[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rovers Update - February 16, 2007
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Perfects the Art of Driving on Five Wheels - sol 1104-1112, February 16, 2007: Rover drivers have now refined their techniques for maneuvering on only five wheels. All of Spirit's drives during the past week ended within centimeters (inches) of the targeted endpoint. Spirit is healthy and has arrived at the rock outcrop known as Bellingshausen on the way back to Home Plate. On Feb. 10, 2007, the rover's 1,104th Martian day, or sol, of exploration, Spirit experienced a warm reset, during which the rover's computer rebooted and the rover went into auto mode, canceling activities for the weekend and awaiting instructions from Earth. This is the third time Spirit has experienced this anomaly; Spirit's twin, Opportunity, has experienced it twice. The anomaly is attributed to a well-known condition in the flight software. The rover's handlers sent new commands that activated the master sequence of activities for sol 1107 (Feb. 13, 2007). During scientific studies of targets known as Mount Darwin and Puenta Arenas in soil disturbed by the rover's tracks, Spirit's handlers noticed positioning errors in the placement of instruments on the rover's robotic arm. In response, they scheduled diagnostic tests for sol 1110 (Feb. 16, 2007). This left the team with a tough decision: remain at Bellingshausen during the long President's Day holiday weekend or head toward Home Plate with a day of driving on sol 1114 (Feb. 20, 2007). Tau measurements of atmospheric dust levels were 0.6; while solar power levels were 312 watt-hours (a watt-hour is the amount of power needed to light a 100-watt bulb for one hour). Sol-by-sol summary: Except for the sols spent in auto mode, Spirit made daily observations that included measuring atmospheric opacity caused by dust with the panoramic camera, scanning the sky for clouds with the navigation camera, and surveying the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit also conducted the following activities: Sol 1104 (Feb. 10, 2007): Spirit went into auto mode. Sol 1105: Spirit remained in auto mode. Sol 1106: Spirit remained in auto mode. Sol 1107: Spirit drove to the Bellingshausen outcrop. Sol 1108: Spirit acquired panoramic camera images of Bellingshausen and navigation camera movie frames in search of clouds. Sol 1109: Spirit turned and approached a rock target known as Fabian and acquired stereo images following the drive using the navigation camera. The rover also acquired images with the panoramic camera. Sol 1110: Plans called for a rover tai-chi, which involves taking images of the contact ring of the Moessbauer spectrometer with the front hazard avoidance camera before placing the instrument on a target, and for acquiring panoramic camera images of Bellingshausen. Sol : Planned activities included collecting data on targets known as Amhor, Bantoom, Dusor, Ghasta, and Gooli with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Sol 1112 (Feb. 18, 2007): Planned activities included collecting data on targets known as Horz, Hastor, and Invak with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Odometry: As of sol 1109 (Feb. 15, 2007), Spirit's total odometry was 6,965 meters (4.3 miles). - OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Flips 10 Kilometers and Tests New Drive Software - sol 1077-1083, February 09, 2007: Opportunity has completed a remote sensing campaign at Cape Desire and is on the move to the next promontory, called Cabo Corrientes. Opportunity's odometer rolled past 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) during the 50.51-meter (166 feet) drive on sol 1080. By contrast, the NASA Level 1 requirements for the mission called for achieving at least 600 meters (1,969 feet) with one rover, and the mission design requirement was for 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). This is another significant milestone for Opportunity, and yet another testimony to the outstanding work done by the development and operations teams. Sol-by-sol summary: Each sol, the panoramic camera assesses atmospheric opacity (tau) at the beginning of the sol's sequence of activities and again before the afternoon Mars Odyssey pass. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer scans sky and ground during the Odyssey pass. That instrument also observes sky and ground each morning as part of the preceding sol's activity plan, just prior to Spirit beginning the current sol's sequence. In addition to these regular activities, Opportunity also completed the following: Sol 1077: Opportunity conducted panoramic camera 13-filter targeting on Cabo Anonimo. The rover then used its miniature thermal emission spectrometer to stare at: rover tracks, at scuffed soil, at the area near the tracks and at Cabo Anonimo. The navigation camera took images to support the work by the miniature thermal emission spectrometer on and
