Spirit Studies Dust Devils In Concert With The MRO

MARSDAILY

Spirit is making daily observations of atmospheric dust levels with the panoramic camera and surveys of the sky and ground using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (SPX) May 15, 2007
Spirit is healthy and has finished investigating a patch of churned-up, white-toned, silica-rich material known as "Gertrude Weise." Meanwhile, the rover's first attempt to autonomously place and exchange scientific instruments at the same target was partially successful. Spirit backed up over Gertrude Weise to a spot 2 meters (6.6 feet) beyond it and placed the Moessbauer spectrometer on the target, but did not replace it with the microscopic imager due to potential collisions.

Plans called for Spirit to coordinate searching for dust devils on the ground with overhead scans of terrain by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on sol 1191 (May 10, 2007). Also on sol 1191, the rover was to combine searching for dust devils with searching for clouds. This activity was meant as a stress test, as Spirit has already successfully completed such searches independently.

Sol-by-sol summary

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

Sol 1186 (May 5, 2007): Spirit acquired full-color, 13-filter images of a target called "Kathryn Beare" using the panoramic camera and studied Kathryn Beare and targets known as "GertrudeWeise2" and "Janice Ohara" using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Sol 1187: Spirit acquired full-color, 13-filter images of Gertrude Weise, drove 5 meters (16 feet) to approach the soil target, autonomously placed the microscopic imager on target, and collected microscopic images. The rover acquired a 360-degree panorama of the terrain using the navigation camera and also acquired a mosaic of images using the panoramic camera.

Sol 1188: Spirit took thumbnail images of the sky using the panoramic camera before spending the afternoon recharging the battery with energy from the rover's solar array.

Sol 1189: Spirit acquired movies and searched for dust devils using the navigation camera and touched a surface with the Moessbauer spectrometer. Spirit then began analysis of a target called "Kenosha Comets," collecting microscopic images and placing the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer on the target. The rover acquired data from targets known as "Virginia Bell" and "Nancy Warren" using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. After exchanging data with the Odyssey orbiter, Spirit conducted a 12-hour, overnight analysis of Kenosha Comets using the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1190: Spirit began the day acquiring a full-color, 13-filter panorama of Virginia Bell using the panoramic camera. The rover switched tools from the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer to the Moessbauer spectrometer for continued study of Kenosha Comets. The rover acquired data from a target known as "Thelma Hundeby" before conducting a 23-hour, overnight study of Kenosha Comets with the Moessbauer spectrometer.

Sol 1191: Plans called for Spirit to acquire panoramic-camera movies in search of dust devils in tandem with overhead scans of terrain by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Plans also called for the rover to search for clouds, study Gertrude Weise with the Moessbauer spectrometer, and acquire full-color, 13-filter images of a target known as "Muriel Bevis" and of the horizon with the sun halfway below it.

Sol 1192 (May 11, 2007): Plans called for Spirit to stop the Moessbauer spectrometer, survey the rover's calibration target and tracks with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, conduct a low-sun survey, analyze Gertrude Weise and another target known as "Elizabeth Mahon" with the Moessbauer spectrometer, and survey Muriel Bevis using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover was to acquire panoramic camera images of the calibration target and conduct a low-sun survey of "McCool Hill." The following morning, Spirit was to acquire thumbnail images of the sky using the panoramic camera and survey a target known as "Marie Wegman" using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.

Odometry

As of sol 1187 (May 6, 2007), Spirit's total odometry was 7,108.60 meters (4.42 miles).

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MARSDAILY

Spirit Examined Light - Colored Material Near Home Plate

Pasadena CA (SPX) May 08, 2007
Spirit is healthy and has completed its investigation of a knobby rock target known as "GoodQuestion." Next on Spirit's itinerary is a drive to the north and an attempt to climb onto "Home Plate." On the way, Spirit will examine white--toned material where one of the rover's wheels disturbed the soil.

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