Interesting you mentioned the sun as a navigational guide - I am using it to stay true to the longitudinal drive as it sits off my port side by about 15 degrees. However it is slowly ascending the more I edge up towards the equator. In the end, I will loose it, too! Nice rock feature.
Equatorial cannonball run
- Thread starter disorganise
- Start date
Day 8; End position 0/-152.7905, Distance today 70km, Cumulative total 630km
Day 9; End position 0/-149.0928, Distance today 80km, Cumulative total 710km, Completion 8.59%
<sigh>....decided to do some maths and calculate completion based on the degrees.....this is slow going.
Nothing much to report landscape wise - bitsa plane, some unremarkable valleys, and a huge crater that caught me out (I was boosting when the ground fell - SRV at 24% cos I was gonna park up anyways, in the air at some 25m or so and boost used up....couple of rolls, chassis critical whilst desperately trying to to do an on-fly-repair - think it got down to about 3% but I survived!
). I shall take my red wine and leave now....
Day 9; End position 0/-149.0928, Distance today 80km, Cumulative total 710km, Completion 8.59%
<sigh>....decided to do some maths and calculate completion based on the degrees.....this is slow going.
Nothing much to report landscape wise - bitsa plane, some unremarkable valleys, and a huge crater that caught me out (I was boosting when the ground fell - SRV at 24% cos I was gonna park up anyways, in the air at some 25m or so and boost used up....couple of rolls, chassis critical whilst desperately trying to to do an on-fly-repair - think it got down to about 3% but I survived!
). I shall take my red wine and leave now....
Day 10; End position 0/-137.1496, Distance today 280km, Cumulative total 990km, Completion 11.90%
Day 11; End position 0/-109.0779, Distance today 640km, Cumulative total 1630km, Completion 19.70%
Gave it a good go but no way I'm gonna get near the -85 longitude by the stream event.
Random shots:
anyone else notice that long term exposure in the SRV leads to extreme drop in running temperature? the only thing I turn off is the shield, so between the following screenies there's nothing different except position and time spent running
Temperature Dropping:
Day 11; End position 0/-109.0779, Distance today 640km, Cumulative total 1630km, Completion 19.70%
Gave it a good go but no way I'm gonna get near the -85 longitude by the stream event.
Random shots:
anyone else notice that long term exposure in the SRV leads to extreme drop in running temperature? the only thing I turn off is the shield, so between the following screenies there's nothing different except position and time spent running
Temperature Dropping:
27%
24%
22%
19%
12%
10%
7% - starting to get very icy in here!
24%
22%
19%
12%
10%
7% - starting to get very icy in here!
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Oh that's a good point about the exposure. I will have to keep an eye on that. I wonder what the record is for continual SRV driving and if we can break that here at Beagle Point 2? We can argue it is in the name of research!!! Ach, can't rep yet!
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Well according to the timestamps on my screenshots. I did 10 hrs 10 mins yesterday - 1.26pm to 11.36pm local time.
In case it helps anyone - I tracked the elements I picked up yesterday. Didn't track the sources, but mostly outcrops with a couple of metallic meteorites and chrondites from memory. I haven't yet looked how this maps (or not) to the rock rats prospecting pre-engineers
| Iron | Very Common | 27 |
| Nickel | Very Common | 14 |
| Phosphorus | Very Common | 10 |
| Sulphur | Very Common | 19 |
| Carbon | Very Common | 12 |
| Chromium | Common | 10 |
| Vanadium | Common | 9 |
| Arsenic | No rating | 2 |
| Mercury | Rare | 3 |
| Molybdenum | Rare | 2 |
| Yttrium | Rare | 3 |
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10 hours?! Blimey - and I thought I was a masochist . . .
Day 12; End position 0/-108.6754, Distance today 10km, Cumulative total 1640km, Completion 19.81%
Day 13; End position 0/-105.9742, Distance today 60km, Cumulative total 1700km, Completion 20.56%
Day 14; End position 0/-105.4912, Distance today 10km, Cumulative total 1710km, Completion 20.70%
***
It's funny how despite days being very much the same, they differ. The pocket of mercury was unexpected and without any obvious geological differentiation, but the 6 units in as many minutes made a huge impact to my stock levels. You just never know right?
