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ZL2VAL > ROVERS 31.03.04 13:29l 100 Lines 4732 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : F60709ZL2VAL
Read: GUEST
Subj: Status, 30th March
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DB0SIF<DB0NHM<DB0ERF<DB0FBB<DB0IUZ<DB0GOS<ON0AR<ON0AR<
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Sent: 040331/1040Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:38313 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : ROVERS@WW
Update: Spirit and Opportunity
SPIRIT UPDATE: Looking Inside Mazatzal - sol 85, Mar 30, 2004
Since the rock abrasion tool completed a full-circle grind into the "New
York" and "Brooklyn" targets on the rock "Mazatzal," it was time for
Spirit to do some analysis. Spirit spent much of Sol 85, which ended at
1:41 p.m. PST on March 30, successfully operating the instruments on its
robotic arm to take a more detailed look inside Mazatzal.
Although all the operations were completed successfully on Mars, the
rover team spent most of the morning and afternoon on Earth worrying.
After the team sent the uplink to Spirit, they waited for the standard
"beep" that confirms the sequence reached Spirit and was activated. This
beep, and an expected one 10 minutes later were not acquired, and
engineers proceeded to trouble-shoot what might have gone wrong. No
errors could be found, and finally a successful afternoon Odyssey
communications pass provided 75 megabits of data, indicating that all
the sequences were in fact onboard the rover and that all the planned
sol activities had completed successfully. Like worried parents, the
rover team members breathed a collective sigh of relief, and are now
looking into possible causes of the failure to detect the beep.
As planned, Spirit began sol 85 by receiving the uplink and then taking
a one-hour nap. After waking, the rover took panoramic camera images of
the rock abrasion tool and of the ratted hole in Mazatzal. Before the
panoramic camera work was done, Spirit took some final shots of
"Bonneville" crater. Some of those images might contribute to a
super-resolution image of the heatshield remnants on the far wall.
Spirit also took some images to try to catch a dust devil in action.
After the panoramic camera activity, Spirit used the microscopic imager
to take a 5-position pseudo-color mosaic of the Mazatzal rock abrasion
tool hole. Then the Mössbauer spectrometer was placed in the hole and
began an overnight integration.
A little after 2 p.m. Mars Local Solar Time, the last miniature thermal
emission spectrometer sections of Bonneville crater were acquired,
followed by a set of panoramic camera images of the drive direction. In
the late afternoon, Spirit used the mini thermal emission spectrometer
to acquire ground and sky stares, which will be complemented by another
set early tomorrow morning. Shortly after the 2 a.m. Mars Global
Surveyor pass, the arm will change tools from the Mössbauer spectrometer
to the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer for an integration in the rock
abrasion tool hole through 9:20 a.m Mars Local Solar Time on Sol 86.
The rock abrasion tool will be back to work on sol 86, which will end at
2:20 p.m. PST on March 31, 2004, brushing a 6-spot mosaic on another
portion of the rock Mazatzal called "Missouri." The mini thermal
emission spectrometer will analyze the brushed area and then Spirit will
begin a 5-sol drive toward the Columbia Hills.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Takes a Breather - sol 64, Mar 30, 2004
On Opportunity's 64th sol, which ended at 1:22 a.m. PST on March 30, the
rover team analyzed the results of engineering activities run to
investigate an error message they received from the rover on sol 63.
A problem with a secondary memory file was isolated and resolved. Just
as an ordinary computer disk can have corrupted sections, a corrupted
file in an area where rover commands are addressed and stored has been
identified. Engineers have identified the location of the problem within
the memory and figuratively fenced it off, containing it and preventing
it from harming any future command sequences. This minor issue has not
impeded the rover from resuming normal science operations on the next sol.
The wake-up song chosen for Opportunity on this quiet sol was "Stand" by REM.
The rover is currently at the rock dubbed "Bounce." Opportunity met this
rock once before; while still cloaked in its protective lander and
airbags, the rover bounced on the rock while on its way to a safe
landing in "Eagle Crater." Miniature thermal emission spectrometer
observations have shown Bounce is rich in hematite. In the coming sols,
the rover's other spectrometers will examine the rock before the rock
abrasion tool grinds into a designated target.
=========================
73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).
AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
IP :zl2val@qsl.net
APRS:!3903.34S/17406.45E]
Message timed: 22:33 on 2004-Mar-31 (NZT)
Message sent using WinPack-AGW V6.80
Points to ponder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marriage
~~~~~~~~
Husband: Want a quickie? Wife: As opposed to what?
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