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Unmanned Spaceflight.com _ Opportunity _ Post Conjunction: Santa Maria to Cape York

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Feb 8 2011, 03:35 PM

Starting a new topic to include http://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/gmars_ma...5_RED.kml for the rest of the journey to Cape York:

http://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/gmars_maps/PSP_010341_1775_RED.kml

Follow the link above and it should load right in to your Google Mars features.

I took a low crow's flight along the final 6km this morning. Below in green is what I think the final route will look like. Also an interesting feature along the way that appears to be a cluster of rocks, possibly Santa Maria ejecta, or large meteorite fragments. Note how the dune has evolved around the three (or more) objects. Object is at -2.199395°, -5.396676° -- roughly 3km down range from Santa Maria.

EDIT: bad link replaced, wider context image added for three rocks.

 

Posted by: vikingmars Feb 8 2011, 11:53 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Feb 8 2011, 04:35 PM) *
...Below in green is what I think the final route will look like.

The Green path is interesting indeed.
On my side, I bet for a "directissime" (as we say in French) route to Cape York (RED path on ElkGroveDan's good map), because Oppy is now on a very flat terrain with just small dust ripples. I think the Navigators will just race (straight route) on the smoothier terrain available in front of them (maybe with short stops at small craters), not only to gain time, but speed also, while saving some energy by avoiding wheel friction on "pavements"... We'll see smile.gif

Posted by: SFJCody Feb 9 2011, 01:35 AM

I can see them making a beeline. I think the path from here to Cape York will be one of straightest they've ever made.

Posted by: Stu Feb 9 2011, 06:53 AM

Members who can't access HiRISE images via the IAS Viewer, or who haven't got Google Mars, might find this zoomed-in view of the "final approach" to Cape York interesting... I think Oppy will be driving over/through/round some *fascinating* ground features as she rolls up towards CY...



I'll add a "scale Oppy" later, have to head out to work now... sad.gif

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Feb 9 2011, 05:08 PM

There is an open topic on the http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=6667&st=0

Several posts moved http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=6667&view=findpost&p=170410

Posted by: Oersted Feb 9 2011, 11:55 PM

No big scientific musings here, I just have to say that I'm non-plussed by the thought that Opportunity - after all these years - is actually heading for large-scale morphology. It might be just another crater, but it feels like Landfall.

Posted by: centsworth_II Feb 10 2011, 01:02 AM

QUOTE (Oersted @ Feb 9 2011, 06:55 PM) *
...It might be just another crater...
Endeavour is not just another crater. It is the one and only crater that Opportunity will visit that presents material from another - more ancient - age of Mars. The rim of Endeavour was there before the layers of sulfates, before the hematite 'blueberries', before anything else that opportunity has seen.

Posted by: Oersted Feb 10 2011, 09:12 AM

We agree. It is totally different from what we have seen so far, that was more or less the gist of my posting.

Posted by: marsophile Feb 10 2011, 05:20 PM

I would guess the MER team would want to get to Endeavour well before the next winter. Who knows what the next Martian season will bring?

Posted by: djellison Feb 11 2011, 02:31 AM

Opportunity, being more equatorial than Spirit, has never needed a tilt during winter.

Posted by: marsophile Feb 11 2011, 03:55 AM

A late summer or fall dust storm could always make the winter hazardous, even for Opportunity.

Posted by: djellison Feb 11 2011, 06:51 AM

Indeed - such an event occurred just before ingress to Victoria...with Whr's down to <100. And then once the skies cleared it just carried on.

Posted by: eoincampbell Feb 19 2011, 06:42 PM

Might the rover drivers forego the climb of "Ledge York" and instead study the surrounding hydrated bedrock before heading straight for the clays at Tribulation ?
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13708
Saving precious time and beating MSL smile.gif
Or will Oppy now be headed for a specific location targeted by CRISM ?
Best of luck and W/Hrs to the team!

Posted by: Drkskywxlt Mar 9 2011, 08:31 PM

Per Ray Arvidson at LPSC, Opportunity will start driving toward Cape York between Monday and Wednesday next week.

Posted by: Stu Mar 16 2011, 02:02 PM

Some musings on the road ahead for Oppy...

http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/preparing-to-depart

Posted by: Tesheiner Mar 16 2011, 02:47 PM

Your blog is always a pleasant reading, Stu, and I believe we are all eager to start moving again. Incidentally, I'm already working on the JPEG route map covering this final leg (see below a half scale version).
wheel.gif wheel.gif wheel.gif




Posted by: pgrindrod Mar 17 2011, 09:41 AM

It's going to be a pretty flat ride!


Posted by: Burmese Mar 17 2011, 07:33 PM

And an overall downward slope the rest of the way can't be bad for those poor, sore wheels!

Posted by: brellis Mar 17 2011, 10:22 PM

ET, thanks in advance for your ongoing efforts! Another innocent question: in your image, are the lighter-shaded areas rocky?

Posted by: serpens Mar 18 2011, 02:16 AM

QUOTE (Burmese @ Mar 17 2011, 07:33 PM) *
And an overall downward slope the rest of the way can't be bad for those poor, sore wheels!

Hardly a slope. 1:160 means effectively dead flat. The visual representation of these graphs with such different axis metrics can be misleading. But the MOLA passes are pretty far apart here so there could well be swales, bumps and hollows to be found. But overall it does look life the sediments did a real good levelling job on the terrain.

Posted by: djellison Mar 18 2011, 06:26 AM

QUOTE (serpens @ Mar 17 2011, 07:16 PM) *
Hardly a slope. 1:160 means effectively dead flat. The visual representation of these graphs with such different axis metrics can be misleading.good levelling job on the terrain.


Remember - Petes chart is from a HiRISE derived DTM - probably three orders of magnitude better than any MOLA gridded product.

Posted by: SFJCody Mar 19 2011, 09:42 AM

2542 is a driving sol... wheel.gif wheel.gif wheel.gif

Posted by: Roby72 Mar 19 2011, 12:22 PM

I´m just curious - is it possible for Oppy to drive on top of Cape York ? The view around must be stunning !

Robert

Posted by: centsworth_II Mar 19 2011, 12:46 PM

QUOTE (Roby72 @ Mar 19 2011, 08:22 AM) *
I´m just curious - is it possible for Oppy to drive on top of Cape York ?....
Check out http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=6667&view=findpost&p=170468 and those that follow for a discussion of this.

Short answer: Quite possibly.

Long answer: With an interesting "crack" at the North end, interesting ejecta blocks at the South end, and possible interesting erosion features all along the juncture between Cape York and the Meridiani pavement, who knows how long it will be before the urge to bypass all that and climb to the top will take hold. On the other hand, Cape York may turn out to be an easier traverse for Opportunity than Home Plate was for Spirit. Maybe a quick jog to the top before heading to the North or South end could be in store. Maybe head one way along the edge -- to the North for example -- then head the other way along the top. Or vise versa.

Posted by: brellis Mar 19 2011, 06:21 PM

The scope of Cape York is kinda amazing to consider. This place is big -- like, Texas big!

Posted by: centsworth_II Mar 19 2011, 07:03 PM

Well... Victoria Crater big, anyway. smile.gif

So to examine Cape York as thoroughly as the perimeter of Victoria was examined could take a year.


Source images:
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=681&view=findpost&p=128456
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=6897&view=findpost&p=171593

Posted by: fredk Mar 19 2011, 07:41 PM

QUOTE (centsworth_II @ Mar 19 2011, 08:03 PM) *
...could take a year.
I couldn't imagine them spending anything like a year at CY when the real goal of clays would be farther to the south (not that you meant to suggest that, 'worth).

In fact, I wonder if they may decide to head straight for Tribulation, where the biggest exposure of clays seems to be, instead of CY. Or perhaps straight to Solander Point instead and then south to Tribulation. CY is quite a bit out of the way.

Posted by: centsworth_II Mar 19 2011, 08:41 PM

QUOTE (fredk @ Mar 19 2011, 03:41 PM) *
....I wonder if they may decide to head straight for Tribulation, where the biggest exposure of clays seems to be.... CY is quite a bit out of the way.

And after we've gotten so worked up over how to study Cape York! laugh.gif

But finding clays before MSR is a stated objective. (How official, I don't know.)
Of course, Tesheiner will have to redo his "final Leg" route map.

Posted by: Tesheiner Mar 19 2011, 09:04 PM

QUOTE (SFJCody @ Mar 19 2011, 10:42 AM) *
2542 is a driving sol... wheel.gif wheel.gif wheel.gif

Yes, but the sequences planned for 2543 make me wonder if this is just a small bump before taking the second part of the LBS mosaic.

02539::p2260::09::48::0::0::48::2::98::pancam_Santa_Maria_LB2_left_4x3_L257R2
02539::p2261::09::36::0::0::36::0::72::pancam_Santa_Maria_LB2_left_3x3_L257R2
02540::p2262::09::12::0::0::12::2::26::pancam_Santa_Maria_LB2_left_1x1_L257R2
02540::p2263::09::12::0::0::12::2::26::pancam_Santa_Maria_LB2_left_1x1_L257R2
02540::p2264::09::48::0::0::48::2::98::pancam_Santa_Maria_LB2_left_4x3_L257R2
02541::p2265::09::36::0::0::36::0::72::pancam_Santa_Maria_LB2_left_3x3_L257R2
02542::p2266::09::8::0::0::8::0::16::pancam_Santa_Maria_LB2_left_1x2_L257R2
02543::p2267::09::12::0::0::12::2::26::pancam_Santa_Maria_LB2_right_2x3_L2R2

Posted by: ngunn Mar 19 2011, 09:44 PM

QUOTE (fredk @ Mar 19 2011, 07:41 PM) *
straight for Tribulation


I agree. This must be gathering votes amongst those who will decide. In addition to the clays Tribulation has the same curious skirting shelf as Cape York so I can't see any obvious science that would be lost by missing out the latter except in the case that the rover fails just before reaching the slightly more distant target.

Posted by: fredk Mar 19 2011, 10:07 PM

QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Mar 19 2011, 10:04 PM) *
Yes, but the sequences planned for 2543 make me wonder if this is just a small bump before taking the second part of the LBS mosaic.

http://twitter.com/marsroverdriver/status/48950439076577280 from Maxwell may clear things up a bit:
QUOTE
Today, we drove Opportunity to second eye of long-baseline stereo position. Drive time was very tight, so we might need a short bump Monday.

Posted by: Phil Stooke Mar 21 2011, 03:40 PM

Regarding the destination on Endeavour's rim... at LPSC two different posters showed the same graphic, of routes at the south end of Cape York which might offer access to the Noachian materials in the Cape itself. One climbed onto the top of the Cape near the south end, one skirted the Cape's south end to examine older rocks at the southeast corner. That graphic is not shown in the abstract accompanying one of the posters:

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/2199.pdf

But it is clear they expect interesting materials at Cape York and Botany Bay. No need to head south right away.

