To the Cape!, Quackmire and arm troubles |
To the Cape!, Quackmire and arm troubles |
Apr 3 2008, 07:03 PM
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#31
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1229 Joined: 24-December 05 From: The blue one in between the yellow and red ones. Member No.: 618 |
Presumably Oppy would be in full shadow all morning, until some time around local noon. Do we have an estimated power input during this shadowed period? Then how many hours of direct sunlight would follow before shadow re-covered it? Can we estimate the southerly tilt of the solar arrays in the near-wall position?
-------------------- My Grandpa goes to Mars every day and all I get are these lousy T-shirts!
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Apr 3 2008, 08:00 PM
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#32
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2922 Joined: 14-February 06 From: Very close to the Pyrénées Mountains (France) Member No.: 682 |
You all love calculations. I love pictures :
Let them take pictures of the place they want to go at different hours of the day. Would be nice, eh ? -------------------- |
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Apr 3 2008, 08:27 PM
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#33
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1229 Joined: 24-December 05 From: The blue one in between the yellow and red ones. Member No.: 618 |
A start has been made, courtesy of HHAW, for your edification, Climb: Shadow animation
However, we need watt-hour numbers to judge the hazard of a given location. -------------------- My Grandpa goes to Mars every day and all I get are these lousy T-shirts!
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Apr 3 2008, 10:24 PM
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#34
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
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Apr 3 2008, 11:08 PM
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#35
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
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Apr 4 2008, 12:05 AM
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#36
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Dublin Correspondent Group: Admin Posts: 1799 Joined: 28-March 05 From: Celbridge, Ireland Member No.: 220 |
Judging by Horton's animation it seems that the Oppy's Solar panel deck is effectively already in shadow by 4:30-5:00PM local time. That makes sense as it is at around a 15 degree incline facing away from the setting sun which would correspond to about an hour or so of sunlight.
The shaded zone at Midday seems to be pretty close to the wall so I think that they can probably manoeuvre fairly close in and keep the rover in direct sunlight until ~3:00PM without too much trouble. That would keep the power impact below about a 5-7% reduction from the levels it currently achieves. |
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Apr 4 2008, 03:07 AM
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#37
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
Here's a revised version (third) of Oppy at Cape Verde based on some advice and a target.
The path is just my artist's thoughts, not actual. The position of the rover could be in a variety of orientations. Not science, just art Here's the revised panorama as a thumbnail. Large version will come once Oppy arrives at the Cape. Enjoy Astro0 |
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Apr 4 2008, 03:12 AM
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#38
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
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Apr 4 2008, 03:32 AM
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#39
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Member Group: Members Posts: 258 Joined: 22-December 06 Member No.: 1503 |
If Oppy can actually get that close to the Cape safely, then it should be the highlight of the entire mission at Meridiani.
BTW, I would also like to see the rover traverse lower to inspect the deepest layers. I don't know whether that's possible because of the results of that test drive over the dust layer the other day. It looks like Oppy could safely get down to the lower levels, but I don't think it could make it back up the slope along that dust layer. Perhaps it could if it traverse in a Zig-Zag shaped route. I don't know. I hope the MER team finds a way to do it. |
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Apr 4 2008, 03:44 AM
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#40
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Perhaps it could if it traverse in a Zig-Zag shaped route. I don't know. I hope the MER team finds a way to do it. Yeah, I have the same concerns...that deep. loose soil is scary to the nth. Good thought on the zigzags, though. I'm assuming that the development team at some point determined sideslip coefficients? Would be interesting to know what the limits might be as a function of tilt angle, but they're probably predicated on a more rigid surface... -------------------- 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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Apr 4 2008, 08:42 AM
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#41
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1870 Joined: 20-February 05 Member No.: 174 |
I have not heard *anything* regarding the terrain handling ability of MSL vs MER's. Maximum slope up/down, maximum slope along-slope, soft-sand/dust, etc.
Of course, MSL should be able to handle dust that would be up to or over MER's hubcaps... it's hubcaps are higher!... but what's it's ability in proportionately deeper dust/sand? Future missions will more and more need greater terrain handling capabilities beyond the baseline level of MSL and MER. Even if a wheel fails, as on Sprit, it should be possible to convert it to a free-wheeling mode, and not terribly cripple the rover on slopes or in soft terrain. |
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Apr 4 2008, 09:00 AM
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#42
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
Going to have to tip-toe through this lot... should be some gorgeous pictures in the days and weeks ahead tho!
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Apr 4 2008, 09:29 AM
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#43
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 4279 Joined: 19-April 05 From: .br at .es Member No.: 253 |
Yeah, I have the same concerns...that deep. loose soil is scary to the nth. I'm of the same opinion. But if you have a look to today's lot of hazcam images, my felling is that the rover drivers don't share our same concerns. Opportunity drove straight down the slope over the scuff. Here's tosol's (1491) navcam mosaic. |
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Apr 4 2008, 12:38 PM
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#44
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Member Group: Members Posts: 276 Joined: 11-December 07 From: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Member No.: 3978 |
You hav to admit, cape verde is a compelling target. I would be interested to see the layers up close. Particularly those filled fractures. BTW any news on the status of the mini-tes on Oppy?
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Apr 4 2008, 06:28 PM
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#45
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 2262 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Melbourne - Oz Member No.: 16 |
This is just the start of the sol 1487 pan but as it shows the region we're all interested in I thought I'd process what is down so far.
Click image James -------------------- |
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