They are back to taking pictures for the Bonestell Pan.


4. What EDRs did we request?

Expected EDRs by sequence number and image type:

Sol Seq.Ver ETH ESF EDN EFF ERP Tot Description
----- -------- --- --- --- --- --- ---- -----------
01595 p2600.12 2 2 0 0 2 6 pancam_tau
01596 p2600.12 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unexpected sequence!!!!
01597 p2600.12 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unexpected sequence!!!!
01598 p2600.12 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unexpected sequence!!!!
01599 p2111.05 13 13 0 0 2 28 pancam_cal_targ_L234567Rall
01599 p2273.09 13 0 0 13 2 28 pancam_bonestell_col16_pt3_L234567Rall
01599 p2600.12 2 2 0 0 2 6 pancam_tau
01599 p2898.03 0 0 0 0 0 0 pancam_point_150deg_L1R1
Total 30 17 0 13 8 68

Those are very good news!
FWIW, the last shot of that mosaic was 40 days ago during sol 1559.

01553::p2271::09::13::0::0::13::2::28::pancam_bonestell_col14_pt1_L234567Rall
01559::p2272::09::13::0::0::13::2::28::pancam_bonestell_col16_pt1_L234567Rall
01599::p2273::09::13::0::0::13::2::28::pancam_bonestell_col16_pt3_L234567Rall

And another thing to celebrate!
Click to view attachment
Happy 1600 sols.

Methinks the recent posts belong in a new thread, as we start to look forward to Spirit's spring activities. It's a long time since we slid into Home Plate North. Moderator??

John's right - we're now post-equinox, science is, slowly, back on the agenda...time for a new Martian Spring, and a new thread

shouldn't that be post solstice?

Has anyone else noticed this really old data onboard? (Prior to final winter parking on Sol 1466)

Priority: 25

d0815_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01409 0.0 4
d0814_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01411 0.0 2
d0816_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01424 0.0 1
d0818_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01431 0.0 2
d0820_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01434 0.0 2
r1321_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01436 0.0 1
d0824_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01448 0.0 1
r1325_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01457 0.0 1

Priority: 61

p1560_navcam_DustDevil_SF_LEYE_lvlaz245_01319 1.5 2

Priority: 75

f0000_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01376 0.1 2
f0000_Unexpected sequence!!!!_01394 0.1 1

Priority: 82

p1561_navcam_fast_DustDevil_SF_LEYE_lvlaz_290_01430 11.6 15
p1565_dd_watch_MASK_az275_max10Mb_5min_01441 1.0 1
p1561_navcam_fast_DustDevil_SF_LEYE_lvlaz_290_01449 12.3 16

Priority: 98

f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01392 10.3 18
f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01393 1.2 2
f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01394 3.4 6
f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01395 13.7 24
f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01396 4.6 8
f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01398 4.3 8
f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01399 6.5 12
f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01400 3.3 6
f0006_fs_commanded(eg_sunfind,autonav)_01402 3.2 6

Is this data that is just pending deletion or does it actual have to be down-linked?

reformatted in the interests of visual decorum

It's just really low priority. Sunfinding Pancam images or autonav Navcam frames don't really matter - but if the bandwidth is there, then why not.

Doug

3 new updates:

sol 1580-1586, June 13-19, 2008: Battery Power on the Rise
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1580

sol 1587-1594, June 20-27, 2008: Here Comes the Sun
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1587

sol 1594-1600, June 27-July 03, 2008: Biding Time
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1594

New versions of the Bonestell pan at the halfway point at the Martian Chronicles blog.

For anyone who doesn't want to download the 21mb version on the blog, here's a scaled down version.
A little bit of sky adjustment and brightening to show more detail.
Click to view attachment
This is only halfway through the pan, so the entire image will be incredible when finished.
Enjoy
Astro0

HiRise image of Spirit's Winter #3 location on Sol1591.
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_008963_1650

From the caption to that hirise image:

I don't recall hearing the drive plan officially before (though we could guess their motives based on the imaging they did of the valley to the west), so this looks like trying to drive back onto HP where the slope is drivable is not planned. I was hoping for a re-traverse of HP since we know the driving is good. I hope we don't get bogged in the west valley...

The layering at the Northwest 'corner' where Spirit first arrived at Home Plate has been the most impressive IMO. It looks like the layering along the West side may offer more of the same, making it a very scenic drive down the valley.

With the worst of winter over and power levels hopefully on the rise, does anyone have any idea when they will switch to a 3-day communication schedule or even a 2-day?

ETA: Along those same lines, does anyone want to venture an educated guess as to when they will be able to reactivate the survival heaters?

