Heatshield Options

[djellison]

Six frames of L7 imagery

Doug

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

MI pictures of the heatshield are in:

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...ger/2005-01-01/

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

From space.com

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/roverdebris_041231.html

"We have circled around to a secondary debris site we are calling the ‘flank piece’", noted Christine Szalai, JPL’s leader of the heat shield observations team. "These are some pieces that broke off of the main heat shield after impact," she told SPACE.com.

Szalai said that a set of "interesting targets" have been identified – targets to home in on with the rover’s Microscopic Imager for carrying out fracture cross-section looks this weekend.

"This data will hopefully tell us the char depth through the thickness of the thermal protection system material. After we are done with this investigation, we are going to continue the spiral to survey the main heat shield and come in close to obtain more imaging data," Szalai explained.

Following its foray into the swath of discarded hardware, where next for Opportunity?

Steve Squyres, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover program from Cornell University, said the robot has a very tough next assignment. The driving objective for Opportunity is etched terrain to the south of Endurance crater – a large impact feature in which the robot recently completed six months of rewarding science work.

"The distance we'll have to cover to reach the etched terrain is something like three kilometers [some two miles], so it's a very aggressive goal. If we can reach the etched terrain, we expect that exploring it will take a substantial amount of effort and time," Squyres told SPACE.com.

"We don't currently know whether or not it will be possible to traverse a significant distance into the etched terrain. From orbit it appears to be pretty rugged stuff, so it may represent an impenetrable barrier to further southward exploration. We'll see when we get there," Squyres advised.

On the far side of that etched terrain is the huge Victoria crater. Chances of the rover reaching that geological paradise of a hole in the ground "are probably not good," Squyres said. "But if we did somehow manage to make it across the etched terrain, Victoria would be a very exciting next objective," he added.

Squyres said that next week, he will discuss "an interesting intermediate goal" -- something on the path from the heat shield to the etched terrain -- at a Mars Exploration Rover press briefing.

[CosmicRocker]

Squyres said that next week, he will discuss "an interesting intermediate goal" -- something on the path from the heat shield to the etched terrain -- at a Mars Exploration Rover press briefing.

Let's hope he's speaking of Monday's briefing.

[Pando]

They may do some crater-hopping not only for the science value of it, but also for the favorable tilt they may experience on the slopes, especially during dust storms...

[djellison]

One assumes they mean vostok crater ?

Doug