NASA to Announce ‘Significant Findings’ by Mars Rovers
By JOHN ANTCZAK
LOS ANGELES (AP) — NASA plans to announce “significant findings” by its Mars rover Opportunity, which has been studying a martian crater for evidence the Red Planet was once a wetter place that could have been hospitable to life, officials said Monday.
The findings were to be released Tuesday during a news conference at NASA headquarters in Washington. The space agency revealed no details in advance.
Rob Manning, a mission manager at JPL, said last week that he could not comment on the mission’s findings, but he acknowledged that there had been “probably as much enthusiasm as we’ve ever had by the science team” as the spacecraft sent data back to Earth.
Opportunity has been studying an outcropping of layered rock close to its landing site in a small crater on an area of Mars called Meridiani Planum.
The six-wheel robot has been using microscopic photography, a rock-abrasion tool that grinds off surface layers and spectrometers to determine the composition of the outcropping, particularly a piece dubbed “El Capitan.”
While Opportunity has stayed close to its landing site to explore the outcropping, its twin rover, Spirit, has been traveling on the other side of the planet.
On sol 56, which ended at 6:33 p.m. PST, February 29, Spirit completed the .55-meter (1.8 feet) re-approach to “Humphrey” to get into position for grinding with the rock abrasion tool.
After the repositioning, the rover took panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer data of its rear tracks and the path in front of it, leading the way to “Bonneville” crater.
The wake-up song for the sol was “Walking On Sunshine,” performed by Jump 5.
In the coming sols, Spirit will use its rock abrasion tool to grind into “Humphrey,” observe the results with the instruments on its arm, and then continue on toward “Bonneville.”
About the Mars Exploration Rovers
These are the primary science instruments to be carried by the rovers:
Panoramic Camera (Pancam): for determining the mineralogy, texture, and structure of the local terrain.
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES): for identifying promising rocks and soils for closer examination and for determining the processes that formed Martian rocks. The instrument will also look skyward to provide temperature profiles of the Martian atmosphere.
Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB): for close-up investigations of the mineralogy of iron-bearing rocks and soils.
Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS): for close-up analysis of the abundances of elements that make up rocks and soils.
Magnets: for collecting magnetic dust particles. The Mössbauer Spectrometer and the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer will analyze the particles collected and help determine the ratio of magnetic particles to non-magnetic particles. They will also analyze the composition of magnetic minerals in airborne dust and rocks that have been ground by the Rock Abrasion Tool.
Microscopic Imager (MI): for obtaining close-up, high-resolution images of rocks and soils.
Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT): for removing dusty and weathered rock surfaces and exposing fresh material for examination by instruments onboard.
A goal for the rover is to drive up to 40 meters (about 44 yards) in a single day, for a total of up to one 1 kilometer (about three-quarters of a mile).
Moving from place to place, the rovers will perform on-site geological investigations. Each rover is sort of the mechanical equivalent of a geologist walking the surface of Mars. The mast-mounted cameras are mounted 1.5 meters(5 feet) high and will provide 360-degree, stereoscopic, humanlike views of the terrain. The robotic arm will be capable of movement in much the same way as a human arm with an elbow and wrist, and will place instruments directly up against rock and soil targets of interest. In the mechanical “fist” of the arm is a microscopic camera that will serve the same purpose as a geologist’s handheld magnifying lens. The Rock Abrasion Tool serves the purpose of a geologist’s rock hammer to expose the insides of rocks.
—–
Follow every step of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission with RedNova. Click here to learn more…
—–
On the Net:
Mars Exploration Rover Mission
More science, space, and technology from RedNova
Copyright © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
