Spirit & Opportunity *3* - ...continued from previous threads

Rxke · 2004-01-31 11:27:04

what song did they play for Opportunity?

'Going Mobile' by The Who....

Palomar · 2004-01-31 14:16:39

[=http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-general-04g.html]Back to the ol' Fire & Ice dichotomy

*Includes interview of Dr. Tracy Gregg (PhD) with Astrobiology Magazine.

Nice pic of a Marsian volcano!

--Cindy

Josh Cryer · 2004-01-31 22:09:19

1smlstp, hey, I know where you can find some JPL folks. The Maestro site!

During (right before) the landings, it was posted on /. that Maestro (a program used by the mission engineers and scientists) that they had set up a chatroom on FreeNode. I was there when the landings happened, and it was quite exciting. Over 200 people filed into the room and watched the NASA stream live (I think the NASA stream was viewed by 50k+ people that night, it was really impressive).

In any case, it was cool, so I'll give you some links.

Main Maestro site: [http://mars.telascience.org/home/]http://mars.telascience.org/home/

And to get to the chat, go to [http://www.mirc.com]http://www.mirc.com and download that client, then send it to #maestro on irc.freenode.net. Or, alternatively, you can just go to that link and go to the Java chat there. It's a browser based IRC client.

There are a few JPL guys in there, and it's really quite exciting.

And interestingly, one of the Odyssey guys used to hang out at the enterprisemission chatroom (not sure of it's address, you'll have to dig it out by going to [http://www.enterprisemission.com]http://www.enterprisemission.com )...

Stu · 2004-02-01 04:48:05

Hi all,

Good to be back!

Missed the live egress yesterday, and most developments the past two days as I've been busy organising a day-long "Mars Fest" event here in the north of England. Spirit and Opportunity pics projected onto big screens, live internet surfing, Mars software demonstrations, Mars meteorites, eight different lectures, kids activities... it was an excellent day, and over 200 people came along to share in the "Mars Mania" during the day, despite lashing rain and gale force winds... so, disappointed I missed the hematite announcement, and the egress, and a whole new batch of pics, but I'm going to have fun catching up

Really enjoyed reading everyone's posts from the last couple of days - welcome onboard 1smlstp, love your enthusiasm, you're definitely in the right place

1smlstp · 2004-02-01 05:42:23

Thanks Stuart. I'm just so glad I found the New Mars web site. You wouldn't believe how many space related forums there are on the net that don't have anybody talking about Spirit and Opportunity.

Josh, Thanks for the info. I knew the Maestro site had a forum but I didn't know about the IRC channel. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

Not sure if anybody else does this, but I look at these Mars images for hours on end. At Gusev crater, I can tell pretty much where everything is in relation to the whole scene (having a complete panorama helps). But at Meridiana, there are a several images that are just the soil with no distinguising marks so it's hard to get my bearing especially since we don't have a full hi-res panorama yet. I've been trying to figure out where Stphens leaf like object is in relation to the outcrop but I haven't had any luck. I also tried to make my own panorama from all the indiviual images but that's been difficult because of the lack of identifiable object in the scene. Does anybody have any idea where that leaf like thing is in relation to the outcrop?

remcook · 2004-02-01 05:44:24

why have there been no updates on the raw images from both rovers in 2 days or so?

I'm detoxing here! aaargh

Stu · 2004-02-01 06:14:13

Thanks Stuart. I'm just so glad I found the New Mars web site. You wouldn't believe how many space related forums there are on the net that don't have anybody talking about Spirit and Opportunity.

Hey, just "Stu" ok? Only my mum calls me "Stuart" :;):

Seriously tho, welcome aboard the good ship New Mars. In my opinion this is simply the best place to be to share in this incredible adventure.

As for the insides of Opportunity's crater, I get the feeling the JPL guys aren't really that bothered about mapping it too thoroughly. They want to get to that outcrop, study it, then strike-out for the crater rim and roll over onto the great unknown beyond. Me too!

