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OPP-SOL1233-1P237639549EFF85W0P2688L6M1.jpgAlmost Clear Skies over Meridiani (3) - Sol,123362 visitenessun commentoMareKromiumLug 16, 2007
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OPP-SOL1232-1N237560239EFF85W0P1993R0M1.jpgClearing Skies over Meridiani... (1) - Sol 123260 visitenessun commentoMareKromiumLug 15, 2007
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OPP-SOL1232-1N237560276EFF85W0P1993L0M1.jpgClearing Skies over Meridiani... (2) - Sol 123255 visitenessun commentoMareKromiumLug 15, 2007
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OPP-SOL1232-1N237560312EFF85W0P1993R0M1.jpgClearing Skies over Meridiani... (3) - Sol 123255 visitenessun commentoMareKromiumLug 15, 2007
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SOL1252-2P237513744ESFAUCMP2576R3M1.jpgBoulders... - Sol 125255 visitenessun commentoMareKromiumLug 14, 2007
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OPP-SOL1230-1N237373775EFF85R9P0099R0M1.jpgSearching for a "Way In" - Sol 123060 visiteLa ricerca, da parte di Opportunity, di un "punto d'ingresso" il quale sia sufficientemente sicuro per entrare nel bacino di Victoria, procede. Si può fare? E' saggio farlo?
Ebbene, è lo stesso Principal Investigator, Steve Squyres, a definire questa operazione "ad altissimo rischio". Insomma: l'Odissea di Opportunity potrebbe finire - e, stavolta, questa possibilità esiste seriamente - sui pendìi del Cratere Victoria.
Che dire? "Quanto è stato fatto sino ad ora - procede Steve - copre già da solo il valore dell'investimento ed anche il significato, in termini di scoperte, della Missione è più che ricco". Ok, noi siamo totalmente d'accordo.
Ma queste - pur legittime - considerazioni, valgono il rischio di (letteralmente) "buttar via" il MER per esplorare le sabbie fangose ed il rim di Victoria, allorchè la possibilità di protrarre - forse in maniera indeterminata - le peregrinazioni di Opportunity su Marte esiste ed è concreta?
Secondo noi, no.
Secondo noi l'idea di far entrare il MER Opportunity all'interno di Victoria, una volta premesso quanto sopra ed una volta chiaro che il Rover può viaggiare ancora per mesi e mesi (o magari addirittura per anni, se i "cleaning events" continueranno a lavorare così come hanno fatto sino ad ora) lungo le "Strade di Meridiani", è una cattiva idea.
O meglio: è un'idea stupida. Il che è anche peggio.
Poi, come ovvio, "Sia fatta la Volontà della NASA"...
E Voi, che ne pensate?MareKromiumLug 11, 2007
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SOL1248-2P237153131EFFAUBKP2629L5M1-PCF-LXTT-00.jpgHeavy Dust and Fog over Gusev Crater - Sol 124854 visitenessun commentoMareKromiumLug 09, 2007
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OPP-SOL1225-1P236931149EFF85R9P2629L4M1.jpgDark Skies over Opportunity (1) - Sol 122557 visiteA giant dust storm brewing for more than a week on Mars has become worse and is affecting surface operations of the MER Spirit and Opportunity. Because the Rovers depend on solar energy for survival, and the dust is partially blocking the Sun, the storm is being watched closely by the rover scientists and engineers.
Opportunity's entry into Victoria Crater is delayed for at least several days.
The storm, the most severe storm yet to hit the Rovers, is expected to continue for at least another week. Opportunity is perched near Duck Bay as it readies to descend into Victoria Crater, but operations were scaled back on Saturday, June 30, to conserve power.
"The storm is affecting both Rovers and reducing the power levels on Opportunity" said John Callas, MER Project Manager at NASA's JPL, Pasadena, Calif. "We are keeping an eye on this as we go forward, but our entry into Victoria Crater will be delayed until no sooner than July 13".
"We have some data that show the atmospheric opacity is decreasing, so the storm might have peaked and we may have passed the worst of this. The situation could improve quickly from here, but we will have to wait and see", said Callas.
Weather reports from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Color Imager camera are helping track the storm and plan Rover operations. MareKromiumLug 07, 2007
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OPP-SOL1225-1P236931182EFF85R9P2629L5M1.jpgDark Skies over Opportunity (2) - Sol 122557 visitePictures from the orbiter's Mars Color Imager show the storm is regional in extent, and includes several local areas of especially high dust activity. The storm has been moving Eastward and toward Mid-Latitudes, and is now also causing an increase in atmospheric dust at Spirit's location, on the opposite side of the Planet, at Gusev Crater.
Dust levels at Gusev remain much lower than at the Opportunity site, however.
Both rovers take daily measurements estimating the amount of dust in the atmosphere. The less dust the better, because it means more sunlight reaches the rover's solar panels, which power the vehicles. In the last week, Opportunity has broken its dust record, with the opacity level rising from 1.0 to 3.3. Solar array energy on Opportunity dropped from 765 watt-hours to 402 watt-hours over the same period of time.MareKromiumLug 07, 2007
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OPP-SOL1225-1P236931207EFF85R9P2629L6M1.jpgDark Skies over Opportunity (3) - Sol 122556 visite"While this only represents enough dust to coat the planet to about the thickness of a human hair, it is enough to decrease the brightness of the noon sun by 96% compared to a completely clear atmosphere", said Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
"Of course, the solar arrays also receive light that is scattered from the dust, so the decrease in power is not nearly that great".
"We have not seen dust measurements this high on either rover before. If the dust levels were to increase further and stay elevated for several days, there is a risk to how well Opportunity could continue to work in this darkened environment", said Callas".MareKromiumLug 07, 2007
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SOL1245-2P236905395EFFAUATP2763L4M1.jpgPanorama - Sol 124555 visitenessun commentoMareKromiumLug 07, 2007
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OPP-SOL1224-1N236844860EFF85R9P1963R0M1.jpgFresh wind-tails - Sol 1224 (natural colors - elab. Lunexit)56 visitenessun commentoMareKromiumLug 07, 2007
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