After Victoria..., .. what next? Options

[Stu]

I know we've had rather light-hearted discussions about this before, with most people agreeing that Oppy is likely to end her days inside or on the edge of Victoria Crater, simply because there's nothing else to investigate within reach, but has Steve S got it in his mind that Oppy will head off somewhere else after Victoria? This report could be read in a way that suggests that...

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

But isn't the nearest feature of any significance about 20km away? Much more than Opportunities total driving distance so far?

[ustrax]

"We're going to do a lot of good science, and then we're going to come out again and keep going forward."

ZUPER NUTS!!!

[fredk]

It's hard to conclude much at all from those pitiful few crumbs tossed at the feet of us Squyres-starved disciples. Give us more... we need more...

More seriously, we had some clues from Byron Jones a little while ago that Erubus could be a return target.

[PhilHorzempa]

As prep work, it would be nice to see HiRISE images of the West Rim of
the Big Crater. Then one could ascertain whether layers are exposed or
are covered by dust.


Another Phil

[Oren Iishi]

[quote name='Sunspot' date='May 28 2007, 02:30 PM' post='91018']
But isn't the nearest feature of any significance about 20km away? Much more than Opportunities total driving distance so far?
[/quo

So pessimistic, 20Km no problem! At some point the exploration of Victoria crater will start to result in diminishing returns. The solar power levels don't seem to be an issue due to the recent cleaning events. In addition, there are sure to be some interesting scientific areas along to route. The hardware seems to be in good shape and I think they should ride this rover til she drops. Also, Spirits seems to be on its last legs and they could allocate those funds for one last push for Oppy.

[ustrax]

More seriously, we had some clues from Byron Jones a little while ago that Erubus could be a return target.

If my sense of orientation isn't failing, Erebus isn't forward...

[djellison]

Scientifically it could be. Two, three or more years of sand dunes wouldn't be. Look at HiRISE imagery to the East of Victoria. It's like the worst days of the drive south from Endurance - the area around Jame Caird, Viking and Voyager - an utter driving nightmare made even worse by the fact they would be trying to drive across all the dunes, not along their length..

Unless I see images of that very large crater to the ESE making an EXCELLENT case for going there and HiRISE images documenting the entire route showing it to be in any way feasable - I can see no point in trying to get there when all current indicators suggest it would be a not much more than a suicide mission into a dune field we would never leave.

Doug

[MarsIsImportant]

Ustrax, I believe the bottom image is a stretched view toward the South. And I believe the satellite image has South toward the bottom. So Ulysses Palace should be on the right, not the left as shown. Did you reverse the rover image? Because if you did not, then you have the lables in reverse. H cannot be H and A cannot be A; rather, H is A and A is H and so forth. Did you reverse that image? Regardless the orientation of the perspective is confusing the way it is shown.

[tuvas]

During the last HiRISE team meeting, I think it was February, I had the chance to talk with Steve Squires about the future of the rovers. While some things have definitely changed since then (he had told me that Opportunity was likely to enter the then unnamed bay now called Valley without Peril, at a time that would be about a month ago), he had told me then that they are looking for a future target. There is the big crater down to the south, but there are also a few other possibilities, including an outcropping to the west, and a few other areas in the general vicinity. As to which of these will be the final target is still being debated. In fact, there might still be a third as-of-yet unknown place where it might go.

But there are a few things that are going on now that Opportunity didn't have while going to Victoria. First of all, it's faster than it was at the very beginning. Secondly, it's smarter, the recent updates should help get it out of some situations. Lastly, the HiRISE camera could be used to map out the entire route in advance, allowing it to save time not getting stuck in problematic areas. So it is possible that the rover could make it even further than it already has, in possibly the same amount of time. There are several craters that look interesting from previous targets in the southern region. Still, it is a great debate, as to what should happen next.

[fredk]

Thanks, tuvas, for tossing some very tasty nuggets our way!

I've been wondering how much of a role HiRISE might play in choosing a new target after Victoria (apart from assisting in driving, once a target is chosen). Is it practical to image the surroundings out to some potentially rovable distance, several kilometres say? Are there any plans to do this? Or is the lower-res MGS imagery sufficient to ID good targets?

[tuvas]

Oh, I have no doubt that before a target is chosen, that HiRISE will not only photograph the potential target, but probably most of the route. As to plans to photograph, well, I really don't know of any, but I don't hang around with the uplink folks that much.

[David]

It wasn't even possible to have a serious discussion about this question just months ago; heck, I remember a time when even getting to Victoria was absurd, an aspiration rather than a serious goal.

Just to be able to envision going on beyond Victoria illustrates how much these rovers have exceeded expectations.

[nprev]

Yes... ... amazing that there's now concern over sharing S-band DTE channels as well!

MRO's mapping capability should greatly facilitate reaching a new target after Vicky, and that's how it should be; revisits should not be an option without truly compelling justification. The MERs' mobility is implicitly there to see as much of Mars as they can, so backtracking would seem to defeat this rather fundamental design paradigm.

[CosmicRocker]

I was ready to say that Erebus is a valid future target, and even the most likely one, but that is a good point, nprev. But, returning to Erebus for more science that they know can be targeted requires mobility. too. At this point, I'm not going to guess what they will do. The MRO/Rover synergy probably changes everything.