Spirit rover timeline for 2004 February
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- Spirit rover timeline
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- Spirit rover timeline for 2004 February
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week starting 2004 February 2
February 6 (Sol 33 ends 2004-02-06 11:22 UTC)
After further diagnostics, and some other problems with the flash memory, Spirit's flash memory used for mission file storage has been completely reformatted. This appears to have cured Spirit's problems. Scientific work has resumed. Spirit has used the brush from the RAT to remove dust from the surface of the "Adirondack" rock, and sent back pictures.
February 8 (Sol 35 ends 2004-02-08 12:41 UTC)
Today the Spirit performed history's first grinding of a rock on Mars. The rock abrasion tool on NASA's Spirit rover ground off the surface of a patch 45.5 millimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter on Adirondack during Spirit's 34th sol on Mars, Feb. 6, 2004. The hole is 2.65 millimeters (0.1 inch) deep, exposing fresh interior material of the rock for close inspection with the rover's microscopic imager and two spectrometers on the robotic arm.
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week starting 2004 February 9
February 9 (Sol 36 ends 2004-02-09 13:21 UTC)
Spirit began moving again last night, passing over Adirondack and traveling 6.37 meters. The drive tested the rover's onboard navigation software and hazard avoidance system for the first time on Mars, which allow the rover to evaluate and navigate itself past obstacles. The drive, intended to test the traverse commands, was extremely precise, taking Spirit to its intended goal - the rock called White Boat. Later tonight commands will be sent to command the rover to move toward the small crater Bonneville. (In the coming sols, Spirit will continue its drive toward Bonneville Crater.) Before leaving the rock Adirondack, Spirit took images and collected miniature thermal emission spectrometer data from the hole ground by the rock abrasion tool.
February 10 (Sol 37 ends 2004-02-10 14:01 UTC)
Waking up to Tina Turner's "Proud Mary," Spirit rolled through a record-breaking 21.2 (69.6 feet) meter drive. Today's distance traveled shattered the Sojourner rover's previous record of 7 meters (23 feet) in one sol.
Spirit stayed parked on sol 38 (which ended 2004-02-11 14:40 UTC, or 06:40 PST) because cold temperatures prevented its High Gain Antenna from pointing to Earth and thus receiving the commands for the planned excursion. A gimbal motor which moves the antenna had been in shadow during the morning before the planned communication window. The problem was resolved later in the sol.
During sol 39 (which ended 2004-02-12 15:20 UTC, or 07:20 PST), Spirit broke its own driving record. It adding 24.4 meters (80 feet) to its odometer while getting near an interesting set of rocks dubbed "Stone Council." The drive lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes. While navigating itself to avoid hazards, Spirit stopped when it recognized an obstacle, which was the group of rocks that was the day's intended destination.
The flight team at JPL chose Buster Poindexter's version of "Hit the Road Jack," as Spirit's wake-up music. The day's commands were uplinked during the cool morning hours via Spirit's low-gain antenna, to bypass a problem diagnosed the preceding day as shade slowing the warm-up of motors that move the high-gain antenna. Before rolling, Spirit took images with its microscopic imager and panoramic camera from the site where it started the day.
The plan for sol 40, which will end at 7:59 a.m. Friday, PST, is a short drive forward then using instruments on the robotic arm to study soil at Stone Council.
While Mars Express was flying over the area Spirit was examining, the orbiter transferred commands from Earth to the rover and relayed data from the robotic explorer back to Earth. This was the first in-orbit communication between ESA and NASA spacecraft, and also the first working international communications network around another planet. According to the announcement, this event took place on February 6.
Spirit woke up to its 40th sol on Mars to the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong and then proceeded to have a wonderful sol which ended at 7:59 a.m. Friday, PST. After utilizing the miniature thermal emission spectrometer instrument on surrounding soil and completing some pre-drive imaging with the panoramic camera, Spirit proceeded 90 centimeters (2.95 feet) towards a collection of rocks called "Stone Council." The drive lasted less than five minutes. After completing the drive, Spirit imaged several rocks with the panoramic camera, and completed a mosaic of the area in front and to the left of itself.
On sol 41, which will end at 8:39 a.m. Saturday, PST, Spirit will be repositioned in front of the flaky rock called "Mimi" in preparation for placing its instrument deployment device on that rock during sol 42.
On its 41st sol, which ended at 8:39 a.m. Saturday, PST, Spirit examined the crest and trough of a drift formation encountered on its journey, then moved to a nearby rock.