The radio crackling to life was the second surprise. FGE were requesting me back on duty for a few days. Truth be known, the distraction from the endless barren terrain was quite welcome.
And so the equatorial cannonball run was temporarily halted, with the co-ordinates recorded to 4 decimal places to ensure it would be possible to continue from exactly where I left off. Ideally I'd leave the buggy here, but I've noticed some issues with the heating system over the last few days. I fear that left unattended for a few days, irrepairable damage may be caused by the extreme cold should the heat units continue to glitch.
No, better to take it with me and give it an overhaul in the hanger. Having covered around 1700km without a hangar repair, it's well overdue anyway.
Jumping back into the pilots seat of Cleopatra II was at once familar and foreign. It felt like it had been years! And lift off reflected that to be honest. Just as well I packed up the SRV else there was every chance I would have crippled it with the ship!
The skills learned recently to 'skip' over the worst of the uneven (that's exceptionally diplomatic) terrain, don't translate well into the Asp. If I was back in the bubbleb I think my license would be suspended pending a run through the training program!
But that doesn't apply out here of course. And so it was that a drunken Asp made its way to the rest of the FGE crew.
The near misses won't be mentioned in the official report, of course. But for the purpose of my diary....well....thankfully no one else seems to notice! Mis-judgement of relative speed is a terrible curse; perhaps understandable given the solitude and entirely different pace of the passed few weeks, but inexcusable in close formation flying. Not once....but twice, with two different pilots. No harm done but jeez was it heart in mouth for a short while. But after a those incidents all was fine; muscle memory kicked in and the drunken Asp became stable again and the days duties were able to be carried out. Phew!
Day 13; End position 0/-105.9742, Distance today 60km, Cumulative total 1700km, Completion 20.56%
Day 14; End position 0/-105.4912, Distance today 10km, Cumulative total 1710km, Completion 20.70%
***
It's funny how despite days being very much the same, they differ. The pocket of mercury was unexpected and without any obvious geological differentiation, but the 6 units in as many minutes made a huge impact to my stock levels. You just never know right?
The radio crackling to life was the second surprise. FGE were requesting me back on duty for a few days. Truth be known, the distraction from the endless barren terrain was quite welcome.
And so the equatorial cannonball run was temporarily halted, with the co-ordinates recorded to 4 decimal places to ensure it would be possible to continue from exactly where I left off. Ideally I'd leave the buggy here, but I've noticed some issues with the heating system over the last few days. I fear that left unattended for a few days, irrepairable damage may be caused by the extreme cold should the heat units continue to glitch.
No, better to take it with me and give it an overhaul in the hanger. Having covered around 1700km without a hangar repair, it's well overdue anyway.
Jumping back into the pilots seat of Cleopatra II was at once familar and foreign. It felt like it had been years! And lift off reflected that to be honest. Just as well I packed up the SRV else there was every chance I would have crippled it with the ship!
The skills learned recently to 'skip' over the worst of the uneven (that's exceptionally diplomatic) terrain, don't translate well into the Asp. If I was back in the bubbleb I think my license would be suspended pending a run through the training program!
But that doesn't apply out here of course. And so it was that a drunken Asp made its way to the rest of the FGE crew.
The near misses won't be mentioned in the official report, of course. But for the purpose of my diary....well....thankfully no one else seems to notice! Mis-judgement of relative speed is a terrible curse; perhaps understandable given the solitude and entirely different pace of the passed few weeks, but inexcusable in close formation flying. Not once....but twice, with two different pilots. No harm done but jeez was it heart in mouth for a short while. But after a those incidents all was fine; muscle memory kicked in and the drunken Asp became stable again and the days duties were able to be carried out. Phew!
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Day 15; End position 0/-103.7055, Distance today 40km, Cumulative total 1750km, Completion 21.19%
The mind can be an odd thing. After all the fun and frivolity of the 'Circus Games', the return to the spot that I had exited the SRV was filled with confusion. I had expected to find my wheel tracks, of course, and at first dismissed their absence as being unfortunate, but due to the wind. Except, of course, there is no wind on an airless rock as I realised shortly thereafter.
