Spring at Cape York, Sol 2947 (after Greeley Haven) - sol 3040 Options

[MarkG]

This "edge", the contact between the Meridiani deposits and the Endeavor rim deposits, is actually one of the most interesting possible things to look at. How much Opportunity's remaining instrumentation can glean is a "good topic of discussion", but this contact could tell us a lot about an era or two of Marian history....

[marsophile]

Speaking of remaining instrumentation, I wonder if there could be some kind of creative use of the miniTES, even though the lens is covered with dust. Could it at least detect thermal radiation from "hot spots" at night, for example? Or does it, by now, have additional problems beyond the dirty lens that render it totally inoperable?

[djellison]

It's not just dust. MiniTES is actually broken - it doesn't work anymore.

[jamescanvin]

Steve Squyres reports on Twitter (@NEEMO_Steve) (from underwater!) that Oppy just had a big cleaning event!

[mhoward]

Steve Squyres reports on Twitter (@NEEMO_Steve) (from underwater!) that Oppy just had a big cleaning event!

Now there's some welcome news! I always thought this area to the north of CY 'looked' windy, although I'm sure this is probably just random timing. Hooray!

There's a look back at Cape York on sol 2981 that will be lovely once it's downloaded.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[climber]

I also though the rim "has to be windy" but you've also got to consider the solar panel angle to the wind. I never thought this particular location would be windy so, yes, random is a possibility!
This cleaning occured right on time for Oppy to participate to the "24 heures du Mans: http://www.racing-1.com/2012/06/15/24-heur...croche-la-pole/

[marsophile]

An exposed area is always likely to be more windy than a sheltered area.

[brellis]

hmm, if we want Opportunity to last as long as possible, would that knowledge point us in a different direction for survival's sake?

[PaulM]

hmm, if we want Opportunity to last as long as possible, would that knowledge point us in a different direction for survival's sake?

There is a place to which Oppy could drive to ensure survival. Unfortunately there are no clays there. Winds have been observed over the last decade eroding sand dunes on the floor of Endeavour crater between Cape Tribulation and the central peak.

http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2011/2010JE003675.shtml

I think that Oppy takes super-res photos of these dunes from time to time.

If Oppy became stationary then this would be the best place for Oppy to get stuck A time lapse film of a dune being eroded by wind over several years would be interesting.

[ElkGroveDan]

Steve Squyres reports on Twitter (@NEEMO_Steve) (from underwater!) that Oppy just had a big cleaning event!

Anyone see any numbers on this yet?

[Phil Stooke]

Any wind that might erode a dune inside Endeavour could also clean a rover on its rim. It may be true that "An exposed area is always likely to be more windy than a sheltered area." but it's not so obvious where these places would be, and Cape York is not sheltered by anything. Spirit received a huge cleaning event while 'sheltered' between Home Plate and a nearby hill called Tsiolkovsky. And the dune fields inside Endurance and Victoria were clearly sculpted by winds despite being on crater floors. In short - cleaning events can happen pretty much anywhere so no need to panic.

Phil

[marsophile]

http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2011/2010JE003675.shtml

Differential heating between light and dark areas can also produce winds. The area in the figure in the above paper seems to be such a transition area.

It may be fortuitous that Oppy right now is also near a boundary between light and dark regions.

What constitutes a "sheltered area" depends on the direction of the wind, which may change seasonally. Wind is not random if we understand the mechanisms involved.

[fredk]

The topography of CY is so subtle that I think seasonal effects are the cause here. Remember we started to get cleaning events back at Greeley Haven. But we've also had big cleaning events about one and two Martian years ago. We're due for gusts and a big increase in tau around now...

[Guest_Oersted_*]

I'll miss all the talk about the winds and cleaning events and jumping from lily pad to lily pad when we go from MER to MSL....
MER = the era of sail
MSL = the era of the nuclear submarine...

[fredk]

Me too. But the half-life of ²³⁸Pu is only about 88 years. So in a couple of centuries the real advantage of solar power will be clear, as MSL becomes a lander and then goes silent, while Oppy continues her exploration of Miyamoto crater...