New views of Victoria Crater and the Mars rovers

[dlavery]

For those that are interested...
NASA'S MARS ROVER REVEALS DRAMATIC NEW IMAGES

NASA is hosting a news briefing at 11 a.m. EDT, Friday, Oct. 6, to present stunning images returned by the agency's “Opportunity” rover from the Victoria crater on Mars. The briefing will be in the NASA headquarters auditorium, 300 E Street S.W., Washington.

Plans for the next phases of work for Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, also will be discussed. Both rovers have been exploring Mars more than 10 times as long as initially planned.

Panelists:
-- Doug McCuistion, director, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters
-- Alfred McEwen, principal investigator, MRO High Resolution Camera, University of Arizona, Tucson
-- Steve Squyres, principal investigator, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
-- Jim Bell, lead scientist, Rover panoramic camera, Cornell

The briefing will air live on NASA TV with question and answer capability from participating agency centers. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home
The images to be presented will include the ones referenced in this thread (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49162) and at the end of this thread (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48886&page=2). Without giving away the whole story, trust me - seeing these images is worth the wait. :)

-dave

[ChuckDickerson]

Thanks for the heads up! I will be on the road tomorrow but I have set the DVR for NASA TV tomorrow morning.

[Wetzel]

So when you said to wait for Friday, you really mean 11am EST Friday. I guess I can wait another 10.5 hours...


Wetzel

[Rich Wong]

Wow, can't wait!

Thanks.
I hope to add to my collection of Mars landscape pictures.
:)

[JohnBoucher]

Cool. We'll be watching the webcast.

[dlavery]

So when you said to wait for Friday, you really mean 11am EST Friday. I guess I can wait another 10.5 hours...

Wetzel
Well, some of the images came down last Friday. But the very best ones were downloaded Wednesday night and yesterday. We knew they were going to be good, so decided to wait until this Friday and just release them all at once. And, yeah, it is worth the wait.

-dave

[JohnBoucher]

Spectacular...

And what a happy bunch of guys. Congrats to all.

[Wetzel]

So for those of us that had class during the conference, when will they replay it? I'm watching the pictures now, but I was wondering if there was commentary to go along with it..

Wetzel

[JaneYoung]

So for those of us that had class during the conference, when will they replay it? I'm watching the pictures now, but I was wondering if there was commentary to go along with it..

Wetzel
See if this helps.
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/index.html

[Wetzel]

See if this helps.
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/index.html
Thanks! That found me http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Mars which is what I wanted.

Wetzel

[Rich Wong]

Nice pictures! (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/index.html)

Thanks NASA/JPL/Cornell.
:]

[ChuckDickerson]

I have been out of town and last night was the first chance I had to view these stunning images. These are some of the most remarkable photographs ever taken not only for the pure beauty of the crater and the Martian landscape but moreover for the technical achievement they represent. For a moment, think about what it has taken for you to sit at your computer and view these photographs and just how far man has come in his quest for knowledge about the world around him. I have no words to describe the feelings I have looking at these images. Somehow words like wonderful, beautiful, outstanding, incredible, stunning, magnificent, just don't do justice to the images. The fact that we can actually take a picture of Opportunity from an orbiting satellite (MRO) and not only see it clearly but see the tracks in the soil and the shadow of the pan/tilt camera is just plain COOL! Thank you to NASA, JPL, Cornell and all those involved and please keep the image coming! In today's world when the mainstream media chooses to bombard us with "news" of death and destruction rather than triumphs and accomplishments it is news and images like these that restore my confidence in the future of mankind. It is unfortunate that mainstream media see more value in "reporting" on "MySpace.com" rather the accomplishments in Space exploration. If you haven't had a chance to checkout the images be sure to click the links above. You will not be disappointed, I promise! If you are, well something is just wrong!

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Dave,
Are the slanted striations a result of the blast that formed the crater? Or are they fault lines in the original rock? Any thoughts being bantered about on this subject? These are certainly exciting times for us, the guys at JPL must be doing handsprings.