Phil

Posted by: Drkskywxlt Mar 21 2011, 05:13 PM

Phil...if I remember correctly from a couple weeks ago, Ray Arvidson said that the engineers had told them that the proposed path straight up Cape York was a "suicide mission". Basically, Opportunity could get up there, but might not make it back down. So I think the southern path was/is preferred right now.

Posted by: fredk Mar 21 2011, 05:33 PM

How could Oppy climb up somewhere that she couldn't get back down? Slippage would be a problem going up, not down.

Posted by: Phil Stooke Mar 21 2011, 06:59 PM

"Phil...if I remember correctly"

Yes, you're right, he did say that.

"How could Oppy climb up somewhere that she couldn't get back down"

Dunno - except I think he might have meant the end part of the route. The interesting material seemed to be on the inner (eastern) slope of Cape York. The drive might be easy up to the top, as we've been saying in this discussion, but then tricky at the end as the targets on the steeper eastern slope were approached from above. For that reason they preferred the southern route, crossing the broad terrace at the base of the hill to taste the yummy stuff above it.

Phil

Posted by: algorimancer Mar 21 2011, 07:46 PM

Strictly in terms of topography, my target of choice is that wedge feature on the northeast corner. It looks to me like a water-eroded ravine, with hints of source channel and "deltaic" deposits spread on the plain to the northeast of the "mouth". This is the single most anomalous feature that I've seen since Home Plate. If I were driving, this would be the first target -- do a quick imaging survey, then go off and look at the spots with neat chemistry elsewhere while we digest the imaging results.

Posted by: Tesheiner Mar 22 2011, 07:00 AM

This is music to my ears. biggrin.gif
Scott Maxwell http://twitter.com/marsroverdriver:

QUOTE
We expect to drive away Wednesday after all. Back on the road to Endeavour at last!

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Mar 22 2011, 01:47 PM

Buckle up kids. Has everyone used the restroom? Let's go!

Posted by: jvandriel Mar 22 2011, 03:58 PM

Next stop seen on Sol 2543 with the L2 Pancam.

Jan van Driel


Posted by: djellison Mar 22 2011, 05:04 PM

I have this catastrophically unhealthy urge to shout 'POWERRRRR' in a Jeremy Clarkson Top-Gear kind of way.

But with < 500whrs, it seems a bit rude.

Posted by: BrianL Mar 22 2011, 06:00 PM

Shotgun! biggrin.gif

Posted by: climber Mar 22 2011, 08:06 PM

QUOTE (jvandriel @ Mar 22 2011, 04:58 PM) *
Next stop

You mean way point, don't you? wink.gif

Posted by: volcanopele Mar 22 2011, 08:22 PM

As a generally passive observer of Opportunity's travels, I am glad to hear that it is getting on with it.

Now, full speed ahead!

Posted by: Astro0 Mar 22 2011, 09:55 PM

As another well known backseat driver would always say: "Engage" wink.gif

Posted by: eoincampbell Mar 23 2011, 04:54 AM

I back the wind too, c'mon wind, g'luck Oppy...

Posted by: brellis Mar 23 2011, 11:15 AM

It continues to amaze me that Endeavour is almost the size of Oppy's journey thus far! blink.gif

Posted by: belleraphon1 Mar 23 2011, 12:00 PM

Great ride so far and the best is yet to come!!!!!

GO BABY!!! GO!!!

Craig

Posted by: hendric Mar 23 2011, 04:37 PM

Like a leaf in the wind!

Posted by: Stu Mar 23 2011, 07:42 PM

http://astropoetry.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/museum-peace

smile.gif

Posted by: Stu Mar 24 2011, 04:48 PM

QUOTE (brellis @ Mar 23 2011, 11:15 AM) *
It continues to amaze me that Endeavour is almost the size of Oppy's journey thus far! blink.gif


Yep, that is rather impressive...


Posted by: ElkGroveDan Mar 24 2011, 05:36 PM

As noted previously I have been attempting to coin a new unit of measure for the size of Endeavour; "The San Fernando Valley-sized crater" named after the region of Los Angeles that many JPL staff probably commute to and from. I think the rule is that it needs to appear in a press release or a news story for a unit of measure to achieve official UMSF sanctioned acceptance. Still hoping, fingers crossed.


 

Posted by: Arkarch Mar 24 2011, 05:46 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Mar 24 2011, 09:36 AM) *
As noted previously I have been attempting to coin a new unit of measure for Endeavour; "The San Fernando Valley-sized crater" named after the region of Los Angeles that many JPL staff probably commute to and from. I think the rule is that it needs to appear in a press release or a news story for a unit of measure to achieve official UMSF sanctioned acceptance. Still hoping, fingers crossed.


So we are heading to Chatsworth?

Posted by: DFinfrock Mar 24 2011, 10:26 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Mar 24 2011, 05:36 PM) *
"The San Fernando Valley-sized crater"


I hope you are not going to imply that Oppy is now a "Valley Girl". rolleyes.gif

Posted by: nprev Mar 25 2011, 03:44 AM

"OMG!!! Are those, like, you know, phyllosilicates??? That's, like, totally tubular!!!" tongue.gif

Posted by: CosmicRocker Mar 25 2011, 06:17 AM

biggrin.gif laugh.gif biggrin.gif

Posted by: Stu Mar 26 2011, 12:31 PM



Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to announce the departure of Opportunity from Santa Maria crater...





 

Posted by: Tesheiner Mar 26 2011, 01:11 PM

And the navcam thumbnails pointing south.

Flat and featureless everywhere.

No, wait! What's on this pancam? A meteorite perhaps? tongue.gif


BTW, the next drive is tomorrow, sol 2549.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Mar 26 2011, 01:52 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 26 2011, 04:31 AM) *
Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to announce the departure of Opportunity from Santa Maria crater...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TD_pSeNelU
Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

Posted by: Stu Mar 26 2011, 02:24 PM

Imaginary HiRISE view of Oppy's departure, based on Tesh's .kml file. Rover scale is correct.


Posted by: ElkGroveDan Mar 26 2011, 02:31 PM

You realize of course, we are now going to expect you to do that the rest of the way.

Posted by: Stu Mar 26 2011, 02:37 PM

I'll do it for every meteorite we stop at... biggrin.gif

Larger version of that last pic up on my blog, if anyone wants a look:
http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/farewell-santa-maria

Posted by: Nomadd22 Mar 26 2011, 06:14 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Mar 24 2011, 01:36 PM) *
As noted previously I have been attempting to coin a new unit of measure for the size of Endeavour; "The San Fernando Valley-sized crater" named after the region of Los Angeles that many JPL staff probably commute to and from. I think the rule is that it needs to appear in a press release or a news story for a unit of measure to achieve official UMSF sanctioned acceptance. Still hoping, fingers crossed.


Use to live in the Valley. Picturing Oppy driving from Chatsworth to North Hollywood kinda puts in in perspective.

Posted by: Stu Mar 28 2011, 08:30 AM

Sigh... ***hate*** it when the image pipeline dries up like this, leaving us with only the itty-bitty "stamp" images to tease and torment us... sad.gif

...but from those, it looks like "Escobar" could be a very interesting chunka rock...








Posted by: Stu Mar 28 2011, 10:49 AM

Best I can do with what's available...


Posted by: ElkGroveDan Mar 28 2011, 01:23 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 28 2011, 01:30 AM) *
Sigh... ***hate*** it when the image pipeline dries up like this, leaving us with only the itty-bitty "stamp" images to tease and torment us... sad.gif

When I was a boy we used to DREAM of itty-bitty "stamp" images from Mars. The ones we had were so small that we were able to give names to each of the pixels. So don't you be going on about your torment, young man. Be glad for what you've got!

Posted by: Stu Mar 28 2011, 01:27 PM

laugh.gif I know, I know... and I'm not being ungrateful, really I'm not. I too remember the days when we had to rely on astronomy mags to show us pics MONTHS after they were taken. It's just *brilliant* timing that the pipeline jams on the *exact* day Oppy leaves Santa Maria and begins her long trek to Endeavour, isn't it? rolleyes.gif Like the photographer missed Columbus' ships leaving port because his batteries ran out.

Not that there was a photographer. But you know what I mean.

Posted by: Art Martin Mar 28 2011, 01:46 PM

There wasn't a photographer on the Columbus trip? Oh crap. I got taken by the book of photos then. They seemed so real especially the one where the first mate was standing behind Christopher making horns over his head.

Posted by: Stu Mar 28 2011, 05:52 PM

Closer view...


Posted by: brellis Mar 28 2011, 07:44 PM

One thing missing in the comparison to the SF Valley is a million other rovers stuck in traffic. laugh.gif

Posted by: fredk Mar 28 2011, 07:57 PM

Exploratorium's back!
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/forward_hazcam/2011-03-28/1F354297389EFFB1V4P1201R0M1.JPG?sol2547
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2011-03-28/1N354474726EFFB19QP0695R0M1.JPG?sol2549

I like this area:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2011-03-28/1P354476007EFFB19QP2385R2M1.JPG?sol2549

Looks like ejecta blocks from SM:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2011-03-28/1P354476119EFFB19QP2385R2M1.JPG?sol2549

Posted by: Stu Mar 28 2011, 08:05 PM

...and how...!


Posted by: Stu Mar 28 2011, 09:31 PM

Rough 'n ugly Santa Maria departure panorama...


Posted by: mhoward Mar 28 2011, 09:49 PM

Fond farewell...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5568910771/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Posted by: eoincampbell Mar 28 2011, 11:25 PM

Maybe it's because we're on the road again, but, this spot is just lovely...(Ejecta heaven)...

Posted by: Stu Mar 28 2011, 11:43 PM

Rodrigo de Escobar...



... and in 3D...

http://twitpic.com/4efvqa

Posted by: Phil Stooke Mar 29 2011, 12:55 AM

Mhoward's farewell pan in circular form...

Phil




Posted by: mhoward Mar 29 2011, 01:55 AM

I wanted a desktop version. 100 degree field of view or thereabouts. (If you can do a better job on the sky, have at it. There's a raw version on my flickr page.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5569510559/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Posted by: Astro0 Mar 29 2011, 04:21 AM

A colourised version for good measure....goodbye SM! Nice knowing you smile.gif


Posted by: ElkGroveDan Mar 29 2011, 04:41 AM

QUOTE (mhoward @ Mar 28 2011, 06:55 PM) *
(If you can do a better job on the sky, have at it. )

Not this time.

Posted by: paxdan Mar 29 2011, 02:14 PM

Looks like the twin peaks and yogi from pathfinder.

Posted by: stevesliva Mar 29 2011, 08:34 PM

QUOTE (paxdan @ Mar 29 2011, 10:14 AM) *
Looks like the twin peaks and yogi from pathfinder.


Does look like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogi_Rock, doesn't it?

Posted by: fredk Mar 31 2011, 04:09 PM

There was discussion a while ago of a low region just to the SE of Santa Maria. We're definitely in it now, as you can tell from how little we can now see of the rim of Endeavour.

Compare this view of the N rim "twin peaks" from when we arrived at SM:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/p/2453/1P345951571EFFB0J3P2297R2M1.JPG
with this recent view:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2011-03-30/1P354744535EFFB200P2387R2M1.JPG?sol2552

And the far E rim with it's famously unnamed crater:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/p/2453/1P345953004EFFB0J3P2297R2M1.JPG
is now just barely peeking above the horizon:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2011-03-30/1P354745117EFFB200P2387R2M1.JPG?sol2552

I expect we'll climb back out of this low in a couple of drives when we make it to the exposed bedrock area ahead.

I still think this is a really cool area:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2011-03-30/1P354656693EFFB1%23%23P2386L2M1.JPG?sol2551

Posted by: Stu Mar 31 2011, 04:09 PM

Another "not claiming it's accurate, it's just meant to be pretty, ok?!?!" rendering of a sunrise seen by Oppy as she heads for Endeavour...



smile.gif

PS. Brilliant comparisons, Fred, really dramatic differences.

Posted by: mhoward Mar 31 2011, 07:19 PM

I like this area as well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5577190103/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5577190733/in/photostream/lightbox/

P.S. Nice, Stu, very nice.

Posted by: DFinfrock Mar 31 2011, 10:26 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 31 2011, 05:09 PM) *
it's just meant to be pretty, ok?!?!"


And it is Stu. It is! Thanks.

David

Posted by: Stu Mar 31 2011, 11:21 PM

Animated those changes Fred, thanks again for pointing them out...

north rim: http://roadtoendeavour.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/animation-n-rim.gif

east rim: http://roadtoendeavour.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/animation-e-rim.gif

( taken from http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/heading-for-the-hills-at-last )

Posted by: fredk Apr 1 2011, 08:01 PM

As of 2554, we've almost made it to the stretch of bedrock, and we can see more of the rim of Endeavour again:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2011-04-01/1N354926647EFFB2WMP0663R0M1.JPG?sol2554
A bit farther and we'll get a closeup look at the "darkened terrain" mhoward http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=4234&view=findpost&p=96973.

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 1 2011, 08:34 PM

QUOTE (fredk @ Apr 1 2011, 10:01 PM) *
A bit farther and we'll get a closeup look at the "darkened terrain" mhoward http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=4234&view=findpost&p=96973.

Just one more 100m drive and we might already see examples of that dark terrain. smile.gif

Posted by: mhoward Apr 1 2011, 09:05 PM

QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Apr 1 2011, 02:34 PM) *
Just one more 100m drive and we might already see examples of that dark terrain. smile.gif


Hooray!

Whether or not it's anything interesting, what a rush to finally be here.

Posted by: Poolio Apr 1 2011, 10:16 PM

QUOTE (Scott Maxwell)
At my instigation, we're getting an extra-good image of the right-front wheel before driving again. When it comes down, you'll see why. :-)

What do you all make of this rather cryptic tweet from Scott? The smiley throws me. This week's http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/mission/status_opportunityAll.html#sol2546 notes that there has been a "small increase" in motor currents in the RF wheel. I'd think that any event that prompts the imaging of the wheel is likely to be bad news. So what's up with the smiley?

Could it possibly be that he suspects the RF wheel is turning again (or has turned)?

Posted by: Sunspot Apr 1 2011, 10:17 PM

hmmm a cryptic tweet

QUOTE
At my instigation, we're getting an extra-good image of the right-front wheel before driving again. When it comes down, you'll see why. :-)

Posted by: djellison Apr 1 2011, 10:51 PM

If you look at the kapton cable wrapping - that FR strut has done a bit of shedding since conjunction. Or maybe the fact that we're cleat-down and a pile of dust built up 'behind' it that might slip and slide overnight.

We'll see tomorrow!

Posted by: Astro0 Apr 2 2011, 03:05 AM

Well Oppy's back in Maxwell-motion mode again. smile.gif
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/forward_hazcam/2011-04-01/1F354926167EFFB2WJP1201R0M1.JPG

That means that she's covering extra metres and that's a good sign.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 2 2011, 04:20 AM

QUOTE (Astro0 @ Apr 1 2011, 08:05 PM) *
Well Oppy's back in Maxwell-motion mode again. smile.gif

I read a paper somewhere about that motion not being good for the rover and having the potential to cause the kapton tape on moving parts to unravel.

Posted by: eoincampbell Apr 2 2011, 05:36 AM

Thanks for those updates here, just good to know (what's going on smile.gif )

Posted by: Astro0 Apr 2 2011, 05:41 AM

I think Scott's talking about the JPL logo on the inside of the wheel. I can't recall seeing that before...but then I've not been looking closely at the wheel while the view has been so spectacular! wink.gif


Posted by: CosmicRocker Apr 2 2011, 05:50 AM

QUOTE (mhoward @ Apr 1 2011, 03:05 PM) *
... Whether or not it's anything interesting, what a rush to finally be here.

Fantastic. I had forgotten about the dark areas that you had spotted. There is little doubt in my mind that it will be something interesting. I'll be holding my breath for the next hundred meters or so.

One thing about the area, though; it appears to be riddled with an intricate network of Anatolia-like fractures. It looks like some pretty dangerous driving to me. ph34r.gif

Posted by: Hungry4info Apr 2 2011, 06:29 AM

On the topic of the kapton tape peeling, I threw together a (very) rough animation of the peeling over the past couple years.

 

Posted by: nprev Apr 2 2011, 06:56 AM

I have little love for kapton. It's very good insulation, but not very durable over time.

Posted by: Stu Apr 2 2011, 01:06 PM

Climbing up out of the local "dip"... The Crater is almost back in view...


Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 2 2011, 04:18 PM

QUOTE (nprev @ Apr 2 2011, 08:56 AM) *
I have little love for kapton. It's very good insulation, but not very durable over time.

Who could ever imagine that this mission would last 7+ years? smile.gif

Posted by: mhoward Apr 2 2011, 04:50 PM

Sol 2554 left Pancam

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5582046979/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Posted by: stevesliva Apr 2 2011, 05:00 PM

QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Apr 2 2011, 12:18 PM) *
Who could ever imagine that this mission would last 7+ years? smile.gif

I wonder if nprev's comment has more to do with KC-135s or B-52s lasting 7 decades.

Posted by: nprev Apr 2 2011, 05:30 PM

...yeah, kinda sorta! wink.gif

Kapton's just nasty stuff, is all. When it goes, it goes for good. It's REALLY good at producing hard-to-find high-resistance shorts to ground & all kinds of quirkly little problems. I've had too many long days and nights troubleshooting problems with kapton-clad wiring and it's left me an aged & bitter SOB, so don't mind me at all, please! tongue.gif

[edited for specific reason why I hate kapton]

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 2 2011, 05:33 PM

"it's left me an aged & bitter SOB"

Ohhh... that's what did it!

Looking ahead:




Phil

Posted by: nprev Apr 2 2011, 05:35 PM

You got me cold, Phil; kapton is the devil! tongue.gif

EDIT: Forgot to add the traditional "Watch it, Map Boy!" Apologies for the oversight... smile.gif

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 2 2011, 05:42 PM

And I foolishly edited the last post to insert an image, so now it's in the limbo of the previous page.

Phil

Posted by: walfy Apr 2 2011, 06:49 PM

The RAT could chew off the Kapton if it becomes a problem. Probably not.

Posted by: djellison Apr 3 2011, 01:14 AM

QUOTE (walfy @ Apr 2 2011, 11:49 AM) *
The RAT could chew off the Kapton if it becomes a problem. Probably not.


No it couldn't. Firstly - even a healthy arm wouldn't be commanded to touch that as it's well within the keep-out zone for self-contact. For goodness sake, it's ON A SUSPENSION STRUT and RIGHT NEXT TO TO CABLES THAT DRIVE A WHEEL. You would have to actually want to kill the rover to put the rat to work over there.

Secondly - the arm ISN'T healthy - and can't reach there anymore anyway.

Posted by: Stu Apr 3 2011, 09:10 AM

Oh, I love this rock...


Posted by: jvandriel Apr 3 2011, 09:40 AM

Looking back and around on Sol 2552 with
the L0 Navcam.

Jan van Driel


Posted by: Stu Apr 3 2011, 10:47 AM

Some very interesting features up ahead - circular, pedastal-like domey...things... which have been catching my eye for quite a while now. There are many more of them closer to Cape York, so it'll be interesting to get a close look at some of them early on in our drive.

To provide scale I've dropped some virtual Oppys onto this image, which shows one possible route (bottom to top = west to east... ish... kind of...) for the next few sols, taking her towards the features.



I've made a lot more images relating to this, but, again, rather than bombard UMSF's server with them I've put them in a post over on my blog, which I hope some of you will take a look at:

http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/out-onto-the-great-plain

Posted by: fredk Apr 3 2011, 02:33 PM

(Stu, I think that should read bottom to top.)

Those domey things are interesting, and I don't recall seeing features like them before. They're surrounded by the "darkened terrain" that mhoward pointed out long ago. Though I can't see any depth on your 3D pic, Stu, I get the impression the domes are a bit higher than the dark terrain. But hopefully we'll find out soon. Presumably the "domes" are the insides of old craters that were perhaps filled with a harder material than the outsides (unless they're lower than the dark terrain, in which case the outsides were harder).

We can also see how much we've climbed recently looking back at Santa Maria - the rim doesn't even cut the horizon any more:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2011-04-03/1N354926389EFFB2WMP1954L0M1.JPG?sol2554

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 3 2011, 03:52 PM

Right Fred - plus that pic shows why Santa Maria was so hard to spot coming from the uphill side.

Looking at the little hazard avoidance dance steps, you have to ask - why worry?

Phil

Posted by: mhoward Apr 3 2011, 04:15 PM

Looking back - sol 2552 Navcam

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5585075569/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Sol 2554 Navcam

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5585669026/sizes/o/in/photostream/

That last one in particular should look great with PDS images instead of compressed JPGs.

Posted by: nprev Apr 3 2011, 06:12 PM

What's with the little wheel slews in the tracks every meter or so in the latter panorama? Is that an anti-dig-in measure, or a traction check?

Posted by: fredk Apr 3 2011, 06:16 PM

Check out http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=6897&view=findpost&p=172095

Posted by: nprev Apr 3 2011, 06:51 PM

Yeah, I saw that, Fred, but the puzzle pieces didn't click for me till just now; thanks!

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 3 2011, 09:30 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ Apr 3 2011, 11:10 AM) *
Oh, I love this rock...

Uh! Really?!? smile.gif


Posted by: eoincampbell Apr 3 2011, 10:31 PM

Heavy, man! blink.gif smile.gif

Posted by: Stu Apr 3 2011, 11:31 PM

We've seen something like that before...



cool.gif

Posted by: nprev Apr 4 2011, 12:29 AM

laugh.gif

However, in sharp contrast, Big Rock requests that you call it "Daddy"...

Posted by: Stu Apr 4 2011, 04:28 PM

Large 3D view of the road ahead for Oppy... liking the misty hills on the horizon and the countless small stones strewn over the ground...

http://twitpic.com/4gxhzi/full

Posted by: Stu Apr 5 2011, 10:49 AM

Slightly more realistic view of our big ugly crumbling friend...



