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Spirit Continues Studies of Martian Winter Haven
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 30, 2006 Spirit continued to collect images for the 360-degree panorama, now under construction, of the rover's "Winter Haven" on Mars. Rover planners anticipated that by the end of the Memorial Day weekend, Spirit would complete 15 of the 27 columns for the final product. Spirit also continued scientific studies of the soil target called "Progress" after brushing away about 6 millimeters (a quarter of an inch) of soil to reveal a second layer, dubbed "Progress 2." Rover team members prepared commands for the next round of scientific measurements, to include a 49.5-hour study divided over three Martian days, or sols, using the Moessbauer spectrometer. Five of seven opportunities to transmit signals to Mars at higher-frequency X-band wavelengths were needed for higher-priority communications in support of aerobraking activities of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, so engineers continued sending commands to Spirit via the UHF link on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Sol-by-sol summaries Sol 847 (May 21, 2006): Spirit acquired a one-by-three mosaic for column 14 of the "McMurdo Panorama" and studied Progress 2 with the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. Sol 848: Spirit acquired a one-by-two mosaic to finish column 14 of the McMurdo panorama. The rover conducted remote sensing with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer during the afternoon overflight of Odyssey. Sols 849 to 851: In the absence of an uplink for new commands, Spirit executed the master sequence from sol 848. Spirit continued downlinking data to Earth and charged the battery. Sol 852: Plans called for Spirit to place the Moessbauer spectrometer on Progress 2 and start overnight collection and integration of data. Sol 853: Plans called for Spirit to re-start analysis with the Moessbauer spectrometer for 3.5 hours, acquire all three frames of column 15 of the McMurdo panorama, and make targeted observations with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Sol 854 (May 29, 2006): Plans called for an overnight study of Progress 2 with the Moessbauer spectrometer. Odometry As of sol 850 (May 25, 2006), Spirit's total odometry remained at 6,876.18 meters (4.27 miles). Related Links the missing link
Atmospheric Study Shows Similarities In Solar Effects On Earth And Mars
Laurel MD (SPX) May 30, 2006"Despite differences in the chemical compositions and densities of Earth's and Mars' atmospheres, we now have a definitive example showing that both planets' atmospheres react similarly to varying levels of solar energy impacting them during the sun's 25-day rotation," says Elsayed Talaat, a space scientist with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md. |
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