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ZL2VAL > ROVERS 19.05.04 13:16l 89 Lines 3739 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 6C0887ZL2VAL
Read: GUEST
Subj: Status, 17/18th May
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DB0MRW<DB0ERF<DB0FBB<DB0IUZ<DB0GOS<ON0AR<ON0AR<ZL2AB
Sent: 040519/1054Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:40671 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : ROVERS@WW
Update: Spirit and Opportunity, 17th / 18th May
SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Spirit Roving Right Along. - sol 127-130, May 17, 2004
Spirit spent most of sol 127 continuing its drive toward the "Columbia
Hills." The rover put approximately 70 more meters (229.7 feet) on its
odometer and then took an hour-and-20-minute siesta. After the drive,
Spirit took observations with the panoramic camera, navigation camera
and mini thermal emission spectrometer.
Spirit began sol 128 by completing a panoramic camera observation of a
rock target called "Flat Head." The rover then rested up for a couple of
hours before embarking on a 90-meter (295 feet) drive toward the hills.
Once the drive was complete, Spirit completed its standard post-drive
observations.
Sol 129 began successfully, but Spirit encountered a couple of
difficulties before the martian day was over. After waking, Spirit
performed 45 minutes of science observations and then settled down for a
morning nap. With plenty of energy stored, it was time to drive. Spirit
roved 31 meters (102 feet) across the surface in an engineer-directed
drive and then spent 45 minutes using its autonomous navigation system
to try to drive down the side of a small ridge. The backside slope of
the ridge was too steep, and the autonomous navigation system had Spirit
turn in an attempt to find another way down. Unfortunately, a couple of
large rocks close to the ridge prevented Spirit from finding a safe path
down. At the end of the drive sequence, Spirit was supposed to complete
a "stutter step" to get in proper position to do work with the
instrument deployment device on sol 130. Unfortunately, the rover was
unable to complete this final positioning or the ultimate post-drive
imaging, so sol 130 was mostly a drive sol.
Spirit has 2,291.92 meters (1.4 miles) on its odometer and is
approximately 936 meters (.6 miles) from Columbia Hills. The rover is on
track to reach the Columbia Hills by sol 160.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: A Sol for Rest and Recharging. - sol 112, May 18, 2004
Opportunity is healthy, but feeling a bit sluggish today. The rover's
40-meter (131 feet) traverse along the southern edge of "Endurance
Crater" on sol 111, and a sol 112 error with a Deep Space Network
command transmission have resulted in a low battery state of charge.
The sol 111 drive put Opportunity on an 8-degree slope that tilted the
rover away from the Sun and limited the amount of direct sunlight that
could reach the solar panels.
To help the battery recover to its normal state of charge, rover
planners had built a sol 112 plan that deleted two of the three UHF
windows. Unfortunately, a Deep Space Network configuration error
prevented the command load from reaching Opportunity on sol 112 and, as
expected in such cases, the rover executed the onboard run-out sequence,
which included an hour of remote sensing and the three on-board UHF
communication windows.
Sol 113 will be a sol for sleep and recharging for Opportunity. On sol
114, the rover will do some limited remote sensing in the morning, but
will generally take it easy over the next few sols in order to fully
charge the batteries. The limited activity over the next few sols will
focus on moving towards the Endurance Crater rim and a new position for
panoramic camera imaging.
=========================
73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).
AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
IP :zl2val@qsl.net
APRS:!3903.34S/17406.45E]
Message timed: 22:43 on 2004-May-19 (NZT)
Message sent using WinPack-AGW V6.80
Points to ponder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rural wisdom
------------
Don't sell your mule to buy a plow.
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