From what I understand in reading the specs on this rover, and I am an engineer so its not rocket science or unfamiliar to me, this unit has the
ability to say "NO I WONT GO". In other words, it uses the hazard camera to "sense" an obstruction as it moves along the pre programed course sent
down to it by the ground command here on Earth. The ground drivers are not always able to see very far ahead when they plot the course and program the
rover to follow that course.
Knowing they would have this situation, they built this thing so that it was smart. The computers on board would follow the course plotted into them,
but they would also refer to the real time hazcam data as it travels. This avoids any potential risk of the rover diving right into a hole or over a
cliff that the operators could not see prior to programing a navigation course.
Pretty easy and not so complex to understand or implement either.
Here is the nav cam shot after the rover went over the rock/wood object.
Full size
HERE.
I have highlighted two points in yellow circles with text. These are the two turn points where the rover turned to manuver towards the rock/wood. And
the rover obviously stopped to make its turn at the first turning point. Why is this so? Becasue if you look closely, you can see the tracks at that
point do a complete 360 circle in the dirt, meaning the rover rotated a full 360 degrees to get a full 360 degree circle view before proceeding to
turn point number two, where it did a near 45 degree turn and then one side of the rover, the right side wheels, went over the rock/wood object.
So my point here is that not only did the operators know that this rock laiden area was approaching by the 360 degree rotation of the whole rover to
get a view of everything around it, they knew that this rock/wood thing was there because the distance between the rock/wood object is not so far that
they did not see it comming when the rover did its 360 degree view rotational turn at turn point 1.
They programed this rover to head towards the rock/wood object, then do another stop, which may or may not have happend, but certianly at turn point
number 2, they did a 45 degree turn to the left to go over this object with the right side wheels of the rover.
So they knew it was there. This rear view hazcam view shows that after they went over the rock/wood object and parked just short of the cliff, the
rear of the rover shows not one, but two of these rock/wood objects.
Image
HERE.
With knowing that this very unusual geological feature was there before navigating up to it, running over it, and stopping after doing so, that there
is reason to accept some mudane reason that they were worried about going over the cliff when obviously they had pre-warning of that when doing the
360 degree rotation view at turn point 1, and not even bother to stop before running over the rock/wood object to "break out the goods" and study
this thing closely????
Well as some skeptics like to say...I say..."BULL"!!!
I am sure they did. They are just keeping that data from us. Probably because it very well MAY BE a petrified piece of wood.
Why else wouldnt they bother to get a closer look when in no other imagry from ANY other rover has EVER encountered such an object like that
before????
Curious.
Never Admitting Serious Anomalies
Cheers!!!!
[edit on 13-12-2008 by RFBurns]