[meteorite-list] NASA's Durable Spirit Sends Intriguing New Images From Mars

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Sep 1 13:38:49 2005
Message-ID: <200509011737.j81Hbjq01931_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington September 1, 2005
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-6278)

RELEASE: 05-244

NASA'S DURABLE SPIRIT SENDS INTRIGUING NEW IMAGES FROM MARS

Working atop a range of Martian hills, NASA's Spirit rover is
rewarding researchers with tempting scenes filled with evidence
of past planet environments.

"When the images came down and we could see horizon all the way
around, that was every bit as exhilarating as getting to the top
of any mountain I've climbed on Earth," said Chris Leger, a
rover planner at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
Pasadena, Calif.

The summit sits 82 meters (269 feet) above the edge of the
surrounding plains. It is 106 meters (348 feet) higher than
the site where Spirit landed nearly 20 months ago. Spirit and
twin rover, Opportunity, successfully completed their
three-month prime missions in April 2004. They have inspected
dozens of rocks and soil targets since then, continuing their
pursuit of geological evidence about formerly wet conditions
on Mars.

"Spirit has climbed to the hilltop and looked over the other
side, but NASA did not do this just to say we can do it. The
Mars rovers are addressing fundamental questions about
Martian history and planetary environments," said NASA's Mars
Exploration Program Director Doug McCuistion.

The crest of "Husband Hill" offers Spirit's views of possible
routes into a basin to the south with apparently layered
outcrops. Shortly after Spirit landed, it observed a cluster
of seven hills about 3 kilometers (2 miles) east of its
landing site. NASA proposed naming the range "Columbia Hills"
in tribute to the last crew of Space Shuttle Columbia. The
tallest of the hills commemorates Rick Husband, Columbia's
commander.

Volcanic rocks covering the plain Spirit crossed on its way
to the hills bore evidence of only slight alteration by
water. When Spirit reached the base of the hills five months
after landing, it immediately began finding rocks with
wetter histories.

"This climb was motivated by science," said Steve Squyres of
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Squyres is principal
investigator for the rovers' science instruments. "Every
time Spirit has gained altitude, we've found different rock
types. Also, we're doing what any field geologist would do
in an area like this: climbing to a good vantage point for
plotting a route," he added. Researchers are viewing
possible routes south to apparently layered ledges and to a
feature dubbed "home plate," which might be a plateau of
older rock or a filled-in crater.

The landing site and the Columbia Hills are within Gusev
Crater, a bowl about 150 kilometers (95 miles) in diameter.
It was selected for the Spirit mission because the shape
of the terrain suggests the crater once held a lake.
Volcanic deposits appear to have covered any sign of
ancient lakebed geology out on the plain, but scientists
say the hills expose older layers that have been lifted
and tipped by a meteorite impact or other event.

"We're finding abundant evidence for alteration of rocks
in a water environment," said Ray Arvidson of Washington
University, St. Louis, Mo. Arvidson is deputy principal
investigator for the rovers' science instruments. "What
we want to do is figure out which layers were on top of
which other layers. To do that it has been helpful to
keep climbing for good views of how the layers are
tilted to varying degrees. Understanding the sequence of
layers is equivalent to having a deep drill core from
drilling beneath the plains," he added.

Both Spirit and Opportunity have been extremely successful.
Their solar panels are generating plenty of energy
thanks to repeated dust-cleaning events. Spirit has
driven 4,827 meters (3.00 miles), and Opportunity 5,737
meters (3.56 miles).

JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's
Science Mission Directorate. For images and information
about the rovers and their discoveries on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html

For information about NASA and agency programs on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

-end-
Received on Thu 01 Sep 2005 01:37:44 PM PDT