NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Status: 3 March 2006

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Studies Geology While Preparing for Martian Winter – sol 763-770, Mar 03, 2006:

Spirit successfully completed four Martian days, or sols, of driving clockwise around the rim of “Home Plate” toward the south and east. The rover is currently spending three sols studying a rock target called “Fuzzy Smith” using three instruments on the robotic arm: the microscopic imager, Moessbauer spectrometer, and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer.

During the coming week, Spirit will communicate with Earth in UHF-only mode while NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at the red planet.

Sol-by-sol summaries:

Sol 763 (Feb. 25, 2006): Spirit completed scientific studies of a rock target called “Crawfords.”

Sol 764: Spirit drove 22.7 meters (74.4 feet) and acquired post-drive images with the panoramic and navigation cameras.

Sol 765: Spirit acquired panoramic camera images of a transit of the Martian moon, Phobos, and recharged the batteries for the next day of driving.

Sol 766: Spirit drove 37 meters (121 feet), acquired post-drive images, and conducted atmospheric observations.

Sol 767: Spirit drove 29 meters (95 feet), acquired post-drive images, and conducted atmospheric observations.

Sol 768: Spirit drove 14.26 meters (47 feet) to the top of white outcrops on the rim of “Home Plate.”

Sol 769: Plans are for Spirit to began a 3-day campaign of scientific observations on a rock target dubbed “Al ‘Fuzzy’ Smith,” using instruments on the rover’s robotic arm, including the microscopic imager, alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, and Moessbauer spectrometer.

Sol 770 (March 3, 2006): Plans are for Spirit to continue scientific studies of “Al ‘Fuzzy’ Smith.”

As of sol 770 (March 3, 2006), Spirit’s total odometry was 6,693 meters (4.16 miles).