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Cautious Recovery
Recovery from the sol 563 power-off event is well underway. Each sol, the team has planned one new activity. By sol 570 (Aug. 31, 2005), the rover had successfully performed observations with the panoramic camera, navigation camera, and miniature thermal emission spectrometer and had completed a short alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration (with the robotic arm stowed) and a 6.5-meter (21-foot) blind drive. Additional precautions are being taken with each sol's plan, including shutting down after the morning uplink (to save the high-gain antenna position, thus preventing an X-band fault in case of another anomaly) and waiting 15 minutes after wakeup to start any science activities.
Sol-by sol summaries Sols 566 through 568 (Aug. 27 through Aug. 29, 2005) were devoted to engineering activities. Science activities were put on hold over the weekend while engineers investigated the sol 563 reset. Sol 569: Spirit completed step two in the post-anomaly recovery plan: a short blind drive. (Step one, remote sensing with the panoramic camera and navigation camera, was performed on sol 565). The 6.5-meter (21-foot) drive executed perfectly, and all motor currents were nominal. Sol 570: This sol marked the first use of the miniature thermal emission spectrometer since the sol 563 reset, which was step three in recovery from the anomaly. After waking from a nap and waiting 15 minutes, the rover performed a short alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration with the robotic arm stowed. This was simply to test the payload service board, which controls the spectrometers. Five minutes after the end of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer test, a low-elevation raster was taken successfully with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The resulting data product has been received on Earth. Sol 571: Spirit completed a blind drive of 11.8 meters (38.7 feet) designed to take it across some outcrop then over a small ripple. Sols 572 and 573 (Sept. 2 and Sept. 3, 2005): Commands sent for these sols are for observations with the panoramic camera and navigation camera. Opportunity's total distance driven on Mars, as of Sept. 2, 2005, is 5,755 meters (3.58 miles). Related Links Mars Rovers at JPL Mars Rovers at Cornell SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
NASA'S Durable Spirit Sends Intriguing New Images From Mars
Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 02, 2005Working atop a range of Martian hills, NASA's Spirit rover is rewarding researchers with tempting scenes filled with evidence of past planet environments.
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