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Pando
Here is an updated map of the road to Vostok.
alan
Jason, Alvin, and Argo are names of deep sea submersibles, what are they doing on Mars? unsure.gif Will they be continuing with this theme for the crater names?
djellison
QUOTE (alan @ Feb 11 2005, 02:39 PM)
Jason, Alvin, and Argo are names of deep sea submersibles, what are they doing on Mars? unsure.gif Will they be continuing with this theme for the crater names?

And what were the submersibles named after wink.gif

Doug
TheChemist
Well, Jason was the guy that got the Golden Fleece, and his ship was named Argo.
http://www.pccc.cc.nj.us/asrc/readwrit/jason.html

I have no idea what Alvin has to do with them biggrin.gif , but here comes Google :

The connection is Robert Ballard, the Undersea Explorer, who also served in a submarine called Alvin, before establishing the Jason-Argo project.
lyford
QUOTE (alan @ Feb 11 2005, 06:39 AM)
Jason, Alvin, and Argo are names of deep sea submersibles, what are they doing on Mars? unsure.gif Will they be continuing with this theme for the crater names?

Well, maybe after Alvin they will name the next two Simon and Theodore.
wink.gif
ilbasso
Notwithstanding the Chipmunks...

According to http://www.sciencenetwork.com/turner/rdt-bio.html, Al Vine, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, is the designer and namesake of Alvin.

You learn something new every day!
volcanopele
QUOTE (TheChemist @ Feb 11 2005, 09:47 AM)
Well, Jason was the guy that got the Golden Fleece, and his ship was named Argo.
http://www.pccc.cc.nj.us/asrc/readwrit/jason.html

I have no idea what Alvin has to do with them biggrin.gif , but here comes Google :

The connection is Robert Ballard, the Undersea Explorer, who also served in a submarine called Alvin, before establishing the Jason-Argo project.

well obviously the crater Jason was named after me biggrin.gif

And the crater Jason on Phoebe was also named after me biggrin.gif
mhall
For what it's worth, I've been inside Alvin.

This was in 1985, when I was working as a diver on an expedition to Saipan in the Marianas, to find a Spanish galleon that had sunk in 1638. I was walking along the dock, and there it was. I sweet-talked my way aboard.

They were there to look at the weird colonies of creatures that had just been discovered around the deep-water volcanic vents, the 'smokers'. They had lots and lots of film that they had taken, and gave me an undeveloped roll!

Altogether, a very exciting afternoon.
imran
Another view of Alvin as it was passed (looks very similar to Eagle):

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...19P1772L0M1.JPG
imran
I updated the "Heatshield to Vostok" map. Hopefully we'll see another long drive in the next day or two.
Sunspot
Endurance Crater is only just visible in the rear hazcam images now

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P1315L0M1.JPG
OWW
Outcrop material without a crater or crack? First subtle signs of the etched terrain?

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...03P0711L0M1.JPG
Sunspot
Is that another crater visible in the distance?
Gray
Obsessed - perhaps we're seeing some ancient ejecta that are in the process of being buried or exumed.
imran
It seems Oppy has moved again although it's hard to put any numbers on how far we have travelled. I don't see any features in the latest navcam, forward and rear hazcam images.

Forward Hazcam 2-21
Navcam 2-21
Rear Hazcam 2-21
Pando
Oppy is currently doing some major driving, possibly exceeding previous records, over a 3-sol period (driving on all sols). Considering that the previous driving record is something like 156 meters or so per sol (someone please correct me), that should put us around 450 meters south of Jason crater by Wednesday.
dot.dk
Now that is some serious driving! I like it cool.gif

But are they planning to drive both forward and backward on these long traverses? To put an even load onto the drive mechanism.
Pando
QUOTE (dot.dk @ Feb 21 2005, 03:20 PM)
But are they planning to drive both forward and backward on these long traverses? To put an even load onto the drive mechanism.

Yes, it's a standard procedure now to do that, for both Spirit and Opportunity. I don't know the distance though at which point they switch, or what other criteria is used to determine the "ok stop, let's do 180 and drive the other way now"... smile.gif
alan
Wow, 450 meters, should have a good view of Vostok from there. I see a broad darker area at that distance, perhaps a slope to the south? If so on Wednesday Oppy may be at the top of a slight hill with a good view of Victoria.
<crosses fingers>

Sunspot
Has anyone found any MOLA data for this area of Merdiani? If the plains do slope downwards at the point indicated in Alan's image that might offer an explanantion why Vostok and perhaps even Victoria Crater have been so hard to identify - it is quite strange that there is no obvious sign of Victoria Crater... Endurance Crater is still visible even in the rear hazcam images.
Pando
I seriously doubt there is any slope there, or it would've been visible on the horizon by now. The immediate area of Meridiani plain appears to be quite flat. I think it's just a darker windblown material deposited there...
arccos
I am still wondering what the dark feature NE from Vostok is.
Bill Harris
QUOTE
I am still wondering what the dark feature NE from Vostok is.


I wonder, too. It seems to resemble the heatshield disturbance.

