[X] My Assistant

[edstrick]

Earthbased radar at normal incidence angles is limited to the equatorial zone, between the summer and winter solstice latitudes. (Earth's orbital tilt relative to the martian orbit extends this a little.

Earthbased oblique radar can reach further north or south from the tropics. Mars is relatively "shiny" as I recall, compared with Moon and Mercury, and doesn't give high signal-to-noise data from high off-vertical viewing. There's other complications I've never fully understood. I don't know what the 2 sounding radars are telling us about the scattering properties (I've heard nothing about subsurface structures in most of the circum-polar plains) of the surface and near surface materials at high mid-latitudes and sub-polar latitudes.

[Decepticon]

I can't find any mention that a a site was picked 100 % confirmed?

Isn't it strange that no site has not been mentioned?
Or did I miss something?

[Phil Stooke]

Yes, you missed something! This is the site:

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/183675m...label-hires.jpg

See the posts above, especially mine in Post 7. I expect we'll get more details close to the landing date. In this image, the ellipse running from lower right to upper left is the actual landing ellipse - the other ellipses were for different launch dates.

Phil

[centsworth_II]

Yes, you missed something!

Thanks. Speaking for myself, I think the confusion was that it was said that
adjustments could be made to the landing site during the first two course corrections
if needed or desired. I take it there were no adjustments made, but I don't recall
any official announcement that the original site was being retained.

edit: But since your #7 post was long after the second course adjustment, I guess the
possibility of change was already moot.

[Spirit]

Could somebody provide a global map of Mars with the landing spot marked on it? I don't have a map of Mars with coordinate grid.

[Stu]

Could somebody provide a global map of Mars with the landing spot marked on it? I don't have a map of Mars with coordinate grid.

Here ya go, best I can find quickly...



... or if you want my fancy Outreach version...

[SkyeLab]

Folks,

I had a bit of a tinker to try and come up with a possible view from the Phoenix lander using some Earth Arctic imagery as a starting point.

What do you think?

Artistic impression of the view from the Phoenix landing site.
Credit: Brian Cameron

Adapted from "Polygon-shaped features in the Dry Valleys."
Credit: David Marchant / National Science Foundation

Website containing starting image: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/03/pr03149.htm

Direct original image link:

http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/03/images/polygons_cen.jpg

Enjoy !

Brian

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Stu]

Nice pic Brian, and a gorgeous place, but Peter Smith said in the spacEurope Q&A (replying to one of my questions, actually):

There are few slopes in the neighborhood and the horizon should look extremely
flat, no hills... Finally, the site is a shallow valley and has undergone erosion which may leave signatures.

[SkyeLab]

Thanks Stu,

Yeah I know it is probs a bit too hilly but I guess it is my Scottishness showing through ;-)

However, what do you make of the near ground polygons with ice?

Even more impressive in the original pic by David Marchant of the NSF.
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/03/images/polygons_cen.jpg

Cheers

B

[Stu]

Thanks Stu,

Yeah I know it is probs a bit too hilly but I guess it is my Scottishness showing through ;-)

However, what do you make of the near ground polygons with ice?

Hey, no need to apologise for hilly... I've many beloved memories of the times I spent up on Skye and in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, doing Outreach in the tiny schools up there... stood on a beach al Elgol, staring out across the water at the Cuilins glowing marmalade-orange at sunset and fell in love with the place...

I like the polygons... I think we're going to see some lovely ground features on Phoenix images. And, personally, I'm crossing my fingers that we see some beautiful atmospheric effects too... have always wanted to see a glowing halo around the Sun from Mars...

[Stu]

This is the best I've been able to make with Photoshop, a Gusev image and a "polygon" image...



Version 2 here and Version 3 here... which (if any!) will be more accurate do you think?

[SkyeLab]

Nice work Stu! I wonder if anyone else is going to have a bash at this?

I saw the competition being run from http://spaceurope.blogspot.com/ . Will you be entering?

Cheers

Brian

[Stu]

Nice work Stu! I wonder if anyone else is going to have a bash at this?

I saw the competition being run from http://spaceurope.blogspot.com/ . Will you be entering?

I can't... I'm a judge!

[SkyeLab]

How has the response been so far? A while to go yet I suppose though.......

[Stu]

How has the response been so far? A while to go yet I suppose though.......

Yep, a while yet, and you'd have to ask Rui how many entries there have been so far. We were kinda hoping there'd be some entrants from within the UMSF ranks (actually, there might have been, for all I know... )

Here's my latest "possible view..."