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Mars Pathfinder Update #2 - July 6, 1997

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

                       Mars Pathfinder Mission Status
                                July 6, 1997
                        9 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time

   With a perfectly healthy lander and rover on the surface of Mars,
scientists on the Mars Pathfinder team burned the midnight oil last night to
design their first day of activities for the robust, 23-pound rover named
Sojourner Truth.

   The rover spent its first night on Mars very near the end of the
rear ramp from which it exited the lander last night, taking measurements of
the Martian soil with its alpha proton X-ray spectrometer. At 3:45 p.m. PDT
today, the operations team at JPL "woke up" the rover by playing "Final
Frontier," the theme song from the television program "Mad About You," in
keeping with the traditional wake-up songs used to arouse the astronauts
during space shuttle missions.

   Two experiments for Sol 3 were radiated to Pathfinder earlier
today. The first is a soil mechanics experiment, in which the rover will
lock five of its wheels, then turn the sixth wheel in both directions.
Scientists will observe the depth of the wheel tracks and the movement of a
top layer of fine-grain material. The second experiment will send Sojourner
to its first rock, nicknamed "Barnacle Bill," for its very rough, barnacle-
like surface.

   This traverse to Barnacle Bill will involve two maneuvers for the
rover: the first to turn its wheels approximately 70 degrees in the
direction of the rock; the second maneuver to move backward with its fully
deployed spectrometer until it touches the rock. The rover will travel
approximately 36 centimeters (1.2 feet) to reach the rock. Once the
spectrometer has been placed against Barnacle Bill, Sojourner will spend the
night gathering data on its composition.

   "With any luck, we will get a picture of Sojourner holding hands
with Barnacle Bill," said Brian Muirhead, deputy project manager, at a 6
p.m. press briefing.

   Among the most anticipated data expected to be returned tonight
are 12-color, high resolution images that will be pieced together like a
mosaic to create a 360-degree, color panorama, or "monster pan," of the
landing site. The color variations and higher resolution will help
scientists identify more geological features worthy of exploration in this
very rocky flood plain. The first picture of the Pathfinder lander taken by
the rover is also expected to be returned tonight.

   Scientists pointed out other interesting rocks, soil deposits and
features on the horizon in this evening's press briefing. A pair of mountain
peaks, nicknamed "Twin Peaks," revealed ribbons of different colored rock.
Scientists noted that the horizontal bands could be sedimentary layers or
terraces cut by erosion. Angular rocks appearing in the foreground, all
leaning in the same direction, suggest they were ejected from a nearby
impact crater. A variety of smooth round rocks suggested that they were
transported by water in Mars' early evolution.

   "In the initial analysis of these images, we see multiple
episodes of flooding, not just one catastrophic event, but many," said Dr.
Ronald Greeley, of Arizona State University, a co- investigator on the
Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) team.

   "We have a view of Mars that we have never seen before," added
Dr. Matthew Golombek, project scientist at JPL. "We really have a grab bag
of rocks here, varying in color, texture, fabric, sizes and shapes. They are
completely different from the Viking landing sites and from each other too."

   Scientists expect to begin reporting results of the first day of
science activities at a 10 a.m. PDT press briefing at JPL. Meanwhile, all
instruments and spacecraft systems continue to perform exceptionally well.
The operations team will be increasing Pathfinder's data rate to more than
8,000 bits per second tomorrow in order to maximize the return of science
measurements.

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