The first place I see it show up is sol 1547. Then on sols 1550, 1552, and 1557 there are sub-frame isolation shots. The updates show that this is the period when Opportunity escaped a sand trap in Duck Bay, Victoria Crater which it entered trying to reach the base of Cape Verde. Also, Opportunity had just spent a few immobile weeks while issues with the gimpy arm joint were investigated.

The number of haz-cam images taken of "this" when it first appears could be a coincidence as the updates refer to imaging of cleat marks in the sand to gauge the success of moving on from the sand trap.

Oppy making tracks around Concepcion...

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Larger version here: http://twitpic.com/16cea9/full

To me, it looks a bit thick for tape, but I'm not really sure.

Interesting, centsworth_II. Earlier, I did a similar search through images from Opportunity and did indeed first see it while she was in Victoria. Never saw it on Spirit.

Don't remember seing it mentioned here but looks like that after Concepción we are heading in the direction of a crater named Santa Maria, Mini-Endurance?

If they follow the path plotted by Tim Parker we'll first visit the "twin craters" and then move east towards Mini-Endurance. Has it been officially named Santa Maria?

It got loose in february 2009.
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...&pid=138980

This is from June 3, 2008 -- Sol 1550.
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Steve just used the name Santa Maria in his LPSC talk this morning.

Phil

Yes, I know Phil, but I don't know to which specific crater he was referring to...

According to Emily's very active twitter feed-- and she's on phone-only, no wifi, so probably not posting here-- Santa Maria is the crater where the proposed route bends.

It does look like Santa Maria is what we've been calling mini-Endurance - here's Emily's post.

Yes, i't mini-Endurance! And here's another new name for you... the big shallow saucer of a crater, filled with drifts, that this whole western jog has skirted, a sort of super-Porcupine if I may so call it, is called Nimrod on Tim Parker's poster.

Phil

I am finally off the super crappy WiFi at the conference and on the much better WiFi at the airport while my flight is delayed so I can report in to confirm that yes mini-Endurance is Santa Maria. I Tweeted that especially for you guys, hoping you would pick it up

Another juicy tidbit yet to be blogged is that Steve Squyres and D. Mittlefehldt gave totally different interpretations of what Marquette Island is (though they both agree that it's a totally unique rock, a type not before seen on Mars or as a Martian meteorite)

Oppy's been making tracks...

Click to view attachment

Goodbye, Concepción, we hardly new ya!

Onward, brave rover!

Pretty sure she's not leaving yet, just scooting around the side.

Not that fast, my little grasshooper.
Last move was just a few meters to the west. Check the map in a few minutes... done.

Yeah the orientation of the tracks and ejecta tail mad me think they were going due south. Next time I'll always wait for the route map's latest addition before rushing to conclusions!

where are they heading now?

Moved post from Route map thread, use this one for discussion - Mod

My uninformed guess is due north, back to the edge of the crater. It looks like the short drive was intended to align the rover between two north-south dunes, positioning her on a "roadway" that will provide access back to the crater. There looks to be a pretty nasty dune on the west side of the crater, so this might be the reasonable point at which to approach it.

Is this Santa Maria Columbus' flagship?...

Emily said:



Jumping ahead (or sideways), I'd truly be interested in Marquette news! (hint hint)

--Bill

That was my first impression too. And given the crater size it deserves the name of an important vessel.

I was gonna do lunar stuff next but I figured I couldn't leave you guys hanging all weekend, so here's the Marquette stuff!

Here's a tip to figure out the orientation of these images: that image shows Oppy driving perpendicular to the dune ridges. But the dunes run pretty much exactly north-south here, so she couldn't be driving south.

Thanks-- that is a good summary of what we've been looking at for the past few months.

But... Squyres made a typo in 1757.pdf and called Marquette "Mackinac":



Maybe we need an LPSC thread?

--Bill

Oppy's latest view of Concepcion...

http://twitpic.com/16wcvb/full

Really liking our multi-layered friend on the left there...

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Yes, indeed...that's definitely one for the mantel!

Like that rippled dune on the left hand side there...

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( BTW, any UK forum members who want a pair of 3D glasses to view images like this (sorry, but the polarised glasses that you, um, forgot to give back after watching 'AVATAR' won't work; you need the red and blue ones) but haven't got any, here's a tip: go into your local branch of "THE WORKS" discount bookshop. At the moment there are quite a few kids 3D books in there that come with a free pair of glasses... )

Good choice Stu. It's a really nice picture.
BTW, we can even see the rover tracks crossing a ripple at the top right corner. AFAIK these are the same ones we talked about some time ago. Let me search for a link...

Edited: That picture was taken during sol 2173 2174 after a 10+ meters drive still part of the CW circumnavigation. There are some "drive-direction" pancams on that same image batch and they are pointing toward the "twin craters" and IMO it means that we may be leaving soon; this monday perhaps.

I hope we're not leaving just yet; I'd really like a closer look at this fella here... he looks pale compared to all his friends...

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Is it just a perspective trick or does that look pretty hard for Oppy to access? A lot of rocks in the way....

Not expecting her to drive up to it - that's obviously a very hurtful place for a rover - just hoping she can get a bit closer to give us a clearer look.

Also remember that when you select a small section of one of these images and zoom in on it, there is a significant amount of foreshortening going on. Those rocks are not as close together as it might appear.

Agreed. here's the full size version...

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The only way Oppy is getting next to that rock is if she teleports there...

I thought she was designed for this sort of stuff. Spirit drove right over Adriondack. Are these rocks of comparable size?

Hmmm. But remember, Adirondack was just sat there on its own. That pale rock has a lot of clutter around it.

Kind of academic anyway, I'm sure it's nothing special, and you can almost feel Oppy straining to head away from Concepcion and strike out for that hill-rippled horizon...

There was some discussion of this recently, I think in the planetary update. She can drive into rocks like this, but the problem is if she's perched with one wheel on a rock she may be unstable for IDD work.

Could a quick underbelly MI mosaic would be able to determine if she were in such an unfavourable orientation?

What's the effective range on Mini-TES to collect data from a distance?
Not just for this rock, but when they find other interesting rocks in view but out of reach? How close does the instrument have to be for measurements?

"he looks pale compared to all his friends..."

So do I, but I don't want Opportunity poking me.

Phil

I think you're safe, Phil

Nice new view...

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It seems no one dares to say it looks like a meteorite...

So what's the goal of the circumnavigation of this crater? Is it to study the splash pattern surrounding it, or are they looking for a candidate rock for a close-up study?

Nice in 3D, not bad in colour either...

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The step change in apparent dune size in the middle distance is particularly striking across this view. Presumably it's due to the more distant part of the scene being appreciably lower, or else there is an unseen hollow between the two.
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportuni...LNP2385L7M1.JPG

That view is looking north, from where we came. We made a bit of a climb up to a local ridge at Concepcion, but it was still very subtle. I think that change in dune size is more due to the odd patch of large dunes surrounded by large gaps with few or very small dunes (check Tesheiner's route map).

Wonder how much longer we'll be enjoying this view...?

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Today's plan is to move from here. The question is if it's just another step of the circumnavigation or if we are leaving the area.
My take, based on the last batch of "drive-planning" pictures, is that we are saying good bye.

We should know the answer on the next images' update.

We've left Concepción, indeed. Posts / images / etc. still associated to Concepción should be made here, but use this new thread for further discussions / posts related to the daily business.

From Concepción to the "Twin Craters", and beyond...