[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rovers Update - May 10, 2004

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue May 11 10:59:49 2004
Message-ID: <200405111459.HAA00469_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Surpasses the One-Mile Mark! - sol 121-123,
May 10, 2004

On sol 121, after a brief nap, Spirit conducted atmospheric
measurements before continuing its trek toward the "Columbia
Hills." A 96.8 meter (318 feet) drive that consisted of about
half direct drive and half auto-navigational drive broke Spirit's
last one-sol distance traveled. That drive brought the mission
total to 1,669 meters (1.04 miles), flipping the rover's odometer
over the one-mile mark.

Sol 122 was a touch-and-go day, starting with a half-hour alpha
particle X-ray spectrometer integration, a one-hour M?ssbauer
integration and a set of four microscopic images all on the same
patch of soil. Panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission
spectrometer data were also obtained before an afternoon nap. The
bulk of the afternoon was spent driving another 65 meters (213
feet).

Sol 123 started off with Panoramic camera and miniature thermal
emission spectrometer observations for near-field surveys,
atmospheric studies, and localization. Spirit then took a
half-hour nap, followed by the day's drive. This sol consisted
of another 48-meter (about 157-feet) direct drive, the mid-drive
survey and localization remote sensing, and then 47-meters (about
154 feet) of driving using auto-navigation. The total was 95.2
meters (312 feet), bringing the mission total to 1830 meters
(1.14 miles).



OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: 'Deep Sleep' Gives Opportunity More Energy to
Cruise the Crater - sol 101-102, May 10, 2004

Opportunity awoke on sol 102 from its first "deep sleep." This set
of activities was initiated to conserve the energy that is being
used by the instrument arm's stuck-on heater switch. During deep
sleep, rover planners power off the main electronics at night and
open the switches that supply battery power to the main power bus,
and in turn nearly all the secondary electronics. In particular
this removes power input to the Rover Power Distribution Unit,
which normally supplies power to the stuck-on heater. With the
Rover Power Distribution Unit input turned off, the heater cannot
burn any energy either. In the morning, when the sun strikes the
solar panel array, the Battery Control Board resets and connects
the batteries to the main power bus again. At this time, the
stuck-on heater again draws power, but this will only be for a few
hours in the morning instead of all night.

The most vulnerable instrument to the cold martian nights is the
miniature thermal emission spectrometer. With a cutoff of the
power electronics, its heater cannot keep it warm overnight. Data
returned on sol 102 showed the temperature reached -46 degrees
Celsius (-50.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a bit warmer than the
spectrometer's lowest proven temperature for functionality, -50
degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit).

Rover planners commanded Opportunity to take a drive during the
afternoon of sol 102 to the south, along the edge of the crater
toward a dark rock in the vicinity.

More remote sensing was conducted, including miniature thermal
emission spectrometer measurements that confirmed the instrument
is still functioning normally after deep sleep.

Wake-up songs for the sols were "Morning has Broken" by Cat
Stevens; "Hallelujah Chorus" from George Frideric Handel's Messiah;
and "Dazed and Confused" by Led Zeppelin.
Received on Tue 11 May 2004 10:59:27 AM PDT