News

NASA's senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is departing "Cape Tribulation," a crater-rim segment it has explored since late 2014, southbound for its next destination, "Perseverance Valley."

The rover team plans observations in the valley to determine what type of fluid activity carved it billions of years ago: water, wind or flowing debris lubricated by water.

A color panorama of a ridge called "Rocheport" provides both a parting souvenir of Cape Tribulation and also possible help for understanding the valley ahead. The view was assembled from multiple images taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera.

"The degree of erosion at Rocheport is fascinating," said Opportunity Deputy Principal Investigator Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis. "Grooves run perpendicular to the crest line. They may have been carved by water or ice or wind. We want to see as many features like this on the way to Perseverance Valley as we can, for comparison with what we find there."

Perseverance Valley is about two football fields long. It cuts downward west to east across the western rim of Endeavour Crater.

The crater is about 14 miles in diameter, with a segmented rim that exposes the oldest rocks ever investigated in place on Mars.

Opportunity has less than four football fields' distance of driving to reach the top of the valley after departing Cape Tribulation, a raised segment about 3 miles long on the crater's western rim. 

In 68 months since reaching Endeavour Crater, Opportunity has explored "Cape York," "Solander Point" and "Murray Ridge" before reaching Cape Tribulation about 30 months ago. "Cape Byron," the next raised segment to the south, contains Perseverance Valley and is separated from Tribulation by a gap of flatter ground.

Five drives totaling about 320 feet since the beginning of April have brought Opportunity to a boundary area where Cape Tribulation meets the plain surrounding the crater.

Cape Tribulation has been the site of significant events in the mission. There, in 2015, Opportunity surpassed a marathon-race distance of total driving since its 2004 landing on Mars.

It climbed to the highest-elevation viewpoint it has reached on Endeavour's rim. In a region of Tribulation called "Marathon Valley," it investigated outcrops containing clay minerals that had been detected from orbit.

There were some name-appropriate Tribulation experiences, as well. The rover team has coped with loss of reliability in Opportunity's non-volatile "flash" memory since 2015. With flash memory unavailable, each day's observations are lost if not radioed homeward the same day.

"From the Cape Tribulation departure point, we'll make a beeline to the head of Perseverance Valley, then turn left and drive down the full length of the valley, if we can," Arvidson said. "It's what you would do if you were an astronaut arriving at a feature like this: Start at the top, looking at the source material, then proceed down the valley, looking at deposits along the way and at the bottom."

Clues to how the valley was carved could come from the arrangement of different sizes of rocks and gravel in the deposits.

He said, "If it was a debris flow, initiated by a little water, with lots of rocks moving downhill, it should be a jumbled mess. If it was a river cutting a channel, we may see gravel bars, crossbedding, and what's called a 'fining upward' pattern of sediments, with coarsest rocks at the bottom." 

Another pattern that could be evidence of flowing water would be if elongated pieces of gravel in a deposited bed tend to be stacked leaning in the same direction, providing a record of the downstream flow direction.

Now more than 13 years into a mission originally scheduled to last three months on Mars, Opportunity remains unexpectedly capable of continued exploration.

It has driven about four-tenths of a mile since the start of 2017, bringing the total traverse so far to 27.6 miles. The current season on Mars is past the period when global dust storms might arise and curtail Opportunity's solar power.

Opportunity and the next-generation Mars rover, Curiosity, as well as three active NASA Mars orbiters, and surface missions to launch in 2018 and 2020 are all part of a legacy of robotic exploration which is helping to lay the groundwork for sending humans there in the 2030s.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, built Opportunity and manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

For more information about Opportunity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rovers and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Matthew Christian Holmes went to be with the Lord on Sunday, April 9, 2017, in Clearlake.

He was born in Santa Rosa on Dec. 31, 1982.

Matthew was a great dad, son, barbecue cook and welder.

Matthew was preceded in death by his mother, Maxine Stevenson-Holmes; grandmother, Vivian Stevenson; grandparents, A.J. and Laverne Whitt; uncles, Roger Stevenson and Donald Gabriel Wesley and Jemina Wesley.

He is survived by his father, Robert; step-mom, Debbie; sons, Matt and Marques; brothers, Robert Holmes Jr., Isaac, DJ, Selena Wesley; aunts, Jeannie Stevenson and Candy Bell, Charlene Whitt, Alice Whitt; and uncle, Gary Stevenson.

Matthew also leaves behind stepchildren, Eric and Nina; nephews and nieces, Demetrius, Justin and Robert III, Ari, Trina, Brian, Doria, Brandy, Maria, Amber, Ronnie, Devon, Dillon, Val, Christian, Candy, Cece, Ryder, Meshon, Bill, Michael, Anthony, Kim, Nalahja, Terrail, Darren, Dallen, Ronnie Jr. and Kilo.

A memorial service is planned for Tuesday April 25, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Chapel of Santa Rosa Memorial Park. Committal will be immediately after at the graveside. Reception to follow at the Odd Fellows Hall, 545 Pacific Ave., Santa Rosa.

Arrangements under the care of Jones & Lewis Clear Lake Memorial Chapel.

Please share your loving memories of Matthew by signing his online guestbook at www.jonesandlewis.com and www.legacy.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Leonard Thomas McCuan passed away in St. Helena on Monday, April 10, 2017, at the age of 68.

Born in Modesto, Calif., and formerly of Concord, Washington and Richmond, he was a resident of Lake County for 10 years.

Leonard served his county in the United States Marine Corps. He was a heavy equipment operator and carpenter for several years.

Leonard is survived by his loving wife of 39 years, Denise Jean McCuan of Clearlake; sons, Larry (Tony) Cisneros of Brentwood, Robert McCuan of Colorado, James Edward Cisneros of Colorado, Marcus Joel Cisneros of Brentwood and Isaac Mitchell McCuan of Salinas Valley; daughters, Tammy Dunbar of Arlington, Wash, and Lisa Katherine McCuan of Clearlake; brothers, Eddie Debrosky of Oklahoma City, Thomas (Sam) McCuan, Gran (Pete) McCuan, Albert McCuan and Delbert McCuan, all of Clearlake, and John Debrosky of Washington; and mother, Peggy McCuan. Leonard also leaves behind 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Family desires donations in Leonard’s memory be made to St. Joseph Indian School, PO Box 326, Chamberlain, SD 57326.

Arrangements under the care of Jones & Lewis Clear Lake Memorial Chapel.

Please share your loving memories of Leonard McCuan by signing his online guestbook at www.jonesandlewis.com and www.legacy.com .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Friends of the Lake County Library is calling for donations of books for its May 6 sale.

Books should be in good condition and, except for classics, be recently published.

Cookbooks are especially welcome, as are self-help and how-to books. Unfortunately, encyclopedias and magazines are not needed.

Please expressly state that the books are for the "Friends sale" when they are delivered to your local branch.

Deliveries may be made to the circulation desks at the Upper Lake, Lakeport or Redbud branches. Proceeds from the sale will help to buy new books.

Please call the Lakeport Branch at 707-263-8817 with any questions you may have. The semi-annual sale is planned for Saturday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Members of the Friends may access the sale at 9:30 a.m. and are entitled to a free book.

For further information about the Friends organization follow the link to http://www.friendsofthelakecountylibrary.org .

MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – The Mendocino National Forest Supervisor’s office and Grindstone Ranger District office located at 825 N. Humboldt Ave. in Willows, Calif. will be closed to the public Tuesday, April 25.

The temporary closure is necessary for public safety while the parking lot is being resealed.

Regular business hours will resume at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 26.

For more information, please contact Shannon Pozas, forest engineer, 530-934-3316, or visit the forest Web site at http://www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino/ . 

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Both drivers involved in a Thursday night crash in Lakeport have been arrested for driving under the influence, and an elderly man hit by one of the cars as he was riding his scooter remains hospitalized.

The Lakeport Police Department said that at 8:35 p.m. Thursday Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to a report of a male hit by a vehicle, with the male lying in the roadway in the 2000 block of S. Main St.

Officers arrived within seconds and through the course of the investigation learned that the victim, a 73-year-old Lakeport resident, was riding his motorized scooter northbound on the west shoulder of S. Main Street near Industrial Lane when he was struck by a white Honda traveling southbound driven by William Gregory Wymer, 28, Lakeport.

The impact caused the victim to be ejected from the scooter, which continued to travel into the northbound lane of traffic and was struck by a silver Hyundai driven by Sandra Bowen, 74, of Calistoga, police said.

After colliding with the scooter, Bowen fled the scene, according to police.

The police department said that with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Lakeport Public Works, officers immediately closed S. Main St. between Kmart and Grace Lane pending an investigation.

While at the scene officers determined Wymer was displaying signs of intoxication and he was subsequently arrested for felony driving while under the influence causing injury, the report said.

Wymer’s bail was set at $30,000. Jail records showed that he later posted the required percentage of bail and was released on Friday. He is tentatively scheduled to appear in court on June 13.

Bowen returned to the scene and was also found to be under the influence. Police said she was subsequently arrested for driving while under the influence. A booking sheet was not posted online for Bowen.

Police said the victim was airlifted to an out-of-county hospital and on Friday afternoon was listed in stable condition.

S. Main St. remained closed until 4:30 a.m., officials reported.

The Lakeport Police Department thanked the California Highway Patrol, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County District Attorney’s Office, Lakeport Fire Department and Lakeport Public Works for their assistance during this investigation.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Dale Stoebe at
the Lakeport Police Department, 707-263-5491.