror may not be working properly.
They mentioned Opportunity's recent cleaning again, but unfortunately do not say anything about power levels.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070907_opportunity_victoria.html
animation of Oppy sol 1288 mini-TES mirror test:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortonheardawho/1347270807/
Uh oh.
The port opened and closed -- but the mirror images look different than in the same test done by Spirit.
( see links in the image comments.)
Thanks for that, Horton.
To me the two tests don't look too different - there seems to be some glare from the upper right corner of the frame affecting the Oppy test. The good news is that the mirror is moving. Hopefully it's moving as it should.
You are correct fredk.
If you look at the two sequences side by side -- and if the glare is ignored --
they are similar.
Spirit / Oppy miniTES mirror comparison:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortonheardawho/1347884555/
Although the mirror seems to be working -- the reflection from Oppy's mirror seems less distinct --
so there may be "only" a dust problem and not a mechanical one.
It is excellent news to know that the mini-TES mirror is apparently working properly, and it was even better to be able to see the Spirit and Opportunity tests side by side. Thanks, hortonheardawho.
It appears that Opportunity's MI lens is quite dusty. Apparently its cover wasn't able to effectively seal the dust out. Attached is a navcam animation showing the Microscopic Imager with the cover closed and then open. I hope I am wrong, but we may not get clear MIs in the future unless a gust is able to clean this lens off. I recall that the team recently tried to clean Spirit's MI lens by tilting it downward and opening and closing the cover. Do we know if that had any success?
Spirit - Opportunity MI lens comparison animation:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortonheardawho/1351172356/
The fuzziness of Oppy's miniTES mirror reflection may be mostly from the dust on the MI lens.
In general, all of Oppy's optics appear dustier than Spirit's -- so it would not be a surprise Oppy's mini-TES optics are dusty too.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortonheardawho/1351172350/ is a comparison animation of the IDDs. Although lighting differences account for some of the differences, most seem to be directly dust related.
Well after more than two and a half years, tomorrows the big day. (probably lol)
Not yet.
Imaging plan for today (sol 1290) includes a nice 27x2 (360º x 27º fov) "albedo" mosaic but nothing related to driving.
... I thought so.
Here is a "fish-eye" version of the latest navcam mosaic from sol 1289.
That little dune may be more a danger than I first thought - or is it not as high as it looks?!
Ladies and gentlemen, the next stop on our tour of Victoria Crater is what became known as Purgatory Bay, so named because...
Brian
Now we're on our way in a new thread seems in order.
Posts related to the entry moved to http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=4570
Some old images coming down today.
This one caught my eye (lifted straight out of MMB):
That one caught my eye as well (as in, gawking in astonishment).
amazing reflection, thanks James for pointing this one out to us...
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