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NASA has begun receiving high resolution color photographs of Mars from the Spirit rover and is processing them for release sometime later Monday, officials here said. Scientists chalked up several new successes on the robot's first full day on Mars, including deployment of an antenna to transmit data directly to Earth and testing of instruments ahead of three months exploring the Martian surface. Shortly after landing on Mars overnight Saturday to Sunday, Spirit began transmitting low-resolution black and white images taken with its navigational camera, giving the world a first glimpse at the rocky plain where it came to a rest in the Gusev crater, about 15 degrees south of the Martian equator. Twenty-four hours later, NASA is receiving high-resolution, IMAX-quality color images at Jet Propulsion Laboratory here. Technicians were to spend the night of Sunday to Monday putting together a mosaic of images to produce 360-degree views, the best photographs ever taken on Mars, for release later in the day. The images were taken by Spirt's panoramic camera, mounted on a vertical telescopic arm, which essentially gives researchers a window onto Mars. The camera will help mission managers choose which soils and rocks to analyze and decide where to guide the robot once it is put in motion.
Another key task accomplished during the day was the deployment of Spirit's high-gain antenna, which will enable it to transmit data directly to Earth at a rate of 1,000 bits per second, and eventually at more than 11,000 bits per second. Spirit is already using a UHF antenna that transmits data at 128,000 bits per second via the Mars Global Surveyor and the Mars Odyssey satellites, each of which passes above Spirit for several minutes once or twice during a Martian day. Spirit is at the moment about 40 centimeters above the ground, perched on its lander platform, and the next nine days or so will be spent preparing for egress, or rolling off, onto the Martian surface. "Spirit has told us that it is healthy. The egress path we're working toward is straight," said Jennifer Trosper, Spirit mission manager for operations on Mars' surface. The robot is well position to move onto the Martian surface, with no rocks in the way, she said. NASA scientists are burning with impatience to start exploring. "My hat is off to the navigation team because they did a fantastic job of getting us right where we wanted to be," said geologist Steve Squyres, in charge of research during the mission. By comparing images sent by Spirit and older images acquired by satellites, researchers have identified certain craters near the robot and thus pinpointed its location, a dust-swept region well suited for geological research. "We hit the sweet spot. We wanted someplace where the wind had cleared off the rocks for us," Squyres said. The nearby terrain promises good driving ahead as well. "What we're seeing is a section of surface that is remarkably devoid of big boulders, at least in our immediate vicinity, and that's good news because big boulders are something we would have trouble driving over," he added. The region appears different from those already explored during three previous missions on Mars, the two Vikings in 1976 and the Pathfinder in 1997. All rights reserved. © 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links Mars Rovers at JPL Mars Rovers at Cornell SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Doubts Over Mars 2003 Rover Duo
Los Angeles - Sep 16, 2002With launch only eight months from now, there are continuing technical problems with NASA's twin 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers that could possibly delay the arrival of one or both rovers at Mars until 2008. Spooked by back-to-back failures at Mars in 1999, NASA is considering alternate launch plans that would delay the missions until fully assured the landers have the maximum chance of successfully landing on Mars using the Pathfinder hard landing technique of cushioning the lander for final touchdown within a cocoon of shock absorbing balloons. the following are additional detailed mission development reports by Bruce Moomaw outlining the history of the current Rovers and the failed 1999 Mars Polar Lander mission.
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