[X] My Assistant

[azstrummer]

Okay, I've posted a number of times indicating my desire to see Spirt get quickly to the top of the hills and peer over the other side and each time have been chided by Doug that I'm thinking more like a tourist than a scientist and I'd like to know if I'm the only one in this mindset.

Sol 310. Way past the expected. Gravy from here on out. So what should it be - tourist or geologist?

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Still moving:

Forward hazcam: http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/fo...00P1212R0M1.JPG

Rear hazcam: http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/re...00P1312R0M1.JPG

It looks like they've maybe come down off West Spur?

Husband Hill is looking quite imposing in the latest pancam shots too :
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/pancam/2004-11-18/

[djellison]

Well - going straight up west spur would have left them very UN north facing - so traversing along it's northern edge is probably the best way forward.

Doug

[azstrummer]

Somehow I doubt that the intent is truly to go down the hill. It seems to me more that the eventual route up Husband Hill has a series of ups and downs that Spirit has to go over to get to where they want to go. If you look at past 3D pictures looking up the hill you could see major dips and rises in the straight path to the top. Without a true recent overhead route map with elevations and slopes marked, I think it's simply idle speculation on our parts to try to guess what their intentions are. Come on JPL, release a current and future route map often so we neophytes can have a clue what's going on.

[djellison]

If they go straight up the ridge of the spur - they'd often be south facing - but by running along it's northern edge, they can be north facing almost all the time

Doug

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/na...00P0745L0M1.JPG

This pic might help figure out where Spirit is. It looks like they're driving the rover forward rather than backwards now.

[SFJCody]

I think they're going to strike out across the plains. The gap between
Clark and Husband Hill looks like a good place for Spirit to start climbing.

[azstrummer]

I sent off an email today to the comments address for the Mars Exploration Rover website requesting a route map be placed on the site and updated as frequently as they could. Certainly seems an easy task to have one overhead picture of the hills they're in and draw some lines on it each day.

Anyway, might be a worthy group project to all lobby JPL about this. In my email I said that I'd heard the same desire from a great deal of people on the internet.

[OWW]

It looks like they're driving the rover forward rather than backwards now.

No, they're not.

They are dragging the right front wheel behind them. And the track on the right in your picture proves that this wheel is trenching gashes into the Martian surface. After each drive the rover turns around, creating the 'circle' you see in the distance.

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

...ahhhhhhh yes, so they are, didnt see this hazcam image:

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/re...00P1312R0M1.JPG

That's quite a long drive

[Pando]

Here's my humble attempt at trying to figure out the path Spirit has taken over the West Spur.
Correct me if I'm wrong please. Ignore the blue dashed line, it's from an older map...

[alan]

I think Spirit has been heading northeast. My estismate of Spirit's location.

[OWW]

Pando, that is a beautiful map. Would you be so kind to post a larger version of that black and white photomap on the left of Spirit moving up the hill ( site 77, sol 193, etc. )? I haven't seen it before. Yum, great stuff!

[alan]

OK, they cliimbed the hill between your gray areas. Thats what had me confused. Ignore the blue line on my map.

[alan]

Heading toward the gap between Clark and Husband Hills?

[tedstryk]

The gap between the hills would make a great place for a really awesome full-color pan!