(what is its real name? I'm a bit confused, I'll be honest...)

Posted by: jamescanvin Apr 5 2011, 10:57 AM

QUOTE (Stu @ Apr 5 2011, 11:49 AM) *
what is its real name?


Bagua

Posted by: Stu Apr 5 2011, 11:17 AM

Thanks, James.

Posted by: fredk Apr 5 2011, 03:13 PM

On 2556 we were sitting on one of the slightly darker patches visible in the orbital imagery. Looking south, you can see more dark patches (circled in this navcam view), that basically look like low areas surrounded by light ripples:


You can see more to the north, in the upper right of this frame:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2011-04-05/1N355102120EFFB2%23%23P1953R0M1.JPG?sol2556

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 5 2011, 03:49 PM

I saw that too and made this polar view in an attempt to correlate it to the HiRISE image.



No luck. sad.gif

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 5 2011, 04:36 PM

So... adding a bit of a stretch factor to Tesheiner's polar pan, and comparing it with Tim Parker's latest route map at JPL, we get this:



Phil

Posted by: fredk Apr 5 2011, 05:03 PM

For my millennial post, let me say that I agree with your ID's, Phil. I'll just indicate the darkened areas I circled in my post above by circling the corresponding areas on your map, Phil:


Enhancing the orbital view really brings out some fascinating detail in this area. It sure would be cool to know the whole history here...

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 5 2011, 06:01 PM

Thanks a lot! smile.gif
I logged-in just to post yet another map update (sol 2558) and found your posts above. Now, I'll redo the 2556 plot with Phil's ID and post the map later on (edit: http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=681&view=findpost&p=172185).

Meanwhile just say that today's drive was "only" 65m ESE to the vicinity of crater "C".


Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 5 2011, 08:03 PM

Scott tweeted that the drive would be longer, stopping mid-way for some crater imaging. Is it possible your map shows the midpoint of the drive, or was the drive terminated early?

Phil

Posted by: Astro0 Apr 5 2011, 10:39 PM

Admin: A few posts on the Peugeot advert were moved to the http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=6658 thread started last year when this first appeared.

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 6 2011, 05:57 AM

QUOTE (Phil Stooke @ Apr 5 2011, 10:03 PM) *
Scott tweeted that the drive would be longer, stopping mid-way for some crater imaging. Is it possible your map shows the midpoint of the drive, or was the drive terminated early?

The latter, I would say.
Yestersol pictures are still missing but, based on the info available on the pancam website, the "post-drive" hazcam images correspond to the sequences I'm highlighting here below and no movement actually happened between the two navcam mosaics with SeqIDs 1993 (mid-drive) and 0663 (post-drive).
QUOTE
02558::p0025::01::0::0::0::0::0::0::mer_b_sunfind_parms_left_eye_525_exp
02558::p0663::03::6::0::0::6::0::12::navcam_3x1_az_108_3_bpp
02558::p1201::07::2::0::0::2::0::4::front_haz_penultimate_1bpp_pri17
02558::p1211::03::2::0::0::2::0::4::ultimate_front_haz_1_bpp_pri_15
02558::p1254::02::2::0::0::2::0::4::front_haz_fault_pri15_4bpp
02558::p1301::06::2::0::0::2::0::4::rear_haz_penultimate_1bpp_pri17
02558::p1312::07::2::0::0::2::0::4::rear_haz_ultimate_2_bpp_pri15
02558::p1354::01::2::0::0::2::0::4::rear_haz_fault_pri15_4bpp
02558::p1933::06::6::0::0::6::0::12::navcam_3x1_az_45_2_bpp
02558::p2391::27::8::0::0::8::2::18::pancam_drive_direction_4x1_L2R2
02558::p2600::14::2::2::0::0::2::6::pancam_tau


For some reason, the drive "faulted" after taking the midpoint navcam mosaic.

Posted by: jvandriel Apr 6 2011, 09:32 AM

The Pancam L2 view on Sol 2556.

Jan van Driel




Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 6 2011, 02:28 PM

... and doing a 10x stretch of that image, we get a sense of what those mounds might look like close up. Looking at this, it seems most likely that a layer has been stripped away, leaving those mounds and a larger area at the right - but so thin you can only see it if you do this to the image.
Phil


Posted by: MoreInput Apr 6 2011, 06:27 PM

QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Apr 6 2011, 05:53 PM) *
That makes around 500m / week --> only 3 months to reach Cape York.
(I know, I know I shouldn't be doing this kind of math.) laugh.gif


It's about 770 meters since Oppy left Santa Maria, in just 17 sols.
What's the current odometer?

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 6 2011, 09:06 PM

Around 27500m.

Posted by: Stu Apr 6 2011, 09:35 PM

Loving the depth of field here...


Posted by: vikingmars Apr 7 2011, 08:08 AM

QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Apr 6 2011, 06:53 PM) *
(I know, I know I shouldn't be doing this kind of math.) laugh.gif

Why not ? Some friends told me recently that they had to made route and timing projections to fine-tune Oppy's operational budget and staff issues in the near future. But, of course, any incident can occur while travelling, so timings are only guesses... As we used to say in France : "Ne soyons pas plus royalistes que le Roi" ("Let us not be more royalist than the King") !

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 7 2011, 10:36 AM

QUOTE (vikingmars @ Apr 7 2011, 10:08 AM) *
Why not ?

Route and time projections are absolutely valid calculations, of course! smile.gif
What is not so valid, and that was the reason to my previous comment, is the easy math extrapolating data from a single week of driving.

Posted by: climber Apr 7 2011, 01:32 PM

Mean per sol from October 12th to December 8th (before getting to Santa Maria) was 39.9 m.
What about that viKINGmars laugh.gif

Posted by: Stu Apr 7 2011, 02:03 PM

Beautiful horizon...


Posted by: MahFL Apr 7 2011, 02:39 PM

It's just like the approach to the Columbia Hills all over again smile.gif

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 7 2011, 03:23 PM

Here's a comparison of the view from Concepcion crater and the view now (from Stu's post above), with a 10x stretch of course.

Phil


Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 7 2011, 04:59 PM

And closing in on Cape Tribulation, there's a crater on its slope that I had not noticed before, though it was probably visible a long way back.

Phil


Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 7 2011, 06:53 PM

Could it be a JPEG artifact? I can't see it on the HiRISE pics. huh.gif

WRT today's drive, I have no time to work on the map but I checked the "telemetry" and Opportunity covered around 140m today! Let's keep this pace.

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 7 2011, 07:08 PM

This link:

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=23696

to one of Stu's images also shows it - so not an artifact, I'm pretty sure. I also tried to match it with HiRISE, and still not sure, but I'm still thinking about it. The crater it could be seems a bit off where I would expect it.




EDIT - should be about here... subdued, and facing the sun so no shadow in it...? Maybe I'll say it's not a crater but various patches of rock.


Phil

Posted by: ngunn Apr 7 2011, 07:40 PM

I don't know if it helps with that crater, but here's the link back to Nirgal's 3Ds of Tribulation: http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=6413&view=findpost&p=156417

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 7 2011, 08:43 PM

Interesting! I forgot about that. Looks like my feature shows up better on that - the last one of the set.

Phil

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 8 2011, 08:02 AM

This is after yesterday's (sol 2560) drive; back on top of an outcrop patch.



And according to rover driver Scott Maxwell's tweet, another 130m move should be executed today.

Posted by: pgrindrod Apr 8 2011, 09:23 AM

QUOTE (Phil Stooke @ Apr 7 2011, 09:43 PM) *
Interesting! I forgot about that. Looks like my feature shows up better on that - the last one of the set.

Phil


Might be heading towards Distant Vistas here (please feel free to move), but good eyes Phil!

There does seem to be a subdued and dark crater on those slopes. Getting a rough view alignment between my HiRISE DEM and your stretched pan shows a pretty good match, and where this dark thing is.



And looking a bit closer from another angle it is still there.




But there's a bit of driving to do before we get here...
Pete

Posted by: Of counsel Apr 8 2011, 06:16 PM

We traveled 145 meters on sol 2560? Impressive (if accurate)!

Posted by: Stu Apr 8 2011, 07:08 PM

Back on the light, crumbly stuff...



...and a 3D panorama... hills on horizon... and the swathe of lighter rock looks very hummocky to me...

http://twitpic.com/4iek86/full

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 9 2011, 12:15 AM

With sol 2560's drive, that's almost exactly a full kilometer of driving in the two weeks since she left Santa Maria -- to put that in perspective, there are roughly only 5km left to the base of Cape York (as the crow flies). So as long as our rover driver friends can keep up this pace and steer those wheels straight with no stops for sightseeing, we're going to be there sooner than any of us might have imagined.

Posted by: jvandriel Apr 9 2011, 11:42 AM

The Pancam R2 view on Sol 2561.

Jan van Driel



Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 9 2011, 02:02 PM

We're coming up out of the shallow depression that contained Santa Maria, so the view is opening up again in front of us. Nice!

Phil

Posted by: PaulM Apr 9 2011, 03:41 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Apr 9 2011, 12:15 AM) *
...a full kilometer of driving in the two weeks ... 5km left to the base of Cape York

The most over the top estimate of how far Oppy could drive in how long was tweeted by Scott Maxwell. He was trying to calculate how long it would take Oppy to drive to Spirit's current location to clean Spirit's solar panels: smile.gif
Mars radius = 3400km, circumference = 21k km. To go ~half that (~10k km) @ 1km/8 days = 80k days = 219 yrs!

Posted by: BrianL Apr 9 2011, 07:30 PM

You've got 150 years to get it done, Scotty.

Aye, captain. laugh.gif

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 9 2011, 08:08 PM

QUOTE (Phil Stooke @ Apr 9 2011, 04:02 PM) *
We're coming up out of the shallow depression that contained Santa Maria, so the view is opening up again in front of us. Nice!

If they keep the current heading, we will reach a 25m crater in 850m or so.

Posted by: Stu Apr 9 2011, 09:58 PM

Very nice view of the nearest hills...


Posted by: eoincampbell Apr 10 2011, 03:16 AM

Amazing Pace !

Posted by: ronatu Apr 10 2011, 03:42 AM

QUOTE (eoincampbell @ Apr 9 2011, 11:16 PM) *
Amazing Pace !

Amazing Place! rolleyes.gif

Posted by: sgendreau Apr 10 2011, 03:44 AM

Vrroooooooooooooom, straight down the run line. Look at her go!



Posted by: Stu Apr 10 2011, 08:41 AM

830m ahead is a "double crater" that looks like an interesting place to stop and hang out for a few sols' rest...




Here's how big they are compared to Santa Maria...



(taken from: http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/onto-the-dark-stuff-again )

Posted by: mhoward Apr 10 2011, 04:56 PM

Responding to CosmicRocker's post in the map thread:

Yes; if there was anything interesting to see in the "dark terrain", it was too subtle at least for me to pick out. Oh well... onward!

