After Victoria..., .. what next? Options

[mars loon]

I've seen mention of a return to Erebus / Terra Nova before.

some months back I had occasion to speak to someone on the mission. he said a return to Erebus was one possibility

personally I hope they will stake out new territory for new discoveries.

its seems somewhat surprising they aren't at least driving to Cabo Frio as mentioned during arrival 2 years ago in Oct 2006 before completely leaving Victoria

ken

[kenny]

I agree about Cabo Frio, and along the way I'd like a look inside Sputnik and its curious internal feature. We saw its rocky rim off to our right as we approached the rim of Victoria, so many moons ago...

[CosmicRocker]

If cobbles are indeed the focus of the future plans, we have noticed that cobbles exist randomly, everywhere on Mars. There is concern that Opportunity may not be physically capable of exploring its future environments. The easily navigable surroundings of this crater's annulus are just as likely to provide access to surprising rocks as is the treacherous dune/ripple environment in most directions from here.

If I was looking for a new plan, I'd look for places where there were few ripples/dunes, and more bedrock.

[Phil Stooke]

Due south from Victoria is very feasible. The drifts never get as big as to the north, and after a few km they give way to surfaces nearly as smooth as the area near Endurance, but with more flat outcrops - this from the HiRISE image extending furthest south and east. So, south until the drifts disappear, and then southeast via the Endurance-like crater to the isolated hill on Endeavour's rim is very realistic.

Phil