Tesheiner
Jul 11 2009, 05:57 PM
Time for a new thread.
After moving southwards for ages, the "detour" by the western path has started with a 60+ meters drive on sol 1942.
Click to view attachmentThere are no images yet --they should be available on the next update-- so this image was calculated solely based on the rover's mobility info. I'll update the route map later.
Marz
Jul 12 2009, 03:03 AM
QUOTE (Tesheiner @ Jul 11 2009, 11:57 AM)
After moving southwards for ages, the "detour" by the western path has started with a 60+ meters drive on sol 1942.
Whoa, didn't realize Oppy was ready to move! I thought the integration at Absecon would take a few more sols. Kinda sad that it looks like we won't get to see the small Talisman crater on the approach. Is there a projected path for the western route (ustrax's route was amazingly prescient, so now I'm lost).
MarkG
Jul 12 2009, 05:18 AM
So, on this last leg to the Martian west, across mostly pavement, what were the Right Front wheel's currents like?
jamescanvin
Jul 12 2009, 08:46 AM
QUOTE (Marz @ Jul 12 2009, 04:03 AM)
Is there a projected path for the western route (ustrax's route was amazingly prescient, so now I'm lost).
I made a quick guess
here a while back. I don't have Ustrax's gift though.
The 'official' route hasn't been made public yet.
James
BrianL
Jul 12 2009, 03:34 PM
I thought we would have had a revised TraxMap by now.
ustrax
Jul 13 2009, 08:49 AM
QUOTE (BrianL @ Jul 12 2009, 04:34 PM)
I thought we would have had a revised TraxMap by now.
By your special request...
Click to view attachmentPaths converge once more...not in the direction I expected (no-more-spines please!) but the important thing is that...we're roving!
Astro0
Jul 13 2009, 11:52 AM
Ustrax:
"...not in the direction I expected..."That got me thinking about taking the western route...
Click to view attachmentJust for laughs folks. I'm sure that Oppy doesn't think that there are
"settlements over there".
BrianL
Jul 13 2009, 01:21 PM
I meant really revised, Rui. What's your take on where the westward route will run?
ustrax
Jul 13 2009, 02:24 PM
QUOTE (BrianL @ Jul 13 2009, 02:21 PM)
I meant really revised, Rui. What's your take on where the westward route will run?
Haven't tought about that Brian...here's the original image of my proposed route with a rough sketch of the westward route in orange...:
Click to view attachmentI still prefer the Eastward one...
alan
Jul 13 2009, 04:36 PM
Nirgal
Jul 13 2009, 05:32 PM
QUOTE (MarkG @ Jul 12 2009, 07:18 AM)
So, on this last leg to the Martian west, across mostly pavement, what were the Right Front wheel's currents like?
I would be interested in the answer to that question, too ...
Stu
Jul 13 2009, 05:49 PM
You just beat me to it, Alan. You're right, fantastic view!
Click to view attachment
BrianL
Jul 13 2009, 06:21 PM
<clink> <clink>
What are those hills and how far away are they? Have they always been visible and I just haven't been paying attention?
Edit: Wait a minute, what direction is that? If that's east, then obviously that's our goal. When I first looked at it, I thought these were some new shots in the direction we're heading.
ustrax
Jul 13 2009, 06:29 PM
QUOTE (BrianL @ Jul 13 2009, 07:21 PM)
<clink> <clink>
Oh boy...this is going to be a long night...ahahah
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...st&id=18432From my ignorant perspective (I am sure James will come up with the right answer...) we can see Cook near the center and elevation to its left (Molyneaux) , we can also see the twin peaks (Banks and Solander) on the North rim but what's new are all those hills to the left...
Are we seing the West/South part of the rim? Edgecombe and friends?
fredk
Jul 13 2009, 06:52 PM
Thanks for the heads up, guys, these are great views!
The most prominent peaks on the far left in these images are on the near (west) rim of Endeavour. All the fainter peaks are the rim of Iazu crater behind Endeavour. We've had similar views before, but the air is looking clearer now. Compare the latest view:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...PGP2599L5M1.JPGwith the view from sol 1898:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...3AP2356L6M1.JPG
ustrax
Jul 13 2009, 07:00 PM
Fred, if that's Iazu, let's wrap this Endeavour story fast...
How tall is that martian beast?...
jamescanvin
Jul 13 2009, 07:35 PM
Fred's right that is Iazu again - great view.
As to the height, Google Earth says that the peaks are 200 - 300 m above the surrounding plain.
In that image the peaks are about 10 pixels high - at roughly 40km that makes what we can see the top 100m or so.
Tesheiner
Jul 13 2009, 08:20 PM
Wow, what a view!