Posted by: vikingmars Apr 10 2011, 06:17 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ Apr 10 2011, 10:41 AM) *
830m ahead is a "double crater" that looks like an interesting place to stop and hang out for a few sols' rest...

rolleyes.gif Your map is great and it feels like reading an old S/F novel wandering among the stars with big voids of space and nothing to see in between... It's af if we just left Sol (Santa Maria) and are heading towards a red dwarf star with its mysterious planet ("double crater"). We are going to fly-by this planet just before encoutering the red dwarf, but we know that we are are irresistibly drawn by the giant Arcturus (Endeavour) smile.gif

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 10 2011, 07:09 PM

"if there was anything interesting to see in the "dark terrain", it was too subtle at least for me to pick out."

Not much obvious to see, but the surface was noticeably rougher. Elsewhere we had the extremely smooth surface with tiny ripples, as at Eagle crater. Here we had a generally rougher surface, and to me it looked as if a layer about 10 or 20 cm thick had been eroded away to reveal it. It would be interesting to map the distribution of the darker patches all around this area, to see it the distribution offers clues to its origin.

Phil

Posted by: climber Apr 10 2011, 11:28 PM

I realize that the remaining distance is the same as driving twice around Victoria.
As can understand my french speaking collegues, "autant dire un jet 2 Pi R..."

Posted by: CosmicRocker Apr 11 2011, 06:16 AM

QUOTE (mhoward @ Apr 10 2011, 11:56 AM) *
... Yes; if there was anything interesting to see in the "dark terrain", it was too subtle at least for me to pick out. Oh well... onward!

QUOTE (Phil Stooke @ Apr 10 2011, 02:09 PM) *
... Not much obvious to see, but the surface was noticeably rougher. Elsewhere we had the extremely smooth surface with tiny ripples, as at Eagle crater. Here we had a generally rougher surface, and to me it looked as if a layer about 10 or 20 cm thick had been eroded away to reveal it. It would be interesting to map the distribution of the darker patches all around this area, to see it the distribution offers clues to its origin. ...

It was pretty subtle, alright. Honestly, I was expecting it to be significantly more exciting. I'd have to agree with Phil regarding the surface appearing to be rougher. I was pretty much perplexed until it occurred to me that this dark terrain may simply be a large exposure of the Halfpipe formation. Some of us geologizers had previously started a thread devoted to the Halfpipe formation, where http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=3060&view=findpost&p=64439 that the name was informally applied to certain dark patches of coarse material overlying bedrock.

I think one of the best exposures of the "formation" was observed on sols 707-717 as shown inhttp://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=3060&view=findpost&p=65026 almost 5 years ago in the Halfpipe thread. See also, http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=3060&view=findpost&p=65076 comment. This is just another reminder about how much fun it has been to do armchair planetary geology through the rover's eyes. smile.gif

Posted by: Stu Apr 11 2011, 10:24 PM

I was mucking about with experimenting with stacking and stitching some images from the latest batch, and, somehow, this came out... not entirely sure how, but I just thought it looked rather striking, so sharing it here...




Posted by: Astro0 Apr 11 2011, 11:34 PM

Nice smile.gif

Love how the extra details in the "hills" are starting to come out.

Posted by: jvandriel Apr 12 2011, 05:08 PM

The Pancam L2 view on Sol 2563.

Jan van Driel




Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 12 2011, 05:34 PM

Nice pan! And here's a match to a HiRISE image. The hoped-for long drive was lost, but there should be a drive today.

Phil


Posted by: Stu Apr 12 2011, 06:17 PM

Just briefly going back to my image of the "hills on the horizon", I came across a rather great coincidence. Stella and I went camping on Sunday, to a beautiful nearby lake called Ullswater, and as soon as we had set up camp I started taking pictures, as you do. Breathtaking view from our tent, right across the lake to the hills and mountains beyond...

...and (if I've read it correctly!) checking the always-useful http://www.greuti.ch/oppy/html/filenames_ltst.htmI found that the images I used to make my "hills on the horizon" pic were taken at just before 3pm on Sunday, Earth time, at exactly the same time I was taking my pics of Ullswater.

Hence, just for fun and novelty value...



Just liked the idea of it, that's all... me, sitting there, by my tent, taking pictures of faraway hills, while Oppy, sitting there in the middle of Meridiani, was doing exactly the same thing... smile.gif

(colour version of Ullswater pic http://twitpic.com/4jrbyt/full )

Posted by: jasedm Apr 12 2011, 07:17 PM

Very nice juxtaposition Stu.

I remember camping in that vicinity in my student days - don't recall many opportunities to log on though...



Posted by: AndyG Apr 12 2011, 07:23 PM

Great choice of location, Stu.

Here's The Ullswater, a new measure of scale:



About the same length as Santa Maria to Endeavour!

Andy

Posted by: Stu Apr 12 2011, 07:24 PM

QUOTE (jasedm @ Apr 12 2011, 08:17 PM) *
don't recall many opportunities to log on though...


That's why I love my mobile's net browsing capability. Sat on the lake shore, glass of red wine *there*, big bag of Butterkist popcorn **there**, and looking at new images of Mars as the Sun went down behind the fells, over ***there***...

Priceless. smile.gif

Posted by: john_s Apr 12 2011, 08:23 PM

QUOTE (AndyG @ Apr 12 2011, 08:23 PM) *
Here's The Ullswater, a new measure of scale:

...

About the same length as Santa Maria to Endeavour!


I'll spare everyone the pictures of me, aged seven, paddling in Ullswater with a toy boat, but instead I will note that I think the "Ullswater" unit needs recalibrating. The lake is 7-9 miles long (from Wikipedia), and the distance from Santa Maria to Cape York is only about 3.5 miles.

Yeah- only half an Ullswater to go!

John

Posted by: djellison Apr 12 2011, 08:38 PM

The horizon drop-off might be analogous though - Mars being a smaller ball etc etc.

Posted by: Stu Apr 12 2011, 09:02 PM

QUOTE (john_s @ Apr 12 2011, 09:23 PM) *
I'll spare everyone the pictures of me, aged seven, paddling in Ullswater with a toy boat,


Oh, hands up who wants to see *those*? laugh.gif

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 12 2011, 09:05 PM

I want to know how many ulls you caught Stu.

Posted by: AndyG Apr 12 2011, 09:19 PM

QUOTE (john_s @ Apr 12 2011, 09:23 PM) *
The lake is 7-9 miles long (from Wikipedia), and the distance from Santa Maria to Cape York is only about 3.5 miles.

Oh John - my bad. You're quite right. A factor of two got lost there: half an Ullswater it is!

(I blame rushing to get my borsch hotted up for Yuri's night here in Scotland.)

Andy

Posted by: Stu Apr 12 2011, 09:19 PM

"ulls"? unsure.gif

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 12 2011, 09:37 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ Apr 12 2011, 01:19 PM) *
"ulls"? unsure.gif

You mean there are no ulls in Ullswater?

Posted by: KrisK Apr 12 2011, 09:41 PM

What was the reason of going back here?
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2011-04-12/1N355364961EFFB312P1931L0M1.JPG

I like this one. Distant view of Santa Maria rolleyes.gif
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2011-04-12/1N355458765EFFB3XKP1777L0M1.JPG

Posted by: djellison Apr 12 2011, 10:41 PM

QUOTE (KrisK @ Apr 12 2011, 02:41 PM) *
What was the reason of going back here?


Sometimes the easiest way to do a turn-for-comm is a simple arcing turn at the end of a drive.

Posted by: climber Apr 12 2011, 11:32 PM

You mean U(lls) turn?

Posted by: MahFL Apr 13 2011, 01:01 PM

Oh I did not realise that was Santa Maria.
It's quite far back now.

Posted by: mhoward Apr 13 2011, 04:47 PM

Navcam images just came down of a big crack that Opportunity passed back on sol 2561. Pretty cool, so here's a 360x90 equirectangular panorama in both left and anaglyph versions, plus QTVRs. In the QTVRs you can get a better sense that the cracks are straight.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5616821600/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://mmb.unmannedspaceflight.com/MERB2561_1NavcamL.mov (2.8MB)

Red-cyan anaglyph:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marscat/5616821608/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://mmb.unmannedspaceflight.com/MERB2561_1NavcamAna.mov (4.2MB)

Posted by: walfy Apr 13 2011, 06:35 PM

I always wondered what one of those fissures looked like up close. Very cool to see in 3D!

Posted by: Juramike Apr 13 2011, 07:37 PM

I like it! Very cool to see how some of terrain on the sides looks like it cracked and slumped into the "gap". Love it. It's like we were back at Anatolia (sheds tear from eye) again...

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 13 2011, 08:16 PM

A circular reprojection of the very nice pan by mhoward. This was a mid-drive sequence, not one of the stopping places.

Phil


Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 14 2011, 11:01 AM

Here're some context images. The arrow points to the site where the mosaic was taken.


Posted by: Marz Apr 14 2011, 03:55 PM

Are these fractures associated with Endeavour, and if so, will they become more numerous in upcoming Sols?

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 14 2011, 04:11 PM

QUOTE (Marz @ Apr 14 2011, 05:55 PM) *
Are these fractures associated with Endeavour, ...

Don't think so because Endeavour predates the bedrock.

Posted by: Oersted Apr 14 2011, 05:41 PM

predates the bedrock?

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 14 2011, 05:54 PM

Yes, predates the bedrock! That is, the Meridiani Planum sedimentary rocks we've been driving over for all these years were deposited on top of the cratered terrain that Endeavour is part of. The fractured rocks are the local bedrock, Endeavour is much older.

Phil

Posted by: Stu Apr 14 2011, 07:15 PM

Rover driver Scott Maxwell was - as ever - kind enough to answer some emailed "Endeavour here we come!" questions for my blog, which I think many of you will find interesting:

http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/more-from-scott


Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 14 2011, 08:12 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ Apr 14 2011, 09:15 PM) *
... which I think many of you will find interesting:

Absolutely! biggrin.gif

On a different topic, and answering my question "why there was no actual driving on monday/tuesday, as planned?":
QUOTE
Shoot -- failed Monday's uplink due to a DSN issue. So Friday will be our only drive this week, and no IDD today after all. Grr.

Posted by: nprev Apr 15 2011, 01:13 AM

That interview just plain rocked. I don't really want to go into the superlatives it deserves; understatement says it all. Go, Scott (and brilliant work, Stu!)

Posted by: eoincampbell Apr 15 2011, 05:02 AM

Loved reading that interview Stu - like getting a wee shot on the passenger seat smile.gif

Posted by: CosmicRocker Apr 15 2011, 06:48 AM

QUOTE (Stu @ Apr 14 2011, 02:15 PM) *
... which I think many of you will find interesting:
http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/more-from-scott

I'm going to have to be honest with you Stu. That was a darned good interview. You asked some great questions, and Scott provided some quite enlightening answers. Congratulations to both of you.
Perhaps one of the most interesting comments you coaxed out of Scott was this one:

QUOTE
When we landed, I used to feel terrible about scuffing up the surface. Like, it’s been sitting there pristine and undisturbed for a few billion years, until *I* came along and messed everything up, you know?