The rover used its microscopic imager, Moessbauer spectrometer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on the drift material. Then it backed up about 10 centimeters (4 inches), turned, and advanced about the same distance to be in position for thoroughly examining the flaky rock called "Mimi" during sol 42, which will end at 9:18 a.m. Sunday, PST.
Plans call for resuming long daily drives on sol 43 toward the crater nicknamed "Bonneville" on the northeastern horizon.
Spirit used instruments on its robotic arm to examine an unusual-looking rock called "Mimi" during the rover's 42nd sol on Mars, which ended at 9:15 a.m. Sunday, PST. Scientists will be examining images and spectra to understand this rock's structure and composition and what those can tell about the environment in which the rock formed.
For sol 43, which will end at 9:58 a.m. Monday, PST, controllers have planned what they are calling a "mega drive": commanding a morning drive of about 25 meters (82 feet), then taking pictures of the scene ahead and letting the rover have a brief rest before using those mid-day pictures to guide an optional afternoon drive. Spirit is currently about 270 meters from the crater nicknamed "Bonneville," its mid-term destination.
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week starting 2004 February 16
Spirit spent the wee morning hours of sol 43 gathering data about a wheel-track target with the Moessbauer spectrometer, then tucked its arm and drove. It used a two-session method engineers call a "mega drive" in order to make good progress toward the crater nicknamed "Bonneville." The first driving session covered 19 meters (62.3 feet) after long-running morning activities shortened the time for driving. After a rest, Spirit continued another 8.5 meters (27.9 feet) in the afternoon, resulting in a total drive of 27.5 meters (90.2 feet), a new one-sol record. Sol 43 ended at 9:58 a.m. Monday, PST. The remaining distance to "Bonneville" is about 245 meters (about 800 feet) from Spirit's new location.
For sol 44, which will end at 10:38 a.m. Tuesday, PST, controllers plan "touch-and-go" activities: deploying the arm on a target called "Ramp Flats" before continuing toward Bonneville.
Spirit drove 21.6 meters (70.9 feet) on sol 44, bringing the rover's grand total to 108 meters (354 feet). That is about 6 meters (19.7 feet) more than the Sojourner mission record, set in 1997.
Spirit began sol 45, which ended at 11:17 a.m. February 18, 2004 PST, at its previous target, Halo, by conducting analysis with the alpha particle x-ray spectrometer, microscopic imager and Moessbauer spectrometer. Spirit also took panoramic camera images and miniature thermal emission spectrometer observations before its arm was stowed for the northeast drive toward a circular depression dubbed Laguna Hollow.
The first 19 meters of the drive toward Laguna Hollow was commanded using go-to waypoint commands with the hazard avoidance system turned off. This mode - which was used for the first time this sol - provides automatic heading correction during a blind drive. Some fine-tuning toward the target brought the total drive for this sol to 22.7 meters (74.5 feet).
After reaching Laguna Hollow, Spirit "wiggled" its wheels to disturb or scuff the fine dust-like soil at this location, which allows for more detailed observations with the instruments on the robotic arm. After adjusting position to put the disturbed soil in reach of the arm, Spirit backed up and completed a miniature thermal emission spectrometer scan of the new work area. Before the sol ended, Spirit made one more adjustment, putting it in perfect position to analyze the scuffed area beginning on sol 46
The plan for sol 46, which will end at 11:57 a.m., February 19, 2004 PST, is to conduct observations on Laguna Hollow with the instruments on the robotic arm, including some higher resolution analysis that will involve an overnight tool change.
On sol 47, ending at 12:36 p.m. February 20, 2004 PST, engineers woke Spirit up to the song "Dig Down Deep," by Hot Soup, and that's exactly what Spirit proceeded to do. The two-hour operation performed by Spirit's left front wheel resulted in a trench 7-8 centimeters deep (2.8 to 3.1 inches) that uncovers fresh soil and possibly ancient information.
Spirit dug this trench at "Laguna Hollow" the same way that Opportunity dug its 9-10 centimeter (3.5 to 3.9 inch) trench at Meridiani. However, because the ground at this location is harder, Spirit had to dig for twice as long as Opportunity - going back and forth over the surface 11 times instead of 6.
After the trench was completed, Spirit backed up one meter, or more than a yard, and analyzed the area with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer before driving forward 0.4 meters (15.7 inches) and imaging the excavation site with the panoramic camera. A final move forward of another 0.4 meters allowed Spirit to take front hazard avoidance camera images of the arm work volume which was then centered on the trench.
