Post Marquette Island, The continuing journey to Endeavour Crater Options

[Stu]

Today's view of "Fresh Crater"...

http://twitpic.com/xytme/full

[fredk]

After the new drive on sol 2123, "fresh crater" is more centred in our sights:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...9PP2357R1M1.JPG
But there are some sizable dunes directly between us and that crater.

It looks like the 2123 drive was SE again, but I think we may be farther than Phil indicated on his map, since that's one huge expanse of bedrock to our immediate south now.

[MarkG]

As has been noted, the current surface of Meridiani that Oppy is driving over has some fairly large irregularities in the surface of the Sulfate-salt sandstone pavement. What could cause this difference? What differences in the compositional structure and/or erosional pattern would yield this difference?
Oppy is climbing towards a ridge (or emerging from a broad depression) that is near the location of Fresh Crater, hence the nearby horizon). Better sight lines towards Endeavour Crater may await us.
I am antsy with anticipation to see if some of the fragments littering the ground around Fresh Crater show the signature of Olivine...

[Phil Stooke]

Right, fredk, I was having a bit of trouble locating that outcrop.

EDIT - I have replaced my previous image with a better one, not wanting to keep multiple versions on here. This was a position I considered earlier but couldn't quite see how it fitted. Now I think it could be OK.

Phil

[imipak]

As MarkG notes above, 'Fresh Crater' is almost silhouetted against the horizon; IIRC the terrain mostly slopes to the SE. We never quite got the anticipated "hell of a view" moment on the post-Purgatory road to Victoria; is there any hope of one when we get up there?

[ngunn]

If I recall earlier discussions correctly I think the answer was yes, there or thereabouts is the top of the rise.

[Stu]

This is very interesting to me, too. I can't wait to see the view from the top of this rise. Has anyone here crunched any numbers of pummelled any pixels to come up with a prediction of what we might actually see? (Part of me doesn't want to know in advance, to be honest, it'll be a great surprise, just like the first view of Victoria Crater opening up... that was a heck of a day, wasn't it? )

[Tman]

Hard to say what might come into view but there was this discussion in the previous thread:
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...st&p=148557

And in particular from Tim in post 423: http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...st&p=148568

[Ant103]

Finally, some good pic to process !!

So, drive direction on Sol 2122, navcam and R1/R2 pancam :



And Sol 2123 :

[marsophile]

As has been noted, the current surface of Meridiani that Oppy is driving over has some fairly large irregularities in the surface of the Sulfate-salt sandstone pavement. What could cause this difference?

If some of the sulfate has been somehow reduced to sulfide, it might produce the greyish discoloration and changes in the erosion pattern.

[Phil Stooke]

Nice! "Fresh Crater" seems to be on a local high area, so we can hope for a more expansive view when we get to the top of it.

Phil

[Stu]

Getting closer...

[fredk]

The sol 2124 drive seems to have crossed the open stretch of pavement that was to our south pre-drive. Notice our tracks leading from Marquette Island near the left side horizon in this navcam frame:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...23P1957R0M1.JPG

We're now sitting close to a dark "gravelly" patch that's been visible in our front windshield for some time:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...23P1957R0M1.JPG

[Tesheiner]

This drive crossed the 19km mark too.

[JayB]

may have been noted before but Fresh Crater has a name

@MarsRovers Oppy is making tracks toward a fresh impact crater named Conception, a pit stop on the longer drive to Endeavor Crater.