The Official Mars Exploration Thread (merged and now with poll)

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  • Reply 221 of 339
    Latest candidate theories (in descending order of 'temporary truth') on Spirit error



    1) Bad file management software on Flash memory

    Now successfully running our of 128Mb RAM instead of 256Mb Flash memory

    (in pair of 128 Mb cores which were alternately booting images unsuccessfully)



    RAM boot managed to get Flash metadata with no errors, so they think the physical Flash memory is OK.



    2) Contention error corrupted some of the Flash/Flight Software as a result of some undefined hardware or software conflict



    3) Solar Flare event on Wednesday might have impacted Flash memory



    Pete Thiesinger is saying 'still serious, but moving to guarded condition"



    Full battery charge, normal temperatures, otherwise seems healthy.



    Opportunity has downlinked DIMES images, and they think they may be near a large crater



    touchdown is likely in the center of this DIMES image (still flattened here),

    perhaps inside a small crater 20 metres wide and 3m deep .



    the large crater on the right of this image is "definitely drivable distance"



    there's a small black spot just to the left of the large crater on the right which is actually the shadow of the parachute

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  • Reply 222 of 339
    new Pancam images of the Opportunity bedrock outcrop



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  • Reply 223 of 339
    Flash memory. Bah! Now if they had incorporated a mini hard drive (iPod) things might not have gone bonkers!!
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  • Reply 224 of 339
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacsRGood4U

    Flash memory. Bah! Now if they had incorporated a mini hard drive (iPod) things might not have gone bonkers!!



    But the 11 min delayed call to Apple Care when the battery goes bad would be probably prove a challenge for Spirit despite of the Deep Space Network



    On the upside Apple WILL pay for the return package to Mars since all portable hardware has world coverage.
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  • Reply 225 of 339
    Opportunity's first colour Pancam octant with 3 band filter...

    (not as colour corrected as it may be as calibrated pancam target images in other filters arrive)



    click for bigger







    This colour image shows where the rover's airbags left impressions in the martian soil. The drag marks were made after the rover successfully landed at Meridiani Planum and its airbags were retracted. The rover can be seen in the foreground.



    http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...20040125a.html
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  • Reply 226 of 339
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    I think that it's worth noting that the two rovers are 12 hours apart (according to JPL's rover clocks). Two rovers, no waiting!
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  • Reply 227 of 339
    that is not a rock outcropping...that is a reminent of an ancient martian road...



    similar to the underwater bimini road







    g
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  • Reply 228 of 339
    moogsmoogs Posts: 4,296member
    Maybe Atlantis was on Mars and not Earth, we just don't realize it yet.



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  • Reply 229 of 339
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    I just found out that C-Span radio on XM carries (at least some of) the Mars Exploration press conferences! Nice.
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  • Reply 230 of 339
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Moogs

    Maybe Atlantis was on Mars and not Earth, we just don't realize it yet.







    Yeah. I look forward to taht press conference.



    "We did some test on the stones in the crater today and finally we can prove that water did actually flow in this part of Mars, suggesting life once were here (champagne, cheers, high fives and stuff). And, oh yes quite funny actually, we didn´t see it at first but notice how the stones are layered. Thats actually parts of an old road. But with the new discovery of water on Mars we are now going to look for traces of life, microbes, in the rocks."
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  • Reply 231 of 339
    click = bigger



    The interior of a crater surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum on Mars can be seen in this color image from the rover's panoramic camera. This is the darkest landing site ever visited by a spacecraft on Mars. The rim of the crater is approximately 10 meters (32 feet) from the rover. The crater is estimated to be 20 meters (65 feet) in diameter. Scientists are intrigued by the abundance of rock outcrops dispersed throughout the crater, as well as the crater's soil, which appears to be a mixture of coarse gray grains and fine reddish grains.



    Data taken from the camera's near-infrared, green and blue filters were combined to create this approximate true color picture, taken on the first day of Opportunity's journey. The view is to the west-southwest of the rover.



    Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell [my italics]

    http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...20040126a.html





    colour purists please note this isn't RGB... it's near-infrared, green and blue



    spiffy nonetheless
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  • Reply 232 of 339
    Quote:

    Originally posted by curiousuburb

    colour purists please note this isn't RGB... it's near-infrared, green and blue



    Near-infrared! Those elusive martians hide themselves well, I cry conspiracy! Why? Not because of what's there, but because of what's 'not'.





