sounds like there's a bit of buzz about this one, scheduled for 10 am PDT June 15th.

From the Alex Blackwell on the boards of space.com:

"Based on what I'm hearing, I would advise everyone to tune in to this news conference. This is not the run-of-the-mill MER briefing but, from what I undestand, big news from Gusev and the Columbia Hills. "
and later :
"what I meant by "big news" is on a similar scale of importance of, say, what Opportunity found in Eagle Crater at Meridiani Planum. In other words, something related to the story of liquid water at Gusev Crater, which heretofore has taken a definite back seat to the discoveries made at Meridiani Planum. What I'm not predicting, however, is anything related to "life on Mars," "ancient martian civilizations," etc. "

Also, from nasawatch.com dated June 11th

"Editor's note: Word from NASA sources has it that Sean O'Keefe is enroute to California to do a Gravity Probe-B review at Stanford University. He will then travel to Pasadena for a Mars Exploration Rover update at NASA JPL. O'Keefe's travelling companion on this trip is Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee."

should be interesting

The latest images do appear to show blueberry producing rocks.

qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/pancam/2004-06-14/2P140478588EFF6830P2597L7M1.JPG
(cut and paste it!)

Where did you see that on space.com? Couldnt find it.

-edit-

OK i found it now, thakns for the info. Sounds exciting

ToSeek is set up and ready to go. Let's see just how exciting this news is going to be. Let's see how exciting the panelists are going to be.

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No clues in the title slide they're showing ahead of time, just the usual "Mars Exploration Rover News Briefing" with the date and time and some background photos.

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Here goes. Panelists look to be all guys:

Mark Adler - Mission Manager
Larry Soderblom - Science team member
Scott McLennan - Science team member

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Mark Adler:

"A great week on Mars." Spirit heading for Columbia Hills. "Are we there yet? Well, we're finally there."

Slides showing planned and actual traverse paths.

Opportunity heading into crater. Rovers getting "second wind" in new places.

Opportunity opening second chapter of book on Meridiani, first chapter from Eagle crater.

It's as if we're starting a new mission.

Deep sleep working well, not harming mini-TES.

Rover behaving exactly as expected on slopes of crater. Should be able to traverse crater and get back out.

Looking at other objectives within Endurance Crater, will consider if can manage.

Spirit working on rock called "Pot of Gold" using arm. Planning on climbing to rock outcrop in front of us. Spirit showing signs of age - right front wheel taking 2-3 times current as other wheels, some resistance in gearbox. Taking steps to diagnose problem. Try to heat wheel and redistribute lubrication.

Consider running wheel to end-of-life or turn wheel off and run with five except when six really needed. Running tests to see effects.

Lost one sol of activities due to failure to get commands on board. Oscillator got cold and drifted off of frequency. Spirit has gotten a little "hard of hearing," suffering from "arthritis" due to age.

Spirit has gone 3.4 kilometers, wheels only tested to 3 km.

Two months past expected lifetime. Could operate for several more months or die tomorrow.

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Oh no, I just know that EVERY question from the press is going to be about that wheel.

Larry Soderblom (this is a big gun!):

What we are finding is nothing short of remarkable. Crossed "dotted line" into area of hills. First thought, "Is this Meridiani?" Seeing nodules, rounded grains. Could be many causes, not necessarily same as Meridiani. Looking at structures in "Pot of Gold." Some nodules round, some more football-shaped. (Someone has posted this image here or something very close to it, showing nodules as tendril kind of stuck out from the rock.) Going to examine using instruments on arm (miniTES, Mossbauer, APXS).

Other rocks: "rocking rocks." Looks like decaying loaf of bread, about same size. Crust around edges, some sort of resistant material.

Most remarkable image: stereo pair, seeing "cobra heads", little canopy standing up on surface about 3 centimeters above rock. Remnants of holes being rotted away from soft interior of rock. Composition of stuff that's holding out is a real mystery right now.

Currently as base of West Spur. Everything seen so far has cascaded down from the hill.

Showing where Spirit is now and where they want it to go. Looks as if it's heading to the ridge! Go over top and down to inner basin.

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Scott McLennan:

Opportunity down in Endurance Crater, expecting to get very useful results.

Showing panoramas of crater. "Exquisite layering" that we're interested in.

Showing path into crater as seen from Pan Point 1.

Now about 5 meters into crater, very distinct layering visible.

Little forward hazcam move showing Opportunity going in, out, in to new position.

Finished up at rock called "Tennessee," which is the one they're looking at now.

Rear hazcam - can see effects of wheels on the rock.

Showing "stratigraphic section" that we're interested in. "Extremely interesting geology." Overexposed image, hard to make out. Blocky evaporated material at top, rock shaped like the state it's named for. Done a successful RATing.

Will then move on down to a different-colored material (pinker in false-color image). Noting "contact" point between two different types of layers. Will consider going past contact into deeper layers, seeing at least three different subunits.

Standard field geologist procedure to go layer by layer, gratifying to do same with Opportunity.

Question time.

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No science questions yet lol........... typical

How long has wheel problem been going and is it getting worse?

About three weeks and yes.

Possible that other wheels will have problems?

Yes, seems to be age-related problem. Thought it might be due to use, but trenching has been done with left-front wheel (which is fine), not right front.

Frequency problem likely to recur?

Something we have to keep an eye on. Need to sweep frequencies to be sure to catch oscillator frequency.

What season is it on Mars? What are the shortest days going to be?

Dead of winter = October 15. Not sole effect, Mars has comparatively elliptical orbit. See big increase in power input come January. Have plans in place to make it through winter.

"Bad things for rover" in mid-September: Sun farthest north, Mars farthest from Sun, Earth farthest from Mars all at same time.

Opportunity doing better than usual because side of crater it's on is tilted toward Sun (560 watt-hours).

Spirit farther south, getting much less (<400?), will need to look for hillsides to sit on to maximize solar power.

How many wheels can you lose and keep going?

Talking about how good the gearbox is - significant gear ratios, can get a lot of torque if need be. Think it's possible to manage with just 2-3 wheels, potentially.

Pot of Gold very well-organized. Seeing layers?

Nodules seem to be formed in layers, too early to tell for sure.

How do you decide what to do next, which slopes?

With each sol and move, can get images and determine trafficability. Very confident of ability to get down to "contact," need to do calculations before going lower.

Any significant rover slips?

Scientists are happy - Opportunity is getting where they ask it to be sent. Slippage is at or below predictions. Very confident about being able to navigate slopes encountered so far.

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The blobby rock at left with the "tendrils" is the "Pot of Gold" rock they were referring to.

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..so they plan on climbing part of the hill?

The image shown at the press conference made it look as if they were attempting to reach the crest of one of the hills, though it was hard to tell for absolutely sure.

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Writeup from SpaceFlightNow:

Spirit, showing signs of old age, reaches Columbia hills

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Press release, courtesy of SpaceRef.

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