MARS rover - Daily Updates - Feb. 15, 12:15 pm PST

NASA - JPL ^ | Feb. 15, 12:15 pm PST | NASA/JPL

[Phil V.]

Daily Updates - February 15, 2004

Opportunity Status for sol 21 Dig this Place posted Feb. 15, 12:15 pm PST

Opportunity completed its longest drive so far -- about 9 meters or 30 feet -- during its 21st sol on Mars, which ended at 9 p.m. Saturday, PST. The rover finished the drive with its first U-turn, arriving at a location selected for the mission's first trenching operation. Plans call for examining the hematite-rich surface of this location, called "Hematite Slope," during sol 22, then spinning one wheel to dig below the surface on sol 23.

Controllers at JPL chose "Send Me on My Way," by Rusted Root, and "Desert Drive," by Tangerine Dream, as Opportunity's wake-up music for sol 21. The rover worked a long day. It awoke earlier than usual for an early morning observation with its panoramic camera. It made additional observations from its new location just before finishing the drive, and again after finishing the last bit of the drive. Then it was woken after dark to make the mission's first nighttime observations with its infrared sensor, the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

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Spirit Status for sol 42 A Wayside Stop, Then Back to Driving posted Feb. 15, 12:15 pm PST

Spirit used instruments on its robotic arm to examine an unusual-looking rock called "Mimi" during the rover's 42nd sol on Mars, which ended at 9:15 a.m. Sunday, PST. Scientists will be examining images and spectra to understand this rock's structure and composition and what those can tell about the environment in which the rock formed.

For sol 43, which will end at 9:58 a.m. Monday, PST, controllers have planned what they are calling a "mega drive": commanding a morning drive of about 25 meters (82 feet), then taking pictures of the scene ahead and letting the rover have a brief rest before using those mid-day pictures to guide an optional afternoon drive. Spirit is currently about 270 meters from the crater nicknamed "Bonneville," its mid-term destination.

[Phil V.]

This is a composite red-green-blue image of the rock called White Boat. It is the first rock target that Spirit drove to after finishing a series of investigations on the rock Adirondack. White Boat stood out to scientists due to its light color and more tabular shape compared to the dark, rounded rocks that surround it. (Feb. 15, 12 pm PST)

[Thermalseeker]

I keep watching the NASA channel for updates, but all they keep showing is animations of Spirit and Opportunity, 40 year old Gemini and Mercury footage and their goofy kids shows. I wonder why that is?

[Phil V.]

Science is slow work.

Budgets are tight.

[American in Israel]

Man, I would LOVE to have just one of those rocks...

[Drammach]

Here's the Mars Rover Homesite:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Bookmark it, and check the latest out for yourself.. I find it to be the best way to "keep up" with what is happening...

[Phil V.]

Did you catch this stereo strip? I'd just LOVE to peek under the "floating" rock at the bottom to see it's support.