If I could reply to that statement, I would say: "We know what you are saying, Scott, but we're all certainly glad that you got beyond being a Martian dusthugger. The indelible accomplishments that Spirit and Opportunity provided to Humanity will hopefully endure in history forever.

Thanks.

Posted by: jvandriel Apr 15 2011, 09:58 AM

The Navcam R0 view on Sol 2563.

Jan van Driel



Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 15 2011, 11:46 AM

Polar version of jvandriel's latest panorama.

Phil


Posted by: brellis Apr 15 2011, 03:49 PM

Nice Jan van Pan smile.gif <-- couldn't resist, after all this time!

Q: How do the Hills of York measure up to the Columbia Hills traversed by Spirit?

Posted by: Stu Apr 15 2011, 05:40 PM

Don't know about height, but as far as a direct scale comparison is concerned, here ya go...



Larger version http://twitpic.com/4l7y20/full

Posted by: PaulM Apr 15 2011, 07:00 PM

I do not think that Scott was talking about Cape York in the following quote:

... it’s gonna be fun to go hill-climbing again, too. We haven’t done that since the early(ish) days of Spirit...

This is because, as has been discussed before, Cape York is little more than a low bank on the edge of Endeavour Crater. Instead I think that Scott was talking about the huge hills around Cape Tribulation.

The following paper shows that the clay deposits around Cape York are not very extensive:

http://www.planetary.brown.edu/pdfs/3954.pdf

My guess is that Oppy will not spend more than 6 months around Cape York. It will then zip down to Cape Tribulation where it will spend many Years after it arrives climbing hills and examining the extensive clay deposits there in great detail.

To me the real attraction of Cape York is that the view from there of the far side of Endeavour Crater will be one of the prettiest ever taken in the history of Space exploration.

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 15 2011, 08:12 PM

We now have better CRISM data than that paper used. See:

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/2199.pdf

So there will certainly be an attempt to find clays and other materials at Cape York. I'm sure you are right about Tribulation being a better place to look, but it is more distant, so the nearer target will be examined first. Just in case... !!

Phil

Posted by: Stu Apr 15 2011, 10:19 PM

Hmmm. Interesting how our view of Tribulation etc has changed in the past year or so...


Posted by: Stu Apr 16 2011, 11:38 AM

If Oppy does go climbing in those hills to the south of Cape York, what will the terrain be like? Well, I can't lay my hands on any altitude figures, and I don' trust Google Mars to give me accurate figures, so the best we can do is - purely for fun, ok? - look at how the Columbia Hills and the Tribulation-Dromedary range compare visually...



More comparisons in a long blog post here: http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/sizing-up-cape-york

Posted by: Stu Apr 17 2011, 10:11 AM

Latest view of the western hills...


Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 17 2011, 10:19 AM

We can almost touch them!

Posted by: Stu Apr 17 2011, 10:37 AM

QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Apr 17 2011, 11:19 AM) *
We can almost touch them!


Absolutely...



smile.gif

More images http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/hills-almost-close-enough-to-touch.

Posted by: jvandriel Apr 17 2011, 03:23 PM

A special Pan for Brellis biggrin.gif

The pancam view on Sol 2569.

Jan van Driel


Posted by: ngunn Apr 17 2011, 06:31 PM

The shortish bright line in the middle distance - anybody know if that's the crater Stu pointed to, or is it just part of the next raised outcrop of bedrock?
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=24168

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 17 2011, 11:09 PM

That crater is still too far away to be visible on the pancams.

Edited: Check Phil's post below.

Posted by: Stu Apr 17 2011, 11:22 PM

That crater's a good 740m ahead yet, Nigel.


Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 17 2011, 11:39 PM

Here's a match to the local topography. That white object is in the right direction to be that crater, and the intervening outcrop is probably the line below that crater in this image. In fact, I think my stretched image and the GE image match quite well.

Phil


Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 18 2011, 10:06 AM

Definitely Phil-o-vision is the right tool for this purpose and http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=6897&view=findpost&p=172506! laugh.gif

The outcrop 300m ahead is so subtle on the stretched mosaic, in contrast to the much far away crater, that I have the impression it is located in a local low point. The terrain seems to rise in a slight slope afterwards the outcrop, making the crater visible. My 0.02c.

Posted by: ngunn Apr 18 2011, 01:12 PM

Thank goodness not all craters are hiding in hollows. smile.gif (As I recall 'Rockaway' was visible from 9 km or so.) Since this one seems to be in plain view and lies on the route ahead I expect it will get a proper name soon.

Posted by: Stu Apr 18 2011, 01:42 PM

Well spotted Nigel! smile.gif

Posted by: Sunspot Apr 21 2011, 09:50 AM

Very quiet in here lately.

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 21 2011, 10:19 AM

Like sailing on a quiet and waveless sea. wink.gif

Here's some info about this week activities, as http://twitter.com/#!/marsroverdriver by Scott Maxwell (comments in italic were inserted by me):

QUOTE
"Short drive thisol (that's sol 2574) -- not much time between handover and downlink. So <50m. Still, got 120m Monday (sol 2572; images just hit the Exploratorium today, check http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2011-04-21/ and http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2011-04-21/), and should have a healthy drive Friday."

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 22 2011, 03:02 AM

Quiet around here today, so I thought I'd better post this.

Phil




Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 22 2011, 10:28 AM

Quiet here, indeed, but actually not on Mars. wink.gif
Yestersol (2574) post-drive pictures are already down and I will post an updated route map in a minute. Opportunity is currently parked next to feature D, I think.

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 22 2011, 11:41 AM

Sol 2574 images:

Phil





Posted by: remcook Apr 22 2011, 12:34 PM

broooommmm smile.gif

Posted by: jvandriel Apr 22 2011, 01:16 PM

The Pancam L2 view on Sol 2572.

Jan van Driel







Posted by: marswiggle Apr 22 2011, 08:28 PM

Might be a possible dust devil at the extreme left border of jvandriel's panorama, just below the horizon, visible only against the dark ground. The original (right eye) frame http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2011-04-21/1P356517751EFFB4X2P2400R2M1.JPG .
Or then another outcrop, but at least to my eye it looks a bit too 'fluffy' and misty for stone.

Posted by: fredk Apr 22 2011, 08:42 PM

I spotted that one as well, thinking it looked like a dust devil or gust too. But if you look closely, it's visible in exactly the same spot in this navcam, so it's got to be a fixed feature:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2011-04-21/1N356517847EFFB4X2P0663R0M1.JPG?sol2572

Posted by: Stu Apr 22 2011, 09:21 PM

"Double Crater" up ahead...



Size compared to Oppy...



More images here: http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/another-crater-ahead

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 23 2011, 12:05 AM

Crater? What crater? I don't see a crater, or two.

Oh look! over there, a sand dune, just past the crater. Let's go have a look at the sand dune. If it's uninteresting we can just keep on going.

Posted by: nprev Apr 23 2011, 01:56 AM

Neat! But, yeah...we gotta keep going. Distant vistas await.

BTW, Stu, knowing & fully supporting your meteorite interest...what do you think the odds are that many if not most of the ones we've seen to date were from a single fall? They were all iron/nickel, and distributed throughout a fairly small geographical area.

Posted by: Stu Apr 23 2011, 04:44 AM

Well, we appear to be heading right for it, so I'm thinking a quick potter about there, if only to take a brief breather, will be the plan. And we can never have too many 'crater beyond a crater' shots, can we? wink.gif

Posted by: Stu Apr 23 2011, 04:48 AM

...as for the meteorites, I'm no expert but looking at them a single fall strewnfield isn't too outrageous an idea, but I'm really not qualified to say anything more than that smile.gif

Posted by: CosmicRocker Apr 24 2011, 05:07 AM

QUOTE (nprev @ Apr 22 2011, 07:56 PM) *
... ...what do you think the odds are that many if not most of the ones we've seen to date were from a single fall? They were all iron/nickel, and distributed throughout a fairly small geographical area.


Quite a few papers have been written about the meteorites discovered by Opportunity at Meridiani Planum. I've read five or six of them and none of those claimed that all or many of the Fe/Ni meteorites were from a single fall. Most of the papers do point out that three of the metallic meteorites (Heat Shield Rock, Block Island, Shelter Island) are quite similar, and are classified as Type IAB iron meteorites. The fourth iron meteorite (Mackinac Island) was not investigated with the IDD instruments, but a pancam spectrum was obtained which was very similar to that of Shelter Island. Apparently all four of these meteorites are pretty similar.

I think it would be pretty difficult to prove that these were all from the same parent, with measurements Opportunity can make. http://www.dtm.ciw.edu/users/nittler/preprints/schroeder2010.pdf, however, did mention the possibility that iron and stony meteorites found by Opportunity may be evidence of two overlapping strewn fields.

Posted by: nprev Apr 24 2011, 06:57 AM

Ah. Thanks, Tom! (I really should get off my shiny metal etc. & look up these papers before posting such questions...)

Posted by: CosmicRocker Apr 24 2011, 05:02 PM

Oh heck, Nick; none of us can keep up with everything surrounding these missions. That's what this forum is good for. smile.gif

Posted by: fredk Apr 25 2011, 05:10 PM

Tribulation registered and averaged over four L2/R2 frames (sols 2569 and 2561) to reduce jpeg noise (not a proper superres treatment):


Posted by: fredk Apr 26 2011, 03:33 AM

The http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/tm-opportunity/opportunity-sol2574.html includes a route to Cape York (of course the route has to be tentative). The route basically consists of several straight segments connecting up at craters, starting with the "double crater" we can see in pancam about 400 metres ahead, and ending near the south end of CY. Most of the connecting vertices are obvious craters, although one is labelled "young blocky" but there's no obvious candidate that matches that description exactly at that vertex, to my eye at least.

Posted by: eoincampbell Apr 26 2011, 05:20 AM

Oh, Great to hear of the insights to the journey like this, thanks Fred.
I dedicate my working week to Oppy's goals, let's see where we are Saturday smile.gif

Posted by: centsworth_II Apr 26 2011, 07:49 AM

QUOTE (fredk @ Apr 25 2011, 10:33 PM) *
...Most of the connecting vertices are obvious craters, although one is labelled "young blocky" but there's no obvious candidate that matches that description exactly at that vertex, to my eye at least.

I wonder if that last label refers not to a vertex but to the prospective route's endpoint. It certainly would be a good description of the prominent crater at the South tip of Cape York, in the direction the route is headed.

From http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=6667&view=findpost&p=172054 complete with scattered little orange-highlighted Opportunitys:

Posted by: centsworth_II Apr 26 2011, 09:17 AM

Actually, near the end of the http://planetary.org/news/2010/0131_Mars_Exploration_Rovers_Update_Robots.html. Steve Squyres refers to another crater visited by Opportunity as "young" and "blocky".

Concepcion.... is estimated to be about 1,000 years old, making it the youngest crater explored on the mission. Being young, it’s “very blocky, very rugged,” said Squyres. “And we're going to tiptoe around this thing pretty very carefully because it is a real rubble pile.”

