| Piú votate - Mars Spirit Anomalies and Maps |
ZP-I-PIA10127.jpgHeading for the next Winter Haven...71 visiteCaption NASA:"Approaching its 47th month of a Mars Surface Mission originally planned to last 3 months, NASA's Spirit Rover was also approaching the Northern Edge of a low plateau called Home Plate. The Rover's Operators selected an area with North-Facing Slope there as a destination where Spirit would have its best chance of surviving low-solar-energy conditions of oncoming Martian Winter.
The yellow line on this map of the Home Plate area indicates Spirit's route from early February 2006, entering the mapped area from the North (top), to late November 2007, on the Western Edge of the bright-toned Home Plate plateau. The map covers an area about 160 mt (525 feet) across from West to East. Labels indicate the area intended for Spirit to spend many months spanning the Rover's 3rd Martian Winter, the site where it spent about 7 months (April to November 2006) spanning its 2nd Winter, and the site where it lost use of the drive motor for 1 of its 6 wheels.
A North-Facing Slope helps Spirit maximizes electric output from its Solar Panels during Winter months because Spirit is in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars, so the Sun appears only in the Northern Sky during Winter. For the 3rd winter, which will reach its minimum solar-energy days in early June 2008, Spirit faces the challenge of having more dust on its Solar Panels than it had during its 2nd one.
The base image for this map is a portion of a color image taken on Jan. 9, 2007, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter".
MareKromium
(4 voti)
|
|
ZP-J-PIA10129.jpgSpirit nears North-Tilting Site for Winter Haven88 visiteCaption NASA:"NASA's MER Spirit made daily progress in early December 2007 toward the Northern Edge of a low plateau called Home Plate. The rover's operators selected an area with North-Facing Slope there (indicated by the blue-outlined rectangle) as a destination where Spirit would have its best chance of surviving low-solar-energy conditions of oncoming Martian Winter.
As indicated by the yellow line tracing the path Spirit has driven, the Rover was near the Western Edge of the plateau on Sol 1390 of the mission (Nov. 30, 2007), but nearing the Northern Edge by Sol 1397 (Dec. 8, 2007).
A north-facing slope helps Spirit maximizes electric output from its Solar Panels during Winter months because Spirit is in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars, so the Sun appears only in the Northern Sky during Winter. For the 3rd Winter, which will reach its minimum solar-energy days in early June 2008, Spirit faces the challenge of having more dust on its Solar Panels than it had during its 2nd Winter.
The base image for this map is a portion of a color image taken on Jan. 9, 2007, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter".MareKromium
(4 voti)
|
|
SOL052-2P130990683EFF1120P2427L7M1.jpgA piece of metal is shining in the Sun? (1) - Sol 52153 visiteSempre dall'occhio attento del Dr Gianluigi Barca, un nuovo scintillìo metallico (le cui caratteristiche visive sono talmente peculiari da renderlo del tutto inconfondibile) caratterizza la distesa pietrosa di Gusev, non troppo lontano dall'area di landing del MER Spirit. Ed è proprio questo elemento (e cioè la non grande distanza esistente fra il Landing Site e la zona di ritrovamento di questi artefatti metallici) il quale, a voler essere estremamente pragmatici, ci potrebbe suggerire una loro origine non indigena. Si potrebbe trattare, infatti, di frammenti metallici (bars and bolts, ad esempio) i quali si sono staccati dal "guscio" in cui Spirit era rinchiuso all'atto del landing - un landing che, nonostante gli airbags e l'atmosfera ridotta, è comunque rude e periglioso (rough landing, come dicono alla NASA).
Questa è, insomma, l'idea suggeritaci dalla razionalità.
Le Vostre opinioni al riguardo saranno sempre benvenute!MareKromium
(4 voti)
|
|
ZP-F-MERA_A1173_1_br2.jpgWhere is Spirit? (4)82 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
(4 voti)
|
|
ZP-D-MERA_A960_2.jpgWhere's Spirit? (2)117 visitenessun commento
(4 voti)
|
|
ZP-B-R131467_S1200095loc.JPGMOC2-1331d: A "before" image from January 2004 (left) and the Rover image from November 2005 (right) - Where's "MER Spirit"? (3)184 visiteOriginal caption:"This picture (MOC2-1331d) shows the location of the Rover in the 2 November 2005 image (S12-00095) inside a white circle. This is compared with the view taken on 10 January 2004 in R13-01467. Back on 10 January 2004, very few ever dreamed that the Rover would ever reach the Columbia Hills.
