[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - March 7, 2005

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Mar 21 13:24:54 2005
Message-ID: <200503080020.j280KYW03761_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Perched at 'Larry's Lookout' - sol 408-415,
March 07, 2005

Spirit's focus on sols 408 through 412 was the spectacular panorama from
"Larry's Lookout." After completing that 4-sol effort, Spirit rolled to
a nearby rock target called "Watchtower" and began examining it with
tools on the robotic arm.

Spirit is in excellent health. Skies are clearing of dust and Spirit's
solar panels are angled at a high northerly-tilt. So, as Mars approaches
the spring season, Spirit has had ample power and a full battery at the
start of each recent sol. Flash memory is also in good shape despite the
large panorama acquired, thanks to good downlinks and data management.

Sol-by-sol summaries:

On sol 408, Spirit was unable to uplink due to a communications
transmitter failure.

Sol 409 was a repeat plan of sol 408, and Spirit drove 2.7 meters (8.9
feet) to Larry's Lookout.

Sols 410 and 411 were the first of four days of using the panoramic
camera to acquire frames for a panorama from Larry's Lookout.

On sols 412 and 413, Spirit continued acquiring the panorama and also
made observations with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

On sol 414, Spirit moved slightly to put Watchtower into the work volume
for the robotic arm.

On sol 415, Spirit brushed the dust off of an area on Watchtower with
the rock abrasion tool and started an overnight integration with the
alpha particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 415 ended on March 4, 2005.

Spirit's current total odometry is 4,161 meters (2.59 miles).
Received on Mon 07 Mar 2005 07:20:34 PM PST