Yesterday's event was very educational for me, it made me realise just how interested the so-called "man in the street" is in these Mars missions. Lots of excellent questions, and interest in all aspects of the missions. (Only had one guy humph and say "just a bunch of rocks...") Have to say tho, the biggest hit of the day - and thrill for me - was showing kids (and some of their parents) the 3D images returned by the rovers, projected onto a big screen. The looks on the kids' faces as they looked at the pics thru their 3D glasses - and, in some cases, reached out to try and grab the rocks - was amazing...

Sad to not have any Beagle 2 pics tho. We were hoping for something of a celebration yesterday...

Shaun Barrett · 2004-02-01 06:25:44

Sorry 1smlstp, all I know about the 'leaf-like' object is that it appears in one of the shots from the Opportunity site on Sol 2.
I still think it's junk off the lander that's fallen off onto the sand at some stage. (The Enterprise Mission people have probably already identified it as the twisted handle of a martian phaser weapon! :laugh: )

Stu · 2004-02-01 07:47:40

Just stumbled across a lovely pic of the Outcrop...

[http://www.redrovergoestomars.org/image … 12x256.jpg]http://www.redrovergoestomars.org/images....256.jpg

Stu · 2004-02-01 07:49:22

This link should take you to a nice new 3D image of the outcrop too...

[http://www.redrovergoestomars.org/image … 24x512.jpg]http://www.redrovergoestomars.org/images....512.jpg

1smlstp · 2004-02-02 00:23:53

Hey Stu (I got it right this time) great images. That's a nice find. I tried looking for them myself to see what text explanation went along with them. I'm guessing they are pan cam images since one is in stereo. You wouldn't happen to have a link to the web page they were on would you? Congrats on your Mars fest event.

remcook, I'm with you. Opportunity is on sol 9 and the raw images section is still at sol 5. I hope they update it soon.

Shaun, thanks for the update. Stephen's leaf like thing does look out of place, maybe man made, like it came with the lander. If you look closely at it, it casts a small shadow like it's very thin similar to a candy wrapper or leaf. I'd like to know more about it.

Not sure if everybody got this yet but [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom … 0201a.html]Spirit is fixed. Yeah!

Stu · 2004-02-02 05:12:02

Hey Stu (I got it right this time) great images. That's a nice find. I tried looking for them myself to see what text explanation went along with them. I'm guessing they are pan cam images since one is in stereo. You wouldn't happen to have a link to the web page they were on would you? Congrats on your Mars fest event.

Glas you like them! I just came across them whilst browsing the Planetary Society's pages... not much info on the page itself but you're welcome to look for yourself...

[http://www.redrovergoestomars.org/journ … _sol26.htm]http://www.redrovergoestomars.org/journ … _sol26.htm

... and the journal entries from the kids are fascinating too.

Thanks for the congrats on the MARS DAY, yes, it was fun. I wish some of my NEW MARS friends could have been there. Lots of happy memories, and only one major "open mouth insert foot" incident... I was showing a group of kids some of the 3D pictures taken by Spirit, and as they stood in front of the screen wearing their 3D glasses, "wow!"-ing every few moments, I turned to the woman looking after them and told her she should have a look thru the glasses herself. No, she told me, I can't see 3D images. "Go on", I told her, trying to sound reassuring, "I know it can be difficult at first but you just need to let your eyes relax and get the 3D effect; most people can see them after a few moments". Yes, she said, smiling, I'm sure most people can... *they've* all probably got two eyes tho...

The ground never does open up and swallow you when you want it do, does it..?

Arccos · 2004-02-02 08:51:19

I have found the rock "Blanco" in the pan images (the next potential target of Spirit), but where is "Cake"?

Josh Cryer · 2004-02-02 10:03:53

Hey, a friend of mine said the Discovery.com stores are giving out free 3D glasses (you know, the cheese red/blue ones), I just thought you guys might want to know that. I'm going to head down to my Discovery store today to see if I can't get a pair (I'll be going by the mall anyway).

One trick you might try if the glasses don't match up properly is tweaking the hue or saturation of the images until they do.