After stowing the arm, the rover did a series of miniature thermal emission spectrometer observations of several nearby rocks, "Buffalo," "Cherry," "Cotton," and "Jiminy Cricket," and a combined miniature thermal emission spectrometer and panoramic camera observation of "Beacon." Spirit also took panoramic camera images of its deck to observe dust accumulation on the instrumented solar cells and on the miniature thermal emission spectrometer calibration target.
Spirit then took a siesta from 2 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Mars Local Solar time and woke up for some more panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer observations of "Beacon," and miniature thermal emission spectrometer ground and sky stares. All activities up through the afternoon pass by the Mars Odyssey orbiter were completed successfully.
On its 48th sol, ending at 1:16 p.m. Saturday, PST, Spirit maneuvered its robotic arm successfully within the challengingly tight confines of the trench that the rover had dug into the floor of "Laguna Hollow" the preceding sol.
Spirit used the microscopic imager on the arm to take pictures of details in the wall and floor of the trench during the morning. Then Spirit rotated the tool turret at the end of its arm and placed the Moessbauer spectrometer in position to read the mineral composition of the soil on the trench floor. That reading was designed to last about 12 hours, from mid-sol into the martian night. Spirit's panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer were also used during the sol for studies of sky and rocks.
Spirit has been told to wake up and switch from the Moessbauer spectrometer to alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on the trench floor during the pre-dawn hours of the next sol. Later on sol 49 (which ends at 1:56 p.m. Sunday) and early on sol 50, plans call for using those spectrometers on the walls of the trench and making additional observations of the "Laguna Hollow" area. Then Spirit is slated to resume its trek toward the rim of the crater nicknamed "Bonneville," now estimated to be about 135 meters (443 feet) northeast of the rover's current location.
Spirit continued its inspection of the trench dubbed "Road Cut" during the rover's 49th sol, ending at 1:56 p.m. Sunday, PST. It used three instruments on its robotic arm to examine the subsurface soil exposed by the sol 47 digging of the trench.
Before dawn on sol 49, Spirit switched from its Moessbauer spectrometer to its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer for analysis of soil on the trench floor. Later, controllers played "Coisinha do Pai," by Beth Carvalho, as wake-up music. The rover inspected targets on the wall and floor of the trench with its microscope, then placed the Moessbauer spectrometer against a target on the trench wall for identifying the iron-bearing minerals there. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer took remote readings on the rover's wheel tracks in the morning and afternoon.
Plans for sol 50 (ending at 2:35 p.m. Monday, PST) call for finishing inspection of the trench, then resuming the journey toward the rim of a crater dubbed "Bonneville," followed by a longer drive the following sol.
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week starting 2004 February 23
On Sol 50, ending at 2:35 p.m. PST, Spirit finished observations of the trench at "Laguna Hollow," then continued on its journey toward the crater called "Bonneville." Driving in a dog-leg pattern to avoid some bumpy terrain, Spirit traveled approximately 18.8 meters (61.7 feet) toward the halfway point, called "Middle Ground." The last 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) were covered using autonomous navigation software.
After completing the drive, Spirit gathered miniature thermal emission spectrometer data on the ground on both sides of the rover, and its panoramic camera and navigation camera took pictures.
The wake-up song this morning (Sunday evening Pacific time) was "Samba De Marte" by Beth Carvalho from her "Perolas Do Pagode" album. The lyrics include a verse about waking up the rover on Carnival Day. This song was written by Beth Carvalho after she heard that one of her songs was used to wake up Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover during the 1997 mission. This is quite appropriate, as this spirited sol 50 also began on Carnival day in Brazil!
In the coming sols, Spirit will complete the drive to "Middle Ground."
To inspire a morning "run" on sol 51, which ended at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, PST, Spirit woke up to Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire." The rover deployed its arm, took microscopic images of the soil in front of it and then proceeded toward its target, "Middle Ground." Spirit drove 30 meters (98.4 feet), breaking its own record for a single-sol traverse. Along the way, Spirit paused to image rocks on both sides of the drive path with its panoramic camera.
The auto-navigational software that drove the last 12 meters (39.4 feet) of the traverse to the "Middle Ground" target warned Spirit that the slope into the hollow that houses it was too steep (according to parameters set by rover engineers). Spirit then paced along the rim, looking for a safe way down. Unable to locate a secure path into the crater before the sol ended, Spirit ended up facing slightly west of north instead of northeast, as called for by the plan. This orientation will reduce the amount of data the rover can return (due to interference between the UHF antenna and items on the rover equipment deck), but it will be corrected in the coming sols.
