Mars Exploration Rover Mission

JPL ^ | 1-3-04 | JPL

[bonesmccoy]

Mission Timeline: Entry, Descent, and Landing

The entry, descent, and landing (EDL) phase begins when the spacecraft reaches the Mars atmospheric entry interface point (3522.2 kilometers or about 2,113 miles from the center of Mars) and ends with the lander on the surface of Mars in a safe state.

The rovers will arrive during the latter half of the northern winter/southern summer on Mars. Rover A will land at approximately 2:00 p.m. local time on Mars (with Earth set an hour after landing), whereas Rover B will land at around 1:15 p.m. local time on Mars (with Earth set as long as two-and-a-half hours after landing). That means that both rovers will land in the Martian afternoon while the Earth is still in view, allowing the Earth to receive the landing signal if the lander is on the base petal.

Entry, descent, and landing for the Mars Exploration Rover mission is an adaptation of the Mars Pathfinder method:

An aeroshell and a parachute decelerate the lander through the Martian atmosphere.

Prior to surface impact, retro-rockets are fired to slow the lander´s speed of descent, and airbags are inflated to cushion the lander at surface impact.

After its initial impact, the lander bounces along the Martian surface until it rolls to a stop.

The airbags are then deflated and retracted, and the lander petals and rover egress aids are deployed.

Once the petals have opened, the rover deploys its solar arrays, and places the system in a safe state. Communications during entry, descent, and landing will occur through a pair of low-gain antennas, one mounted on the backshell and the other on the rover itself. About 36 ten-second radio tones will be transmitted to Earth during descent through the atmosphere, which takes approximately six minutes. These tones are coded to indicate the accomplishment of critical steps in the entry, descent,and landing timeline. [More on these tones in the communications section]

A step-by-step guide to everything that will happen will be provided prior to entry, descent, and landing.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Dr. Jim Garvin Senior Scientist now on.

[Howlin]

Dressed like this????

[bonfire]

Bathrobe?

[Howlin]

If only...

[Nowhere Man]

The scene reminds me from the old film "Vanishing Point" (1971) where Barry Newman drove a 1970 Dodge Challenger through the desert. B-)

[edwin hubble]

"((Who knows how to bookmark a site like this NASA feed in Real Player?))))"

When you open a site it is automatically placed in the memory stack under the "files" tab. (at least in my Realplayer -free downloaded version).

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

When you open a site it is automatically placed in the memory stack under the "files" tab. (at least in my Realplayer -free downloaded version).

How do I move the video stream to my video capture file?

[tet68]

It's just too bad that NASA isn't going full time 24/7
with broadcasting live from the control room.
Most of us would be more than content with that instead of watching the same videos and interviews over and over again.

Plus what is up with their format where someone is interviewed but we only hear one side.

This is their big opportunity to get across and their
coverage is kinda lame.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Useful link from Drudge:

Mars --- All Raw Images

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

NO budget!

[RightWhale]

their coverage is kinda lame.

As usual. That's why they should hire Richard C Hoagland to front for them.

[Phil V.]

just checking in . . .

[edwin hubble]

"How do I move the video stream to my video capture file?"

Actually, I hadn't tried that yet. Since you asked I'm trying to capture some NASA TV feed, but haven't yet.
I'm using the free download version of RealOne Player.

[bonesmccoy]

Yes, that's correct. I think that's the range we see on the horizon on the PanCam views previously posted.

[bonesmccoy]

This post is an experiment to see if the raw images posted by JPL are actually Left and Right images (it appears so from the angles and the title of the jpg)

[bonesmccoy]

OK gang... it works!

There is a way to train your brain to cross your eyes and fuse the images into a stereoscopic view.

Stare at the images and cross your eyes. If you cross your eyes enough, you can turn the two side-by-side images into a three panel image. Essentially, you use your left eye to stare at the right image and your right eye to stare at the left image. You will see a third image in the middle that is actually in stereoscopic vision.

Using this technique I just discovered some cool things.

For one thing, the lander appears to have a small gully to the immediate eastern side of the lander. It looks like it's a small ravine. Then, you can see a ridge in the intermediate distance (between the lander and the mountainous like terrain in the far distance). The rocks in the foreground are particularly cool to see stretching on the horizon.

If other freepers can post more of the left/right images side by side we can see the Mars landscape in 3-D using this technique. You can locate the images at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/spirit.html

Here's another few photos side by side

Watch as the landing bag takes on the third dimension!

Did you do it?

If you're having trouble, squeeze your browser window the width of the two photos alone and then set your browser window on identical color backgrounds on both sides. You can also try to print the photos and try it off paper.

[Ex-Dem]

[HighWheeler]

Hey bones, Although I haven't used the crossed eyes method, the method I use works great, but takes a bit of concentration. The crossed-eye method is good if the images are set up for crossed eye viewing. If not, the image depth is inverted, with objects that are supposed to be close look far and vice versa. I have had the ability to view stereo images without a viewer for many years. The technique is called "parallel free viewing".

First, look at the image, then imagine the image is a long distance away as you continue to stare. What happens is that the middle image will slowly appear and finally become 3D. Continue to stare way out, like the image is a quarter of a mile away, and the image will seem to snap in place.

What is happening is that your eye's lines of focus are oing almost parallel, instead of focussing inwards to form a triagle at a point at the image. Your right eye winds up focussed on the right image, and your left eye is now focussed on the left image. Your brain takes care of making the image into a 3D picture.