First pictures, when and where? Options

[mwolff]

...Getting an off-nadir image should be a lot easier than a nadir image, although I admit you still have to get fairly close to an overhead pass. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious.

It depends upon what you mean by "easy." off-nadir targets are a "commodity" and it may be that only two (or so) are allowed every other orbit. so, it's a question of priority by the science teams. there does not appear to be a great deal of excitement burning off-nadir opportunities simply for MER-B traverse planning. I believe there are already some nice MOC data that are being used. certainly, if one really wants Victoria, off-nadir targeting is likely to acquire the data sooner.

[mwolff]

...there does not appear to be a great deal of excitement burning off-nadir opportunities simply for MER-B traverse planning...

perhaps i spoke to soon. the Mars Program Office appears to have gotten an off-nadir slew into the target planning for pre-conjunction observation (though the final target list has not yet been determined).

[djellison]

I can imagine, given that the Mars office has been compartively quiet in terms of 'big' news since the MRO MOI - a big press release during conjunction to unveil the Victoria panorama, the McMurdo pan, and a HiRISE / CTX / CRISM data set of one of the two landing sites would make a nice 'story' that would make most of the major newspapers.

Perhaps the order came from on high to try and grab one of the two sites if at all possible before conjunction...stranger things have happened.

But I'm jumping the gun

Doug

[climber]

Not only a picture of Victoria will make a nice story, it will be very timely for VC exploration allowing about 2 weeks of thinking. BTW, IIRC, they kind of sparcely communicated during last conjunction. Do you know how long we can expect the "real" com will be out ?

[djellison]

Well -

http://anserver1.eprsl.wustl.edu/anteam/me...MD/2C241MMD.htm

During the 18-day conjunction period that began on Sol 241, the sun will be obscuring the communications path between Earth and Mars, making communications sessions unreliable. We were able to successfully command Spirit on Sol 241, and had partial commanding success on Sol 242. We will be attempting to command Spirit on Sol 243 also. Beyond that, thru Sol 255, sequences already safely on board will perform a set of science activities on a daily basis. On Sols 256-258, the last three days of conjunction, we will be attempting normal operations again.

I would say at least a fortnight.

Doug

[jabe]

Well,
if the Sharad was deployed right, it looks like we are 8 days from pointing the cameras at mars...

slowly getting there

jb

[jabe]

well,
from MRO site, it seems the next step is 5 days from Instrument operational checkout. Lets hope for a release of pictures before end of the month..which will include the first "pictures" from Sharad that seems to have been taken.

[Guest_AlexBlackwell_*]

HiRISE Camera Will Take First Close-Up Pictures of Mars Sept. 29
By Lori Stiles
UA News Services
September 25, 2006

EDIT: I decided to link directly to the UA press release.

2nd EDIT: I notice the Media Note isn't included on the UANews.org website, so I'll put it back here:

MEDIA NOTE: Reporters are welcome to join the HiRISE team in UA's Sonett Space Sciences Building when the first HiRISE image is received at HiROC at approximately 2:30 p.m. MST (Pacific) time. Please make arrangements with Lori Stiles, University Communications, 520-626-4402 or 520-360-0574 (cell).

This post has been edited by AlexBlackwell: Sep 25 2006, 11:48 PM

[nprev]

....ooo, ooo, ooo....(jumping excitedly about like a kid on Christmas Eve...)

[ElkGroveDan]

approximately 2:30 p.m. MST (Pacific) time.

Huh? MST is Mountain Standard Time (Denver, Salt Lake, Phoenix.) Pacific time is an hour earlier (Los Angeles, San Francisco and of course Elk Grove)

[EDIT: never mind. Arizona isn't on Daylight Savings so they stay on MST while the rest of the zone goes to MDT, and the Pacific zone goes to PDT. So this time of year, MST=PDT ....sorry, my bad]

[nprev]

Huh? MST is Mountain Standard Time (Denver, Salt Lake, Phoenix.) Pacific time is an hour earlier (Los Angeles, San Francisco and of course Elk Grove)

Yeah, good catch, Dan. Even more confusing is the fact that Arizona doesn't do Daylight Savings Time, so right now the entire state is effectively on Pacific time...they need to clarify this.

[EDIT: Me & Dan were typing @ the same time...he cleared it up. Still think that UA could've made this a bit less confusing, though...]

[ElkGroveDan]

More on U.S. time zones here

[volcanopele]

Yep, we don't believe in Daylight Savings Time here. No changing clocks here, just the annoyance of my football games being on an hour later in November.

In terms of this HiRISE business, they got T-shirts for this check-out period Maybe we (Cassini Titan people) should get a T-shirt for each Titan flyby...

[nprev]

Yep, we don't believe in Daylight Savings Time here. No changing clocks here, just the annoyance of my football games being on an hour later in November.

In terms of this HiRISE business, they got T-shirts for this check-out period Maybe we (Cassini Titan people) should get a T-shirt for each Titan flyby...

Indeed...you'd have quite a wardrobe already!

OT a bit, but I was stationed at Davis-Monthan AFB for three years (1986-early 1990)...loved the base & Tucson, but that DT disconnect used to drive me nuts...never could remember what time it was everywhere else when I had to make an out-of-state call.

[volcanopele]

2nd EDIT: I notice the Media Note isn't included on the UANews.org website, so I'll put it back here:

MEDIA NOTE: Reporters are welcome to join the HiRISE team in UA's Sonett Space Sciences Building when the first HiRISE image is received at HiROC at approximately 2:30 p.m. MST (Pacific) time. Please make arrangements with Lori Stiles, University Communications, 520-626-4402 or 520-360-0574 (cell).

Thanks for the warning, Alex. Now do I stick around for the images, or leave for home before the insanity starts...
Maybe this will all be upstairs, who knows. Maybe I will be spared the worst of the poking and proding, and the: "Are those HiRISE images?"/"No, these are of an interesting place." exchanges...