[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - July 21, 2006

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Jul 22 02:18:59 2006
Message-ID: <00f101c6ad56$d2e0d320$7f45e146_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi,

    As I recall the Rovers were "warranted" for
90 Martian days ("sols"). They have now passed
900 Sol Mark! This without "being in the shop"
(except remotely), having their oil changed, or
having their batteries or tires replaced.
    I wish the Rover constructors built cars!
Warranted for 100,000 miles, I would drive
mine for 1,000,000 miles (I should live so long)
through frozen deserts without gas stations or
air...
    Somebody present a plaque (or something
better) to the guys who designed and built
these things!

Sterling K. Webb
--------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Baalke" <baalke_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 2:55 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - July 21, 2006


>
> http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html
>
> SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Clears Away Dust, Gets New Software Upgrade - sol
> 904-907, July 21, 2006:
>
> Beginning July 22, 2006, in the early hours of the rover's 907th Martian
> day, Spirit is scheduled to begin knitting together and testing all 200
> pieces of a new flight software package transmitted to the rover in
> recent weeks. Spirit remains healthy despite experiencing lower amounts
> of solar energy during the Martian winter.
>
> The deepest part of the Martian winter - that is, the Martian winter
> solstice - will be on Aug. 8, 2006. The lowest amount of solar energy
> the rover is expected to receive is 275 watt-hours per sol (a hundred
> watt-hours is the amount of electricity needed to light one 100-watt
> bulb for one hour). The rover typically spends at least one sol
> recharging the batteries following each sol of heavy science activities.
>
> During sols 904 through 907, Spirit continued work on the "McMurdo
> panorama," examined rock target "Halley Brunt" with the microscopic
> imager, and took atmospheric measurements with the miniature thermal
> emission spectrometer.
>
> Spirit also completed a test of the rock abrasion tool. Rover handlers
> ran the grind motor on the rock abrasion tool backward three times to
> remove a clod of dust that was thought to be interfering with the
> operation of the device. After running the motor backward for three
> seconds at three different voltages -- 5 volts, 8 volts, and 10 volts --
> engineers concluded that the tool was operating normally and that it
> either never had a problem or dislodged whatever was stuck beneath the
> bit.
>
> Sol-by-sol summary:
>
> Sol 904 (July 19, 2006): Spirit monitored atmospheric dust with the
> panoramic camera and acquired a mosaic of microscopic images of a rock
> and soil target known as "Halley Brunt Offset1." The rover ran the rock
> abrasion tool backward to remove dust. In preparation for traversing and
> collecting data from a laminated patch of soil known as "Palmer," the
> rover suspended the Moessbauer spectrometer above the target and
> documented the position of the instrument with the hazard avoidance
> cameras. Spirit continued to make progress on the McMurdo mosaic,
> acquiring one frame of column 24.
>
> Sol 905: Spirit monitored atmospheric dust with the panoramic camera,
> acquired another frame of column 24 of the McMurdo panorama, checked for
> drift (changes with time) in the pointing of the miniature thermal
> emission spectrometer, and surveyed the sky and ground with the
> miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
>
> Sol 906: Commands for uplink on sol 906 call for Spirit to monitor
> atmospheric dust with the panoramic camera. The plan also includes
> Spirit's task for the morning of sol 907, before that morning's uplink.
> This task is for Spirit to build the rover's new flight software
> package, a process that entails assembling, validating, and saving many
> thousands of lines of computer code sent from Earth in small packages
> during the past few weeks.
>
> Sol 907 (July 22, 2006): Plans called for Spirit to monitor atmospheric
> dust with the panoramic camera and check for drift (changes with time)
> in the pointing of the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit
> was also scheduled to conduct surveys of the sky and ground with the
> miniature thermal emission spectrometer and acquire the first frame of
> column 25 of the McMurdo pan.
>
> Odometry
>
> As of sol 904 (July 19, 2006), Spirit's total odometry remained at
> 6,876.18 meters (4.27 miles).
>
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Received on Sat 22 Jul 2006 02:19:43 AM PDT