[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - September 13, 2004

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue Sep 14 15:02:56 2004
Message-ID: <200409141902.MAA24337_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Spectrometers Sample Clean and Dirty Targets -
sol 215-217, September 13, 2004

On sol 215 Opportunity completed a reading with its Mossbauer
spectrometer of a target called "Kirchner," where a wire brush on the
rover's rock abrasion tool had scrubbed a circular patch on the surface
of a rock called "Escher." The rover also made some remote-sensing
observations then then set up for using its alpha particle X-ray
spectrometer on Kirchner early the following morning. However, an image
from the rover's hazard-avoidance camera revealed that the doors of the
alpha particle X-ray spectrometer had not completely opened. The door is
a tricky mechanism; incomplete openings and closings have occurred
before, and the team continues to work on approaches to more reliably
maneuver the door.

On sol 216 the rover successfully acquired early morning alpha particle
X-ray spectrometer data on Kirchner. Despite the incomplete opening of
the instrument's dust doors, the spectra look good. No repeat of the
integration will be necessary. The rover also used the Mossbauer
spectrometer to examine another brushed target, "EmilNolde," on Escher.
This reading was planned to run into the evening then later, following a
deep sleep, to resume in the early morning of sol 217. The Mossbauer
placement went fine. The rover was commanded to close and reopen the
alpha particle X-ray spectrometer doors and this went well. The doors
are now properly open and ready for action on sol 217.

On sol 217, which ended on Sept. 3, Opportunity used its rock abrasion
tool to brush a target called "Otto Dix," and used its microscopic
imager to look at the brushed area. Then the rover was commanded to
place the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on EmilNolde, precisely on a
"dirty" portion of that target (an area that was not very well cleared
away by the brush action a few sols ago). The plan was to collect data
with the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer in the evening, perform a
move in the middle of the night to a cleanly brushed portion of
EmilNolde and integrate again until morning. These two integrations will
be used to discern the differences between the "clean" and "dirty"
portions of the target. A 100-megabit afternoon downlink through Mars
Odyssey on sol 217 showed that all activities went well through the
placement of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on the "dirty" part
of EmilNolde.
Received on Tue 14 Sep 2004 03:02:51 PM PDT