Stu, your Mars Day thing sounds really fantastic, and I do wish I were there. I once lamented before about how it disappointed me (during a lunar eclipse at a public park) how very little children (as in a low number, not the age of the children) were even remotely interested in what was going on. It was one of the best lunar eclipses I'd ever seen (right after sunset, but with the sky filled with reds, etc). Anyway, yeah, your experience makes me smile (I'm actually grinning as I type, but it's a dorky grin, not like the grin this board has in it's smilies).

And the little story about the woman was cute, don't feel too bad.

Palomar · 2004-02-02 10:35:29

Not sure if everybody got this yet but [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom … 0201a.html]Spirit is fixed. Yeah!

*Yes. Such an awesome relief, isn't it?

Last week I was very worried...especially when the word "critical" was used.

The JPL team is incredible. Kudos!!

Speaking of those 3D glasses, space.com is hosting a company which has many in stock and are selling them (presumably like hotcakes).

--Cindy

Stu · 2004-02-02 13:11:49

Just been drooling over the hi-res version of the Opportunity Mission Success Panorama... absolutely incredible detail in the rock "outcrop", layers like a gateau... tantalising features on the rippled horizon... the bizarre "leaf" seen the clearest yet (I think it looks like a piece of airbag material...)

But for me the biggest "wow" came from seeing just how many bounce marks there are. They're EVERYWHERE! In all directions too. I get the distinct impression that the lander rolled down into the crater from the right side of the outcrop, and then rolled around in the bottom there for a while, like a marble in a cup, until finally coming to rest. One of the bounce marks is very close to the rock outcrop, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they find that the lander actually impacted the outcrop as it bobbled about inside the crater. Maybe this is where the airbag material was flayed a little, allowing pieces like "the leaf" to come off, I don't know, just guessing.

But it is a stunning image, and no wonder Steve Squyres and the others are just itching to drive over to the outcrop - which looks more like the half-exposed fossilised remains of a martian T-Rex's spine than ever (go Hoagland! :-) ) and start studying it.

Can't wait!!

marsnik · 2004-02-02 14:14:21

Just been drooling over the hi-res version of the Opportunity Mission Success Panorama... absolutely incredible detail in the rock "outcrop", layers like a gateau...

Thanks for posting the pic (and the link to it!), Stu. Does anyone else see those "layers" looking very much eroded in the style of sedimentary rock?

I live in an area perched on an enormous outcrop of what's called "Sydney sandstone" that was deposited on the ocean bed over aeons and is only lightly compressed. Whenever it's exposed at the surface some strata begin to crumble fairly easily, disappearing faster than other layers, in just the way Stu's "gateau" looks to be doing. If this Martian stone is what is looks like to me: sedimentary, rather than volcanic... it's a pretty strong argument for water.

Any geologists/areologists on the board with professional opinions?

We HAVE to get over there and check out the composition of that bedrock!

Rxke · 2004-02-02 14:16:15

Yes, those bounces are great, you can see them 'coming' from over the rim...

There are at least three of these strange thingies, one very near the base, two more to the left...

(Don't tell me i've been infected with the Hoagland virus AAAAAARRRRR)

(The 9MB hires can be found [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … B009R1.jpg] here.

Nirgal82 · 2004-02-02 15:35:39

Doesn't look much like bedrock to me, more like the type of bedding that occurs with windblown sediments. If you were to cut out a piece perpendicular to the bedding planes you would probably see excellent cross-bedding indicative of lithified duneforms.
Now, whether these sediments pre or post date the crater is, at this point, still up in air. It could be that the crater punched a hole in the sediment and later it was scoured by the wind revealing the layers (the layers in that outcrop look an awful lot like the sand dunes and sandstone formed around here in the desert southwest) Or, seeing as the outcrop is only on one side of the crater, it could be argued that it is only the lithified remnants of a duneform that formerly filled that corner of the crater.
Now how do previous, potentially watery, conditions tie in with these possibilities?
In the bedrock before crater scenario, water in this region's past is probably occured long prior to the crater's formation. The reasoning behind this is that if these are indeed wind blown sediments exhumed by the crater, that would mean that the area has been desert for a very long time, depending how old the crater is (which doesn't look too fresh).
However, if the crater came before the bedrock, the potential for more recent water at the site increases. If these sediments blew in to the crater and lithified, they could be no more than a few hundred thousand years or even tens of years old. (Indeed, depending on how consolidated this sediment is it could be on the order of a couple of years old) However in this scenario the potential of recent water only increases because there is no evidence against it.

