Spirit - Still Alive - volume 2 - Page 5

And a very good thought,but can it be applied?
We're looking VERY godd,,would be my opinion.
Let us hope it continuies.
Two Thumbs Up!
Joe in Texas

NASA do not rule out using the IDD however they are reluctant as it could get damaged if it is used to lift Spirit or do some digging. It is very encouraging to see the left front raise up a bit, somewhere under that sand is a Crater Rim which hopefully Spirit can make contact with and climb up it.

Thanks Kevin,any idea when the next sequence will be tried?
Joe.

Interesting tweets from marsroverdriver.

"Sweet! Second try much better than first! Progress about 2x what we'd hoped, so Spirit stopped early so as not to go *too far*"

"In case it's surprising: we don't want Spirit going too far per sol so we can maneuver her CG *very carefully* past Belly Rock."

"Once past Belly Rock, we'll be past one major danger & will have experience with this path, so can maybe step on the gas then"

---end quotes

Looks like it will be slow going for a while.
My prediction for Spirit getting free - Jan 15th.

Joe - I don't think they'll be doing the IDD thing, now that we are showing pretty good progress - about 0.5% (1.2 cm for a drive of 2.5 m). If Spirit gets really stuck, then they would have to consider that.

Spirit has the right 'spirit' to do it. Wow, how was that?

Yes I can understand that of course.
Wouldn't want knock out the IDD capabilities,

Prediction Jan 15,,why so long? Do we wait for the soil to compact under the wheels again?

I would thank that movement enough is reason to continue,unless any glaring error?

ahh,,well,,mine is not to do or die,but to wonder why,

Joe in Texas

Yes I agree now with you on the main instrument arm,But why so slow.

As long as we get movement per command than what's holding us up from driving out

Perhaps for the soil to solidify under the wheels?
For how long? Seems we are in a seasonal time when we have friction.The sand(whatever)
that has been moved looks light (as in not sticky)Now is the time!!

Joe in Texas

This has got to be the most annoying place Ihave seen for not getting a post to GO THROUGH,,prompting me to start over,Grrrr,
So,I will ge around to asking (again) When Are The Next Moves Planned...end of posting tonite,,,GRRRrrrrrrr

Joe in Texas

Joe, next move is tomorrow.

Here's my date estimates:
Extrication after 1 meter move = 200 meters of driving.
Assuming moving 2 cm per day until underside is clear of belly rock (another 20 cm) would require 10 drives.
They are going at the rate of 3 drives per week. They should be past belly rock before Christmas. Then we have Christmas and New Year's. After that, perhaps another 80 cm to go. They might go 10 cm per drive then.
So approx - Jan 15.

I could be wrong,but it seems to me the regolith has changed around and under Spirit.
Tke material seems dirrerent somehow,maybe the mudhole has dried out a bit.The sand (fines?) seems drier,lighter less sticky.
GO SPIRIT GO
Joe in Texas

Is there ( MARS ROVER BLOG FORUM
comment submission error)end quote:
Blue on blue page last try,,,is there a soil analyst person (who gives a shit) aboard?
I could be wrong,then on the other hand:=)
, I could be right.

cheers
Joe in Texas

Sunday we will know.
Remember this in your prayers..
Joe.

A Spirit rover dust devil image.

Sol 461.

These so-called dust devils are not natural.

Technology is the cause. Unknown vehicles.

Original.

Enhanced.

Someone is driving around in crafts on Mars.

Er, Ken, your extraordinary claims about "someone driving around in crafts on Mars" requires extraordinary evidence.

The mundane evidence is for dust devils.

Ahem.

More puzzling to me are the changes over 6 months near the right front wheel trench:

The whitish band beside the track came and went.

"'Tis the wind and nothing more???" he said ravin' at my chamber door.

sol 2092 animation of the great escape from Troy looking forward:

and looking backward.

Looks like Spirit went mostly up on the left side. This is good for clearance of the "pointy rock" under the rover.

All depends on the definition of “extra-ordinary” evidence.

Extra-ordinary evidence is a vague term….open to interpretation….depending on one’s Educational level it seems.

Far from mundane....Take a good look...This is a dust devil???...

The real test is this....When does one accept these images?....

Better yet....Test them...Have someone else
besides me to do an independent test...Verify and confirm....

I am trying to do just that.

Trying to get someone to look....PhD types....

Maybe get Adobe involved...I am using their
software...(Adobe PhotoShop CS3).

errrrrr--back to the topic at hand,
Thanks Hort,as going on record,so to speak,looks at first glance at drive is,we might need longer timed,single steps,,,hmmmm
wonder what that white band was?,,,looking forward to Horts "Sand of Mars",,looks like he'll Never get finished with it.

Joe in Texas

While I was waiting for the new Oppy images I decided to revisit the dust devils of sol 461 using the RAD data.

Here is the result of applying dust devil enhanced contrast processing. I was delighted to see a persistant trail left by one of the twisters.

In addition to the big twisters there are numerous very whispy ones just on the edge of detection.

Is the white band in post 94 really a material change, or just the result of comparing 3 different filter combinations?

Joe Smith, re your 97, and serpens re your 99. I do not know what the colored bands are. They have appeared in all the disturbed areas around Spirit over a period of weeks and months. They are definitely real and not a result of filter changes or false-color rendering. They show just fine in hazcam and navcam images. Horton made us an animation from front-hazcam images which is linked in reply 25 of this thread that shows the progressive darkening of a band across the near face of "rat-press hill". Many other such changes of color are visible. Check out what has happened since initial disturbance in the field of the rear hazcam too.

I have suggested that these changes might have something to do with mechanical sorting of particles by gravity movements. The bands seem to correlate with slope position. I haven't read any reference to these dramatic changes except on this Blog.