Spirit's New Adventures, The Mission Beyond 1000 Sols Options

[Astro0]

"Do the teams and JPL'ers see what we do?"
I'd say that the answer is yes.

Just yesterday we had some people from JPL people visiting and they had a Powerpoint presentation which used an image I did of the Canberra DSN station superimposed with Victoria Crater.
Apparently, it's been doing the rounds at JPL and was emailed from one person to the next.
I'm told the trail leads back to SS. If so, that's cool

So Stu, if they saw my piccy, I'm sure that they read your verse as well.

Astro0

[nprev]

Wonderful, Stu...thank you for giving such a lyrical voice to our collective feelings!

I used to write a little bit of poetry long ago. Apologies in advance; I could never approach Stu's level, but feel inspired to try something:


Spirit Comes Home

Ruddy beauty in the dusty sunrise
marvelous rocks, a crimson layer cake of distant secrets
waiting eons for a touch.

She comes slowly, painfully now
the Spirit of an alien species
from a sister world
but this aging lady comes in peace, no invader

See her reach, and tenderly place
her solitary arm
against the strata, no longer alone
in the vast ocher wilderness
now eager to tell its tales to a sympathetic stranger

She calls to us across
the gulf of trackless space
speaking for the voiceless witness
of ancient catastrophes
and, if accident will, the drama of emerging life
cut too short?

Listen to her; she is old and wise
treasure the gems of her declining years
and know that, when what must happen does, she lived
for all of us
and will live on in us all

[CosmicRocker]

This is fantastic. Not only have we seen the recent movement, but we have heard some insider information from SS himself about future plans. Even if overdue, it was a very well-timed interview, considering recent events at both rovers, and not to mention MRO. I am quite the proverbial "happy camper."

Speaking of Spirit's New Adventure, surely we are all pleased to know HP will be revisited. There is so much there that everyone wants to see. That alone will be quite an adventure. I'll have to confess that I was very pleased to learn that the geological promised land will be next on the agenda. It is sad to note that it took the failed wheel to eliminate the plan to climb McCool, but I just didn't see a lot of value in stuggling to the top of another hill that is likely to display more variants of the rocks seen on the last hill.

It will still be difficult with the bad wheel, but it seems a better idea to look for something new and different along a traverse with less elevation change. Those badlands are what I would like to see in more detail, even if they cannot be climbed.

One of the things that really amazes me is that these rovers seem to be capable of surprising us more after 1000 sols than they were on sol 1.

[djellison]

1000 Sols have come and gone,
Yet memories still linger.
Spirit is about to move
I hope she pulls out a finger.


Doug

[climber]

Was looking for Stu’s verses,
About loved rovers,
I hit a key to log,
Find a poem from Doug!

[Phil Stooke]

Oppo got stuck in a ripple,
And Spirit turned into a cripple,
But the folks at the Lab
Got them out of rehab,
I think they're deserving a tipple.

Anon

[lyford]

Oh, I don't know - maybe it's the curmudgeon in me, but imagine Spirit being a little cranky after such a long nap. She is the more surly of the two, even according to His Steveness. If I were an old rover with a gimpy wheel and a sibling who seems to get all the luck and headlines, I might have more of a reaction like this from Professor Fate upon being awoken after a nice relaxing break:

 risenshn.wav ( 100.8K ) Number of downloads: 655

1000 sols! All in a row! Who knew it was possible?

Great poetry work all, especially that Anonymous person. He (or she) sure is prolific.

[ToSeek]

Squyres talks here about some "etched terrain" off to the southwest being the next stop after Home Plate and vicinity. Can anyone point out just what he's talking about? Thanks.

[climber]

"Do the teams and JPL'ers see what we do?"
I'd say that the answer is yes.
.................
So Stu, if they saw my piccy, I'm sure that they read your verse as well.
Astro0

This is "important" thing to think about.
I'm sure all of us, UMSF'ers, would like to contribute in some way to the rovers exploration. I'm sure we do. From Tesheiner's route to James' MMB, from "The Imaging team whose work is published time to time" to Doug's management, from Stu's verse to Shaka humour, etc, etc, etc, (sorry for others) I'm sure all of us contribute to the success of the mission. I guess the reputation, the quality, the dedication of this forum is known inside teh JPL... and other agencies. Stu's get the point when he says that he writes verses for this forum at first but he's proud to know that JPL insiders actualy read it.
On another end, I'll be currious to know how they keep an eye on the more scientific part of the forum, mainly the geologic talks. They know by now that some people here are REAL geologists who can understand what they see, can fomulate hypothesis that others will challenge. I cannot imagine that some of "ours" hypothesis have not been considered seriously by Mer's team.
Lets face it guys, were' part of the Team.

[Stu]

Go get 'em Spirit...!



“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” - Carl Sagan

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Squyres talks here about some "etched terrain" off to the southwest being the next stop after Home Plate and vicinity. Can anyone point out just what he's talking about? Thanks.

Have a look at this fullsize pic: http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r16_r21/im...0/R2001024.html

If you scroll down the the image there's a sort of "wrinkly" area (above and to the right of the large crater) I think that is the area he's referring to.

[centsworth_II]

If you scroll down the the image there's a sort of "wrinkly" area (above and to the right of the large crater) I think that is the area he's referring to.

To me that wrinkly area looks like the remains of an outflow coming from the direction of Home Plate.

[nprev]

...drool! Wouldn't it be great if....nah, I can't say it.

Anyhow, I was late for the poetry parody party, so here it be:

Dusty discoveries
Glorious golf cart
Roaming rusty roads
Remotely reconning reviled ridges rife with refuse?
REJECT!
Reprogram
Roam reliably, resolutely
Seeking solutions subtle
Throughout tumultuous terrain
Universal, unanimous not Urthbound in the undertaking
Victorious across half a world
With a wink, the Spirit of humanity proudly declares
I am no xenophobe
(Why?)

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Squyres talks here about some "etched terrain" off to the southwest being the next stop after Home Plate and vicinity. Can anyone point out just what he's talking about? Thanks.

Also, I think you can see it in Sol 595 PanCam images taken on top of Husband Hill.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...NP2282L5M1.HTML.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...NP2282R1M1.HTML
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...NP2282R7M1.HTML

And in the pan released 22nd December 2005

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/pan...pirit/2005.html

You can also see large crater:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...NP2284R2M1.HTML

[kungpostyle]

The rippled or winkled terrain to the south seems geologically younger than the plains to me, far fewer craters are visible as compared to the adjacent plains. It also seems collapsed and appears to lie below the level of the plains. I wonder if the loss of whatever caused this surface to collapse (ice?) vented through Home plate?

A poem:

There once was a MER from Nantucket
Who saw a basalt the size of a bucket
She said with a grin, while holding her chin
Since my RAT bits are gone, I'll just buff it.