4 new updates:

sol 1601-1607, July 04-10, 2008: Solar Energy Evens Out
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1601

sol 1608-1614, July 11-18, 2008: A Juggling Act
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1608

sol 1615-1620, July 19-24, 2008: Time to Recharge the Batteries
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1615

sol 1621-1627, July 25-31, 2008: With Batteries Charged, Spirit is Ready for More Science
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1621



Interesting to note; on the sol 1608-1614 update they've re-added the statement "In addition to making daily measurements of atmospheric opacity caused by dust with the panoramic camera, Spirit completed the following activities” to the sol-by-sol summaries.

Last posting in the Spirit forum was a week ago! - Just want to tell you little rover that we haven't forgot that you were the FIRST of our still-functioning assets on the Martian surface. Keep trekkin'!

New update

sol 1628-1634, August 01-07, 2008: Waiting Out the Winter
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1628

Nice rocks which are probably ventifacts were photographed by Spirit on SOL 1637, which was 15 SOLS ago:

http://mars.lyle.org/imagery/color/2-271689561-6.jpg

The rocks which I think are ventifacts are those in which a clear line is seen where individual facets meet. Each facet is created by a sand blast from a different direction.

Wikipedia says:

"Ventifacts are rocks that have been abraded, pitted, etched, grooved, or polished by wind-driven sand. These geomorphic features are most typically found in arid environments where there is little vegetation to interfere with aeolian particle transport, where there are frequently strong winds, and where there is a steady but not overwhelming supply of sand."

The "Bonestell panorama" is taking a long time to acquire but will look really good when it is finished.

It looks as if most of the larger rocks in that image are ventifacts. The piece of scoria in the fore ground looks remarkably unfaceted, or is it?

That really is an interesting image from Spirit. The fact that most of the facets on those boulders and cobbles are similarly oriented is pretty convincing evidence that we are seeing ventifacts.

I can imagine how the surface texture of scoria might complicate the appearance of those rocks, but if you survey the scene for the population of scoria boulders, they mostly fit the trend. Also, as the surrounding/supporting sand moves with the wind, some of the rocks might acquire new orientations.

First half of Bonestell Pan.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/pre.../20080826a.html

Also, Exploratorium is back up.


Edit: Is anyone else having trouble getting the new images off the Exploratorium website and onto Midnight Mars Browser?

First Spirit pic I've done in a while...

Click to view attachment

Just found this interesting note in the monthly report, about attempting to drive up toward the top of Home Plate instead of moving downslope. Expect to happen after the middle of October.

4 New Updates:

sol 1635-1642, August 08-15, 2008: Spirit Standing By
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1635

sol 1643-1650, August 16-24, 2008: Spirit Still Biding Time
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1643

sol 1651-1656, August 25-30, 2008: Spirit Still Biding Time -- and Checking the Clock
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1651

sol 1657-1662, August 31-September 05, 2008: Spirit Continues Work on Winter Panorama
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1657



Still no work on them turning back on the main heaters.

2 New Updates:

sol 1663-1668, September 06-11, 2008: Light Duty for Now
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1663

sol 1669-1677, September 12-20, 2008: Warming Up on Mars
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1669


Also, it looks like Spirit was having a flashback of her reckless teenage years on the Sol 1678 downlink.

