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ZL2VAL > ROVERS 14.06.04 13:25l 84 Lines 3128 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 140025ZL2VAL
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Subj: Opportunity dips into crater
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Sent: 040614/1105Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:42045 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : ROVERS@WW
Opportunity's Edgy Move on Mars
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 11:50 pm ET
11 June 2004
The six-wheeled Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover has carefully moved
its way over the rim of a large impact crater dubbed Endurance at the
Meridiani Planum exploration site.
Rover operators at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena,
California have driven the vehicle forward into the crater.
Opportunity's track marks and other data are being studied to guarantee
the robot has enough traction to drive deeper over the sloping terrain
of the crater. The rover has executed several maneuvers successfully and
is proceeding deeper into Endurance.
The strategy for driving on the crater's inner slope is to keep wheels
on rock surfaces instead of sand to avoid slippage.
*Science target*
Opportunity's observations from the rim at the top of the planned entry
route show a slope of less than 20 degrees. Extensive testing at JPL has
convinced the robot's handlers that a substantial margin of safety
exists for Opportunity to reverse its pathway and back up on a rocky
slope of 25 degrees.
The robot's science target is a rock outcrop some 16 to 23 feet (five to
seven meters) from the crater rim. That area has been dubbed Karatepe.
Once at this spot, the rover is to examine the geology for several days,
and then exit the crater. There are science targets beyond Karatepe,
including the bottom of Endurance crater itself. But rover running to
those locations would entail driving on sand. That could mean
Opportunity might not be able to wheel itself out of the crater to
higher ground.
*Confidence-building*
Rover operators first steered Opportunity far enough into the crater
that all wheels would be on the slope of the crater. Then the rover was
back-tracked out of Endurance. That confidence-building drive proved
that the rover was capable of getting back out before going very deep.
The other main objective was to acquire information on the degree and
nature of any slip that would be experienced while traversing the crater
wall.
This early "toe-dipping" into the crater went smoothly. Engineers at JPL
report that slips and disturbance of the terrain were well below
acceptable levels. The team is confident that the rover can continue
wheeling forward, but are keeping an eye on the variety of slopes and
materials that Opportunity will encounter as it heads deeper into
Endurance.
Jim Erickson, deputy project manager at JPL, told reporters in a June 8
press briefing that rover operators expect to reach the primary science
target -- a band or rock -- inside Endurance crater about Tuesday of
next week.
=========================
73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).
AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
IP :zl2val@qsl.net
APRS:!3903.34S/17406.45E]
Message timed: 23:04 on 2004-Jun-14
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Computers
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