Spirit Continues Studies Of Rocks Near Home Plate

MARSDAILY

A selection of rocks for Spirit to study.

by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 24, 2007
After a few attempts, Spirit finally made it to the outcrop called "Madeline English," where the rover is performing scientific studies. Madeline English is interesting because of the apparent presence of clasts -- rock fragments -- in the outcrop. Scientists are interested in determining whether the clasts have a different composition from surrounding material.

If it is different, it would be one factor supporting the hypothesis that Madeline English is one of the lowest stratigraphic layers in the region.

Spirit also performed a remote sensing campaign on rocks nicknamed "Elise Harney," "Carol Habben," "Senaida Wirth," "Charlene Barnett," "Alice Haylett," and "Clara Zaph." These and other rock targets are currently being named after deceased members of the All-American Girls Profession Baseball League.

Another rock known as "Elizabeth Mahon" is interesting because it has the highest silica level of any rock analyzed on Mars. Processes that elevate the silica content in a rock generally involve liquid water.

Spirit also began began acquiring a large mosaic, known as the "Ballpark Panorama," of images of the "Home Plate" area using the panoramic camera.

Sol-by-sol summary

In addition to daily observations of atmospheric dust levels and surveys of the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, Spirit conducted the following activities:

Sol 1164 (April 12, 2007): Spirit made a second attempt to bump into position next to Madeline English and acquired end-of-drive nagivation camera images.

Sol 1165: Spirit started the day by acquiring panoramic camera images of Carol Habben, then acquired panoramic camera images of Elise Harney.

Sol 1166: Spirit watched for dust devils in the morning and then attempted for a third time to bump into position next to Madeline English. The rover acquired end-of-drive images using the navigation camera.

Sol 1167: Spirit acquired early morning images of Elise Harney with the panoramic camera, then acquired panoramic camera images of Carol Habben. The rover surveyed Senaida Wirth, Charlene Barnett, and Alice Haylett with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 1168: Spirit searched for dust devils in the morning, then unstowed the robotic arm and acquired microscopic images of a particular exposure of Madeline English known as "Belles." The rover surveyed Clara Zaph with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and studied Belles using the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1169: Spirit scanned the sky for clouds using the navigation camera and acquired data from Belles using the Moessbauer spectrometer. The rover acquired panoramic camera images of Home Plate.

Sol 1170: Spirit acquired panoramic images of the sky and watched for dust devils. Spirit then restarted the Moessbauer spectrometer for continued analysis of Belles before beginning work on the Ballpark Panorama.

Sol 1171 (April 19, 2007): Spirit scanned the sky for clouds using the navigation camera and acquired microscopic images of rock targets known as "Peaches" and "BlueSox" in addition to Madeline English, along with a light-colored soil target known as "Everett." The rover continued work on the Ballpark Panorama and prepared to start work the following day on a survey of white material in the rover's tracks using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Odometry: As of sol 1169 (April 17, 2007), Spirit's total odometry was 7,093 meters (4.4 miles).

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MARSDAILY

Seeking A Soft Landing On Mars

St Louis MO (SPX) Apr 20, 2007
Earth and planetary scientists at Washington University in St. Louis are paving the way for a smooth landing on Mars for the Phoenix Mission scheduled to launch in August this year by making sure the set-down literally is not a rocky one. Phoenix is the first mission in NASA's Scout Program and will study the planet's ice cap.

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