--Bill
Sunspot
Dunes ......... looking back towards Endurance

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...03P0617R0M1.JPG
akuo
Oppy moves on during sol 385, after sol 384 during which nothing happened as far as I can see (there might still be a problem with back-to-back drives):
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...03P0617R0M1.JPG

No features to see, but the dunes look different further on:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...03P2380R1M1.JPG

Maybe the larger dunes are causing the slightly darker region in the route map.
Sunspot
Rear Hazcam for the end of each sol


Sol 383:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P1315R0M1.JPG

Sol 384:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P1315R0M1.JPG

Sol 385
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P1315R0M1.JPG

The PanCam images of the dunes on sol 385 were taken late in the day so the shadows make them especially prominent......
akuo
QUOTE (Sunspot @ Feb 23 2005, 12:25 AM)
Rear Hazcam for the end of each sol


Oh, you are right, there was a change of scenery between 383 and 384. Both the front and back hazcams looked so similar, that I didn't realise it :-)
Bubbinski
Are the drivers following the zigzag path set out in the "Road to Vostok" map or are they making a beeline due south of Endurance using the receding feature to help them keep their bearings? Just curious.
Decepticon
QUOTE (Sunspot @ Feb 22 2005, 07:10 PM)
Dunes ......... looking back towards Endurance

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...03P0617R0M1.JPG

This reminds me so much of Snorkling off the coast of cuba.


I was just looking down from about 30 feet deep. And those ripples look so simular to what I saw.
ToSeek
Any idea where Opportunity is now? The navcam pan looks nearly featureless - you'd think Vostok would be close enough now to be clearly imaged.
Sunspot
It's impossible to say, we'll have to wait for some official information from the people at JPL.... but Opportunity performed drives on sols 383, 384 and 385 - with hopefuly another one today, so they must be making good progress south.
Bubbinski
So far no new images from sol 386 are in at the exploratorium. Did they have a restricted sol? They should be pretty far south after 3 consecutive days of driving. If Vostok isn't visible, is it because it is a flat feature?

Bubbinski/Space Cadet
Pando
Based on some of the latest images, looks like Oppy has been driving directly South which is more toward Vostok than the originally planned route. That route was more South/South-West toward the other small crater after Jason... Interesting... smile.gif
Sunspot
QUOTE (Bubbinski @ Feb 24 2005, 08:06 AM)
So far no new images from sol 386 are in at the exploratorium. Did they have a restricted sol? They should be pretty far south after 3 consecutive days of driving. If Vostok isn't visible, is it because it is a flat feature?

Bubbinski/Space Cadet

Maybe they'll come down in an overnight Oddysey pass?
OWW
According to the latest director update ( February 22nd ), Opportunity drove a whopping 177 meters on sol 383 and on sol 384 added another 104!
dot.dk
I had to listen more than one time to confirm that it was 177 m ohmy.gif
That's brilliant biggrin.gif
Marslauncher
so any idea where we are yet?
Marslauncher
http://qt.exploratorium.edu:16080/mars/opp...00P2663L5M1.JPG

Could the feature on the right horizon be Vostok?
ToSeek
QUOTE (ObsessedWithWorlds @ Feb 24 2005, 05:49 PM)
According to the latest director update ( February 22nd ), Opportunity drove a whopping 177 meters on sol 383 and on sol 384 added another 104!

The figures given in the flight director's report were goals, not confirmed values. They'll find out today (from downloaded data) whether the goals were achieved or not.
Sunspot
I think she meant they were waiting for an imminent Odyssey pass with data and results of the Sol 385 drive.
Pando
QUOTE
so any idea where we are yet?


I think we're somewhere in the lower end of the purple (200m) line on this map:

http://mer.rlproject.com/index.php?act=Att...pe=post&id=5284

edit: ^^ it's a pretty wild guess though based on the fact that oppy took a turn toward South after Jason, not toward one of the other craters along the route... smile.gif
dot.dk
This must be the cluster of small craters on to the left of the 200 m mark
http://mer.rlproject.com/index.php?act=Att...pe=post&id=5284




Sunspot
WHOAHHHH !!!!

They must have done a hell of a lot of driving the past few sols huh.gif
dot.dk
This is a mystery to me...

Very quick and dirty pan...
http://img223.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img223&image=pan8yl.jpg

How did they get here from THERE?? blink.gif
Endurance+Heatshield to the left, but Oppy is coming from a different direction blink.gif
dot.dk
Perhaps they turned right where we can see the rover tracks stops...
Well they must have done it that way...
Sunspot
I'm assuming these pancam images were taken looking in the next drive direction:

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P2381R1M1.JPG
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P2381R1M1.JPG

Still nothing immediately obvious on or just below the horizon .....


I still think the annulus of bright material we see in orbital images of vostok is nothing more than dust, all the craters have it, you can see it in orbital images of the craters Opportunity is sitting in front of right now, yet from the ground they appear pretty dark.
Pando
Sol 383: 177m
Sol 384: 104m
Sol 385: 109m
Sol 386: no drive
Sol 387: 80m
Sol 388: no drive

Interesting route there. Looks like they didn't quite want to visit the craters along the route but then all of a sudden changed their minds and made a quick shortcut to the crater triplet. That's where we are now... smile.gif
MahFL
I think they did turn right as if you notice the tracks that are at an angle slightly disappear but the tracks that are aligned with the camera are more visible.

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...00P0680R0M1.JPG

So tracks at 90 degrees to the camera will be invisible at that kind of distance as they will be hidden by the height of the dunes.



pancam.gif
alan
QUOTE (alan @ Feb 21 2005, 10:44 PM)
Wow, 450 meters, should have a good view of Vostok from there. 

Or maybe not huh.gif
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