[X] My Assistant

[alan]

Just peaking over the slope of husband hill. Looks like home plate to me
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/na...IHP0655R0M1.JPG

[jamescanvin]

I've just come back from Steve Squyres seminar given to the University of New South Wales Science department. (A bit more technical than the public talks he's giving at the moment, very good )

Anyway, I digress, in the Q&A I asked Steve about Homeplate and here is what he had to say.

1) He wouldn't be drawn into speculating about what is going on with homeplate (I guess that's our job! ) but he did agree with me that it was a bizarre feature.

2) Should be able to tell more from the full 7 filter pancam obs, that (although he didn't say explicitly, I got the impression) would be done as part of the "mother of all panoramas" from the summit. Hence why we haven't seen them yet.

3) I also asked about mini-TES of homeplate and the inner basin: This is no good as at long range the atmosphere interfers with the observations at this range. Mini-TES is more of a 'just over there' kind of instrument, not for looking into the distance.

4) He also mentioned that Homeplate (even now with only navcam images) is being talked about as the next long term target for Spirit. (And personally I'll be amazed if it isn't!)

I'll post more titbits from the talk in the oppropriate threads,

James