    NASA has to get up pretty early in the morning...
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  • Reply 233 of 339
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    Isn't everyone's first thought about the "red and grey" soil that the red component is simply wind-blown dust and the grey component is wind-blown hematite? Is that too simple?
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  • Reply 234 of 339
    New Pancam images of the bedrock outcropping titled "The Great Wall"



    Use 3D glasses for this anaglyph made from left and right cameras.







    While the layering and overhangs may look imposing from the lander,

    actual scale of this outcrop compared to the rover is shown below.







    This three-dimensional model superimposes the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on one of its potential targets, a scientific treasure chest of martian rocks contained within the landing site, a crater on Meridiani Planum, Mars. The rover is placed on the rock outcrop for scale. Opportunity has not yet visited these rocks; it is currently still on its lander. Scientists plan to use the tools on the rover's instrument deployment device, or robotic "arm," to examine these rocks, which are about 10 centimeters (4 inches) high and approximately 8 meters (26 feet) away from the rover. The image of the terrain was acquired on Sol, or martian day, 2 of Opportunity's journey. This model was created using data from the rover's panoramic camera and is displayed using software developed by NASA's Ames Research Center.



    Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Ames/Maas Digital LLC




    larger versions available here as usual
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  • Reply 235 of 339
    NASA: 'Sedimentary rock' on Mars?



    Holy ****.



    [excitable, not really sane]What if they find fossils on Mars? [/excitable, not really sane]



    No. Imagine.



    What if Opportunity sends back an image of some weird... fossilised ...thing sticking out of the sediment laid down a billion years ago?



    I admit that this is... unlikely.
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  • Reply 236 of 339
    aries 1baries 1b Posts: 1,009member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah

    NASA: 'Sedimentary rock' on Mars?



    Holy ****.



    [excitable, not really sane]What if they find fossils on Mars? [/excitable, not really sane]



    No. Imagine.



    What if Opportunity sends back an image of some weird... fossilised ...thing sticking out of the sediment laid down a billion years ago?



    I admit that this is... unlikely.




    (hem, hem)



    There might have been rain, perhaps fog on Mars a long, long time ago. There was no life there ever. There is no life and there was no life. And there was certainly no civilization.



    The earth is the center of the universe.



    Witches float.



    If man were meant to fly, he'd have wings.



    Everything that can be invented, has been invented.





    Aries 1B



    (hem, hem)
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  • Reply 237 of 339
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aries 1B

    (hem, hem)



    el snip



    (hem, hem)




    Hell's bells, I see what BR meant!



    Extinct Martian civilisations are certainly unlikely. Running water on Mars is certainly a possibility now, though?



    Fossils are found in sedimentary rock, and sedimentary rock appears to have been discovered on Mars, so... I was exercising my imagination in the light of this astonishing news. As you do.
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  • Reply 238 of 339
    aries 1baries 1b Posts: 1,009member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah

    Hell's bells, I see what BR meant!



    Extinct Martian civilisations are certainly unlikely. Running water on Mars is certainly a possibility now, though?



    Fossils are found in sedimentary rock, and sedimentary rock appears to have been discovered on Mars, so... I was exercising my imagination in the light of this astonishing news. As you do.




    Scratch when it itches.



    Sneeze when you... uh... have to sneeze.



    Heretics will be stamped out!



    Burn down the Mars Mission Control Place/Thingy before an Unacceptable Truth is revealed and a Sacred Truth is toppled!



    Thank you for your support of the Space Program.



    Aries 1B



    Beagle's loss is an unfortunate accident.
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  • Reply 239 of 339
    Aries, I'm kinda curious. Could you tell me whether or not you actually believe that Beagle 2 was interfered with?



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  • Reply 240 of 339
    aries 1baries 1b Posts: 1,009member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah

    Aries, I'm kinda curious. Could you tell me whether or not you actually believe that Beagle 2 was interfered with?







    You're cracking me up!



    I had nothing to do with whatever happened to the ESA Threat to the Terrible Secret.



    Details on the Terrible Secret can be found at http://www.enterprisemission.com/



    You like exercising your imagination? Enjoy.



    Most Cordially,



    Aries 1B
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