Including, not too surprisingly, some terrific rocks. There's a bunch of stratigraphic layered material, light-toned rocks (don't get me started), a layered rock immediately behind us in the RHAZ. There's even what looks like a "lava bomb," a rock that starts off as a glob of lava spit out by a volcano; it freezes back into a roughly spherical or football-shaped rock in the air, before it can even hit -- like the way they used to cast lead shot.
The scientists are doing their kids-in-a-candy-store act. I never get tired of it. But Justin decides he's going to put a bit of a damper on things.
"Are we still leaving by sol 760?" he asks pointedly.
Oded's answer is equivocal, something to the effect that he hasn't heard anything different from Steve yet, but without completely rejecting the possibility of staying longer.
He moves on, resuming talking excitedly with the other scientists about which rocks we should choose, but a few minutes later, Justin interrupts again. "Hey, Home Plate's a big place," Justin says. "Why don't we drive across it and see what we see there?"
This is something I love about Justin. As much as I dig the science team, there's a part of me that knows we need to get on the damn road, for the rover's health and safety. Justin manages to express that part of myself, better than I could -- and since he's doing it, I don't have to, which makes it even better.
I don't think his message really gets across (maybe I should have spoken up after all), but they do manage to focus long enough to pick a destination. They picked the big broad shelf of layered material. It'll be an easy drive, looping in a big arc, then turning and zooming straight to our final position. Once again, we're doing an approach of over 10m. We've been doing a lot of these lately, and nailing them one after another, on a vehicle that wasn't designed for more than a 2m approach.
I love this rover.
And that's a reason the subject Saina brings up later in the day is one of my least favorites, a memento mori. But she raises it in a humorous way. For some reason, they're talking about the last piece of free ice cream, which has languished in one of the freezers all this time. You can see the idea hit her, her eyes widening. "I think when the rovers die, we should have a ceremony where we bury the last piece of the free ice cream!" she exclaims. "Or maybe, we all take a bite, and then we bury the stick or whatever."
Time and chance happeneth to all rovers. When they go, I think that will be a good way to say goodbye.
Many years from now, of course. When I'm an old, old man.
[Next post: sol 762, February 23.]
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech. A rear HAZCAM view looking up over the top of Home Plate.
Dear Scott:
ReplyDeleteSome good news for you, I think.
At Scripps Newspapers, we have spent a long time looking for the best astronomy and space blogs in the world, and your “Mars and Me” blog is one of the most fascinating, unique, strangely compelling (like a chapter book or ongoing series), you-are-there type of blogs about space, and in particular, Mars that we have ever read, and we’ve reviewed thousands of blogs!
But what really makes “Mars and Me” stand out from the bazillion space and astronomy blogs we’ve read is a combination of several unique strengths working together:
1. Intelligently and engagingly written
2. Great use of (dry) humor!
3. Insights and observations we could never get anywhere else
4. Fantastic photos that make that you-are-there feeling even stronger
5. A unique diary voice
6. A personal window on Mars and the experience of an individual in a unique position
Here is what our primary researcher had to say in his initial assessment of your blog:
“This is incredible! A daily diary of driving around Mars. Seriously! Where they go, the troubles they experience, the stuff they see. And written in an engaging diary format that makes you want to keep up with their lives and see how they handle this amazing experience. Great photos, too.”
You also “talk” to your readers in a smart, friendly, comfortable style. Reading your blog is like having a conversation with a real space pro who’s sharing his insider knowledge with us over a beer or cup of coffee.
Your writing is beguiling in the way you bring us “behind the curtain” (such as it is) of “motoring” around Mars. Readers feel like they’re being allowed inside, sharing your adventures, disappointments, silly moments, laughs, etc. It’s truly a rare opportunity that we as readers have and that you, too, have. Here are some of our favorite examples of you practicing your writing and reporting art:
1) "The uphill bump is the tricky part. We drove down to Conjunction Junction with a specific plan, part of a never-to-be-repeated (well, probably) wind experiment. Before conjunction, we imaged this area, then drove onto it, and the remaining part of the plan is to back out the way we came in and image it again."
2) "Our big drive sol comes next. Or, more accurately, our series of big drive sols. We're going to head south in a big way, continuing to Vostok by way of a cluster of three craters more than 300m south of us. Though I doubt this is possible, I'm hoping to make it there in two sols, which would almost certainly mean breaking the distance record once more (however briefly, before it's broken again)."
3) "Ah, that feels better. The drive went just exactly as planned; the old track, tailings, and wide swaths of undisturbed soil are within the IDD work volume. I've never been so excited about an 80cm drive."
So, suffice to say that we really admire and enjoy “Mars and Me” and would like to give you even more exposure around the country.
My name is John Wilpers, the global blog coordinator for Scripps Newspapers. We operate daily and community newspapers in 14 markets in eight states, including Memphis and Knoxville (TN), Naples (FL), Abilene and Corpus Christi (TX), Treasure Coast (FL) and Ventura (CA). We also operate Scripps Howard News Service out of Washington, D.C.
We are creating what we believe will soon be the web's #1 destination site for information about the future of space exploration.
As part of that ambitious agenda, we are looking for the world’s best bloggers writing about Space. We believe you belong in this elite company.
Your posts would be featured in the Blogs section which is promoted via a primary navigation tab at the top of the home page. And some of your posts would occasionally be featured on the homepage and in other ways as well.
I would love to discuss this with you.
John Wilpers
Global Blog Coordinator
Scripps Newspapers
Jwilpers@scrippsweb.com
617-688-0137