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ZL2VAL > ROVERS 29.06.04 13:38l 110 Lines 5092 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Press release, 25th June
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Sent: 040629/1125Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:43091 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : ROVERS@WW
NEWS RELEASE: 2004-152
June 16, 2004
Mars Rovers Going the Extra Mile
NASA's Mars rovers are delighting scientists with their extra credit
assignments. Both rovers successfully completed their primary
three-month missions in April.
The Spirit rover is exploring a range of martian hills that took two
months to reach. It is finding curiously eroded rocks that may be new
pieces to the puzzle of the region's past. Spirit's twin, Opportunity,
is also negotiating sloped ground. It is examining exposed rock layers
inside a crater informally named "Endurance."
"Both rovers have begun exploring brand new places," said Dr. Mark
Adler, mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif. "Opportunity has entered Endurance Crater. Spirit has arrived at
the Columbia Hills. Both rovers are getting their second wind in bonus
time, and we are very excited about the scientific potential we see at
their new homes. Of course, the terrain at both locations is
challenging, one up and one down. We are making certain that we proceed
safely to keep these wonderful machines as healthy as we can for as long
as we can."
Spirit began climbing into Columbia Hills late last week, and right away
sent pictures of tantalizing rocks. "Some of the rocks appear to be
disintegrating. They have an odd kind of rotting appearance, with soft
interiors and resistant rinds or hulls," said Dr. Larry Soderblom, a
rover science-team member from the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff,
Ariz. "The strangest things we've encountered are what we're calling
hooded cobras, which are evidently the resistant remnants of some of
those rocky rinds. They stand above the surface like small canopies."
Another rock, dubbed "Pot of Gold," appears to have nodules and
resistant planes in a softer matrix. Scientists have chosen it as a
target for Spirit to examine with the instruments on the rover's robotic
arm. Afterwards, controllers plan to send Spirit to an outcrop farther
uphill.
"Although it's too early to even speculate as to the processes these
rocks have recorded, we are tremendously excited over the new
prospects," Soderblom said.
The Columbia Hills rise approximately 90 meters (about 300 feet) above a
plain Spirit crossed to reach them. Scientists anticipate a complex
blend of rocks in the hills, perhaps holding evidence about a broader
range of environmental conditions than has been seen in the volcanic
rubble surfacing the plain. The entire area Spirit is exploring is
within Gusev Crater. Orbital images suggest water may have once flowed
into this Connecticut-sized basin.
"Halfway around Mars, Opportunity has driven about five meters (16 feet)
into stadium-sized Endurance Crater. "As we look back up toward the rim,
we can see the progress we've made," said Scott McLennan, science-team
member from the State University of New York, Stony Brook.
Opportunity's first target inside the crater is a flat-lying stone about
36 centimeters by 15 centimeters (14 inches by 6 inches) dubbed
"Tennessee" for its shape. Opportunity will inspect it for analysis with
the spectrometers and microscopic imager on the rover's robotic arm. It
is in a layer geologists believe corresponds to sulfate-rich rocks. The
rocks are similar to those, in which Opportunity previously found
evidence for a body of water covering the ground long ago.
"The next step will be to move farther down from this layer to our first
close-up look at a different sedimentary sequence," McLennan said.
"Color differences suggest at least three lower, older layers are
exposed below Opportunity's location."
"The interpretation of those lower units is in a state of flux," he
said. "At first, we thought we would encounter poorly consolidated,
sandy material. But as we get closer, we're seeing more-consolidated,
harder rock deeper into the crater. If we can get to the lower units,
this will be the first detailed stratigraphic section ever done on
another planet. We're doing exactly what a field geologist would be
doing."
Spirit is showing what may be the first sign of age and wear. "The right
front wheel is drawing about two to three times as much current as the
other wheels, and that may be a symptom of degradation," Adler said.
"There may be steps we can take to improve it. We'll be studying that
possibility during the next few weeks."
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,
manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space
Science, Washington, D.C. Images and additional information about the
project are available from JPL at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov
and from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., at http://athena.cornell.edu
=========================
73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).
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Message timed: 23:21 on 2004-Jun-29
Wackiest Warning Labels Ever
----------------------------
* A warning on an electric router made for carpenters cautions, "This
product not intended for use as a dental drill."
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