I saw that sequence (Iazu's pancam) in the plan but forgot to check it afterwards. The current view at the horizon is, imo, the most exciting since the beginning of this mission.
ustrax
Jul 13 2009, 08:25 PM
James, sorry for asking but, that's not all Iazu, right? There are some features to the right of Cook that belong to Endeavour, or am I wrong?
I was taking this previous image as a reference:
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA11837_fig1.jpg
Stu
Jul 13 2009, 08:39 PM
Craig Covault - speaking live on SpaceflightNow's video coverage of the shuttle launch - has just been saying that MRO has found *clays* inside Endeavour crater... and as (paraphrasing here) clays don't form/last long in acidic water, this suggests that the water there was, for at least some time, less acidic than previously thought...
Anyone know anything about this..?
fredk
Jul 13 2009, 09:29 PM
QUOTE (ustrax @ Jul 13 2009, 09:25 PM)
that's not all Iazu, right?
Right. See
this post if you need convincing...
dvandorn
Jul 14 2009, 02:00 AM
Stu, my understanding is that the "clays" that MRO has been discovering are the phylosilicates that have been discussed at length, especially in the site selection deliberations for MSL.
I'd have the think that any clays found within Endeavour would have to be remnants of earlier aqueous conditions than those which were involved in laying down the Meridiani sulfate sandstones. And considering there must be pieces of the crust underlying those sandstone deposits in the walls of Endeavour, I guess that's not terribly surprising.
Now we need to really hope and pray that Oppy can make it to some of the clay deposits and give them a careful examination. For one thing, clays are the most likely places to find fossilized life remnants, especially bacterial fossils. While Oppy is not all that well equipped to look for anything like that, it could very likely constrain the possibilities in a favorable manner.
Take *real* good care of Oppy for us, guys... now, more than ever, it seems the payoff if we get to Endeavour could be truly astounding.
-the other Doug
CosmicRocker
Jul 14 2009, 05:59 AM
Yeah. When Endeavour became the goal, I perused the raw mineralogical maps available from MRO. I found a very small patch of possible phyllosilicates on the far, eastern side of the crater. It would be significant if newer imagery, or reprocessed imagery was indicating phyllosilicates to be more common.
Tesheiner
Jul 15 2009, 08:57 PM
Today was another driving sol, where almost 70m were covered in a WNW heading.
I would expect a heading change to
NW on the next two or three driving sols to avoid some "purgatoids" due west.
Click to view attachmentPS: Map update tomorrow, if time permits.
CosmicRocker
Jul 16 2009, 05:54 AM
I realized that I should have better referenced the CRISM imagery I referred to in
my previous post. The raw imagery I referred to is
here. Apparently my recollection of the location was faulty. The small anomaly I described was not on the far, eastern side of the crater. It is closer to the center of the crater. It is on the far, eastern side of the image.
Of course,
all the normal cautions apply to any interpretations of such non-calibrated imagery.
climber
Jul 16 2009, 08:31 AM
I while ago somebody wrote, I think it was Phil, that we were heading to higher terrain due in a few kilometers (2?).
Does somebody know whether it's still the case or can we say the western route is just flat for a while?
You'll understand that I'm looking for a vintage high place to get a better view.
ElkGroveDan
Jul 16 2009, 02:12 PM
QUOTE (climber @ Jul 16 2009, 01:31 AM)
You'll understand that I'm looking for a vintage high place to get a better view.
millésime? sur Mars?
climber
Jul 16 2009, 03:38 PM
QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Jul 16 2009, 04:12 PM)
millésime? sur Mars?
...and we'll call it (Avril) Lavigne...
Zeke4ther
Jul 16 2009, 09:24 PM
Ahhh....a touch of Canadian content...
Phil Stooke
Jul 16 2009, 09:47 PM
Can't have too much of that.
Phil
dot.dk
Jul 19 2009, 12:47 PM
Some good news in the latest update
http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/mission/status.html#opportunityQUOTE
Opportunity began moving again with a 67-meter (220-foot) drive. The right-front wheel motor current showed some improvement from the actuator resting and extra mobility heating.
The rover performed another long drive on Sol 1946 (July 15, 2009), covering over 70 meters (230 feet). Again, the right front wheel currents showed continued improvement.
ustrax
Jul 19 2009, 09:17 PM
Hey, are these marks left my Oppy's wheels? I don't remember seing this before:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...FFP2514R1M1.JPG
Fran Ontanaya
Jul 19 2009, 11:02 PM
She has done that before. The bedrock isn't very rocky.
Tesheiner
Jul 20 2009, 06:35 AM
Check the navcams taken during sol 1950:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...cam/2009-07-19/There are a few mini-craters in sight. The one to the right (NW) was named "Alvin".