A Mars year later, the Rover was at the Summit and then headed down the other side of the Hills".
Location near: 14,8° S; 184,6° W
MOC2-1331a Image width: ~3 Km (~1,9 mi);
MOC2-1331d 50 mt scale bar = 164 ft
Illumination from: left
Season: Southern Summer in both R13-01467 and S12-00095
(4 voti)
|
|
ZP-A-S1200095MERA100.JPGMOC2-1331c: Spirit Location, 2 November 2005 - Where's "MER Spirit"? (2)167 visiteOriginal caption:"This picture (MOC2-1331c) shows the Spirit Rover at its 2 November 2005 (Sol 652) location.
Dr. Timothy J. Parker of the MER Team at the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed the location of the Rover in the MOC image.
The Region South (toward the bottom) of these images shows the area where the Rover is currently headed.
The large dark patch and other similar dark patches in these images are accumulations of windblown sand and granules".
(4 voti)
|
|
VA-T-Overground1.jpgOverground Tunnels 3D (1)274 visiteMolte volte, osservando le pseudo-rocce Marziane (sia in Area Gusev, sia in Area Meridiani), abbiamo avuto la sensazione di avere davanti a noi delle "vie d'accesso", delle "porte".
Tunnels e condotti, di varia forma e dimensione, che portano verso un Regno Sotterraneo il quale, come ovvio, solletica l'immaginazione e l'immaginario. Se fate una "passeggiata" con Spirit ed Opportunity nella Sezione dedicata al "Walking on Mars", potrete identificare un notevole campionario di queste configurazioni. Il Dr Feltri, nei due frames 3D che ci ha messo a disposizione, ha battezzato queste "via d'accesso" come Overground Tunnels: una definizione buona ed azzeccata, la quale ci rimanda, in un certo senso, alle Singolarità Lunari di Erathostenes "A" & "B". Due "Crateri Gemelli"? Due "Hangars"? Due semplici crateri che si assomigliano e che non hanno nulla di speciale se non un'albedo piuttosto alta?
(4 voti)
|
|
ZO-X-PIA07851_fig1.jpgColumbia Hills' Perspective View (from MGS)204 visiteCaption NASA originale:"This perspective view of a 3D terrain model shows the shape of the "Columbia Hills" landscape where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been working since mid-2004.
North is toward the lower left.
Husband Hill is at the center, with the Inner Basin behind it. This view is from images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and processed into a 3D terrain model by the U.S. Geological Survey - USGS".
(4 voti)
|
|
ZO-V-PIA07850_fig1.jpgThe path of Spirit up to Sol 450203 visiteCaption NASA originale:"This orbital view shows the path of Spirit's trek through the "Columbia Hills," beginning on the "West Spur" on Sol 156 (June 11, 2004) and continuing up the flanks of "Husband Hill." The dashed line indicates the perimeter of the Columbia Hills, which consist of older rocks of different composition than those of the surrounding plain. The path of Spirit's trek is overlain on imagery from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. The 500-meter scale bar is equivalent to 1.640 feet".
(4 voti)
|
|
ZN-SOL343-Spirit_travmap_GeoDEM_2-A350R1.jpgThe path of Spirit up to Sol 343200 visiteCaption NASA originale:"As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit continues to explore the "Columbia Hills" within Gusaev Crater, scientists are planning to take a closer look for layered rocks in a steep valley straight ahead before directing the rover to turn south toward the summit of "Husband Hill." Two of the geologic formations the six-wheeled robotic geologist has discovered during 2004 are shown here. One is labeled "Columbia Hills material," representing bedrock of the higher slopes and peaks, and one is labeled "transition zone material," representing rocks that are gradational in character and composition between the hills to the east and the plains to the west. The map also shows Spirit's line of travel through the rover's 344th Sol (Dec. 21, 2004), beginning on the left edge at about the 182nd Sol (July 7, 2004)".
(4 voti)
|
|
ZF-Columbia Hills-05-MG-02-travmap1-A190R1_br2.jpgAt the base of Columbia Hills (Map up to Sol 187)221 visiteThe yellow line on this map illustrates the total path traveled by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during its mission. Spirit landed at the starting point at Gusev Crater on Jan. 3, 2004, and has since traveled about 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) to reach "West Spur" at the "Columbia Hills." Also seen on the map are "Bonneville" and "Missoula" craters. The blue dotted line illustrates the energy-efficient path planned for Spirit to reach intriguing rock outcrops atop "West Spur."
(4 voti)
|
|
| 274 immagini su 23 pagina(e) |
 |
|
|
|
|
11 | |
|
|
|
|