It took a few moments to think and realise that the tracks had been erased by the take-off and landing off Cleopatra II.
And so, the journey resumes.
I have two new friends to guide me now. Didn't think to check their real denominations in the ship computer, but I'm calling them Freydo and Advocat. They sit just above the horizon for the moment and as close to dead ahead as makes no difference. It is sooo much easier to track a star in the distance than to track the on-board compass.
It was quite enlightening meeting with the already well reknowned Cmdr Macedonica and fascinating to realise that whist we're doing pretty much the same sort of journey at 90 degrees to each other, the approach is somewhat different.
Felix favours alternating his SRV's to even up the wear, which makes a great deal of sense it has to be said. Rightly or wrongly, I'm doggedly sticking with the one SRV, figuring that if I break it to the point of being irrepairable, I'll still have the brand spanker in the hangar.
The system glitches seem to be prevalent for both of us though. The buggies just don't seem to be built for long-term exploration. Fragility is not a word you like to associate with a piece of machinery that protects your life from the harshness of vacuum whilst bouncing around off random rocks and tumbling down crater walls. But it is an appropriate word. Certainly, we shall have much feedback for the factory when we get back.
I am glad I brought the SRV into the ship though. I hadnt realised the bent steering arm and buckled rim were causing so much grief. But now that they've been re-fabricated to blueprint, the Rock Diviner is so much easier to steer. What was I thinking?
The mind can be an odd thing. After all the fun and frivolity of the 'Circus Games', the return to the spot that I had exited the SRV was filled with confusion. I had expected to find my wheel tracks, of course, and at first dismissed their absence as being unfortunate, but due to the wind. Except, of course, there is no wind on an airless rock as I realised shortly thereafter.
It took a few moments to think and realise that the tracks had been erased by the take-off and landing off Cleopatra II.
And so, the journey resumes.
I have two new friends to guide me now. Didn't think to check their real denominations in the ship computer, but I'm calling them Freydo and Advocat. They sit just above the horizon for the moment and as close to dead ahead as makes no difference. It is sooo much easier to track a star in the distance than to track the on-board compass.
It was quite enlightening meeting with the already well reknowned Cmdr Macedonica and fascinating to realise that whist we're doing pretty much the same sort of journey at 90 degrees to each other, the approach is somewhat different.
Felix favours alternating his SRV's to even up the wear, which makes a great deal of sense it has to be said. Rightly or wrongly, I'm doggedly sticking with the one SRV, figuring that if I break it to the point of being irrepairable, I'll still have the brand spanker in the hangar.
The system glitches seem to be prevalent for both of us though. The buggies just don't seem to be built for long-term exploration. Fragility is not a word you like to associate with a piece of machinery that protects your life from the harshness of vacuum whilst bouncing around off random rocks and tumbling down crater walls. But it is an appropriate word. Certainly, we shall have much feedback for the factory when we get back.
I am glad I brought the SRV into the ship though. I hadnt realised the bent steering arm and buckled rim were causing so much grief. But now that they've been re-fabricated to blueprint, the Rock Diviner is so much easier to steer. What was I thinking?
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For some reason, I think it's both great and a bit sad that we have to come to that kind of challenge to rekindle the fun in exploration.
Nice to meet you also, Disorganise. One day I hope to see your SRV lights gleaming in the distance as we meet properly along that equatorial line . . .
It took me ages (an hour?) to fly from your position back to mine. I'm hoping to put in a big day Saturday. I think there's a chance that I'll get too far around before you can make the equator
Too far? Oh no! I have this whole writing narrative set up where I see your SRV approaching along the equatorial line, its light shining like a beacon, only to find out as I pull up alongside your dessicated corpse trapped inside. I sit and let the SRV trundle past and on, ever on, with you strapped in for all eternity endlessly driving about that planet . . .
Perhaps I should write a comedy instead???
Perhaps I should write a comedy instead???
LOL! That's exactly how it feels at times!
My positiona are posted. I'm hoping to make 30 or 40 degrees this weekend which will get me to 0/-65. Iirc your around the x/-85, but I cant remember the first number?
If I don't take advantage of my "free" Saturday, I fear I'll never get to 0/0 let alone 0/180.......