Stu
Jul 20 2009, 11:48 AM
Not sure which crater this is... taken my eye off Oppy during all the LRO drooling, I'll be honest!... but interesting...
Click to view attachmentAnd some nice little rocks for Oppy to snuffle around in, too...
Click to view attachment
Tesheiner
Jul 20 2009, 04:26 PM
That's Alvin. Here's a navcam mosaic made with those pictures to put it in context.
Click to view attachmentBTW, has anybody seen Cape St. Mary these last sols? Is it still visible?
fredk
Jul 20 2009, 05:00 PM
I've been watching Cape St. Mary (Beacon) in the rear view mirror. Our last definite sighting was sol 1942 navcam, though it was getting a bit hard to make out. I've marked it in this crop:
Click to view attachmentThere've been north-pointing navcams since, but I can't make CSM out unambiguously (determining the exact azimuth might help). The lighting is bad (low contrast between sky and ground), but it may be that we're losing it due to topography. We're certainly no farther from CSM than we were at the last sightings.
The last good view was sol 1938 pancam:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...PGP2286L1M1.JPGedit: this pancam view is so good (at half resolution yet), that given favourable topography we should be able to see CSM for a very long time to come, even from Endeavour (at least from the higher peaks that were visible from Victoria).
Tesheiner
Jul 20 2009, 05:12 PM
There was an "albedo pan" taken during sol 1949 but I don't know if it's already downlinked or not. We should try locating the cape in those pancams; the heading is... (checking in Google Mars) ... 16 degrees CW.
And speaking again about the mini-craters, the one to the left is "Dolphin".
Stu
Jul 21 2009, 02:36 PM
Click to view attachmentOthers will do better, I'm sure. I just fancied having a go
Stu
Jul 21 2009, 02:38 PM
dvandorn
Jul 22 2009, 01:18 AM
Hmmm... how much of what looks like good flat pavement-stone rock from MRO is actually this kind of pile-up of (relatively recently-emplaced, at least recently enough not to have eroded down to flat yet) jumbled sandstone?
Hopefully, not a lot...
-the other Doug
glennwsmith
Jul 22 2009, 03:30 AM
Stu, very nice job on the small meteor craters. Can you imagine standing nearby when one of those babies hits?!? Any guess as to the size of the original meteorite? I'm thinking about 8 inches in diameter . . .
Tesheiner
Jul 22 2009, 11:10 AM
I just checked the info from yestersol drive (1952) to find out that Opportunity moved 20m
back on her own track.
Not only that but also the nav/pancam images taken after-drive to plan the next one were pointed back towards the position she were on sol 1947.
Perhaps this path was not a safe one?
In another topic: the 17km mark was crossed near the end of this drive.
alan
Jul 22 2009, 11:38 AM
Going back for closer look at this perhaps?
Click to view attachmentFrom sol 1946, these images weren't downloaded until after she had driven on.
Julius
Jul 22 2009, 01:27 PM
What should we call that!?looks quite big to me?
Tesheiner
Jul 22 2009, 01:48 PM
It was named "Block Island".
01946::p2532::23::13::13::0::0::2::28::pancam_Block_Island_L234567Rall
Floyd
Jul 22 2009, 03:03 PM
Tesheiner, would it be possible put a label for Block Island on your map (even if too small to actually see on the map image)? I'm confused as to which crater it is sitting in front of. It isn't Alvin?
fredk
Jul 22 2009, 03:17 PM
"Block Island" is actually a ways south of the sol 1942 location:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...00P1962R0M1.JPG(And it's roughly 25 cm tall.) So that would mean some significant backtracking if that were a target. I'm baffled by this reversal.
Edit: perhaps Oppy's gotten tired of seeing her destination in the rearview mirror:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...NMP1760R0M1.JPGand she's revolted!
BrianL
Jul 22 2009, 03:45 PM
Or this is a repeat of that programming glitch that made her go one way when she meant to go the other, although one would assume they got that issue sorted out.
I'm hopeful this is a sign that the Endeavour clays have become such a high-priority target that they have decided on the shorter, presumably quicker but riskier route to increase their chances of getting there before the overriding enemy that is time ultimately results in a critical system failure that will stop Oppy dead in her tracks. In other words, move from the philosophy that "south is the way to go, and IF we get to Endeavour, that's a bonus" to "we must reach Endeavour or die trying".
Tesheiner
Jul 22 2009, 05:02 PM
No way that it would be another instance of the "glitch". The evidence is the "post-drive" mosaics because they are pointing WSW, same as the driving direction.
I would expect some news on the next status report in a few days, unless someone in the know posts some tidbits here.
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