As of today, Spirit has moved 183.25 meters (601.21 feet) and is now roughly 135 meters (442.91 feet) from its landing site, Columbia Memorial Station.
The intent for the next several sols will be to drive Spirit into "Middle Ground" and take a full panorama of the surrounding area to identify scientifically interesting rocks.
On sol 52, which ended at 3:54 p.m. PST, February 25, rover engineers drove Spirit the short 4-meter (13.1 feet) drive to "Middle Ground" after finishing observations with the miniature thermal emission and Mössbauer spectrometers. Several stutter steps that would have put Spirit at the exact target location were not executed because they were programmed with built-in safeties. The rover detected slight hazards and stopped within its constraints. The final steps will be executed next sol.
Waking up to Foreigner's "Cold as Ice," Spirit's first job of the sol was to warm up its arm that was significantly colder than yestersol due to the rover's orientation to the northwest. The engineering team also took a moment to wave to Spirit as its panoramic camera faced and imaged Earth.
Spirit will remain at "Middle Ground" for the next several sols and continue observing targets with its spectrometers and microscopic imager. Plans also call for high-resolution images of rocks and an examination of the soil.
On sol 53, which ends at 4:34 p.m. PST on February 26, Spirit woke up to the 70s ballad "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas, with the anticipation of possibly capturing dust devils spinning across the martian surface. The rear hazard avoidance camera was commanded to "roll tape" from 12:00 to 12:30 local solar time to record these so-called "mini-tornadoes." The behavior of dust devils helps scientists track the transfer of dust on the red planet.
A final, .85-meter (about 2.8 feet) drive brought Spirit to its exact target at the "Middle Ground" site. The rover also conducted an examination, using its microscopic imager and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, of the magnet arrays that are collecting airborne dust.
In the coming sols Spirit will inspect the soil at its current position with the tools on its arm. Following that, the plans call for the rover to approach the rock called "Humphrey." After a thorough assessment of "Humphrey," the rock abrasion tool will be used to brush and then grind.
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On sol 54, Spirit woke up to the song "Big Rock in the Road" by Pete Wernick and made its final approach to the imposing rock called "Humphrey" before the sol ended at 5:13 p.m. PST on Friday, Feb. 27. The initial 3.5 meter (11.5 feet) drive toward the rock was cut short at only 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) due to a built-in software safety. Rover engineers quickly adjusted the software restriction and drove the final meter of that planned drive, plus the 0.9 meters (about 3 feet) that put the rover in the best position for brushing "Humphrey" with the rock abrasion tool.
Before approaching the rock, Spirit used its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer to investigate the areas the rock abrasion tool will brush and grind. Unlike the last rock abrasion tool sequence on the rock called "Adirondack," the planned procedure for "Humphrey" will include brushing three separate areas of the rock. After brushing, Spirit will back up and examine the brushed areas with the instruments on its arm. The science team will then decide the best place to grind into "Humphrey" - it could be one of the three brushed areas or another section altogether. The hope is to remove as much dust as possible so the instruments on Spirit's arm can get a pre-grinding "read" on the rock coating and then, after grinding, study beneath the coating and surface.
In the sols following the rock abrasion tool sequence, Spirit might investigate an interesting rock behind it, or continue on toward "Bonneville" crater.
Spirit used its rock abrasion tool for brushing the dust off three patches of a rock called "Humphrey," during its 55th sol on Mars, ending at 5:53 p.m. Saturday, PST. Before applying the wire-bristled brush, the rover inspected the surface of the rock with its microscope and with its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, which identifies elements that are present. Brushing three different places on a rock one right after another was an unprecedented use of the rock abrasion tool, designed to provide a larger cleaned area for examining.
Afterwards, Spirit rolled backward 85 centimeters (2.8 feet) to a position from which it could use its miniature thermal emission spectrometer on the cleaned areas for assessing what minerals are present. Due to caution about potential hazards while re-approaching "Humphrey," the rover moved only part of the way back. Plans for sol 56, ending at 6:33 p.m. Sunday, PST, call for finishing that re-approach and further inspecting the brushed areas. If all goes well, the rock abrasion tool's diamond-toothed grinding wheel will cut into the rock on sol 57 to expose fresh interior material.
For wake-up music on sol 55, controllers chose "Brush Your Teeth," by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, and "Knock Three Times," by Tony Orlando and Dawn.
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."
- Spirit rover timeline
- Spirit rover timeline for 2004 January
- Spirit rover timeline for 2004 February
- Spirit rover timeline for 2004 March