Posted on 03/03/2004 6:08:37 PM PST by Phil V.
SPIRIT UPDATE: Grinding, Take Two - sol 58, Mar 02, 2004
On sol 58, which ends at 7:52 p.m., PST on March 2, the planned four-hour rock abrasion tool grind of "Humphrey" was limited to only 20 minutes. The intricate slopes and cracks of the rock make it a challenging target for instruments. When sensors indicated a loss of contact with surface material, the software perceived a problem and the rock abrasion tool was moved away from the rock. Engineers are amending the software limits to duplicate the rock abrasion tool's earlier operation on the rock "Adirondack," giving a higher likelihood of successful completion on the next sol.
The morning began with the completion of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration on the previously brushed area. The panoramic camera then took a multi-spectral observation of the nearby ground, followed by a Mössbauer spectrometer integration on the same area.
Spirit's Sol 58 wake-up song was "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 to pay homage to its twin rover's amazing findings of water evidence at Meridiani Planum.
On sol 59, Spirit will attempt another rock abrasion tool grind on "Humphrey," followed by detailed observations of the hole.
Spirit Update Archive
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OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Hits Pay Dirt - sol 38, Mar 03, 2004
On sol 38, which ended at 8:13 a.m. PST on Wednesday, March 3, Opportunity awoke to "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" by Creedence Clearwater Revival in honor of the confirmation that liquid water once flowed through the rocks at Meridiani Planum.
In the morning of sol 38, Opportunity observed the atmosphere with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Then, the rover turned the miniature thermal emission spectrometer to stare at the ground for science observations. Later, Opportunity took stereo microscopic images and Mössbauer spectrometer readings of the soil target dubbed "Pay Dirt."
In the early afternoon Local Solar Time, Opportunity stowed the rover arm, took a panoramic camera image of "Last Chance," and drove a very short distance of 0.4 meters (16 inches) toward "Last Chance" to prepare for the deployment of the robotic arm.
The proposed plan for sol 39, which will end at 8:52 a.m. PST on Thursday, March 4, is to start the morning by taking images of a rare solar transit of the martian moon, Deimos. The solar transit of Deimos causes a solar eclipse only twice per Mars year (one Mars year equals roughly two Earth years). Later in the sol, Opportunity is scheduled to take a microscopic panorama of the layers in the "Last Chance" rock formation.
And here's an enhanced (lightened in Photoshop) view of the same area (bottom of the picture) It looks like one of my failed attempts to texture drywall. It looks like:
1) Spirit leaked on the rock
2) The rock is "wet"
3) The "rock" is a very hydrated block of salt
4) The rock is . . . .
When I use diamond-coated wheels to cut rocks it's done under a water spray to clear away muddy swarf that loads up the wheel and slows or stops the grinding operation. I presume Spirit's RAT can't do that and any moisture would come from the rock being ground. Doodad has an interesting idea about the software but my guess is the abrasive wheel on the RAT loaded up and it simply couldn't make any progress. This can also happen in dry material if the consistency is just right. But if I'm right about the "mud" this could possibly be confirmation of present water on Mars.
Mars-ipan. (Nyuk nyuk nyuk....)
Musing:
Possibilities that spring to mind are moisture (water), moisture (other), or extremely dry (static electric attraction).
I discount static because it doesn't look like dust that's held together by static, it looks like dust that's held together by moisture.
If it was static, I think it would look much looser, softer, fluffier, instead of having that "smeared by putty knife" look to it.
My money's on brine that got grated out of the rock by the grinder. Reminds me of a carrot juicer. (I remember the first time I juiced a carrot, I was amazed that so much liquid could come out of a "dry" carrot.)
You didn't appreciate the Marsie pun?
They forgot to describe the hole-cleaning music...
Completing the sol, which ended at 8:31 p.m. Wednesday, March 03, Spirit's arm then switched instruments so the Moessbauer spectrometer could examine "Humphrey's" new shallow cavity.
...and the arm-switching music...
Before this sol's four-hour grinding, the microscopic imager and the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer finished observations of yestersol's rock abrasion tool depression.
...and the X-ray spectrometer finishing music.
They're slipping up! We demand full return on our tax dollars! We demand full disclosure!
We demand the names of the hidden tunes!
Argh.
If I hear "woke up to" or "wake-up music was" one more time, I'm going out behind the barn and ... vomiting.
(I was gonna say, "and shooting to hell some old [fill in the blanks from someone's junkheap]", but I clearly have more repect for earthly junkheap "machinery" than NASA does for the taxpayers' intelligence.)
Earth to NASA: save the "Sesame Street Version" narrative for Sesame Street!
PFTHPTH!!!
Yes I have.
Oh, great. Now you tell me.
This cloyingly cute "sol", "yestersol", etc. business is getting a bit long in the tooth too. And it's a jagged tooth at that, argh.
C'mon, guys, say "day". It's not that hard. Go ahead, give it a try. Sure, sure, you'll feel like a traitor to your slide-rule, pocket-protector, and calculator-holster, but that will fade after a while. You can ease your way back to normalcy by using the term "Mars-day" sort of like a set of training wheels for a while, until you're able to form the "D-word" without fumbling it.
If it helps any, your anal-retentive "precision" is...wrong anyway!
A "Sol" would be the length of a day on the Sun. You know, from midnight-to-midnight at the same spot on the surface of the Sun. Go ahead, try it yourself, don't take my word for it -- but make sure you go there at night, OK? It gets really hot in the daytime.
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