Mars rover update: November 14, 2016
Curiosity
For the overall context of Curiosity’s travels, see Pinpointing Curiosity’s location in Gale Crater.
Since my last update on November 3rd, Curiosity has reached the region of sand dunes and has started to pick its way through it. The panorama above was created using images from the rover’s left navigation camera, taken on Sol 1516. It looks south, with Mount Sharp rising on the left.
That same day Curiosity also used its mast camera to zoom in on the canyon gap in the center of the panorama. The first image below is the wider mast camera shot, with the an outline showing the even closer zoom-in below that.
This canyon is where Curiosity is heading. First however the rover has to get through the dunes. Below is the most recent overhead orbital image of the rover’s location on Sol 1519, uploaded today by the Curiosity science team, annotated by me to indicate several possible routes as well as the general direction the first panorama above was looking.
I fully admit that my guesses about the rover’s future travels are exactly that, nothing more than guesses. Regardless, we should expect the scenery to get increasingly spectacular in 2017.
Opportunity
For the overall context of Opportunity’s travels at Endeavour Crater, see Opportunity’s future travels on Mars.
Since my November 3rd update, Opportunity has finally begun its journey south from Spirit Mound and within the rim of Endeavour Crater. The orbital image to the right shows this and has also been annotated by me with my guess as to their next targets. I had read somewhere, but now cannot find the link, that they intend to take a close look at all the mounds similar to Spirit Mound. At some point further south they will then exit the rim and travel into the crater floor.
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.
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Related, Trump on his space policy:
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/11/14/trump-to-free-nasa-and-set-sights-on-further-space-exploration/