Mars Rover NASA Mars Landing Pictures Mars Lander
Science Tools Aboard U.S. Mars Rover 'Healthy'
Mon Jan 5 2004
By Gina KeatingPASADENA, Calif. (Reuters) - Scientific equipment crucial to the search for signs of life on Mars survived a rough landing aboard the robotic explorer Spirit and is being put to work on Monday to help scientists begin to explore the mysterious red planet.
Scientists at NASA (news - web sites)'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena spent the night -- the equivalent of the martian day -- studying data and a 3-D panoramic photo of the landing site.
A shallow depression about 50 feet from the lander that scientists nicknamed "Sleepy Hollow" emerged as a potential first stop for the rover, which is scheduled to leave its landing pad in six martian days, which are calls sols, Steve Squyres, principal investigator, told reporters at a Monday briefing.
"It's a very exciting feature for us," Squyres said. "We're not sure this is the place we will go but it's looking very likely."
In addition to the 3-D photos, Spirit also beamed down the mission's first color photos -- so-called "thumbnails" of the high-resolution panoramic images it snapped on Sunday.
Scientists were eager to scour the photos -- the most detailed ever taken of the martian surface -- for more clues in their hunt for signs of life-supporting water.
"We are like kids in a candy store ... we can hardly wait until we get the rover off (the lander) and decide which way to go," Art Thompson, the rover's tactical uplink lead, said.
Four major instruments on the rover's retractable arm, including a German-made Mossbauer Spectrometer that had malfunctioned during the seven-month space voyage to Mars, were in working order, helping to cap three days of near-perfect performance by the U.S. probe.
The spectrometer will help scientists find iron-bearing rocks and other minerals that could have been formed in hot, watery conditions that may yield clues about the early martian environment.
"We had a fantastic day yesterday and by far the best day for the science payload," Squyres said. "I'm thrilled to tell you that the (instruments) are healthy."
MISSION NOT YET 'OUT OF THE WOODS'
But Squyres cautioned that the rover arm will undergo a significant jolt in a few sols, when the cables that locked it in place during the flight and landing are released by pyrotechnic cutters.
"We are not out of the woods yet," he said
The scientists have readjusted their schedules to conform with martian sols, which are about 40 minutes longer than Earth days. Their work day, 9 a.m. Mars time, starts at about 4 p.m. PST (7 p.m. EST) Earth time.
On Monday night, the Spirit team planned to run the panoramic camera through its paces and test the mini-thermal emission spectrometer, nicknamed "Mini-TES," which reads infrared radiation emitted by rocks to determine their mineral composition.
Scientists then will press Mini-TES into service to help determine which rocks hold the most promise of clues to life on Mars. The team also planned on Monday to cut cables that tied the folded-up rover to battery and electronics systems on its landing pad and to retract airbags that cushioned the rover at landing but now block its path to the planet's surface.
The scientists ran out of time on Sunday to complete some tasks and were forced to push the rover's three-part "stand-up" by at least one sol.
The "stand-up" is now set to begin Tuesday night, after more cables bolting the rover's wheels and robotic arm are cut by pyrotechnic blades and its six wheels are moved to their correct positions.
Once the rover is freed, scientists will test-drive it on top of the lander then position it to drive off the lander. That could take place in eight or nine martian days.
The craft landed Saturday night almost exactly on target, at Gusev Crater, which scientists believe may be the site of dry lake bed once fed by a long, deep river.
Besides being an ideal place to search for evidence of water, and possibly life, the landing zone is free of large boulders and thick accumulations of dust, making it easier to maneuver the rover.
Spirit is the fourth probe ever to successfully land on Mars, following in the footsteps of two Viking landers in the 1970s and the Pathfinder mission in 1997. Spirit's twin explorer, the rover Opportunity, is due to land on the opposite side of the planet on Jan. 25.
But Mars has proven a perilous destination. NASA said more than half of man's missions to the red planet have ended in failure. Mars claimed two NASA spacecraft in 1998 and 1999. (Additional reporting by Steve Gorman)21st Century Complete Guide to Mars Exploration: Mars Exploration Rovers 2003-2004 ¿ NASA Spirit and Opportunity Rovers (MER) and the Mars Express Beagle 2 Mission (Three CD-ROM Set)
by World Spaceflight News 10/03 72 ca uk de fr jpMars Exploration Superset One: Compilation of Five World Spaceflight News Mars Titles--Mars 2004, Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Odyssey 2001, NASA Mission Failures 1999, and Mars Global Surveyor Image Files (12 CD-ROM Superset)
by World Spaceflight News 10/03 72 ca uk de fr jp
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