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ZL2VAL > ROVERS 15.03.04 11:57l 89 Lines 3834 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 8E0636ZL2VAL
Read: GUEST
Subj: Status, 14th March
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DB0SIF<DB0EA<DB0RES<ON0AR<7M3TJZ<IK1ZNW<ZL2TZE<ZL2AB
Sent: 040315/0932Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:37612 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : ROVERS@WW
Update: Spirit and Opportunity
SPIRIT UPDATE: New Panorama on Board - sol 69, Mar 14, 2004
During its 69th sol on Mars, ending at 3:07 a.m. Sunday, PST, NASA's
Spirit finished shooting frames with its panoramic camera for a full
360-degree color view of the surroundings visible from the crater rim
where the rover is perched. Once the panorama frames are transmitted to
Earth, scientists will use them and information from Spirit's miniature
thermal emission spectrometer to assess the structures and composition
of the crater interior and other surfaces in view.
Spirit did not move from its vantage point on the south rim of the
crater nicknamed "Bonneville." An extra downlink session was added via
relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter to accelerate getting the panoramic
imaging data to Earth. The total amount of data received from Spirit
during the sol through relays and direct-to-Earth transmission was 225
megabits.
In the martian afternoon, Spirit added a set of observations with the
miniature thermal emission spectrometer in coordination with overhead
passage of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter, which carries a similar
spectrometer looking down. Events of the sol also included two camera
sessions requested by engineers. The first was to get high-resolution
images of Spirit's heat shield on the northern rim of "Bonneville." The
other was to photograph wheel tracks to help rover mobility specialists
assess slippage. For sol 69's wake-up music, the team spun John Lennon's
"Watching the Wheels."
Plans for sol 70, ending at 3:47 a.m. Monday, PST, feature more remote
sensing from the rover's current location, before a drive along the rim
begins on sol 71.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Shark Ahead - sol 48, Mar 14, 2004
NASA's Opportunity finished inspecting the "Berry Bowl" site and drove
10 meters (33 feet) toward a new target during its 48th sol on Mars,
which ended at 2:50 p.m. Saturday, PST.
The rover used all four tools on its arm during the morning, ending with
a brushing by the rock abrasion tool, then post-brushing examinations
with the microscope and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. This closed
out three sols of work at "Berry Bowl" to compare the composition of
targets with and without groups of the BB-sized spherules believed to
have formed while the local environment was wet.
Opportunity then stowed its arm and drove toward an area dubbed
"Shoemaker's Patio" at the southwestern end of the outcrop the rover has
been studying since it arrived on Mars. This informal name pays tribute
to the late geologist Dr. Eugene Shoemaker of the U.S. Geological
Survey. Opportunity's more specific target is a rock called "Shark's
Tooth" at the near edge of the patio. The drive did not quite put that
target within reach of the robot arm. Activities of the sol also
included atmospheric observations with the panoramic camera and
miniature thermal emission spectrometer, plus post-drive imaging with
the navigation camera.
Mission controllers at JPL chose John Williams' "Jaws: Main Title and
Fist Victim" as the wake-up song for sol 48.
Plans for sol 49, ending at 3:28 p.m. Sunday PST, call for finishing the
approach to "Shark's Tooth" after a morning examination of the ground
right in front of the rover. Inspection of "Shark's Tooth" with tools on
the robotic arm is planned for sol 50.
=========================
73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).
AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
APRS:!3903.34S/17406.45E]
IP :zl2val@qsl.net
Message timed: 22:14 on 2004-Mar-15 (NZT)
Message sent using WinPack-AGW V6.80
Points to ponder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marriage
~~~~~~~~
If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every word
you say, talk in your sleep.
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