[X] My Assistant

[Tesheiner]

Hi dilo,

Alan already gave you the answer. Thanks Alan.

Just to add that sometimes is useful (imo) to refer to site/drive numbers instead of sols e.g. when the rover is parked at a single site for multiple sols.

Oppy situation is a bit different. In this case I prefer to use site/drive numbers because there is a direct relation to the kind of movement being intended.

Tesheiner

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

If Opportunity manages to free itself....do you think they will continue south?........ even if the dunes get even larger, which it appears they probably will.

[Bill Harris]

I don't think it is so much a function of dune size as much as it is surface and subsurface composition. Oppy got into trouble when she drove off the "desert pavement" and into an area where the upper horizon was a "light and fluffy" windblown material. This appears to be a narrow band just ahead of the etched terrain. I think that she can get to Erebus and Victoria by carefully navigating. The long-distance blind drives will be a thing of the past.

--Bill

[RNeuhaus]

I don't think it is so much a function of dune size as much as it is surface and subsurface composition.  Oppy got into trouble when she drove off the "desert pavement" and into an area where the upper horizon was a "light and fluffy" windblown material.  This appears to be a narrow band just ahead of the etched terrain.  I think that she can get to Erebus and Victoria by carefully navigating.  The long-distance blind drives will be a thing of the past.

--Bill

The rover Oppy is heading toward south, around 180 degree. What is the direction of promiment windblow? The safest route to navigate over dunes is that the rover navigate in the same direction of windblown...Perhaps, it seems that the direction of windblown comes from southeast. (Not sure but, it is deducted after seeing the dunes formation) Hence, Oppy must drive carefully to cross over the sands, perhaps, by zigzag driving. As bill has told that the driving must not be driven by long-distance blind drives. Right decision! The dunes has lots of surprises and never take a beer when driven over dunes. Pay lots of attention. It looks likes as a sea of sand, very nice and smooth but the sand are sometimes very treacheraous.

Rodolfo

[dot.dk]

New images for today! Freedom is lurking

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...T4P1214L0M1.JPG

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...T4P1314R0M1.JPG

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Yep, left wheel looks like its pretty much free now.....

[mhoward]

False-color from Sol 483


Some updated movies here.

[Bob Shaw]

"And, with one bound, Jack was...

...FREE!"

And they all lived *happily* ever after!

(I hope!)

[alan]

I wonder if they have Oppy programmed to stop after it travels a certain distance. These 20 meter drives could put Oppy three dunes away if it suddenly broke free.

[Tman]

Suddenly behind this dune ahead, THAT would be cool! Just a compensation for the sol 446 shock!

Amazing how smooth the left front wheel could climb, although the other wheels are still slipping. The ground there must be definitely much solider.

[Reckless]

Suddenly behind this dune ahead, THAT would be cool!    Just a compensation for the sol 446 shock!

Amazing how smooth the left front wheel could climb, although the other wheels are still slipping. The ground there must be definitely much solider.

This looks very good to me. I hope all the drive motors held up ok.
I'm so please Oppy is nearly out that I don't mind which direction it heads in even though the etched terrain down south would still be brill. The mini craters deserve a look.

It looks like mars bar time.

Reckless

[Jeff7]

New images for today! Freedom is lurking 

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...T4P1314R0M1.JPG

Look on the left - where the heck is the wheel? Sunken out of sight?

[Bill Harris]

What is the direction of promiment windblow?

The prevailing wind direction, based on the "wind tails" downwind of craters and the dune orientation, seems to be from the Northwest, toward the Southeast. The dune that Oppy is about to back out over to freedom is upwind and the loose and fluffy stuff is downwind of that dune.

Mytake is that we are at the southeast edge of the "blueberry plain" and the material we have run into is simply aeolian-eroded evaporite with very little basaltic sand and few blueberries to make a deflation pavement. Hopefully we'll be able to maneuver around this material.

The road surface conditions around Eagle and Endurance were excellent and we became lulled into a false sense of security.

--Bill

[dilo]

Look on the left - where the heck is the wheel? Sunken out of sight?

I found it! there is a dark object not visible in the previous photos... must be it!

(damn, how arrived so far? maybe motor extracurrent... )

[dilo]

False-color from Sol 483
 

Some updated movies here.

Wonderful movies!
In order to obtain more realistic colors in the PanCam pictures, I suggest to create the missing green channel averaging the blue and red ones . Here an example, with the animations of last days: