[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rovers Update - February 15, 2004

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:23 2004
Message-ID: <200402160306.TAA20423_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html

SPIRIT UPDATE: A Wayside Stop, Then Back to Driving - sol 42, Feb 15, 2004

Spirit used instruments on its robotic arm to examine an unusual-looking
rock called "Mimi" during the rover's 42nd sol on Mars, which ended at
9:15 a.m. Sunday, PST. Scientists will be examining images and spectra
to understand this rock's structure and composition and what those can
tell about the environment in which the rock formed.

For sol 43, which will end at 9:58 a.m. Monday, PST, controllers have
planned what they are calling a "mega drive": commanding a morning
drive of about 25 meters (82 feet), then taking pictures of the scene
ahead and letting the rover have a brief rest before using those mid-day
pictures to guide an optional afternoon drive. Spirit is currently
about 270 meters from the crater nicknamed "Bonneville," its mid-term
destination.


OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Dig this Place - sol 21, Feb 15, 2004

Opportunity completed its longest drive so far -- about 9 meters or
30 feet -- during its 21st sol on Mars, which ended at 9 p.m. Saturday, PST.
The rover finished the drive with its first U-turn, arriving at a location
selected for the mission's first trenching operation. Plans call for
examining the hematite-rich surface of this location, called "Hematite
Slope," during sol 22, then spinning one wheel to dig below the surface on
sol 23.

Controllers at JPL chose "Send Me on My Way," by Rusted Root, and "Desert
Drive," by Tangerine Dream, as Opportunity's wake-up music for sol 21.
The rover worked a long day. It awoke earlier than usual for an early
morning observation with its panoramic camera. It made additional
observations from its new location just before finishing the drive, and
again after finishing the last bit of the drive. Then it was woken after
dark to make the mission's first nighttime observations with its infrared
sensor, the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Received on Sun 15 Feb 2004 10:06:40 PM PST