posted on Jun, 13 2004 @ 04:47 AM
No actually Kano there is literal problems in getting the rover back out, for one those wheels are not the best traction devices, when you go 4x4ing
you know you let the air out of your tires, these tires are solid and so can't grab on to surfaces very well. Opportunity already had gotten stuck
for many days on a slope not even a fraction at the angle of this crater wall. They eventually had to completely alter the course of Opportunity
altogether to maneuver around that small depression.
If it goes in it's pretty much stuck. It's a large enough crater it probably would be worth it, since winter is coming along and who knows if
either machine will survive that.
However I believe that since both machines have already accomplished every goal set for them, that they should push the envelope and explore the
region, not just a part of it.
Spirit is some 3.25 km away from where it began, and is nearing a large hill to explore, that is good. I'm not sure what near-by regions there are
to Opportunity but I think that risking possible continued use for a possible success in a crater is folly. If nothing is found, that machine is
ruined so to speak.
Where as if you maintain the rover's ability to navigate, it has the possibility of working for years...so long as the electronics do not freeze over
during winter.
And you never know, a peice of anorthosite might be just over the next small hill. They've taken great photos of the crater, and it doesn't seem
that there is good enough odds they'd find anything remarkable there compared to what they can find under a rock somewhere else. The bedrock exposed
in this crater will not be much different from that in the one it began at.