[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - July 2, 2007

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2007 08:37:21 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <200707031537.IAA20644_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Independently Approaches and Studies A Rock
Outcrop - sol 1234-1239, July 02, 2007:

Spirit remains healthy after attempting to wrap up scientific studies on
an outcrop that contains several tantalizing, high-silica targets.
High-silica targets are of interest to scientists because water might
have been involved in forming them. Spirit still has some work to do on
two targets, known as "Eileen Dean" and "Innocent Bystander," before
moving on to the elevated, circular plateau known as "Home Plate."

On Spirit's 1,235th sol, or Martian day of exploration (June 24, 2007),
the rover successfully completed Step 4 of a new computer sequence
called "IDD Autoplace." (IDD stands for Instrument Deployment Device,
the technical name for the rover's robotic arm.) During the test, Spirit
drove to a pre-selected target and autonomously gathered scientific
data. The sequence enables the rover to select a substitute "target of
opportunity" if the pre-selected target is out of range, which is
exactly what happened during the first two tests.

Over the next month, Spirit will collect data in support of future Mars
rover missions by taking images of the Sun each day with the navigation
camera. These images are being used to develop an alternate method for
orienting the rover.

Sol-by-sol summary:

In addition to daily remote science observations of the atmosphere and
terrain using the panoramic camera and the miniature thermal emission
spectrometer, and communication activities including morning
direct-from-Earth uplinks via the rover's high-gain antenna and evening
downlinks at UHF frequencies via the Mars Odyssey orbiter, Spirit
completed the following activities:

Sol 1234 (June 23, 2007): Spirit acquired full-color images, using all
13 filters of the panoramic camera, of outcrop exposures known as
"Virginia Bell," "Nancy Warren," and "Innocent Bystander." The rover
acquired panoramic camera images of a target known as "Eileen Dean."
Spirit surveyed several targets using the miniature thermal emission
spectrometer, including "Mary Dailey," "NancyWarren3," "Dolores Moore,"
"Louella Daetweiler," "NancyWarren_background," "MaryDailey2," and
"Eileen Dean."

Sol 1235: Upon awakening, Spirit surveyed the sky with the panoramic
camera. Spirit then moved slightly closer to Eileen Dean. The rover
completed Step 4 of the automatic targeting test by touching a spot that
was offset from the target by about 5 centimeters (2 inches) with the
Moessbauer spectrometer, acquiring a 1-by-1-by-seven mosaic of
microscopic images, and placing the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer on
the spot and collecting data with the instrument. Spirit acquired
navigation camera images and conducted a sky survey at low sun with the
panoramic camera. Prior to the overpass of the Odyssey orbiter, the
rover took images of the sky, known as "sky flats," for calibration
purposes.

Sol 1236: Spirit used on-board software to watch for dust devils in
addition to completing standard remote-science observations.

Sol 1237: Spirit rotated in place toward Eileen Dean, completing a final
yaw, or pivot, of 42.8 degrees. Working autonomously, Spirit touched
Eileen Dean with the Moessbauer spectrometer, acquired a 1-by-1-by-7
mosaic of microscopic images of the target, and completed alpha-particle
X-ray spectrometer studies on the target. Spirit acquired images with
the navigation camera. Spirit examined the rover's external calibration
target with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer to verify that
there was no dust contamination on the mirror as a result of recent
dust-cleaning events related to Martian winds. Spirit acquired
full-color images, using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera, of the
rover's solar arrays, also to characterize changes in dust accumulation
on the surface. Prior to the overpass of the Odyssey spacecraft, Spirit
observed the Sun with the navigation camera in support of the Mars
Science Laboratory rover scheduled for launch in 2009. The goal of these
observations is to see if navigation camera images of the sun can be
used to orient the rover.

Sol 1238: In the morning, Spirit monitored dust build-up on the rover's
mast, surveyed the horizon with the panoramic camera, and acquired movie
frames with the navigation camera in search of dust devils. Spirit
acquired microscopic images of the solar arrays, capture magnet, and
filter magnet to document dust levels since the most recent
dust-cleaning events on sols 1233 and 1234 (June 22-23, 2007). The rover
acquired microscopic images of Eileen Dean and collected data on the
target using the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer. Spirit acquired four
sets of comparative measurements with the miniature thermal emission
spectrometer early in the day, in the afternoon, overnight, and early
the next sol. Spirit observed the Sun with the navigation camera in
support of the Mars Science Laboratory rover scheduled for launch in
2009. The goal of these observations is to see if navigation camera
images of the sun can be used to orient the rover.

Sol 1239 (June 28, 2007): The activities for this day were mostly a
repeat of those of the previous sol, except for the four sets of
measurements with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit
acquired 15 hours and 23 minutes of data from Eileen Dean using the
alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Odometry:

As of sol 1237 (June 26, 2007), Spirit's total odometry was 7,147.93
meters (4.44 miles).
Received on Tue 03 Jul 2007 11:37:21 AM PDT