NASA Rover to Capture Detail of Mars Soil

Now that the Spirit rover has successfully dismounted to the Mars surface, NASA scientists are eager for the vehicle to take its first photographs with a microscopic imager.

The Spirit was to deploy its robotic arm just above the salmon-colored soil Friday to capture detail of the surface it touched for the first time Thursday nearly two weeks after bouncing to a landing.

Spirit is to spend three to four days parked beside its lander, giving it time to find its bearings and perform some preliminary analysis of the soil and pebbles around it. Then it will set off a meandering journey to prospect for geologic evidence that the now-dry planet was once wetter and hospitable to life.

By early next week, NASA plans for Spirit, designed to travel dozens of yards a day, to head toward a crater about 825 feet away.

Either of two rocks – dubbed Adirondack and Sashimi – is expected to be Spirit’s first target once it starts rolling again. The rocks lie 2 to 3 yards from the rover.

The rover might also visit a nearby, shallow depression dubbed Sleepy Hollow if there is enough time before its twin, Opportunity, lands Jan. 24 on the opposite side of the planet.

NASA wants to park Spirit for the three days immediately following Opportunity’s arrival, to ease the burden on members of the $820 million double mission.

Even while parked 16 inches above Mars atop its lander since its arrival on Mars on Jan. 3, Spirit kept busy. It used its nine cameras to take at least 3,900 pictures of its surroundings. Mission scientists used those images, including sweeping panoramas, to chart the rover’s next movements.

The six-wheeled vehicle finally rolled down a ramp onto the surface of the Red Planet on Thursday, covering a mere 10 feet, as planned. The trip took 78 seconds.

Engineers had worried that the golf-cart-size vehicle might become snagged on its ramp or damaged beyond repair, making it impossible to complete its mission. Scientists said the roll-off may have been the riskiest step the rover would ever take on Mars.

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