[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update: October 30 - November 06, 2008

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:37:14 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <200811132037.MAA23620_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

SPIRIT UPDATE: Still Trying to Drive Uphill - sol 1716-1722,
October 30 - November 06, 2008:

Spirit has been trying to drive back up the slope toward the top of
"Home Plate" to achieve a more favorable tilt of the solar panels toward
the Sun as it moves higher in the sky. Spirit at first made promising
progress on sols 1709 (Oct. 23, 2008) and 1713 (Oct. 27, 2008).
Subsequent drives have not been as successful. Spirit began veering to
the rover's right, which resulted in the right front wheel getting close
to slipping off the top of Home Plate and onto the slope. The right
front wheel is the one that no longer drives, so if it moves onto the
slope it could be difficult to get it back on top of Home Plate.

Fortunately, rover planners have a seemingly bottomless bag of tricks
and they continue to try different strategies to make progress up the
slope. If necessary, they can direct the rover to drive downslope and
take an alternate route back up Home Plate. They can save time if Spirit
can make it up the slope from the rover's present location.

Spirit is also preparing for solar conjunction. This is a period of
approximately two weeks, beginning November 29, when the Sun will be
between Earth and Mars, preventing communication. Preparations include
making sure that Spirit's battery is charged and that Spirit has
sufficient computer memory available to store data collected during
conjunction until it can be sent to Earth.

Spirit is healthy, with all subsystems performing as expected as of the
latest transmission from NASA's Odyssey orbiter on sol 1722 (Nov. 6,
2008). Energy from Spirit's solar arrays has been averaging 230
watt-hours (equivalent to the amount of energy needed to light a
100-watt bulb for about 2 hours and 20 minutes).

Sol-by-sol summary

In addition to measuring dust-related changes in atmospheric clarity
each day with the panoramic camera, Spirit completed the following
activities:

Sol 1716 (Oct. 30, 2008): Spirit checked for drift (changes with time)
in the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and completed a
mini-survey of the sky and ground with the instrument. Spirit resumed
inching uphill. After the drive, Spirit took a single-frame image with
the navigation camera as well as images with the hazard-avoidance cameras.

Sol 1717: Spirit checked for drift (changes with time) in the miniature
thermal emission spectrometer and completed a mini-survey of the sky and
ground with the instrument. The rover recharged the batteries.

Sol 1718: Spirit checked for drift (changes with time) in the miniature
thermal emission spectrometer and completed a mini-survey of the sky and
ground with the instrument. Spirit continued inching uphill and, after
the drive, acquired images with the navigation and hazard-avoidance
cameras.

Sol 1719: Spirit checked for drift (changes with time) in the miniature
thermal emission spectrometer and completed a mini-survey of the sky and
ground with the instrument. The rover made observations of the
spectrometer's calibration target and recharged the batteries.

Sol 1720: Spirit checked for drift (changes with time) in the miniature
thermal emission spectrometer and completed a mini-survey of the sky and
ground with the instrument. The rover acquired four, time-lapse movie
frames in search of clouds with the navigation camera and took spot
images of the sky for calibration purposes with the panoramic cameras.
Spirit completed a "quick fine attitude" adjustment to determine the
rover's precise position relative to the Sun. Spirit acquired images
with the rear and front hazard-avoidance cameras and used visual
odometry to track the rover's actual position based on the surface
imprints made by its wheels.

Sol 1721: Spirit continued trying to inch upslope. After stopping,
Spirit acquired a single-frame image with the navigation camera as well
as images with the hazard-avoidance cameras.

Sol 1722 (Nov. 6, 2008): Spirit checked for drift (changes with time) in
the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, completed a mini-survey of
the sky and ground with the instrument, and recharged the batteries.

Odometry:

As of sol 1721 (Nov. 4, 2008), Spirit's total odometry was 7,528.56
meters (4.68 miles).
Received on Thu 13 Nov 2008 03:37:14 PM PST