My positiona are posted. I'm hoping to make 30 or 40 degrees this weekend which will get me to 0/-65. Iirc your around the x/-85, but I cant remember the first number?
If I don't take advantage of my "free" Saturday, I fear I'll never get to 0/0 let alone 0/180.......
I am pulling northwards up to the equator following the -85 meridian (or so - I do veer now and then depending on terrain features). I am pushing up into the -50s latitudes but progress is slow. I will try and up the distance on each run to gain ground. If you make -65 longitude at the weekend, you will have overshot me, I think.
Let me see if I can make up ground this week!
Let me see if I can make up ground this week!
Day 16; End position 0/-102.35502, Distance today 30km, Cumulative total 1780km, Completed: 21.57%
Day 17; End position 0/-100.6907, Distance today 40km, Cumulative total 1820km, Completed: 22.03%
I guess now we say goodbye to the galaxy as backdrop
Day 17; End position 0/-100.6907, Distance today 40km, Cumulative total 1820km, Completed: 22.03%
I guess now we say goodbye to the galaxy as backdrop
I thought about this kind of srv race before and wanted to do a complete BP circumnavigation from DWE celebrations end to Jaques arrival, but i found that the average speed drops more in the directions of 5m/s when you are in hilly regions.
Therefore your time estimate would be more likely to be 300-400h+
good luck tho
On the other hand, in the Hutton Endurance rally the top teams averaged over 25m/s (covering 600km in around 6hrs).
Good luck whatever your speed. o7
Day 18; End position 0/-99.2321, Distance today 30km, Cumulative total 1850km, Completed: 22.44%
Day 19; End position 0/-98.2206, Distance today 30km, Cumulative total 1880km, Completed: 22.72%
Day 20; End position 0/-90.0000, Distance today 180km, Cumulative total 2060km, Completed: 25.00%
The day started with the usual 'uneven bits and bumpy bits'. Nothing exciting really, just the same old same old, and a buggy that loves to seek out rocks to impale itself upon. In the far distance, a white-ish mountain range was evident and may I would get there today.
Day 19; End position 0/-98.2206, Distance today 30km, Cumulative total 1880km, Completed: 22.72%
Day 20; End position 0/-90.0000, Distance today 180km, Cumulative total 2060km, Completed: 25.00%
The day started with the usual 'uneven bits and bumpy bits'. Nothing exciting really, just the same old same old, and a buggy that loves to seek out rocks to impale itself upon. In the far distance, a white-ish mountain range was evident and may I would get there today.
Eventually, the 'plain' gave way to a crevasse, with Freydo and Advocat standing guard over the range.
Maybe it's the dust, maybe it's the utter silence and loneliness. But there is something. Something that momentarily causes a blindness to descend. A total disregard for any risks. Yes. This crevasse offered a perfect mix of danger and opportunity....my personal best land speed record on this planet shall be broken!
And so the accelerator hits the stops and most of any control goes with it!
There's every chance one could collide irreparable into a rock at this speed....but no reason to slow down right?
Now there's a score! 54m/s is HUGE, at least for me
I came uncomfortably close to not living to record the tale though.....but that makes it all the more exciting right?
The near-death experience was soon followed up with more risk. My path cutting across a steep incline that threatened to roll my buggy to the gully below
The other side was......unbelievable.
It's hard to believe this is the same planet! I shall name this place Strawberry Peaks [0/-94.8]. As much as it is treacherous crossing here, it is also quite beautiful. If only as a contrast to the monotony that has gone before.
And over the peaks.....a new welcome on the horizon.
Oh my. The Strawberry Peaks are giving way to The Great Strawberry Expanse [0/-94.6 to 0/-93.5]
Well the heater seems to be on the blink again. Don't know what it is. Whether its a case of field repairs just not cutting it, I don't know.
But I have, nonetheless made it to an almighty milestone. This hereby marks exactly 90 degrees from my starting position.
Maybe it's the dust, maybe it's the utter silence and loneliness. But there is something. Something that momentarily causes a blindness to descend. A total disregard for any risks. Yes. This crevasse offered a perfect mix of danger and opportunity....my personal best land speed record on this planet shall be broken!
And so the accelerator hits the stops and most of any control goes with it!
