MER Opportunity: Sol 70 -- Do you think Opp is going have a close look?

What a wonder! What kind of rift or trench is this?
http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html

The sides look a bit steep and crumbly? Do you think Opp should try
to look in at the rock exposure. It looks deep and a bit dangerous
for our heroic and valuable rover. Maybe it would be better to if it
kept its distance. The crater doesn't look very wide but surprisingly
deep. I am surprised drifting sand hasn't filled it up yet. It would
be nice to have a close look at that bedrock exposure though. What do
you think they will do?

And look at these strange depressions. Is this a fracture in the
bedrock? A crater? A rille? A ditch? What caused this trench?

http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html
http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4R1M1.JPG.html

Michael
Mars Fossils, Pseudo Fossils and Problematica
http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~weinberg/mars
The best Mars Fossils site on the Internet

It looks like permafrost ice melted by some underground activities

adriatic
"MarsFossils" wrote in message
om...
What a wonder! What kind of rift or trench is this?
http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html

The sides look a bit steep and crumbly? Do you think Opp should try
to look in at the rock exposure. It looks deep and a bit dangerous
for our heroic and valuable rover. Maybe it would be better to if it
kept its distance. The crater doesn't look very wide but surprisingly
deep. I am surprised drifting sand hasn't filled it up yet. It would
be nice to have a close look at that bedrock exposure though. What do
you think they will do?

And look at these strange depressions. Is this a fracture in the
bedrock? A crater? A rille? A ditch? What caused this trench?

http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html
http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4R1M1.JPG.html

Michael
Mars Fossils, Pseudo Fossils and Problematica
http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~weinberg/mars
The best Mars Fossils site on the Internet

MarsFossils wrote:
And look at these strange depressions. Is this a fracture in the
bedrock? A crater? A rille? A ditch? What caused this trench?

http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html
http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4R1M1.JPG.html

At the risk of getting flamed, I would say it looks like a series of
sinkholes over a cave system. Obviously not a limestone cave, but
conceivably a lava tunnel. But maybe there's a much more prosaic (and less
interesting) explanation...

Mike McSwell

On a sunny day (Tue, 6 Apr 2004 16:45:31 +0200) it happened "Adriatic"
wrote in :

It looks like permafrost ice melted by some underground activities

adriatic
"MarsFossils" wrote in message
. com...
What a wonder! What kind of rift or trench is this?
http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html

The sides look a bit steep and crumbly? Do you think Opp should try
to look in at the rock exposure. It looks deep and a bit dangerous
for our heroic and valuable rover. Maybe it would be better to if it
kept its distance. The crater doesn't look very wide but surprisingly
deep. I am surprised drifting sand hasn't filled it up yet. It would
be nice to have a close look at that bedrock exposure though. What do
you think they will do?

And look at these strange depressions. Is this a fracture in the
bedrock? A crater? A rille? A ditch? What caused this trench?

http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html
http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4R1M1.JPG.html

Michael
Mars Fossils, Pseudo Fossils and Problematica
http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~weinberg/mars
The best Mars Fossils site on the Internet

Yes it could be that, I have always suspected some sort of quicksand system,
that even might suck up a hot lander.
The alternative : Have you seen that movie 'rocket worms II' or whatever
it was called ;-).
But your explanation is more likely :-)
So, then the rover(s) may be in danger of getting sucked up unexpectedly.
Interesting.

JP

MarsFossils wrote:
What a wonder! What kind of rift or trench is this?
http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html

The sides look a bit steep and crumbly? Do you think Opp should try
to look in at the rock exposure. It looks deep and a bit dangerous
for our heroic and valuable rover.

Deep? It looks about 6-12 inches to me...

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

To reply remove spleen

Mike Maxwell wrote:

At the risk of getting flamed, I would say it looks like a series of
sinkholes over a cave system. Obviously not a limestone cave, but
conceivably a lava tunnel. But maybe there's a much more prosaic (and less
interesting) explanation...


This is freaky, because in the movie "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" the
indentations on the Martian surface that are observed from Earth as
"canals" are...a series of sinkholes over a volcanically created cave
system (with some still active volcanos in them in the movie).

Pat

Jan Panteltje wrote:

Yes it could be that, I have always suspected some sort of quicksand system,
that even might suck up a hot lander.
The alternative : Have you seen that movie 'rocket worms II' or whatever
it was called ;-).
But your explanation is more likely :-)
So, then the rover(s) may be in danger of getting sucked up unexpectedly.
Interesting.


Let's see...desert planet....two moons...hole in ground....orangish
soil...sounds like a spice blow to me; program the rover to only move in
a non-rythmic manner, or else it will end up in the gullet of a
sandworm. :-)

Sietch Wizard

In article ,
says...


Mike Maxwell wrote:

At the risk of getting flamed, I would say it looks like a series of
sinkholes over a cave system. Obviously not a limestone cave, but
conceivably a lava tunnel. But maybe there's a much more prosaic (and less
interesting) explanation...


This is freaky, because in the movie "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" the
indentations on the Martian surface that are observed from Earth as
"canals" are...a series of sinkholes over a volcanically created cave
system (with some still active volcanos in them in the movie).

So -- what you're saying, Pat, is that Opportunity *really* needs to be
on the lookout for a cute, personality-filled monkey (CPFM)?

All I've seen thus far from Meridiani along those lines, though, has
been a bland, pseudo-fiberfilled bunny (BPFB).

Doug

Deep? It looks about 6-12 inches to me...

Hi Greg,

http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html

I mean this one which looks deeper than 6 or 12 inches -- plus it has
steep crumbly edges.

Maybe when the Eagle crater was blasted out, the shock also opened
this fissure.

Michael
Mars Fossils, Pseudo Fossils and Problematica
http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~weinberg/mars
The best Mars Fossils site on the Internet

MarsFossils wrote:
Deep? It looks about 6-12 inches to me...


Hi Greg,


http://www.lyle.org/mars/imagery/1P1...4L7M1.JPG.html

I mean this one which looks deeper than 6 or 12 inches -- plus it has
steep crumbly edges.

Well, (1) make up your mind and (2) I still think it's only about a foot
deep... nothing of great concern to the rover.

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

To reply remove spleen