Re: [meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rovers Update - February 16, 2007
Gee, as one who has embarassed himself often enough on this List with orders of magnitude and the perils of converting units of measurement, I'm thinking that someone might want to re-think the math of this sentence: solar power levels were 312 watt-hours (a watt-hour is the amount of power needed to light a 100-watt bulb for one hour) Either that, or teach me the calculation so I can persuade my local power utility that their bills are 100 times too high... Sterling K. Webb -- - Original Message - From: Ron Baalke [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Meteorite Mailing List meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 8:12 PM Subject: [meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rovers Update - February 16, 2007 http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Perfects the Art of Driving on Five Wheels - sol 1104-1112, February 16, 2007: Rover drivers have now refined their techniques for maneuvering on only five wheels. All of Spirit's drives during the past week ended within centimeters (inches) of the targeted endpoint. Spirit is healthy and has arrived at the rock outcrop known as Bellingshausen on the way back to Home Plate. On Feb. 10, 2007, the rover's 1,104th Martian day, or sol, of exploration, Spirit experienced a warm reset, during which the rover's computer rebooted and the rover went into auto mode, canceling activities for the weekend and awaiting instructions from Earth. This is the third time Spirit has experienced this anomaly; Spirit's twin, Opportunity, has experienced it twice. The anomaly is attributed to a well-known condition in the flight software. The rover's handlers sent new commands that activated the master sequence of activities for sol 1107 (Feb. 13, 2007). During scientific studies of targets known as Mount Darwin and Puenta Arenas in soil disturbed by the rover's tracks, Spirit's handlers noticed positioning errors in the placement of instruments on the rover's robotic arm. In response, they scheduled diagnostic tests for sol 1110 (Feb. 16, 2007). This left the team with a tough decision: remain at Bellingshausen during the long President's Day holiday weekend or head toward Home Plate with a day of driving on sol 1114 (Feb. 20, 2007). Tau measurements of atmospheric dust levels were 0.6; while solar power levels were 312 watt-hours (a watt-hour is the amount of power needed to light a 100-watt bulb for one hour). Sol-by-sol summary: Except for the sols spent in auto mode, Spirit made daily observations that included measuring atmospheric opacity caused by dust with the panoramic camera, scanning the sky for clouds with the navigation camera, and surveying the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit also conducted the following activities: Sol 1104 (Feb. 10, 2007): Spirit went into auto mode. Sol 1105: Spirit remained in auto mode. Sol 1106: Spirit remained in auto mode. Sol 1107: Spirit drove to the Bellingshausen outcrop. Sol 1108: Spirit acquired panoramic camera images of Bellingshausen and navigation camera movie frames in search of clouds. Sol 1109: Spirit turned and approached a rock target known as Fabian and acquired stereo images following the drive using the navigation camera. The rover also acquired images with the panoramic camera. Sol 1110: Plans called for a rover tai-chi, which involves taking images of the contact ring of the Moessbauer spectrometer with the front hazard avoidance camera before placing the instrument on a target, and for acquiring panoramic camera images of Bellingshausen. Sol : Planned activities included collecting data on targets known as Amhor, Bantoom, Dusor, Ghasta, and Gooli with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Sol 1112 (Feb. 18, 2007): Planned activities included collecting data on targets known as Horz, Hastor, and Invak with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Odometry: As of sol 1109 (Feb. 15, 2007), Spirit's total odometry was 6,965 meters (4.3 miles). - OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Flips 10 Kilometers and Tests New Drive Software - sol 1077-1083, February 09, 2007: Opportunity has completed a remote sensing campaign at Cape Desire and is on the move to the next promontory, called Cabo Corrientes. Opportunity's odometer rolled past 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) during the 50.51-meter (166 feet) drive on sol 1080. By contrast, the NASA Level 1 requirements for the mission called for achieving at least 600 meters (1,969 feet) with one rover, and the mission design requirement was for 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). This is another significant milestone for Opportunity, and yet another testimony to the outstanding work done by the development and operations teams. Sol-by-sol summary: Each sol, the panoramic camera assesses atmospheric opacity (tau) at the beginning of the sol's sequence
