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An Opportunity To Take A Captain Cook At Duck Bay
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 18, 2007 Right now, Opportunity is safely perched on "Cape Verde" and is observing "Duck Bay" from above. The rover drove four out of the last five sols, covering 196.44 meters (644 feet). The fifth and final D-star (drive software) checkout step ran successfully on Opportunity on sol 1200. The dynamic path planner added in the latest flight software version is now ready for use. On sol 1204, the post-drive robotic arm unstow stopped short of completion due to an excess attitude change. The actual attitude change fell well within the 5-degree limit and is consistent with a robotic arm unstow activity. The engineering team traced the miscalculation to a possible bug in the flight software and a full investigation is underway. Sol-by-sol summary: Each sol contains: panoramic camera tau measurement and miniature thermal emission spectrometer mini sky observation and long ground calibration during the engineering block; pre-Odyssey panoramic camera tau and miniature thermal emission spectrometer sky and long ground calibration during the Odyssey pass. Drive sols contain robotic arm stow and unstow before and after the drive. Sol 1200: On this sol, Opportunity drove about 60 meters (197 feet), then executed the fifth and final D-star checkout. After the drive, the rover took a post-drive panoramic camera tau measurement. Sol 1201: After solar array wakeup, Opportunity's panoramic camera conducted a sky survey. The rover then drove 12.36 meters (41 feet) using autonav. After the drive, Opportunity took images with its navigation and panoramic cameras. After the Odyssey pass, the rover conducted an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration as part of an Argon experiment. Sol 1202: In the morning of this sol, Opportunity's panoramic camera took thumbnail images of the sky. The rover then drove 41.56 meters (136 feet) toward Cape Verde, conducted a quick fine attitude update (to confirm its exact location) and did post-drive imaging. Sol 1203: On the morning of this sol, the rover took navigation camera images in the rearward direction and conducted a miniature thermal emission spectrometer sky and ground observation. The navigation camera then had a look for clouds and the panoramic camera also surveyed the sky. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer did a sky and ground observation in the morning as well. The rover then drove 66.23 meters (convert) to a stand-off point near Cape Verde. After the drive, Opportunity took post-drive images with its panoramic, hazard avoidance and navigation cameras. Sol 1204: After solar array wakeup, the rover's panoramic camera conducted a 13-filter systematic foreground survey. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer performed a sky and ground observation. The rover then drove south 7.84 meters (26 feet) onto Cape Verde to image the first eye of a stereo image of an area in the middle of Duck Bay. After the drive, Opportunity took images with its panoramic, hazard avoidance and navigation cameras. Sol 1205: In the morning of this sol, Opportunity's miniature thermal emission spectrometer conducted a sky and ground observation. The panoramic camera surveyed the horizon. The rover also took images with its hazard avoidance camera and finished up the long baseline stereo image it began the sol before. Opportunity's total odometry as of sol 1204 is 11,369.33 meters (7.06 miles). Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Mars Rovers at JPL Mars Rovers at Cornell Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
Simulating The Effects Of Martian Dust On The Phoenix Lander
Ann Arbor MI (SPX) Jun 15, 2007Gusting winds and the pulsating exhaust plumes from the Phoenix spacecraft's landing engines could complicate NASA's efforts to sample frozen soil from the surface of Mars, according to University of Michigan atmospheric scientist Nilton Renno. Set to launch Aug. 3 from Florida, the $414 million Phoenix Mars Lander will use descent engines to touch down on the northern plains, where vast stores of ice have been detected just below the surface. |
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