If anything, the crater on the South end of Cape York looks even younger and blockier than http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/images/pia12969.html (on the left, below). Of course Concepcion being formed in soft sulfate rock would presumably weather at a faster rate than the Cape York crater, which I estimate is about 18m diameter to Concepcion's 10m http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=681&view=findpost&p=171881

.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 26 2011, 01:25 PM

I've been waiting for someone to comment on this different looking texture we will be approaching in the next week. But no one has, so I will. It almost looks "inverted" the way some of the ancient craters have been filled and then their structure eroded away on other parts of Mars. I know the term "etched" has already been used to described the Meridiani Planum on a larger scale. But when you get right down to it, this really looks "etched" in the truest sense of the word. It's difficult to tell from Google Mars, but there doesn't appear to be any relief to the region, or at least not enough to present a navigational obstacle.

Do your speculating quickly. We're almost on top of it.

 

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 26 2011, 01:43 PM

I suspect THIS is Young Blocky.


 

Posted by: mhoward Apr 26 2011, 02:07 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Apr 26 2011, 06:25 AM) *
I've been waiting for someone to comment on this different looking texture we will be approaching in the next week. But no one has, so I will.


Looks like just another instance of the 'dark terrain' type which we've already passed over and found surprisingly unsurprising.

Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 26 2011, 02:10 PM

Agreed - EGD, check out the posts around #130 in this thread. It looks a lot more interesting from orbit than it does on the ground... although it must have something to tell us that is not immediately apparent.

Phil


Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 26 2011, 02:20 PM

It makes wonder if these aren't the remnants of once-large dunes that have since been scoured away from a regional change in prevailing winds. Is it possible there is some kind of weak cementation that occurred from the pressure and eons of a time under the formerly larger dunes, leaving a "footing" that is just a tad bit more resistant than all the other sand out there on the planum? Might it be worth a brief wheel scuff and MI peek into one of these zig-zagging shapes?

Posted by: Poolio Apr 26 2011, 02:53 PM

Wouldn't you expect to see more alignment and less crisscrossing if these were the remnants of ancient dunes?

Posted by: marsophile Apr 26 2011, 03:19 PM

Looks to me like the trenches we have already seen have become more numerous until they have merged together to form a general collapsed area with remnants of the old terrain forming the criss-crossing ridges.

Posted by: Stu Apr 26 2011, 03:30 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Apr 26 2011, 02:43 PM) *
I suspect THIS is Young Blocky.


I think you're spot on there, Dan.

Posted by: Stu Apr 26 2011, 04:18 PM

Very quick Best Guesstimate Rough Guide to the major landmarks that MIGHT ahead based on what I take to be the route shown on the recent traverse map release... bit hard to pick them out tho, because it's quite a low resolution pic... and the nnames are *obviously* a million percent made up by myself, they're just there to give a flavour of the trip, ok? rolleyes.gif



You'll see a little virtual Oppy next to each crater, at the correct scale. I'm going to put some better versions of these omages up on my blog later, rather than put them all up on here and gorge myself on UMSF's bandwidth, so I hope some of you will take a look at those.

Note: I'm not absolutely sure about these crater IDs, so this really is just a bestguesstimate laugh.gif

Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 26 2011, 05:49 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Apr 26 2011, 03:43 PM) *
I suspect THIS is Young Blocky.

I think it's a slightly bigger one 200m NNW of your identification.
One reason --but perhaps we are trying to extract too much information from the image posted by Tim Parker-- is that the feature on the official map seems to be located on a rocky patch more consistent with the crater I'm pointing at. The other reason --and this is perhaps more relevant on this "game"-- is that this whole "route path" makes a small detour north of a straight path. Why? IMHO, it's not to visit some craters on the way but to avoid crossing a ripple field on a more direct path. This northward route crosses a more benign terrain and the little double-crater on Dan's picture is right on the ripple field. wink.gif
My 2c.

 

Posted by: ngunn Apr 26 2011, 06:13 PM

I think 'Young Blocky' could even be the rayed crater at the top right corner there. OK it's not on the proposed route line but it's sufficiently close to have been considered as a possible waypoint at some stage.

Posted by: Stu Apr 26 2011, 08:51 PM

"Unalaska", from Sol 2553...



...and the obligatory 3D view...



Interesting rock, that... Named after http://unalaska-ak.us ?

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 26 2011, 09:01 PM

Because the higher ups vetoed the name http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/deadliest-catch/

Posted by: brellis Apr 26 2011, 10:17 PM

lol, I work on that show smile.gif

Posted by: nprev Apr 26 2011, 10:29 PM

Good name, if you've ever seen the Aleutians...smile.gif

Posted by: Stu Apr 26 2011, 10:48 PM

RtE blog post now up, with lotsa pics: http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/the-route-to-cape-york

Posted by: fredk Apr 27 2011, 03:18 PM

It looks like we caught a gust/DD on the horizon on sol 2561:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/pancam/2011-04-27/1P355531407EDNB3XKP2273L1M1.JPG?sol2561
Compare with this navcam view on the same sol - the light-coloured gust isn't visible here:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/n/2561/1N355538604EFFB33QP1997R0M1.JPG

Posted by: algorimancer Apr 27 2011, 04:26 PM

I'm a bit puzzled by the apparent plan to initially target the south side of Cape York. The "wedge"/valley on the northeast side is clearly a target of interest, and the obvious next destination following Cape York would be the taller rim peaks to the south, so it makes more sense to me to make the initial "landing" at the (closer) north end, then work through targets of interest between there and the south side, finally departing Cape York southwards. My best guess is a higher priority put on seeing minerals in that south-side crater before MSL does the same elsewhere.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Apr 27 2011, 04:33 PM

QUOTE (algorimancer @ Apr 27 2011, 08:26 AM) *
My best guess is a higher priority put on seeing minerals in that south-side crater before MSL does the same elsewhere.

Sibling rivalry. There's no way Opportunity is going to let her younger sister make the big discovery when the same achievement is within her reach.

Posted by: centsworth_II Apr 27 2011, 05:38 PM

Why does Spirit's http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2005/pdf/2327.pdf not count as the "big discovery"? Using the same instruments (in a weaker state), will Opportunity be able to document any discovery better than Spirit?

Posted by: jvandriel Apr 28 2011, 08:38 AM

The L2 Pancamview on Sol 2579.

Jan van Driel


Posted by: Phil Stooke Apr 28 2011, 02:20 PM

... and with a 10x stretch of the above pan, there is EGD's 'etched' area (post #245 above) right ahead. It does look very distinctive like this, or from above, but oddly bland when you're right on it.

Phil


Posted by: Stu Apr 28 2011, 03:42 PM

QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Apr 26 2011, 02:25 PM) *
I've been waiting for someone to comment on this different looking texture we will be approaching in the next week.


I had quite high hopes for that area too, as I did for an area of "mounds and domes" a way back. But now we are almost on top of it, a 3D view shows it's nothing special, really just a trick of the light...



On the other hand, the "double crater" up ahead is starting to look interesting...


Posted by: Stu Apr 29 2011, 07:21 AM

Looks like a slight detour on the way to Double Crater...

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/tm-opportunity/images/MERB_Sol2579_1.jpg


Posted by: Tesheiner Apr 29 2011, 09:15 AM

Unfortunately I think that was not the case. I just checked the data available for today's drive and this is the result.



Actually, there was a mid-drive stop to take a whole 360º navcam panorama and a pancam mosaic of that etched area, but the drive continued afterwards directly towards the double-crater.

I'll update the route map later on.

Posted by: Stu Apr 29 2011, 10:38 AM

QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Apr 29 2011, 10:15 AM) *
Unfortunately I think that was not the case.


Suits me, I couldn't see the appeal of that spot anyway laugh.gif

Posted by: Tesheiner May 1 2011, 09:26 AM

This month's http://www.planetary.org/news/2011/0430_Mars_Exploration_Rover_Update_Spirit.html is online now. I've just started to read it and found this:

Today the rover is scheduled to drive on toward a grouping of several impact craters, named Freedom 7, Sigma 7, Faith 7, and Friendship 7, for the NASA’s historic Mercury spacecraft.

Edit: ... and this: laugh.gif

"Opportunity is turning into one of these active seniors who make the rest of us feel self-conscious," chuckled Callas. "Here's this little old rover zipping around up there every day, while we're saying to ourselves: 'I really need to do something more about my weight and getting a little more exercise.'"

Posted by: Stu May 1 2011, 10:16 AM

Just been reading that too... another fantastic report, as usual...

Those newly-named craters...


Posted by: Tesheiner May 1 2011, 10:28 AM

I was just ready to post a GE snapshot with the actual crater names when I saw yours. smile.gif
Yep, that's the right assignment; Salley puts it very clear on the report.

Today was another driving sol but I still can't get enough data to post a preliminary map update. With the currently available data (to us, outsiders) I can only tell it seems to be another looooong drive (+100m ?) so we might be right at the "Mercury crater field".

Posted by: Stu May 1 2011, 12:56 PM

This was very interesting, I thought...

The course charted will take Opportunity up to Endeavour's Cape York by way of Botany Bay, Arvidson confirmed. "Botany Bay through CRISM data shows hydrated sulfates and it's an easier approach to the southern side of Cape York where the phyllosilicates are exposed."

Sooooo, looks like Oppy will actually drive past Cape York then double back and roll up onto it from the south. They really want a look at that rubble-surrounded crater, don't they? Can't wait to see those pics, as at least one of the blocks is bigger than Oppy herself...

New Cape York pic up on: http://roadtoendeavour.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/a-clearer-route-to-cape-york





Posted by: centsworth_II May 1 2011, 04:13 PM

What confuses me is that the darker green that is labeled as "clay minerals" at Cape Tribulation is not seen at Cape York, while the significance of the lighter, yellowish green seen around Cape York and elsewhere is not mentioned. (Does it indicate a weaker signal, or phyllosilicates of different mineralogy?)




Neither this latest image or the previous image from http://www.planetary.brown.edu/pdfs/3954.pdf shows any phyllosilicate signal around the crater on the South tip of Cape York. Perhaps all that ejecta will just be blocks of basalt. In fact, I don't see any phyllosilicate signal at the South end of Cape York in the latest image, so I don't know where they intend to look. The ejecta doesn't look like a good bet to me but of course it would be a good idea to investigate the ejecta regardless of whether it contains phyllosilicates or not.

Posted by: fredk May 1 2011, 04:36 PM

There is newer CRISM data - see http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=6897&view=findpost&p=172483

Fig 3 from that abstract shows a few small greenish spots on Cape York, though it doesn't say what the colour represents. One of the spots corresponds with the blocky crater Stu's been talking about. The text says there are possibly interesting signatures from Cape York itself.

Posted by: fredk May 1 2011, 04:40 PM

QUOTE (Tesheiner @ May 1 2011, 10:26 AM) *
This month's http://www.planetary.org/news/2011/0430_Mars_Exploration_Rover_Update_Spirit.html is online now.

