Getting Unstuck in West Valley |
Getting Unstuck in West Valley |
Nov 4 2009, 01:59 PM
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#1051
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Member Group: Members Posts: 198 Joined: 2-March 05 From: Richmond, VA USA Member No.: 181 |
This sequence taken on sol1972 (left navcam) between 13:27.17 and 18:26.41 local time shows the movement which I was putting down to the effect of thermal changes on either the soil or vehicle. The alternative suggested above maybe movement of the IDD or wheel tests - not sure about the activity going on through this sol on that afternoon. Neat catch. For what it is worth, I'd have to side with thermal changes with the whole rover / soil system. I have at work a DIY mounted webcam that I use for taking daily time-lapse movies (7s/frame at 30 fps) that faces west-northwest. As a result of being very solidly secured in a sturdy cardboard box that itself is very firmly wedged between a large window and an institutional 'radiator', thermal expansion and contraction movements are rather visible through the day, afternoon and evening in particular. I say all of this because the *smooth movement over time* that is shown in the navcam animation is VERY reminiscent of the thermally driven *smooth movements over time* in my own time lapse camera, and at a time when such movements seem likely (the setting of the sun). An argument from a very imperfect analogy sure, but still I feel rather compelling. -- Pertinax |
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Nov 5 2009, 04:27 PM
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#1052
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3431 Joined: 11-August 04 From: USA Member No.: 98 |
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Nov 5 2009, 04:43 PM
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#1053
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
And the surface under the rover looks right, if you compare with the localization in this post.
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Nov 6 2009, 03:02 AM
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#1054
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Member Group: Members Posts: 239 Joined: 18-December 07 From: New York Member No.: 3982 |
New Update:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol2070 "The engineering team has determined that reformatting the file system portion of flash memory will restore the use of the flash memory for data storage... The project intends to re-format the Flash file system shortly." |
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Nov 6 2009, 03:36 AM
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#1055
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
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Nov 6 2009, 03:40 AM
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#1056
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
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Nov 6 2009, 04:02 AM
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#1057
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1887 Joined: 20-November 04 From: Iowa Member No.: 110 |
Any idea when a decision will be made about extricating Spirit?
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Nov 6 2009, 04:21 AM
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#1058
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 79 Joined: 11-September 09 Member No.: 4937 |
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Nov 6 2009, 04:58 AM
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#1059
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 4763 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Glendale, AZ Member No.: 197 |
I'd say my six bucks and the other thing are still safe. That thing is touching. -------------------- If Occam had heard my theory, things would be very different now.
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Nov 6 2009, 05:09 AM
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#1060
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
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Nov 6 2009, 09:30 AM
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#1061
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Member Group: Members Posts: 593 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 279 |
Looking over my glasses, I can "black drop" my finger and thumb together while they're well out of focus and yet not touching - but the logical side of my brain suggests the rock and Spirit must be in contact.
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Nov 6 2009, 06:50 PM
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#1062
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Member Group: Members Posts: 204 Joined: 14-April 06 From: Seattle, WA Member No.: 745 |
There is an interesting article at NatureNews:
Mars rover plans its escape The article interviews John Callas and is, at best, cautiously optimistic. There is an interesting statement: "If the rover does remain stationary, there's also the possibility of using Spirit's arm to analyse the soil more closely and to measure the area's seismology." Does anyone here know how they turn the IDD into a seismometer? |
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Nov 6 2009, 06:59 PM
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#1063
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Don't think it'd be the IDD, Ron, but the IMU (inertial measurement unit), which is normally used for navigation & attitude sensing.
-------------------- 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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Nov 6 2009, 07:01 PM
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#1064
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4246 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
Thanks for the heads up to that article. I don't think the story means that the IDD would be used for seismology. Oppy has already done some seismometry using its accelerometers. Edit - as nprev just said!
This is another interesting quote: QUOTE The panel recommended that the rover project team should try to extract Spirit as soon as possible. Time is of the essence — as winter approaches, power from Spirit's solar panels wanes. "The coming winter could pose a risk to the rover," says Callas.
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Nov 6 2009, 07:36 PM
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#1065
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 2785 Joined: 10-November 06 From: Pasadena, CA Member No.: 1345 |
Hmmmm. But could you use the IDD for seismometry?
Extend the arm out as far as possible, and use the MI to stare at a patch of distinctive grains. Any movement of the body of the rover will translate to the extended arm and shift the image. (However, wind and thermal changes might do this too.) -------------------- Some higher resolution images available at my photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31678681@N07/
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