Dust Storm Options

[DEChengst]

Some info from the CNN website:

"Lemmon said that data returned to Earth Friday by Opportunity showed elevated dust levels at Meridiani Planum, which were measured at an optical depth of about 1.4. The largest dust storm experienced by the rover occurred in June and rated an optical depth of about 2, he added."

(...)

"Lemmon suspects that Opportunity experienced one of the "fingers" of the storm photographed by Sherrod, adding that later atmospheric measurements were lower than the 1.4 optical depth seen earlier, but not quite at the moderate 0.5."

So it's not looking too bad at the moment. Go Oppy

[djellison]

CODE

4. What EDRs did we request?

Expected EDRs by sequence number and image type:

Sol Seq.Ver  ETH ESF EDN EFF ERP Tot  Description
--- -------- --- --- --- --- --- ---- -----------
628 p0767.03 14  0   0   14  0   28   navcam_7x1_az_288_3_bpp
628 p1663.01 6   0   0   6   0   12   navcam_3x1_az_108_1_bpp
630 p0767.03 14  0   0   14  0   28   navcam_7x1_az_288_3_bpp
630 p1663.01 6   0   0   6   0   12   navcam_3x1_az_108_1_bpp

Nothing on 629 at all, and just monitoring on the other two - perhaps something of a hunker-down-mode?

Doug

[RNeuhaus]

Yes, it will only be looking a narrow angle from west (288 degree) to south (108 degree) ... I suppose that the summer time the sun would be passing to sunset on that angle.

Or perhaps, that angle is the proposed route so the team wants to focus closer the terrain toward the Mogollon rims. It might means that the rover will advance too. I think that the only change has come out from Pancam Tracking Databaes is that now it does not show any engineering commands that previously had appeared. Still not sure but I noticed and it might be too early to jump conclusions.

Rodolfo

[tedstryk]

It spotted a few...I have some images somewhere...I will have to dig...

[djellison]

It might means that the rover will advance too.

No - when the rover drives, you ALWAYS gets Hazcam imagery, Penultimate, Ultimate, and if it's a long drive, 'Stumble' as well

Doug

[ilbasso]

The Pathfinder did indeed image several dust devils. See this paper for a description.

The Pathfinder atmospheric station also recorded the wind and pressure changes associated with a dust devil passing over the lander. See Pathfinder Dust Devil meteorology.

[jamescanvin]

Yes, it will only be looking a narrow angle from west (288 degree) to south (108 degree) ... I suppose that the summer time the sun would be passing  to sunset on that angle.

That's not the way I read the PDT (Pancam Data Tracking, I think it's time to abbreviate this) I beleve that it reads

navcam_7x1_az_288_3_bpp

7 navcam frames centred at az 288 degrees

navcam_3x1_az_108_1_bpp

3 navcam frames centred at az 108 degrees

Note that 288 - 108 = 180. i.e the centres are in opposite directions. Also note that 10 navcam frames generally make a 360 degree pan.

So these two lines should be read together as simply "A 360 degree navcam pan".

James

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

CODE

4. What EDRs did we request?

Expected EDRs by sequence number and image type:

Sol Seq.Ver  ETH ESF EDN EFF ERP Tot  Description
--- -------- --- --- --- --- --- ---- -----------
628 p0767.03 14  0   0   14  0   28   navcam_7x1_az_288_3_bpp
628 p1663.01 6   0   0   6   0   12   navcam_3x1_az_108_1_bpp
630 p0767.03 14  0   0   14  0   28   navcam_7x1_az_288_3_bpp
630 p1663.01 6   0   0   6   0   12   navcam_3x1_az_108_1_bpp

Nothing on 629 at all, and just monitoring on the other two - perhaps something of a hunker-down-mode?

Doug

Looking at the pancam site the last few days, im sure data was received the next sol, which would be sol 630.

[tedstryk]

I worked with some of those Patfinder images once. This is what I got by merging color data with some dust devil imagery. The rest of the stuff I did was lost in a computer crash, and I haven't had the will to go redo it, given the quality of the MER images.



Also, here are a few other images (I did NOT process these, but, as they are scraps from the crash as well, I have no idea where they came from.)

[djellison]

Ted have you ever found the equiv of Pathfinder RAD data. It's listed on the PDS - but you have to be a Nasa funded researcher to grab a copy, I've only been able to grab something that's basically, not too different to the plain EFF's

I think the Pancam Tracking site might be a bit out of date, perhaps they're 'doing' something to it.

Doug

[Bill Harris]

From the Mission Status at the NASA/JPL site:

Sol 620: The rover's observations used its panoramic camera to observe a feature informally named "Mogollon Rim" (for an area in Arizona) and onboard magnets. It also checked for dust devils.

My feeling is that the dust devils, "convective wind events" or whatever occur at Meridiani just as at Gusev. Whereas Gusev is dustier, we are able to see the dust devils and the tracks they leave but Meridiani has a cleaner surface covered with the blueberry pavement/armor and the DDs are less visible.

--Bill

[RNeuhaus]

That's not the way I read the PDT (Pancam Data Tracking, I think it's time to abbreviate this) I beleve that it reads

navcam_7x1_az_288_3_bpp

7 navcam frames centred at az 288 degrees

navcam_3x1_az_108_1_bpp

3 navcam frames centred at az 108 degrees

Note that 288 - 108 = 180. i.e the centres are in opposite directions. Also note that 10 navcam frames generally make a 360 degree pan.

So these two lines should be read together as simply "A 360 degree navcam pan".

James

jamescanvin: Good and smart hint! I didn't know that to make a 360 panoramic pictures needs 10 Navcam.

Rodolfo

[general]

Oppy's dusty weekend
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...tml#opportunity

[Burmese]

always a new twist for the programmers:

"...The morning after a deep sleep, the rover wakes up when solar panels start putting out a prescribed level of energy. However, a dust storm in the Meridiani region reduced sunshine enough on the morning of sol 628 that Opportunity did not wake from deep sleep early enough for the first scheduled activities of that sol. The rover's onboard software properly put Opportunity into self-protective automode for the day,..."

So the programmers now have to program in anticipation of the expected solar panel output as diminished by expected tau for the coming day.

[Tman]

Has anybody seen a new picture of the dust storm? Arkansas Sky Observatory seems to be too eastward (or too westward? ) now. The last pictures there are showing the storm went more in a southward direction.