Any thoughts?
-Matt

As for the "leaf", it did catch my eye in the mission success pan, the fact that it cast a shadow caught my eye. Indeed it is probably only a shred of airbag. But playing devils advocate with myself, it could be said that there are no prints immediately around this "shred" so how'd it get there?
(correct me if i'm wrong about that because its been about an hour since i looked at the pan, and i did mainly look at the outcrop, might not have noticed nearby print.)

Link · 2004-02-02 17:07:18

Hello everyone, new to site, glad to be here. I've read all the Spirt and Opportunity threads, looks like a good bunch.

Anybody notice the letter S with a dash to each side -S- in the bedrock near the center of the Opportunity hi res pan. Just looks a little out of place.

Probably just a message from little green creatures.

Love your site, Link

Arccos · 2004-02-03 01:31:16

Usually I'm not any fan of 'strange things visible in the pic'. But the leaf thing in the pan image really looks strange. Definitely no rock. It may be a part of the lander, but there are no track of impact around it... so how did it get there? Very strange indeed - I would send the rover to examine that!

Arccos · 2004-02-03 02:23:12

According to nav images Opportunity really goes toward 'the strange thing'. But nothing more is visible neither in nav images nor hazcam images. And also nobody implies anything about plans to examine it.
Actually it's a coincidence that the rover started in this direction. However when it is there, why not take a cheap look .

1smlstp · 2004-02-03 05:06:58

Stu,
Thanks very much for the link. I'm so glad they released the hi-res panorama. The huge number of bounce marks is incredible. The lander/rover must have been balanced perfectly in the center of the airbags for it to roll around so much in the crater.

Arcos,
In the [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … -A10R1.jpg]12 mb pan cam image, Cake is about the same size as Adirondack and about 6 Adirondack length's away and at the 8 or 9 o'clock position from Adirondack. That doesn't describe it very well, but it's to the left of Adirondack in the large pan cam image.

Cindy,
I have to agree that the team at JPL is great. When they first announced the problems with Spirit I thought it would never be running again. I'm so glad it's fixed.

Marsnik,
The outcrop does look very layered and sedimentary to me. Not that I'm an expert though. Did you notice the dark rocks in the middle of the left most outcrop? They look like they may have been broken off the outcrop to me. They seem out of place.

Matt,
Excellent analysis of the crater and outcrop. I was thinking it looked like the crater impact shattered the bedrock leaving the outcrop to be weathered, but I'm no expert.

Link,
I'm new here just like you. Hope you find this site as exciting and informative as I have. I can't seem to find your "-S-" feature. Is it a mark on one of the rocks or do the rocks form an -S-?

Not sure if everybody caught this, but there won't be a news briefing on Tuesday. The next one will be Wednesday at 10:00am pacific.

Looks like they updated the [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … unity.html]raw images for Opportunity. I don't know about you guys & gals, but I'm having a hard time keeping up now that both rovers are working.

For everyone interested, here's a [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … 11L2M1.JPG]hi-res image of the leaf/ piece of airbag /strange thing. Same image Stephen posted only bigger.

Link · 2004-02-03 09:15:39

Here is the -S- in the rocks. Original size and a blow up.

....

Link

Palomar · 2004-02-03 09:32:26

[=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=13571]Columbia Hills Complex

*In honor of Columbia shuttle crew (near Spirit's landing site...image from Spirit's PanCam).

Also, in Spirit & Opportunity 2 thread last week I posted concerning Apollo 1 astronauts (Chaffee, Grissom and White) being honored with hills named after them (also close to Spirit's landing site).

[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4080663/]Apollo 1 Hills (relink)

--Cindy

New Mars Forums

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