[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rovers Update - May 6, 2004

Ron Baalke baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov
Fri May 7 11:05:41 EDT 2004


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

SPIRIT UPDATE: 'Columbia Hills' on the Horizon - sol 118-120, 
May 06, 2004

Spirit is now approximately 1.7 kilometers (1 mile) away from 
the base of the "Columbia Hills" after three long sols of 
driving. Its odometer currently reads 1,566 meters (.97 miles) 
and counting.

Sol 118 was a record-breaking driving sol for Spirit. The 
Gusev Crater rover moved 92.4 meters (303 feet) across the 
surface in one sol, breaking its previous record of around 
90 meters (295 feet). The Opportunity rover still has Spirit 
beat with a one-sol driving record of 140 meters (459.3 feet).

Sol 119 proved to be a more difficult sol for Spirit. An 
uplink configuration error prevented the sequence load from 
successfully getting on board the rover. Rover controllers 
took advantage of the down day by deleting afternoon 
communication sessions and enabling the rover to charge its 
battery during a long afternoon nap.

It was back to business as usual on sol 120. Before embarking 
on its drive, Spirit imaged a rock called "Tulula" with the 
panoramic camera. The rover then successfully executed a 
blind drive before using the autonomous navigation system to 
continue into uncharted territory. After reaching the 
time-of-day driving limit, Spirit turned and performed 
penultimate (next to last stop) imaging. The next move would 
have taken the rover 85 centimeters (33.5 inches) to its 
ultimate stopping point, but did not execute because Spirit 
was facing a small sand ridge that was perceived as a hazard. 
Without a penultimate/ultimate image pair, rover controllers 
could not be sure that the area underneath the rover was clear 
of hazards for instrument arm deployment. As a result, Sol 121 
will be another driving sol that controllers hope will place 
Spirit in a suitable location to use the instruments on its 
instrument deployment device.



OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: An Eyeful at 'Endurance' - sol 98-99, 
May 06, 2004

Opportunity continues to gaze at the incredible "Endurance 
Crater" from its vantage point on the western rim. Remote 
sensing, including gathering of imagery of two potential 
traverse targets just inside the northern edge and 
southwestern edge of the crater, will continue on the rover's 
100th sol.



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