Riding with Robots Podcast features Rovers & Byron Jones |
Riding with Robots Podcast features Rovers & Byron Jones |
Apr 25 2007, 10:26 PM
Post
#1
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 252 Joined: 5-May 05 From: Mississippi (USA) Member No.: 379 |
The latest Riding with Robots podcast is featuring an interview with the Rover mission manager Byron Jones. He drops some hints about Opportunities future plans. Riding with Robots podcasts combine an audio file with a automated slide show. It uses the m4a file format. This podcast requires the QuickTime video player because it downloads an m4a file. Unless you are certain that you can play m4a files - skip it. Link to a 12 mb m4a file of podcast 16 "Interview with Byron Jones" http://web.mac.com/bdunford/iWeb/Riding_wi...cast/rwr16c.m4a Enjoy Jack |
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 05:44 AM
Post
#2
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 648 Joined: 9-May 05 From: Subotica Member No.: 384 |
He drops some hints about Opportunities future plans. Anything new? -------------------- The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful.
Jules H. Poincare My "Astrophotos" gallery on flickr... |
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 04:24 PM
Post
#3
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 252 Joined: 5-May 05 From: Mississippi (USA) Member No.: 379 |
He thinks it will be 3 to 6 weeks before Oppy enters Duck Bay.
The mission team have discussed post Victoria targets. Previously visited Erebus crater is high on the "list" of the post Victoria targets. Jack Edited for spelling. |
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 05:48 PM
Post
#4
|
|
Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14431 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Back to Erebus.
|
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 05:50 PM
Post
#5
|
|
Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3431 Joined: 11-August 04 From: USA Member No.: 98 |
Go back to Erebus? You've got to be kidding me.
|
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 07:06 PM
Post
#6
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2173 Joined: 28-December 04 From: Florida, USA Member No.: 132 |
Go back to Erebus? You've got to be kidding me. That made me listen myself and he says there's talk but no decision about that. They did rush through Erebus without looking too closely at the layering. If Opportunity is stll going a year from now they may want to try and match the layers exposed in Erebus with what they see in Victoria.(My thought, the reason was not commented on in the podcast.) He also commented on the dark streaks, not mentioning dust clearing at all but instead concentrating on how the dark streaks looked like material blown out of Victoria Crater. But with Jim Bell's comments citing dust clearing and shiny berries, who knows where the truth lies. |
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 08:52 PM
Post
#7
|
|
Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14431 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
To be fair - what else is there to look at post-Victoria? Ithaca is 15k of NASTY dune fields - there's nothing for tens and tens of K's in every other direction. If they do everything that Victoria can give them (and that might take a year or two ) then Erebus, for more study of those amazing festoons - would make sense I guess!
Doug |
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 10:06 PM
Post
#8
|
|
Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3431 Joined: 11-August 04 From: USA Member No.: 98 |
Time to revive the old crazy Big Crater thread. Someone even put together a prospective route map, as I recall. Sure it's just talk, but if we have that kind of rover mobility remaining after we are "done" with Victoria Crater, I would far rather see them set off to the south-southeast and see how far we get. At least we'd be covering new ground. Obviously it's premature to speculate, but they brought it up
And are we sure it's NASTY dune fields? Nastier than the ones on the way back to Erebus? That's where we could use that MRO coverage. |
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 10:32 PM
Post
#9
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2173 Joined: 28-December 04 From: Florida, USA Member No.: 132 |
|
|
|
Apr 26 2007, 10:48 PM
Post
#10
|
|
Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14431 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
|
|
|
Apr 27 2007, 01:33 AM
Post
#11
|
|
Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
That's a no-brainer, then. Don't want to see her perpetually mired in one of those things again...
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
|
|
|
Apr 27 2007, 01:52 AM
Post
#12
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 656 Joined: 20-April 05 From: League City, Texas Member No.: 285 |
Well - the dunes that we can see E and SE of Victoria are Purgatory-bad. But now there's improved software and hires MRO images to work with, so that sort of thing is much less of a problem. Given the mobility, heading for Big Crater is the only rational choice once done with Victoria, barring unknown surprises once we get better imaging in that direction. |
|
|
Apr 27 2007, 03:59 AM
Post
#13
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1887 Joined: 20-November 04 From: Iowa Member No.: 110 |
Remember, on the drive to Victoria they followed the troughs, avoided crossing over the crests of dunes whenever possible. To drive to Big Crater Oppy would have to drive across dunes much of the time instead of following the troughs.
|
|
|
Apr 27 2007, 07:27 AM
Post
#14
|
|
Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14431 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Bingo. If it took 22 months driving along the dunes to cover 6km - it's going to be 40-50-60 months to get anywhere near it - and we KNOW that drive motors fail on these things. Fancy dune-surfing with only 5 wheel drive? You're going nowhere if that happens in the typical Meridiani dune field - especially when you have to cross all the dunes instead of riding between them. The software doesn't let the rover fly - it simply lets it know when it's getting stuck. And it would get stuck....a LOT...and it also makes driving quite slow.
Heading toward Big crater, across very navigation unfriendly terrrain, with the likely outcome being a stuck rover in the middle of absolutely nowhere....that would be quite irrational. Lets see how we do with Victoria ( and we're talking multiple years imho ) - if we still have mobility once we're done with VIctoria ( and it may only be limited mobility by that time ) - then the safe option is to revisit and study more closely the terrain we know to contain good science but didn't have the time to visit previously. But all this is pure conjectue - personally, I believe our days will end at Victoria - and I don't mid that one bit. |
|
|
Apr 27 2007, 12:48 PM
Post
#15
|
|
Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3431 Joined: 11-August 04 From: USA Member No.: 98 |
Well, I'm not convinced yet. They might be able to follow troughs south until the chance to strike out east appears. But I won't argue the point, as I'm sure we'll be at Victoria for a long, long time yet.
|
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 19th April 2024 - 09:08 PM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |