Opportunity Route Map Options

[CosmicRocker]

Yeah, westward is the general direction. If I were driving I'd back up a bit more and then head roughly southwest.

Yes...I agree, even if that can mean non pleasant surprises for Opportunity in situ...

The anaglyph gave that impression too...Hope not but the rover is moving through a 'mine field' with sand as camouflage...
Splendor?...Fasten your seat belts! Near rim is our destiny!

And yes, I've read on those glorious Ultreya / El Dorado days the Kazantzakis you've sent me...
I can tell you some of the ideas had become a sort of beacon...It's there...So find the better route.
I'll send you an e-mail with my impressions about it.

And thank you once more.

Edited: "Where is the abyss? That is where I am headed. What is the most valiant joy? To assume complete responsibility!"

Ustrax: Interestingly, the 4 drive direction pancams from sol 842 are centered on -120 degrees, essentially southwest, possibly looking for a route to the "near rim." From the orbital imagery it appears that there might be a high road around this abyss in that general direction. I agree that the straight across route is a mine field.

It appears to be not a large detour and is probably a safer road to travel. It really does seem to be our destiny.

With apologies to others for this embedded personal message to our intrepid explorer about philosophy (feel free to ignore), I feel I must say that the abyss is at once our obstacle and our motivation. I often find myself wavering between these thoughts quoted from the writings of Kazantzakis.

8. But I, the Mind, continue to ascend patiently, manfully, sober in the vertigo. That I may not stumble and fall, I erect landmarks over this vertigo; I sling bridges, open roads, and build over the abyss.
20. In sudden dreadful moments a thought flashes through me: This is all a cruel and futile game, without beginning, without end, without meaning. But again I yoke myself swiftly the wheels of necessity, and all the universe begins to revolve around me once more.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I suddenly feel bettter...

[Shaka]

In sudden dreadful moments a thought flashes through me: This is all a cruel and futile game, without beginning, without end, without meaning. But again I yoke myself swiftly the wheels of necessity, and all the universe begins to revolve around me once more.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I suddenly feel better...

And so you should, Tom, for we here follow a path that no foot has trod before.
"...without beginning, without end..." Yes, assuredly, but "without meaning"? If "meaning" has meaning, then we stand at its apex!

[kenny]

This is surely profound, for we go where the hand of man has never set foot.....
Kenny

[AndyG]

This is surely profound, for we go where the hand of man has never set foot.....
Kenny

Dredging through the haze of decades, isn't that sort of line used in the Tintin book The Calculus Affair (L'Affaire Tournesol)? Tintin, following his earlier adventures of Explorers on the Moon, is met by a man keen to shake the hand which first set foot...

Andy

[kenny]

Dredging through the haze of decades, isn't that sort of line used in the Tintin book The Calculus Affair (L'Affaire Tournesol)? Tintin, following his earlier adventures of Explorers on the Moon, is met by a man keen to shake the hand which first set foot...

Andy

Through my own haze of decades, je ne sais pas.....

But how appropriate is your recollection, for isn't our Oppy just a little "tournesol" itself, twisting this way and that to catch a few warming rays....

Kenny

[Tesheiner]

Route map, updated to sol 843.

[CosmicRocker]

Excellent! I just saw the 843 images and Tesheiner's map. I was expecting at least a short investigation before leaving, but apparently Opportunity is already heading back toward the blue line. The edge of the old crater is likely to be not only safer, but also more geologically interesting.

[ustrax]

8. But I, the Mind, continue to ascend patiently, manfully, sober in the vertigo. That I may not stumble and fall, I erect landmarks over this vertigo; I sling bridges, open roads, and build over the abyss.

And what if the abyss should guard with his dark veil marvels way beyond the bridges, roads and landmarks? What if the Mind, ascending (what already whispers that from the deep has come), is, simply returning?

[Tesheiner]

I was expecting at least a short investigation before leaving, but apparently Opportunity is already heading back toward the blue line.

It looks like the "short investigation" was limited to "take pancam pictures of it in all filters and put them on the downlink queue but not with highest priority".

[gregp1962]

Aren't we just a bit over halfway between Erebus and Victoria?

[Ant103]

No, we are nearer (can we say "nearer" or "more near"?) to Victoria than Erebus. There is a few decameter to Victoria (around 800m ~).

[Shaka]

No, we are nearer (can we say "nearer" or "more near"?) to Victoria than Erebus.

Only because you ask, Ant, we can say:
1. Yes, we are nearer to Victoria than to Erebus. (And it will be true.)
2. Yes, we are more near to Victoria than to Erebus. (And it will be true, though uncommon speech.)
3. Yes, we are nearer to Victoria than Erebus is. (And it will be true, though irrelevant to the question.)
We cannot say:
4. No, we are nearer to Victoria than to Erebus. (Because it both negates and confirms the question.)
5. No, we are nearer to Victoria than Erebus. (Because of reason 4. and because it is equivocal.)


....13,834 bottles of beer on the wall...

[climber]

Thank you M. Shaka to confuse even more my French friend
He asked for 2 possibilities and he's got 5 answers including 2 wrong
Ant 103 : la prochaine fois, il faudra le dire en Français

[Joffan]

And in fact while Opportunity is closer to Victoria's rim than to Erebus' rim, she is still fractionally closer to Erebus' centre than to Victoria's.

[Bob Shaw]

Thank you M. Shaka to confuse even more my French friend
He asked for 2 possibilities and he's got 5 answers including 2 wrong
Ant 103 : la prochaine fois, il faudra le dire en Français

Or, as we say in Glaswegian French: 'Je ne dinne ken pas!'

Bob Shaw