Sol Seq.Ver ETH ESF EDN EFF ERP Tot Description
----- -------- --- --- --- --- --- ---- -----------
00537 p2293.03 0 0 0 13 0 13 pancam_independence_col_2_6_L256R27
00537 p2294.03 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_independence_col_7_10_L256R27
00539 p1585.00 0 0 1 0 0 1 navcam_cloud_4x1_dwnsmp_RVRAz_calstart
00539 p2111.05 1 0 0 0 0 1 pancam_cal_targ_L234567Rall
00539 p2542.11 0 0 0 7 0 7 pancam_witherspoon_L234567Rall
00540 p2297.03 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_independence_col_19_22_L256R27
00546 p1585.00 0 0 3 0 0 3 navcam_cloud_4x1_dwnsmp_RVRAz_calstart
00575 p2651.06 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_dust_devil_movie_L6R2
00580 p1560.02 1 0 0 0 0 1 navcam_DustDevil_SF_LEYE_lvlaz245
00580 p1586.00 0 0 2 0 0 2 navcam_cloud_4x1_dwnsmp_RVRAz330
00580 p2626.02 2 0 0 0 0 2 pancam_sky_radiance_thumbs_L457R247
00581 p1745.03 0 0 0 1 0 1 navcam_5x1_az_252_3_bpp
00581 p2111.05 0 1 0 0 0 1 pancam_cal_targ_L234567Rall
00583 p2111.05 1 0 0 0 0 1 pancam_cal_targ_L234567Rall
00591 p2278.04 0 0 0 2 0 2 pancam_southern_basin_4cx3r_L7R1
00591 p2280.04 0 0 0 2 0 2 pancam_southern_basin_4cx3r_L7R1
00592 p1585.00 0 0 4 0 0 4 Unexpected sequence!!!!
00597 p1586.00 0 0 2 0 0 2 navcam_cloud_4x1_dwnsmp_RVRAz330
00613 p2288.04 0 0 0 6 0 6 pancam_post_drive_8x4_part3_L256R27
00615 p2593.12 0 1 0 0 0 1 pancam_morshead_L234567Rall
00615 p2594.12 0 7 0 0 0 7 pancam_clove_hitch_L234567Rall
00617 p2291.04 0 0 0 3 0 3 pancam_tennessee_8x2_L257R27
00620 p2292.04 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_everest_pan_col_1_7_L257R1
00621 p2294.04 0 0 0 9 0 9 pancam_everest_pan_col_13_17_L257R1
00631 p1590.00 0 0 0 1 0 1 FrontHazcamStereo_0.5bpp_pri17
00647 p2568.13 0 4 0 0 0 4 pancam_aster_L234567Rall
00647 p2571.13 0 2 0 0 0 2 pancam_cinquefoil_L234567Rall
00647 p2572.13 0 3 0 0 0 3 pancam_foxglove_L234567Rall
00647 p2573.13 0 3 0 0 0 3 pancam_lousewort_L234567Rall
00647 p2574.13 0 3 0 0 0 3 pancam_shawnee_L234567Rall
00650 p2580.13 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_foreground_L234567Rall
00652 p2743.03 0 0 0 2 0 2 pancam_meteor_search_L1R1
00664 p2535.14 0 0 0 2 0 2 pancam_thrasher_L234567Rall
00675 p2263.05 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_Seminole_pan_cols5_8_L256R27
00684 p2630.03 2 0 0 0 0 2 pancam_saw_skysurvey_L4578R2478
00689 p2567.14 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_Golden_Lake_L234567Rall
00689 p2574.14 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_Kipawa_Naanan_L234567Rall
00715 p2889.02 0 0 0 2 0 2 pancam_sky_flats_all_filt
00739 p1625.02 0 0 0 1 0 1 navcam_5x1_az_36_2_bpp
00740 p1733.01 0 0 0 1 0 1 navcam_3x1_az_234_1_bpp
00742 p1605.01 0 0 0 1 0 1 navcam_5x1_az_0_1_bpp
00748 p2271.05 0 0 0 1 0 1 pancam_Gibson_col_1_2_3_4_L257R127

Two good news

• With Martian winter on the wane, Spirit is using significantly less energy to stay warm. During the winter solstice, Spirit needed 90 watt-hours to run the heater. Now, the rover uses between 30 and 40 watt-hours.
• Solar-array energy has inched upward to 255 watt-hours

About time. You've neglected the long term planning of your favorite rover for too long. We need your vision to see into the future here as well. The Promised Land? Thera? The mouth of Ma'adim Vallis? Where would you send Spirit after Von Braun and Goddard? And will Steve listen to you a second time?

You are so right, Spirit is, undoubtfuly, my dearest plucky one...

I am working on it...Indeed I am!
Oh yes, I can see you guys just shaking your heads...

And SS doesn't have to listen...he just have to read!

55 frames of Bonestell panorama
Click to view attachment

another 27 frames have been taken but remain on Spirit

I would like you guys, our resident geologists to drop some of your educated words on this image (original image has been replaced):
Click to view attachment

-What's your take on the kind of process that may have lead to the formation of a landscape like this?
-There are two splat-like features, near the images' equator, one on the left another on the right, what might these be?

Thanks for thinking about it!

Is Exploratorium backed-up again? They don't have any Bonestell images after sol 1671, even though the tracking site says several additional sections have been downlinked. It corresponds to the Bonestell chart at the very bottom of the tracking data page if that makes any sense.

What is the scale of the main image. Is it at the same scale as the Columbia Hills image beside it?

My guess would be that the small knobs (including the one in the red square) are made of more resistant rock that was left over after a period of erosion.

Rui, normally for a reliable interpretation, you would need to indicate the scale and also show the context of the image - where is it, what's around it? That makes a big difference to a geological interpretation.

I would guess that the area is an old deposit of some kind that is being eroded away, leaving all these little hills as erosional remnants, and that the features you highlight are exhumed impact craters. But it's only a guess. At this resolution it's not really possible to say they are like Home Plate, and they look more like hollows than 'plates' even if one side has an outer scarp - I'd explain that as part of the layer beibng stripped away.

