NASA Mars Rover Spirit Status: Spirit Examined Light – Colored Material Near ‘Home Plate’
Spirit Status for sol 1179–1185
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. Observations using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer suggest it may be enriched in silica, similar to the “Elizabeth Mahon” rock outcrop the rover studied last week. Science team members have nicknamed the soil target “Gertrude Weise.”
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 1179 (April 28, 2007): Spirit acquired panoramic camera images of targets known as “Gooli” and “Joyce Ricketts,” surveyed Gooli and a target known as “Yolande Schick” with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and studied GoodQuestion using the alpha–particle X–ray spectrometer.
Sol 1180: Spirit surveyed the horizon with the panoramic camera, watched for dust devils, studied GoodQuestion with the Moessbauer spectrometer, and acquired panoramic camera images of GoodQuestion. The rover also surveyed a target known as “Joan Sindelar.”
Sol 1181: Spirit acquired panoramic camera images of a target known as “Everett” and studied GoodQuestion using the Moessbauer spectrometer. The rover acquired panoramic camera images of a target called “Yolanda Schick.”
Sol 1182: Spirit recorded a movie in search of dust devils using the navigation camera and studied light–toned soil using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit drove 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) to the new science target, Gertrude Weise. The rover acquired mid–drive images with the navigation camera in support of observations of GoodQuestion with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, then made those same observations. After the drive, the rover acquired more images with both the navigation and panoramic cameras.
Sol 1183: Spirit monitored dust on the rover mast, surveyed Gertrude Weise with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and acquired full–color images of GoodQuestion using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera. Spirit acquired super–resolution images of a target known as “Fern Shollenberger” with the panoramic camera. The rover studied targets nicknamed “Philomena Zale,” “Alma Ziegler,” and “Ruth Heverly” using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Sol 1184: Spirit watched for dust devils in the morning and checked for drift (changes over time) in the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit drove 6.7 meters (22 feet) to a target called “White Soil.” The rover acquired post–drive images with both the navigation camera and the panoramic camera.
Sol 1185 (May 4, 2007): Plans called for Spirit to watch for dust devils in the morning and complete a systematic foreground study with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover was also to acquire navigation camera images in support of observations with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, conduct a study of atmospheric argon using the alpha–particle X–ray spectrometer, and watch for dust devils and take panoramic images of the sky the next morning.
Odometry
As of sol 1184 (May 3, 2007), Spirit’s total odometry was 7,103 meters (4.4 miles).
