Post Conjunction: Santa Maria to Cape York, The Journey to 'Spirit Point' Options

[djellison]

I like artistic imagery - hell, I was part of making a rather well reproduced one at the summit of husband hill. I even like colorization (such as the infamous Meridiani dunes + clouds)

This is different. It's bright frickin' orange. It doesn't tick any box of being accurate, pleasant, artistic or an improvement to the data.

ADMIN NOTE:

1. The discussion of colorization is done.
2. Three people have attempted to start new Opportunity threads, without any actual content. They're doing it just to be 'first' with the new thread. Anyone else who does this will get a suspension. A new thread will be made in due course.

[Pertinax]

On a happier note, I was looking some of the CRISM observations of Endeavour's western rim (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/2272.pdf), and then at Stu's color Hi-RSIE image of Cape York. It will be fascinating to see what the areas with the phyllosilicate signatures look like, both with Pancam and the MI. From the simple visible light view, there seems to be nothing notably different.



Further down the road Lord willing, it will an epic adventure if we attempt in-situ obs atop Cape Tribulation. Looking at this image from the above abstract, Cape Trib might be aptly named!






-- Pertinax

[MoreInput]

It seems that the phyllosilicates of Cape Trib are one the wrong side of the hill: Oppy must first climb the hill on the west side and then rope down on the east side. I don't think that a rover can climb onto hills .

[djellison]

I don't think that a rover can climb onto hills .

See Spirit, Husband Hill. Or Opportunity, climbing into and out of Endurance and Victoria craters.

The MER design can, and has, navigated slopes of over 30 degrees.

[Pertinax]

I am fairly sure at Victoria we saw slopes of 25 degrees or so. Also, if you look at the maps closely, while the main areas of clays look to be on the interior slopes, some also look to be on the exterior slopes near the summit. I half wonder if the summit of CT might not be the richest source in the area.

A tasty snack for a rover next summer? We'll see!


-- Pertinax

[centsworth_II]

Hopefully there are lots of places where Opportunity can find phyllosilicates, but the saddle between Cape Tribulation and Cape Byron seems particularly rich and easy to get to.
Next summer!

[Julius]

Is there crism data of the central mound and surrounding interior of endeavour??

ADMIN - You asked the same question less than 6 hours ago : http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...st&p=177245 - any real need to ask it again so rapidly?

What s happening behind the scenes? Any news of Oppy driving towards CY yet?

ADMIN - Read this thread. There is plenty of news.

[BrianL]

See Spirit, Husband Hill. Or Opportunity, climbing into and out of Endurance and Victoria craters.

The MER design can, and has, navigated slopes of over 30 degrees.

When talk turns to climbing hills, I have to ask...

How much did the strain of climbing Husband Hill contribute to the failure of Spirit's wheel? If we don't know then, is it worth the risk?

[MahFL]

They have already decided to risk climbing, they want to try find evidence of clays. If Oppy breaks a wheel, she breaks a wheel, hopefully right on top of the clays.....

[PDP8E]

Thanks to all for the images!
I have been looking at a feature on Cape Tribulation. It reminds me of something Spirit saw, half a planet away.

the feature is in the center:


Spirit's feature (von Braun)


I suspect that aeolian erosion (the dominant time-based erosion mechanism on Mars) creates these features.
The fact that Spirit saw one on a random piece of real estate - and now that Oppy may be looking at a similar example may mean that this type of erosion feature may be all over Mars - of course I may also be wrong.

Your mileage may vary

BTW: I swiped the cape-trib image from ANT's Postcard image (fantastic work, thank you!)

[mhoward]

Looks like no new images yet. (Well maybe some thumbnails if somebody is desperate.) As a poor substitute, here's the Pancam mosaic from sol 2677 in anaglyph form, showing what I think is more of Cape York - correct me if I'm wrong, my track record of identifying what we're looking at here is not great.

[Juramike]

Taking the stretched version of the pan by Mike Howard and trying to guess where the CRISM data registers, here's a hack overlay:
Red shows pyllosilicates, green hydrated minerals.



(We gotta go way up that "hill")

[MarkG]

I'm wondering if the circumferential "zones" around CY are more chemical in nature... See post in "Geomorphology of Cap York" thread...

[john_s]

Nice composite! I'm hoping that those big rocks at Odyssey are full of phyllosilicate too- I doubt that CRISM would be able to resolve them, so it's possible.

John

[Steve G]

Magnificent view! What an amazing experience these rovers have given us.