[X] My Assistant

[stewjack]

Now that we know where we are going, I thought we could use a topic about our future route. I hope that a few images will get the rover rolling - downhill.

READY START

BACKGROUND
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From Steve Squyres Misson Update
Octoberber 4, 2005

Extending eastward from the summit of Husband Hill is a broad ridge that we've named Haskin Ridge. It trends ENE from the summit, does a little dog-leg to the right, and then trends ESE for a bit. Right at the dog-leg there's a pretty steep step, which we're not certain we can get down. So we're going to descend the upper portion of the ridge, right to where the step is, and assess the situation. If we can see a safe route, then we'll continue down onto the lower portion of Haskin Ridge.
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My Image of Haskin Ridge
I tried to get the best image of Haskin ridge that was available, and this is a crop from a true color TIFF summit panorama, located on the the Cornell Pancam web site. I converted the tif file to a gif file to save some download time.

Warning : File Size : 1.7 MB
Cornell True Color Pan of Haskin Ridge

Reference
WEB page of Husband Hill Summit Panorama
Warning: File Size : 80 MB !!!!
Preliminary Spirit Pancam of "Husband Hill Summit" Panorama

Jack

PS If you can't see the "steep step" that Squyres mentions - try this orbital image. I believe that the "steep step" is the dark shadow cutting across the ridge that is located directly under the word CRATER. I think that it is also visible in the true color pancam image, but it is less obvious.

Orbital View of Husband Hill and Basin

[jamescanvin]

James,

I am interested on your technique to measure the slope. How do you count the pixels from the picture?  I cannot see every pixel from the picture. How do you now about the measurement of 0.12 degree per pixel? 

Rodolfo

To count pixels load the image into a graphics package (I use the GIMP) but I think most do this as a standard and the current pixel that the mouse is pointed at is given in the lower-left corner.

0.12 degrees per pixel is the angular resolution of the hazcams, that infomation is on the web, can't find it again off hand, it's probably on the ATHENA site.

James

[jamescanvin]

Sattrackpro,

The line plotted by James was made by measuring distance (by parallax) to known points before and after the line. Maybe you can't see a sudden drop on a single picture, but you can actually "see" it by checking both L&R images (in 3D).

The path I painted on my previous post has no such discontinuity. What does it mean? That the distance smoothly increases on the whole path; there is no sudden jump on the measured distance, meaning that there is no step.

I hoped you were right too, but unfortunately you're not!

See this attached image



Raw here

I have matched up some of the features (red lines) near the end of your 'path' and you can see from the latest images that a whole load more ground has been revealed! I have also used parallax on a couple of features between us and the path end showing that there is still 40 meters unseen!

I'm starting to worry a bit more now. The closer we get the worse it looks!

James

[alan]

Looks like a good place to spend the weekend
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/na...00P0655R0M1.JPG

[jamescanvin]

Based on the latest forward hazcam image:

Spirit current angle ~14 degrees.
Slope between current position and top of steep step ~19 degrees.
Slope of steep step (based on the fact that the pancam can't see it) >23 degrees.

This is not a rigorous analysis by any means, but should be within a few degrees.

James

[mhoward]

The dropoff looks even worse in the anaglyphs than it does in the animated gif. I hope it just looks worse than it is.

[jamescanvin]

The dropoff looks even worse in the anaglyphs than it does in the animated gif. I hope it just looks worse than it is.

Perhaps it's a good thing that I don't have any 3D glasses then!

[RNeuhaus]

The dropoff looks even worse in the anaglyphs than it does in the animated gif. I hope it just looks worse than it is.

If it is confirmed that the probably way will meet a dropoff, then Spirit will turn to any sides. The slope of around 20 degree is somewhat tough to turn unless that kind of terrain that is not very sandy but it is somewhat compact that helps to Spirit to turn right/left easier.

At all, on the general perspective, there is no cliff but some small dropoff and there are continues slopes on the other sides. That is what I am not worried of this.

Rodolfo

[CosmicRocker]

It looks pretty darned steep to me. I would have liked to see 1 or 2 more frames toward the right. There might be an escape ramp there.

But I'll admit that I have previously thought they were were crazy to attempt some of the apparent slopes they successfully navigated with both rovers in the past. I'm tightly holding on to both arms of my chair...

YeeHaaa!!!

[Tman]

Full-res. stitching of six Pancam frames from sol639:

(2 MB) http://www.greuti.ch/spirit/spirit_panR1_sol639.jpg

(to me) no way so far!
Hope when we get closer one appears..., only two meters wide
But take a look at this (I guess) wind formed wavy ground ahead! It seems there is a heavy wind canal

[Tesheiner]

...
I have matched up some of the features (red lines) near the end of your 'path' and you can see from the latest images that a whole load more ground has been revealed! I have also used parallax on a couple of features between us and the path end showing that there is still 40 meters unseen!

Right. I just realised that today when looking at those fresh sol 639 images.
And a quick parallax calculation places the step some 20m ahead.

BTW, Spirit is now on sol 640 and it's not a driving sol. Searching for a path?

[vikingmars]

...Or maybe we stop and go for those interesting whitish rocks.
Hmmm... Miam- miam (Yum-yum in English) !

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[abalone]

Full-res. stitching of six Pancam frames from sol639:

Anaglyph of the same scene. At the extreme right could be a flatter area to go down

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[abalone]

Perhaps it's a good thing that I don't have any 3D glasses then! 

Give me your address and I will mail you two pieces of red and blue cellophane

[Tesheiner]

I discoved this some time ago, last time we had a major outage at JPL and Expl (when the Tracking site was first found) I have mentioned it in this forum somewhere.

The trick is, do you see that big button titled "Table of All Images From All Sols"?    (Just below the select sols box) well give it a click...

Then find the seqence you want and click on the link in the "Seq.Ver.Iter" column and hey presto you should get some 200 x 200 thumbnails.

James

Wonderful!
I did a little bit of "research" and now I know why the "display_jpeg" button didn't worked for me. Because the only JPGs available are from pancam images; nothing from other instruments.

If you don't know yet, let me tell you how to use that button; it's a nice short cut and you don't need to load the whole table of all images.
Like usually, select a sol and the "detailed report". Then click on one of those seq.ID links under the "Seq.Ver." column of section 1 or 2. You will get just a list of filenames. But have a look on that editable field named "Database Search: Enter MySQL query here:" and you will see (among a lot of other stuff) something like "t2.ObsID = '<string>'".
Copy that <string>, paste it on the "ObsID:" editable field, click on the "display_jpeg" button, and voila!

[ElkGroveDan]

Wow the analglyph makes all the difference in the world.

I'm thinking a slow approach up and to the left could reveal a more gradual entry to this slope.