NASA Mars Rover Spirit Discovers Changes in Soil Near ‘Home Plate’
Spirit remains healthy after completing scientific investigation of a light-toned soil patch nicknamed “Everett.” Everett is interesting because scientists thought it would be rich in sulfur like other soil exposures they’ve investigated. Instead, it turned out to be low in sulfur and ultramafic in composition — made of iron- and magnesium-rich silicate, a chemistry often associated with volcanic rocks. Everett appears to be different from other materials the rover has encountered around “Home Plate.”
On sol 1175 (April 23, 2007), Spirit bumped back approximately 60 centimeters (24 inches) to position the robotic arm for analysis of some light-toned nodules called “Slide.” Scientists were hoping Slide would be high in silica, but after the investigation discovered that it looked like a still cleaner version of “Everett.” The rover is now working on a scientific analysis of a new target known as “Good Question.”
Spirit surveyed rocks known as “Charlene Barnett,” “Fern Battaglia,” and “Joyce Ricketts” as well as an area above a landslide on “Husband Hill” known as “Headscarp” and a vesicular basalt known as “Dorothy Wind.”
Spirit completed work on a big-picture mosaic of the Home Plate area called the “Ballpark Panorama.”
Sol-by-sol summary
In addition to daily observations of atmospheric dust levels and surveys of the sky and ground using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, Spirit conducted the following activities:
Sol 1172 (April 20, 2007): Spirit acquired microscopic images of Everett, acquired columns 8 and 9 of the Ballpark Panorama with the panoramic camera, surveyed Charlene Barnett with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and studied Everett with the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer.
Sol 1173: Spirit studied Everett using the Moessbauer spectrometer and acquired columns 10 and 11 of the Ballpark Panorama.
Sol 1174: In the morning, Spirit searched for clouds using the navigation camera. The rover then resumed Moessbauer analysis of Everett, acquired column 12 of the Ballpark Panorama, and surveyed Fern Battaglia with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Sol 1175: Spirit took panoramic images of the sky and crushed surface nodules and acquired movies in search of dust devils using the navigation camera. Spirit then stowed the robotic arm, rolled backward slightly to be able to reach Slide, acquired post-drive images with the navigation camera, and acquired panoramic camera images of the drive ahead.
Sol 1176: Spirit acquired movies in search of dust devils using the navigation camera, acquired panoramic camera images of the sky, stowed the robotic arm, acquired microscopic images of Slide, brushed the surface of Slide with the rock abrasion tool, and acquired microscopic images of the newly brushed surface. The rover studied Slide with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer and surveyed Dorothy Wind using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Sol 1177: Spirit acquired panoramic camera images of Everett, searched for dust devils, and studied Slide with the Moessbauer spectrometer.
Sol 1178 (April 27, 2007): In the morning, Spirit acquired panoramic camera images of the “El Dorado” dune field, a landslide area on “Husband Hill” known as “Landslide,” and the horizon. The rover continued to study Slide using the Moessbauer spectrometer, acquired panoramic camera images of Dorothy Wind, and acquired data from Joyce Ricketts using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover prepared to acquire microscopic images and alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer data from Good Question the following morning.
Odometry
As of sol 1177 (April 26, 2007), Spirit’s total odometry was 7,095 meters (4.4 miles).
