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ZL2VAL > ROVERS   14.04.04 14:06l 100 Lines 4535 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 960746ZL2VAL
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Subj: Status, 13th April
Path: DB0FHN<DB0RGB<OK0PPL<DB0RES<ON0AR<7M3TJZ<ZL2BAU<ZL2BAU<ZL2AB
Sent: 040414/1133Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:38873 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To  : ROVERS@WW


Update: Spirit and Opportunity

SPIRIT UPDATE: Refreshed and Ready to Rock and Rove - sol 98, Apr 13, 2004

On Sol 98, which ended at 10:36 p.m. PST on April 12, Spirit woke up to
the song "Where Is My Mind?" by The Pixies in honor of its software
transplant. The good news is that Spirit's "mind" is updated and
operating as expected.

Controllers gave the go to reboot the rover's computer, which would then
run the new software during the morning of sol 98. The command was sent,
and a little over a half hour later, engineers saw the carrier beep that
indicated that the command was received. Spirit went to sleep for
several minutes after that, and then woke up, rebooting into the new
software. It then initiated a high-gain antenna session at 12:30 p.m.
Mars Local Solar time, and engineers saw that the new version of the
rover software was running properly.

After confirmation that the new software was running as expected,
engineers ran some clean-up activities and breathed a sigh of satisfaction.

The new software provides several improvements. It enhances the rovers'
mobility, and should allow Spirit to go much farther each sol by
reducing how often it has to take images and generate new
three-dimensional maps. A deep-sleep mode has been added, mainly to
resolve the heater that is stuck in the "on" position on the Opportunity
rover. However, someday Spirit may find a use for this mode as well. The
new software also mitigates the memory problem Spirit had on sol 18, and
seems to be making a difference already. Spirit's unallocated memory
jumped from 2.0 megabytes to 3.3 megabytes after the new software
compacted the flash directories when it booted.

It's back to regular operations for Spirit on sol 99, ending at 11:15
p.m. PST on April 13, brushing a six-spot mosaic on the rock target
"Route 66." Spirit will then take microscopic imager images and
spectrometer measurements before the sol is complete.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Stands Down for Flight Software Update -
sol 78, Apr 12, 2004

Opportunity began a four-sol stand-down on sol 75, which ended at 8:58
a.m. PST on April 9, 2004. During this time, the rover will receive a
flight software update that should make its remaining martian days even
safer and more productive. The upload will run through sol 78 with a
rover re-boot on sol 79, Tuesday, April 13.

Opportunity is currently parked near the trench it dug on its 73rd
martain sol. It will remain there for the duration of the flight
software update. To keep the battery charge high, engineers are not
planning to integrate the rover spectrometers on a target in the
trailings of the trench during the flight software update.

The flight software update package includes three key changes. First is
an update to the autonomous navigation software that will allow both
rovers to travel longer distances autonomously. The current autonomous
navigation software sometimes gets stuck when it detects a hazard that
it can't navigate around. The new version will allow the rovers to turn
in place to find the best possible path.

The second part of the flight software update will allow the rovers to
recover more easily from an anomaly like the one that occurred on
Spirit's sol 18. Although operational processes and software have
already been updated to prevent something like this from ever happening
again, engineers have included additional safety nets in the software
that would allow the rovers to autonomously react to a similar anomaly
and recover to a more stable state.

The third portion of the update is specific to Opportunity and is
intended to mitigate against energy loss associated with the stuck
heater on Opportunity's instrument deployment device. The fix allows
rover planners to put the rover in a deep sleep mode, where the
batteries are totally removed from being able to power the stuck switch.
Therefore, with no power reaching the stuck heater switch, the
Opportunity rover battery will not be drained. Rover controllers will
not initiate the deep sleep capability on Spirit unless it becomes
necessary.

			=========================

 73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).

 AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
 IP  :zl2val@qsl.net
 APRS:!3903.34S/17406.45E]

 Message timed: 23:24 on 2004-Apr-14 (NZT)
 Message sent using WinPack-AGW V6.80

 Points to ponder
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rural wisdom
------------
Keep skunks, lawyers and bankers at a distance.


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