Mars Rover Sends Geology Data to Earth

NASA’s Spirit rover unfolded its wheels, stood up atop its lander and took in its surroundings with infrared vision for the first time since arriving on Mars a week ago.

Problems clearing airbags from a ramp on the lander have delayed plans to roll the rover down to the martian surface by at least another week, but Spirit hasn’t been idle. While it waits aboard the lander, its technology has detected traces of minerals that could have formed in an ancient lake that scientists believe once covered its landing site.

The first indications of the geologic makeup of Spirit’s surroundings could support theories that liquid water persisted on the surface of the planet during its ancient past and provided an environment conducive to life.

Scientists stressed that finding the minerals, called carbonates, does not immediately prove the lake theory. Instead, the carbonate dust could have formed through interactions with the tiny amounts of water vapor found in the martian atmosphere.

“We’ve got a bunch of ideas and we don’t know which one is right yet,” said Steven Squyres of Cornell University, the mission’s main scientist. Another NASA spacecraft previously spotted carbonates from orbit as well.

When Spirit does leave its lander, it will use an alternative route. Engineers failed to retract air bags that blocked its safest path onto the surface of Mars. Now, Spirit will turn 120 degrees to its right and follow a second, more risky ramp to the ground, mission manager Matt Wallace said.

While parked, Spirit finished snapping a sweeping panorama of its surroundings with its color camera. NASA received most of that 360-degree view and expected the rest to trickle in during the coming days, deputy project scientist Albert Haldemann said.

Spirit also has begun measuring the temperature and makeup of the rocks and soil around it with its mini-thermal emission spectrometer.

The instrument sees infrared radiation – heat – emitted by objects, including rocks and soil. Variations in the radiation Spirit sees indicate differences in mineralogical composition. That’s crucial information for scientists eager to learn what sort of rocks lie strewn around Spirit – and which of them are most worthwhile analyzing.

On Friday, scientists displayed the first of that data, showing off psychedelically colored views of the surface of Mars. Warm patches of sand glowed red and comparatively cooler rocks appeared deep blue.

The $820 million Mars Exploration Rover project includes a second, identical rover named Opportunity, which is expected to land on the Red Planet on Jan. 24.

NASA sent the two robotic geologists to prospect for evidence that Mars may have been a wet world conducive to life in its ancient past.

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On the Net: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov