The Return to Home Plate Options

[Tesheiner]

Another drive on sol 1300 on this slow return to HP.

On a related topic, there is a new status update on the MER webpage with this interesting comment related to the mini-TES dust contamination, if any.

After two sols of remote sensing with emphasis on characterizing whatever dust had accumulated on the panoramic camera, Spirit's handlers decided to have the rover retrace its tracks to assess what dust contamination might be present on the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. To do this, they needed to measure a known target.

With a blanket of dust everywhere, scientists needed a way to distinguish dust on targets of scientific interest from dust on the optics. The best target for that was "Gertrude Weise," a patch of nearly pure-silica soil uncovered by Spirit's wheels. Rover planners decided to have the rover drag its wheels through it again to scrape off newly acquired dust and expose the same pure silica as before. Differences between old and new measurements would be due to dust on the instrument itself; once that signature was known, it could be subtracted from future measurements.

The first drive to Gertrude Weise was a little short and didn't uncover the silica as hoped. Spirit's handlers planned a second drive on Sol 1300 (Aug. 30, 2007), during which the rover was to scuff the soil with a half-turn of the left front wheel, then scuff it more by locking both left and right front wheels and driving them backward across Gertrude Weise. They then planned to have the rover back up some more to take images and move toward the Home Plate on-ramp.

Spirit was expected to resume the long-awaited trek to Home Plate on sol 1303

[Stu]

Not brilliant cos I'm just back from my little brother's stag weekend in Liverpool, sorry...!

[dilo]

brillant enough, Stu!

[Tesheiner]

Yet another move, on sol 1304, and Spirit is right at the edge of HP.
Latest navcams here: http://nasa.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/navcam/2007-09-03/

[Stu]

Today's offerings...

A view out across the "Big Country" rolling plains of Gusev... (cue theme music)

da-da-da-da-da-dada-da-da



... and some disturbed dirt...



And finally, I know we could NEVER see such dramatic lighting effects, but I reckon this is how we all feel now the storm has passed...

[Tesheiner]

Nice pictures Stu, specially the last one.

Finally, on sol 1306, Spirit is back on top of solid rock!


And looking to the latest pancam images, the so called "drive-direction" mosaic, my guess is that the plan is to traverse Home Plate up to the SW corner.

[BrianL]

Wow, 534 sols, almost a year and a half, since Spirit last roamed the plate. Where does the time go...

Perhaps Stu feels a poem coming on.

Brian

[Tesheiner]

A lot of dust/sand was accumulating on the stuck right forward wheel while Spirit was moving by the Silica Valley area. On the latest fhazcam images we can see a trail of sand being left behind as the rover moves onto hard rock terrain.



On another aspect I would really like to know if driving will be easier (or not) on this terrain.


Edited: I think it would be time to move to this new thread: Home Plate (second round)

[Guest_Oersted_*]

That's a beautiful shot of dirt being carried onto the nice and prim Plate!

[jvandriel]

Here is the L7 Pancam Panoramic view
from Sol 1304.

jvandriel

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[jvandriel]

Here is the 360 degree Panoramic view taken

with the L1 Pancam on Sol 1308.

jvandriel

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[SteveM]

A lot of dust/sand was accumulating on the stuck right forward wheel while Spirit was moving by the Silica Valley area. On the latest fhazcam images we can see a trail of sand being left behind as the rover moves onto hard rock terrain.

To go off on a tangent that really belongs in another topic, the lack of dust on a moderate elevation like Home Plate is a good sign of dust being blown off the rovers (in the long term).

Steve

[Phil Stooke]

Here is jvandriel's panorama from 1308 in a polar projection, cropped because the horizon was distorted a bit too bizzarely even for me.

Phil

[jvandriel]

Sorry Phil.


jvandriel

[Phil Stooke]

Not in your pan, jv - only in my grotesque distortion of it.

Phil