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Update - The rock abrasion tool on Spirit drilled the first human-made hole in a rock on Mars . . .
NASA - JPL ^
| 02-07-2004
| NASA/JPL
Posted on 02/07/2004 3:34:33 PM PST by Phil V.
SPIRIT UPDATE: The rock abrasion tool on Spirit drilled the first human-made hole in a rock on Mars…EVER! - sol 34, Feb 06, 2004
"The RAT performed beyond our expectations," beamed Steve Gorevan, of Honeybee Robotics, New York, lead scientist for the rock abrasion tools on both rovers. "With the docile cutting parameters we set, I didn't think that it would cut this deep. In fact, when we saw virtually a complete circle, I was thrilled beyond anything I could have ever dreamed. Following up that glorious circular brushing - it's like back-to-back homers."
This image, taken by Spirit's panoramic camera shows the circular, 2.65millimeter hole that will be further examined by the microscopic imager in the coming sols.
Although Gorevan and his team took a few moments to celebrate, they have already begun thinking about making more holes. The rock outcrop that Opportunity is heading toward has had the RAT team salivating since it was first revealed. With the first successful drilling under their belts, they are anxious to sink their teeth in again.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: mars; rat; robot; spirit
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To: Phil V.
41
posted on
02/07/2004 4:41:52 PM PST
by
mikrofon
(® Mars, Incorporated)
To: Spiff
LOL...so THAT'S where those freaky things come from!!!
42
posted on
02/07/2004 4:42:45 PM PST
by
Ophiucus
To: alnitak; Phil V.
Thank you so much! Great explanation and I think I actually understood it.
43
posted on
02/07/2004 4:46:52 PM PST
by
lonevoice
(Some things have to be believed to be seen)
To: Chris Talk
Compare this to the spheres in Costa Rica, those were never explained. After going the "what?" spheres...I had to do the google search...and get a freakin Area51 site as the top result.
*Sigh* so disappointing.
44
posted on
02/07/2004 4:49:34 PM PST
by
Ophiucus
To: Phil V.
It's Saddam's WMDs!
45
posted on
02/07/2004 4:54:22 PM PST
by
Jim Noble
(Now you go feed those hogs before they worry themselves into anemia!)
To: Chris Talk
Aha!! Found something on those silly Costa Rican spheres - plus how they were made.
Spheres!
Soooooo....maybe really small Martian Indians (Mardians??) were busy making really small stone spheres....
46
posted on
02/07/2004 5:01:17 PM PST
by
Ophiucus
To: Ophiucus
Yeah, they had to be made real miniature and light to be able to ship up to Mars against Earth's gravity.
Same basic reason so few Viking artifacts in Massachusetts, those ships were little and were packed with people and cattle and junk like that.
//tongue in cheek//
47
posted on
02/07/2004 5:19:24 PM PST
by
Chris Talk
(What Earth now is, Mars once was. What Mars now is, Earth will one day be.)
To: Phil V.
How much did that hole cost?
48
posted on
02/07/2004 5:20:06 PM PST
by
WhiteGuy
(Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...)
To: Chris Talk
Same basic reason so few Viking artifacts in Massachusetts, those ships were little and were packed with people and cattle and junk like that. Argh! Vikings in Massachusetts!! Maybe that explains Teddy Kennedy....
49
posted on
02/07/2004 5:33:48 PM PST
by
Ophiucus
To: Arkinsaw
Actually, what about that NASA Mars probe that smacked into Mars because someone mistranslated English units into metric units?
50
posted on
02/07/2004 5:43:19 PM PST
by
RonF
To: WhiteGuy
How much did that hole cost?
Almost as much as the "Big Dig"?
51
posted on
02/07/2004 5:43:27 PM PST
by
tet68
Comment #52 Removed by Moderator
To: Dog
They look like snail eggs.
53
posted on
02/07/2004 6:10:46 PM PST
by
gitmo
(Who is John Galt?)
To: lonevoice
It's also a bandwidth issue. They can get more quantity and quality without transmitting color as well.
54
posted on
02/07/2004 6:12:39 PM PST
by
gitmo
(Who is John Galt?)
To: Phil V.
That's funny, when they used the RAT,
this is what I thought happened.
55
posted on
02/07/2004 6:19:59 PM PST
by
NonValueAdded
("America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people." GWB 1/20/04)
To: Phil V.
"The RAT performed beyond our expectations,"Suppose we have drills and drillbits down cold by now; with 100 years of practice.
56
posted on
02/07/2004 6:29:52 PM PST
by
Swanks
To: Dog
>>Martian Mushrooms?
Little Green Man scat.
57
posted on
02/07/2004 6:31:39 PM PST
by
Keith in Iowa
(The only good news for Democrats is they could save $$ by switching to Geico.)
To: Wally_Kalbacken
"You have to love these JPL folks."
And I turned down a chance to work in the research labs there in 1968!!!
58
posted on
02/07/2004 6:32:13 PM PST
by
lawdude
(Liberalism: A failure every time it is tried!)
To: WhiteGuy
How much did that hole cost? A whole heckuva lot less than if you had sent a man to Mars to do it!
Less in dollars -- and in risk to human life...
59
posted on
02/07/2004 7:45:25 PM PST
by
TXnMA
(No Longer!!! -- and glad to be back home (and warm) in God's Country!!)
To: johnny7
That's unusual depth of field for that scale.They're not using a $29.95 Vivitar!
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