[X] My Assistant

[hendric]

What's the deal with the hematite calibration targets? Is there anything interesting or significant about them?

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...t=0&#entry27756

[Toma B]

Future Steve Squyres questions.......hhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm......
I would like to ask Mr.Squyres what he personaly think about this:
Will Opportunity ever reach Victoria crater?
That would be a simple question...answers are only "yes" or "no".

[djellison]

.answers are only "yes" or "no".

The only valid answer would actually be 'don't know'

Because that's the truth. Oppy might die tomorrow, Oppy might last another 1500 sols. Who knows.

Doug

[Nirgal]

The only valid answer would actually be 'don't know'

Because that's the truth. Oppy might die tomorrow, Oppy might last another 1500 sols. Who knows.

Doug

yes. and therefore the most interesting question is whether there is the intention to at least (earnestly) *try* to reach it or not.
So far it seemed that trying to reach Victoria has always had the lowest priority among any other science goals along the way, i.e. it has always been "stopping as long as possible at each site and driving only as much as necessary to reach the immediate next short-term goal"
while this would be the perfect startegy to maximize overal scientific mission yield
given unlimited rover lifetime I'm afraid that it's different when we take into account the (unfortunately) limited remaining rover life.
So it's really the question if it would not be more advantageous to
try to reach Victoria as a high prio goal first and then use the precious remaining rover life time *there* in order to study what could be entirely new scientific discoveries.
So I'm really looking forward to a change in driving policy after completion of the Erebus/Moggollon study: i.e. drive as much as possible, and only stopping when
something really new shows up on the way.

Wouldn't it be a pity if the Rover would die shortly after reaching Victoria possibly opening a whole new world of opportunities for intersting scientific studies. Then one would regrett all the hundreds of Sols spent collecting all the routine data at less interesting places

Sorry for the long post (about this already heavily beaten topic ... no arguing intended ... it's just that sometime my "thinking/speculating about things loudly" get's the better of me ... ;-)

Let me conclude with the Steve's Squyres own words:

... But above all we want to get past Erebus quickly and continue on our way. Victoria crater beckons, and whether we can reach it or not, we have to try.

(October 4 Mission Update)

So my question to him would be if, today, he would still maintain this
statement above

[sattrackpro]

{would he} still maintain this statement above

I'm very sure he and other mission control folk very much want to get to Victoria, but I'm just as sure that if something very different pops up on the way there (moving as quickly as they can to do so) that they will not pass up the stop for good science on any new or different object. You take all you can get as you go, despite a hoped for goal. One thought, there is little diversity expected, but we've been treated to the unexpected frequently - so I would guess we'll be making more stops along the way...