Phil

Spirit has been downloading thumbnails only of the Bonestell pan. Guessing here, downloading just thumbnails saves enough energy for Spirit to image an extra position in the panorama per working sol. This will allow the panorama to be finished earlier so Spirit can move from its current position. The remaining images can be downloaded later.

charborob, yes the scale is the same for both images.
Found a possible analogue from HiRISE:
PSP_008778_1685

The explanation given is that...there is not an explanation yet, only guesses, like yours...

"But how did the rocks form, and why did they erode onto mounds? It could have been lava or impact ejecta or fluvial sediments, perhaps altered and indurated by groundwater. The mounds could be due to how it was deposited like hummocky impact ejecta or how it was indurated. In other words, we haven't solved the mystery!"

EDITED: Phil, your answer arrived while I was writing, yes you are right, it is better to show the whole picture...
Here you have it!
The area I've cropped is located south of Thira.

The "splat-like" features look like they might be melt-sheets from under old craters that have been eroded away.

Aah - your bigger image shows that your two splat features have a much bigger cousin to the north, not far below the south rim of Thira. I would agree that something has caused the impact craters of a certain age in this region to have floors that are cemented in some way and thus erosion resistant. I wouldn't like to guess whether the cementing process is melting per se or something else.

There seems to be some related information at THEMIS website:

"Lobes of a smooth material appear to have flowed, perhaps as water-rich sediments or molten lava, across an older, knobby landscape. The older surface is spotted by its pits, knobs, buttes, and mesas. The knobs may have been eroded by winds into fluted shapes called yardangs that trend northwest-southeast."

"The material (south of the Columbia Hills) partly resembles the rough, knobby terrain located on the southeast floor of Gusev. If it has the same origin, then here THEMIS may be looking through a "window" opened by erosion that gives a view down to the older knobby material that is better exposed to the east."
I presume this knobby material is the one we're talking about?

I've tried to had some perspective to the area (nothing that accurate...):
Click to view attachment
But it changed my point of view about some features, for instance, the oversized Home Plate (03) seems from this angle to be another mesa-like as others surrounding it, the splat like feature to the left (01) looks like the mentioned cemented crater floor, the one to right (04)...don't what what to think of it, seems to be higher than its surroundings, is this consistent with an old crater floor (EDITED: Now looking better it looks like there's a wall to the right that could be a remnant of a crater...)?
Another feature caught my attention (02), it appears to my eyes as some sort of cone but it is probably just a optical illusion...


EDITED: It wouldn't hurt asking SS if an HiRISE image of this area is planned...
"We currently have all the HiRISE images we need to plan Spirit's operations for the coming martian year."

Why?! Why?!

Huumm..."for the current martian year"?...Huumm...

Spirit imaging has been limited mainly to taking images of the sky recently. Could the storm near the Phoenix site be affecting power levels?

Two new updates:

sol 1690-1694, October 03-08, 2008: Spirit's Memory Is Getting Full
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1690

sol 1695-1701, October 09-15, 2008: Getting Ready to Make the Next Move
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1695



Of note:

... and also:

YES!!!! Now to get it on the ground

Did anyone notice that Spirit's IDD is now stowed.
It's been off the hook for a long time...now that the Bonestall pan is done, maybe it's time for her to get moving as well!
Any news...anyone?
Click to view attachment

Thanks for the heads-up Glen.
It has been a long time without checking the imaging plan for Spirit. According to it, my guess is that a bump will be executed during sol 1709, followed by a navcam picture to measure the tilt on that same sol, then the usual after-drive hazcam images but in this case taken on sol 1710.
She has still very low power.

01709::p1807::01::2::0::0::2::0::4::navcam_1x1_RvrAz_4bpp_pri_17
01710::p1213::00::2::0::0::2::0::4::ultimate_front_hazcam_3_bpp_pri15
01710::p1313::02::2::0::0::2::0::4::rear_haz_ultimate_3bpp_pri15

Does anyone know if they've re-activated the survival heaters? According to this update they turned them off on sol 1533 and I don't recall reading about them turning them back on.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol1532

It was a looong time without exercizing those wheels but finally, on sol 1709, she did a small bump just enough to modify the rover's tilt about 4 degrees (from 32º to 28º).
Compare a previous image with the latest navcam.
Click to view attachment -> Click to view attachment

Edited: Added previous and current fhazcam images too.
Click to view attachment -> Click to view attachment

Couldn't resist the temptation: this is a stdev terrain analysis for the homeplate area with exactly the same settings as used for oppy.

Click to view attachment

with unprocessed image of same area at same scale:

Click to view attachment

That is GREAT news that Spirit was able to bump UP the slope. Looking good for the short cut across Home Plate.