[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rovers Update - February 13, 2004
From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:22 2004 Message-ID: <200402132233.OAA16036_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov> http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html Update: Spirit and Opportunity SPIRIT UPDATE: Movin' Towards "Mimi" - sol 40, Feb 13, 2004 Spirit woke up to its 40th sol on Mars to the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong and then proceeded to have a wonderful sol which ended at 7:59 a.m. Friday, PST. After utilizing the miniature thermal emission spectrometer instrument on surrounding soil and completing some pre-drive imaging with the panoramic camera, Spirit proceeded 90 centimeters (2.95 feet) towards a collection of rocks called "Stone Council." The drive lasted less than five minutes. After completing the drive, Spirit imaged several rocks with the panoramic camera, and completed a mosaic of the area in front and to the left of itself. On sol 41, which will end at 8:39 a.m. Saturday, PST, Spirit will be repositioned in front of the flaky rock called "Mimi" in preparation for placing its instrument deployment device on that rock during sol 42. OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Intending to Trench - sol 19, Feb 12, 2004 During its 19th sol on Mars, which ends at 7:41 p.m. Thursday, PST, Opportunity climbed to Waypoint Charlie, where it will complete its initial survey of the outcrop nicknamed "Opportunity Ledge." The flight team at JPL chose 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake as Opportunity's wake-up music. The plan for sol 20, which will end at 8:20 p.m. Friday, PST, is to do a "touch and go," meaning Opportunity will touch the soil with its instrument arm around the outpost area Charlie, then stow the arm and drive. It will head for an area of soil that the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer indicates is rich in hematite. Over the following few sols, engineers intend to use one of Opportunity's wheels to spin into the soil and "trench" a shallow hole so scientists can check what's below the surface early next week. Knowing more about the hematite distribution on Mars may help scientists characterize the past environment and determine whether that environment provided favorable conditions for life. Scientists and engineers will pore over the data collected along Opportunity Ledge this week to target a return trip to the most interesting science locations along the outcrop later next week. Received on Fri 13 Feb 2004 05:33:06 PM PST |
StumbleUpon del.icio.us Yahoo MyWeb |