Spirit Continues Mid-Winter Studies Of Martian Rocks And Soil

MARSDAILY

illustration only

by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 27, 2006
Spirit continued to make progress on the rover's winter campaign of science observations, acquiring microscopic images and data about rock composition with the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit took images of the spacecraft deck for incorporation into the "McMurdo panorama."

Spirit remains healthy. Electrical power from the rover's solar array has been holding steady at about 280 watt-hours per sol (a hundred watt-hours is the amount of electricity needed to light one 100-watt bulb for one hour).

Sol-by-sol summaries

Sol 933 (Aug. 18, 2006): Spirit acquired super-resolution images of a basalt hill nicknamed "Dome Fuji" with the panoramic camera and monitored dust on the pancam mast assembly. Spirit scanned the atmosphere for opacity caused by dust and scanned the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 934: Spirit acquired touch-up images for the McMurdo panorama with the panoramic camera. Spirit scanned the atmosphere for opacity caused by dust and scanned the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 935: Spirit acquired panoramic camera images of a rock target called "Prat" and measured the magnitude of sunlight in addition to scanning the horizon and sky with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 936: Spirit acquired data from a rock target called "Wasa" with the miniature thermal spectrometer. The rover continued to make daily observations of the sky and ground with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 937: Spirit acquired microscopic images of a ripple called "Palmer" and scanned for wind-related changes in a sand target known as "Rothera." Spirit continued to make daily observations of the sky and ground with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 938: Spirit acquired super-resolution, panoramic camera images of a possible meteorite candidate known as "Vernadsky." The rover continued to make daily observations of the sky and ground with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 939: Spirit acquired super-resolution, panoramic camera images of a target known as "Scott Base." Spirit continued to make daily observations of the sky and ground with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 940: Plans called for Spirit to acquire images of the rover deck with the panoramic camera and acquire miniature thermal emission spectrometer data on a rock target known as "Law-Racovita." Plans called for continued daily observations of the sky and ground with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 941: Plans called for Spirit to acquire panoramic camera images of the rover deck as well as continue to make daily observations of the sky and ground with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 942 (Aug. 27, 2006): Plans called for Spirit to continue acquiring panoramic camera images of the rover deck, collect data about elemental composition of the rock target called "Halley Brunt," and make daily observations of the sky and ground with the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Odometry

As of sol 938 (Aug. 23, 2006), Spirit's total odometry remained at 6,876.18 meters (4.27 miles).

MARSDAILY

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Nears End of Aerobraking

Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 29, 2006
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has begun the final and fastest-paced portion of its "aerobraking" process of using friction with the top of Mars' atmosphere to shrink the spacecraft's orbit. After nearly 400 drag passes into the atmosphere during the closest-to-Mars portion of each orbit, the spacecraft has reduced the farthest point in its orbit to an altitude of 1,100 kilometers (684 miles).

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