Spirit Prepares for Mars Observations
Posted on: Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 06:00 CST
It's a sharply angled rock that sits on the surface of Mars. Scientists have dubbed it "Adirondack."
The Spirit rover is expected to reach out with its arm Tuesday and examine the football-size rock with its microscopic imager and two spectrometers, which can detail the minerals and elements that make up the rock. Spirit should then drill into the rock, perhaps as early as Wednesday, to reveal its interior.
Scientists believe the rock is made of a volcanic material called basalt.
"You can think of it as a time capsule that contains a history of its formation," said Dave Des Marais, of NASA's Ames Research Center and a member of the mission science team.
NASA scientists also are expected to present results Tuesday of the Spirit rover's first down-and-dirty analysis of the soil beneath its six wheels from where it sits.
Once done with Adirondack, the rover should trundle off again to examine a second patch of fine-grained soil no more than a yard away, Des Marais said.
As engineers work to break in Spirit, the rover's range is limited to about a yard a day, mission members said. Eventually, it could travel dozens of yards a day.
Spirit's twin, Opportunity, remains on track to land Saturday on Mars. NASA is targeting Opportunity to land in Meridiani Planum, which lies halfway around the planet from Spirit's Jan. 3 landing site in Gusev Crater.
"Everything is looking good for the upcoming landing," Adler said.
NASA dispatched the two robots to prospect for geologic evidence that Mars once was a warmer, wetter world capable of supporting life.
Over the weekend, Spirit took a spin on Mars that doubled the distance on the odometer of the six-wheeled robot. The nearly 10-foot drive took the rover 30 minutes, including repeated pauses to snap pictures along its way. The drive was the first forward movement of the rover since it rolled off its lander and onto the martian surface.
"We went for a little Sunday drive," mission manager Mark Adler told a Monday news conference at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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On the Net:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
http://mars.esa.int/
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