[X] My Assistant

[Guest_fthurber_*]

ADMIN: A few OT posts moved from the MSL at Glenelg thread.

I don't know about the rest of you but this looks perilously close to the nasty stuff that trapped Spirit and almost trapped Oppie. Very very dangerous.

BTW I am a big fan of JPL but I am not so keen on the J-P-L Morse code in the wheels. These holes in the wheels might tend to dig into the soft stuff instead of floating on top...

Speaking of which... there appears to be a fundamental design flaw (or maybe just a tradeoff) in the wheel systems in MER and MSL. People who drive over soft sand (fishermen on beaches for instance) know that best way to avoid getting stuck is to have large and soft and smooth (so they do not dig in) tires. MSL/MER have just the opposite; small and hard and knobby wheels.

[Astro0]

ADMIN NOTE:
This discussion had run its course and reminds us again of that unwritten rule on UMSF: "we don't know better than the experts".

While it's always interesting to speculate and discuss what's taking place, we shouldn't fall into the trap of trying to second guess the expertise and judgement of the team of engineers, scientists and drivers on this mission or any other. They have shown to us time and time again that they know what they're doing and allow us to enjoy the ride with them.

Topic closed.