Another interesting bit is a description of the criss-crossy "darkened terrain" we drove through on 2581:
QUOTE
That drive put Opportunity in the middle of an intriguing, "inverted relief" terrain area. "It's an area about 60 meters wide that features fractured bedrock with material deposited by wind," Arvidson described. "It [appears] that a little bit of water coming through the fractures cemented the materials and then wind erosion took away the softer bedrock, leaving the fracture standing as high areas, so it's kind of inverted relief," he explained. The rover stopped to take in the sights with some Pancam and NavCam pictures of the terrain. "We'll probably have them down next week. They're not super high priority," said Arvidson.

Posted by: fredk May 1 2011, 06:01 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ May 1 2011, 01:56 PM) *
"Botany Bay through CRISM data shows hydrated sulfates and it's an easier approach to the southern side of Cape York where the phyllosilicates are exposed."

I'd just add one more point. I interpreted that quote differently. I read it "...it's an easier approach from the south end of Cape York to the region south of Cape York where the phyllosilicates are exposed." Ie, from the south end of CY they will be able to easily head south across Botany Bay towards Tribulation, where they know there are phyllosilicates. I don't think they're planning on phyllosilicates at CY, but any they do spot would be investigated, I'm sure.

Posted by: centsworth_II May 1 2011, 06:12 PM

QUOTE (fredk @ May 1 2011, 11:36 AM) *
There is newer CRISM data... shows a few small greenish spots on Cape York, though it doesn't say what the colour represents. ...
It looks to me like the green just represents craters, with no respect as to what materials are associated with them.

While the text mentions "... the presence of Fe-Mg smectites in Cape Tribulation and perhaps even in Cape York.....", there is no indication of phyllosilicates in the diagram.


http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/2199.pdf
(link indicated by fredk)

Posted by: serpens May 2 2011, 03:08 AM

QUOTE (centsworth_II @ May 1 2011, 04:13 PM) *
In fact, I don't see any phyllosilicate signal at the South end of Cape York in the latest image, so I don't know where they intend to look.

Actually the phyllosilicates at Cape York seem to originate with the ejecta from the now filled crater in the centre and were possibly dug out of a deeper, protected deposit by the impact.

Posted by: CosmicRocker May 2 2011, 06:23 AM

QUOTE (centsworth_II @ May 1 2011, 01:12 PM) *
It looks to me like the green just represents craters, with no respect as to what materials are associated with them. ...

That geologic map has been used in a number of publications at various scales. The green unit has not always been clearly defined in the publications. One paper that I found seems to suggest that the green (CT) simply maps post-Noachian craters. It's not a very useful designation, but perhaps the best available.


Posted by: centsworth_II May 2 2011, 09:12 AM

QUOTE (serpens @ May 1 2011, 10:08 PM) *
...the phyllosilicates at Cape York seem to originate with the ejecta from the now filled crater in the centre...

One could get that impression from the image on the left, but there is no indication of that in the other (updated?) images.
That leftmost image seems to be a representation of actual data. But maybe it is discounted in the diagrams to the right because its reliability is in doubt.


Posted by: centsworth_II May 2 2011, 09:58 AM

QUOTE (CosmicRocker @ May 2 2011, 01:23 AM) *
That geologic map has been used in a number of publications at various scales....

Interesting that you should present a map which includes both Endeavour Crater (upper right) and Miyamoto (lower left). I was looking at a paper that presented Miyamoto as a possible landing site for MSL because of the presence of phyllisilicates (before that site was dropped from the list).

The papers on Miyamoto phyllisilicates and on Endeavour rim phyllosilicates have three authors in common (Arvidson, Wiseman, Murchie) but the papers come to different conclusions as to the source of the phyllosilicate signal. In the case of Miyamoto Crater, the signal is shown as coming from crater fill while in the case of Endeavour, the signal is hypothesized to come from exposed layers in Endeavour's rim.


Miyamoto
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2008/pdf/1806.pdf
(Above, upper right, is a Google Mars image that I included to show the relationship of Miyamoto (blue),
Endeavour (green), boundary of Meridiani sulfate layers (orange), and approximate location of Opportunity (blue dot).


Endeavour
"...hypothesized stratigraphy, with
subhorizontal hematitic plains layers (gray, short dashes)
overlying layers with hydration signature (cyan, long dashes),
which onlap tilted phyllosilicate-bearing layers (red lines)
exposed in Endeavour rim."
http://www.planetary.brown.edu/pdfs/3954.pdf
(previously linked in post 275)

Posted by: Phil Stooke May 2 2011, 10:33 AM

"That geologic map has been used in a number of publications at various scales. The green unit has not always been clearly defined in the publications. One paper that I found seems to suggest that the green (CT) simply maps post-Noachian craters. "

That's not the same map at a variety of scales - you can't deduce anything from one regarding the other.

Phil

Posted by: elakdawalla May 2 2011, 05:14 PM

QUOTE (CosmicRocker @ May 1 2011, 10:23 PM) *
That geologic map has been used in a number of publications at various scales. The green unit has not always been clearly defined in the publications. One paper that I found seems to suggest that the green (CT) simply maps post-Noachian craters. It's not a very useful designation, but perhaps the best available.

CosmicRocker, as a Real Geologist you'll know what I mean when I say that CT on many geologic maps of Mars is sort of equivalent to Qf on Earth geologic maps. It's the crap that gets in the way of us seeing what's going on with the bedrock. Anything exposed in crater walls is usually too small in spatial extent to be mapped intelligently; CT covers the crater and its ejecta that obscure what was going on underneath, just like Quaternary fill obscures geology in Earth's valley floors.

Posted by: CosmicRocker May 3 2011, 04:24 AM

QUOTE (Phil Stooke @ May 2 2011, 04:33 AM) *
... That's not the same map at a variety of scales - you can't deduce anything from one regarding the other.

Phil: You are the map expert here and I don't want to argue with you about maps (because I'll probably lose that argument). I will admit that I had assumed the various published maps were all based on the same map, because the colors used for the various units are identical. I don't *know* that they are the same map at various scales, but it certainly seemed like a reasonable assumption to me. You state, "That's not the same map at a variety of scales." Do you *know* that to be true?

Posted by: CosmicRocker May 3 2011, 05:05 AM

QUOTE (elakdawalla @ May 2 2011, 11:14 AM) *
... you'll know what I mean when I say that CT on many geologic maps of Mars is sort of equivalent to Qf on Earth geologic maps. It's the crap that gets in the way of us seeing what's going on with the bedrock. Anything exposed in crater walls is usually too small in spatial extent to be mapped intelligently; CT covers the crater and its ejecta that obscure what was going on underneath, just like Quaternary fill obscures geology in Earth's valley floors.

That's really a pretty good way to describe it, Emily. As an avid reader of your blog, I can say that you have quite a talent for describing obscure things in ways that are very assimilable. smile.gif

Posted by: peter59 May 3 2011, 07:25 AM

Waiting for full resolution.


Posted by: Stu May 3 2011, 09:43 AM

That's really good work, Peter.

Wider angle view, made from thumbnails again...

http://twitpic.com/4sqhvw/full

Posted by: Phil Stooke May 3 2011, 02:14 PM

"Do you *know* that to be true?"

The use of similar color schemes makes it look like they are the same map, but this is misleading. Obviously there is something in common between them as well, but they are not the same.

First, they are very different scales, so it's not just a case of the same digital image being shown in full and in an enlarged detail, which was really what I meant at first. As different map images, the color schemes don't have to mean exactly the same thing. More importantly, though, different scales mean (in this case) different levels of generalization. The regional view (Miyamoto map) aggregates all the Meridiani plains material into one unit. The detailed map of Cape York splits that into multiple units - including the hydratyed material and terraces. The green things are confused by the cartographer - in the regional map they use green for two different things, Bololu materials (mostly ejecta, a specific geologic unit) and a morphological class of feature, the post-Noachian craters. Note how the green is in the crater depressions, not the ejecta deposits of those craters. In the detailed map green is used again for morphology - crater depressions, some extremely subdued and, frankly, geologically indistinguishable from the material they formed in. And if you look at Endeavour in the regional map, the blue Noachian material is not just shown on the hills of the rim but as a complete ring around the crater, looking like the inner slope of Endeavour. The detailed map correctly maps the inner slope below Cape York as the red plains material and related units.

Phil

Posted by: Tesheiner May 4 2011, 10:35 AM

This images pipeline is still somehow broken so we'll have to continue with the "minimalist" mode. Here are yestersol (2585) navcam pictures assembled on a mini-mosaic and a mini-polar-view.



Posted by: Burmese May 4 2011, 07:38 PM

Long ago the MER team realized they needed to alternate forward and reverse driving to keep lubricants better distributed in the wheels, but when they they decide that the healthiest thing for Oppy was to do 95% backwards driving?

Posted by: djellison May 4 2011, 09:08 PM

The FR wheel starts drawing a lot more current if they drive forwards. Driving backwards, it's elevated above the others, but not as much and not in an upwardly trending way.

It would have been a few months after Victoria they made the switch I think.

Posted by: Phil Stooke May 4 2011, 09:17 PM

There are new pictures of Freedom 7 up at JPL, but still not at the Exploratorium.

Phil

Posted by: walfy May 4 2011, 09:21 PM

NASA's update, with good image of the new crater: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-133&cid=release_2011-133&msource=11133&tr=y&auid=8289598

Posted by: Den May 4 2011, 10:55 PM

Admin: A series of posts moved from http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=681&view=findpost&p=172868 thread.

Did some forum archaeology and found this from pre-Victoria days:

QUOTE (djellison @ Apr 10 2006, 07:43 AM) *
QUOTE (imran @ Apr 10 2006, 04:55 AM) *

Call me crazy, but this is what I think should happen assuming Oppy never dies.
<<a map with "wild dream" how Oppy would drive to Endeavor>>

You're crazy.
(well, you did ask)
Seriously - you're talking 6+ x the current traverse distance. Even with a grad-student-controlled 3 wheel drive rover in 5 years time - that's just not going to happen.


laugh.gif

Posted by: djellison May 4 2011, 10:58 PM

And Squyres would have told you the rovers would be dead after 120, maybe 150 sols.

I'm in good company.

You will also see that over time, I come around to the idea.

Posted by: Stu May 4 2011, 11:20 PM

I was absolutely sure there was no frakking way in a dozen different hells that Oppy could possibly make it to Endeavour, too. Not a lack of faith in the rover, or her team, just a stronger faith in eeeevil Mars to do its damndest to kill Oppy before she even got half way.

Very glad to have been proved wrong. laugh.gif

Posted by: brellis May 4 2011, 11:57 PM

Question for the very talented and skilled folks stitching together these wonderful images: is it easier to work with thumbnails or lower res images than the larger images? Can you substitute the high res images onto your work on the thumbs?

I'm guessing YES and YES. smile.gif

Edit: definitely easier on the clock due to smaller file sizes, but how 'bout on a superfast computer?

Posted by: nprev May 5 2011, 12:08 AM

Superior design inevitably results in superior performance. There should be an entire systems engineering textbook written about the MER design...hmm...maybe I just invented a project for myself... rolleyes.gif

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