There's every chance one could collide irreparable into a rock at this speed....but no reason to slow down right?
Now there's a score! 54m/s is HUGE, at least for me
I came uncomfortably close to not living to record the tale though.....but that makes it all the more exciting right?
The near-death experience was soon followed up with more risk. My path cutting across a steep incline that threatened to roll my buggy to the gully below
The other side was......unbelievable.
It's hard to believe this is the same planet! I shall name this place Strawberry Peaks [0/-94.8]. As much as it is treacherous crossing here, it is also quite beautiful. If only as a contrast to the monotony that has gone before.
And over the peaks.....a new welcome on the horizon.
Oh my. The Strawberry Peaks are giving way to The Great Strawberry Expanse [0/-94.6 to 0/-93.5]
Well the heater seems to be on the blink again. Don't know what it is. Whether its a case of field repairs just not cutting it, I don't know.
But I have, nonetheless made it to an almighty milestone. This hereby marks exactly 90 degrees from my starting position.
Day 21; End position 0/-55.3491, Distance today 760km, Cumulative total 2820km, Completed: 34.63%
Remind me again, why am I doing this? With FGE long gone, and pay being associated with system discoveries, it all seems a bit...well...pointless really. Who really cares if it is possible to drive around an entire world with a flimsy SRV? yeah, I bet they're both a bit odd!
I can see it being a great chat up line at the bar; "I once drove around Beagle Point 2, just because I could.....ooh, steady, perhaps we should find somewhere more private"...yeah right.
Remind me again, why am I doing this? With FGE long gone, and pay being associated with system discoveries, it all seems a bit...well...pointless really. Who really cares if it is possible to drive around an entire world with a flimsy SRV? yeah, I bet they're both a bit odd!
I can see it being a great chat up line at the bar; "I once drove around Beagle Point 2, just because I could.....ooh, steady, perhaps we should find somewhere more private"...yeah right.
What do we have here? If my eyes aren't deceiving me, that's a fairly big peak over there, and looks like it might be on the path
Pretty sure I saw that cat go down here. Here kitty kitty...
So I found the meringue sector then..
This buggy is bugged. The thrusters are playing up now
Been running the shields today try and keep the heat going. Whilst it chews through the fuel and does seem to slow the temperature drop a bit, the heat pack still seem to be failing. The only workaround is a complete reboot of the SRV...which is a pain cos it means going back to the hangar. Hello? Design fault?
The cold isn't so much an issue for me - so long as my suit doesn't go on the blink, but I worry about it introducing a element of brittleness to the buggy components - slow and steady isn't an option after all1
ooh! These rocks are magic - they have sparks between them.
I hereby lay claim to Mount Little Joe [0/-71]
and looking back
Whoah, whoops!
Hi there. Are you looking for the cat too? I haven't seen it for a while
Icy you!
Buggy Point!
I can tell you're laughing
Peekaboo!
Lighthouse!
Where did the ground disappear to?
Looking back it's obvious
Screaming man's cater
Signing off to reboot the SRV
Pretty sure I saw that cat go down here. Here kitty kitty...
So I found the meringue sector then..
This buggy is bugged. The thrusters are playing up now
Been running the shields today try and keep the heat going. Whilst it chews through the fuel and does seem to slow the temperature drop a bit, the heat pack still seem to be failing. The only workaround is a complete reboot of the SRV...which is a pain cos it means going back to the hangar. Hello? Design fault?
The cold isn't so much an issue for me - so long as my suit doesn't go on the blink, but I worry about it introducing a element of brittleness to the buggy components - slow and steady isn't an option after all1
ooh! These rocks are magic - they have sparks between them.
I hereby lay claim to Mount Little Joe [0/-71]
and looking back
Whoah, whoops!
Hi there. Are you looking for the cat too? I haven't seen it for a while
Icy you!
Buggy Point!
I can tell you're laughing
Peekaboo!
Lighthouse!
Where did the ground disappear to?
Looking back it's obvious
Screaming man's cater
Signing off to reboot the SRV
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For some reason I'm out of rep but just to let you know (if indeed you ever receive this) that your transmissions are getting through and there's at least one person back here who's following your exploits with interest.
o7
o7