Author Topic: Mars Exploration Rovers Update  (Read 296493 times)

Offline cape51

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #80 on: 05/21/2009 12:39 am »
at the very least it will provide constant historical data that can be used for future unmanned/manned missions
CAPE51
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Online jacqmans

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #81 on: 05/21/2009 07:17 pm »
RELEASE: 09-117

NASA ROVER SEES VARIABLE ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY AT MARTIAN CRATER

PASADENA, Calif. -- One of NASA's two Mars rovers has recorded a
compelling saga of environmental changes that occurred over billions
of years at a Martian crater.

The Mars rover, Opportunity, surveyed the rim and interior of Victoria
Crater on the Red Planet from September 2006 through August 2008. Key
findings from that work, reported in the May 22 edition of the
journal Science, reinforce and expand what researchers learned from
Opportunity's exploration of two smaller craters after landing on
Mars in 2004.

The rover revealed the effects of wind and water. The data show water
repeatedly came and left billions of years ago. Wind persisted much
longer, heaping sand into dunes between ancient water episodes. These
activities still shape the landscape today. At Victoria, steep cliffs
and gentler alcoves alternate around the edge of a bowl about a half
a mile in diameter. The scalloped edge and other features indicate
the crater once was smaller than it is today, but wind erosion has
widened it gradually.

"What drew us to Victoria Crater is the thick cross-section of rock
layers exposed there," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University in
Ithaca, N.Y. Squyres is the principal investigator for the science
payloads on Opportunity and its twin rover Spirit. "The impact that
excavated the crater millions of years ago provided a golden
opportunity, and the durability of the rover enabled us to take
advantage of it."

Imaging the crater's rim and interior, Opportunity inspected layers in
the cliffs around the crater, including layered stacks more than 30
feet thick. Distinctive patterns indicate the rocks formed from
shifting dunes that later hardened into sandstone, according to
Squyres and 33 co-authors of the findings.

Instruments on the rover's arm studied the composition and detailed
texture of rocks just outside the crater and exposed layers in one
alcove called Duck Bay. Rocks found beside the crater include pieces
of a meteorite, which may have been part of the impacting space rock
that made the crater.

Other rocks on the rim of the crater apparently were excavated from
deep within it when the object hit. These rocks bear a type of
iron-rich small spheres, or spherules, that the rover team nicknamed
"blueberries" when Opportunity first saw them in 2004. The spherules
formed from interaction with water penetrating the rocks. The
spherules in rocks deeper in the crater are larger than those in
overlying layers, suggesting the action of groundwater was more
intense at greater depth.

Inside Duck Bay, the rover found that, in some ways, the lower layers
differ from overlying ones. The lower layers showed less sulfur and
iron, more aluminum and silicon. This composition matches patterns
Opportunity found earlier at the smaller Endurance Crater, about 4
miles away from Victoria, indicating the processes that varied the
environmental conditions recorded in the rocks were regional, not
just local.

Opportunity's first observations showed interaction of volcanic rock
with acidic water to produce sulfate salts. Dry sand rich in these
salts blew into dunes. Under the influence of water, the dunes
hardened to sandstone. Further alteration by water produced the
iron-rich spherules, mineral changes, and angular pores left when
crystals dissolved away. A rock from space blasted a hole about 2,000
feet wide and 400 feet deep. Wind erosion chewed at the edges of the
hole and partially refilled it, increasing the diameter by about 25
percent and reducing the depth by about 40 percent.

Since leaving Victoria Crater about eight months ago, Opportunity has
been on its way to study a crater named Endeavour that is about 20
times bigger than Victoria. The rover has driven about one-fifth of
what could be a 10-mile trek to this new destination.

The twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity continue to produce scientific
results while operating far beyond their design life. The mission,
designed to last 90 days, celebrated its fifth anniversary in
January. Both rovers show signs of aging but are still capable of
exploration and scientific discovery.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars
rovers for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information about Spirit and Opportunity, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/rovers
Jacques :-)

Offline Zachstar

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #82 on: 05/24/2009 05:08 am »
Yes, at the very least we have a weather station. I wouldn't be surprised if it could survive another five years in that role. It's still useful data, but at the same time it should save a lot of money because you don't need many personnel to run a weather station.

They wont fund it for 5 years as a weather station. Maybe one but afterwards they will more than likely retire it.

These rovers have broken so many records and given back insane amounts of science. But they are expensive to operate and a 90 day mission lasting this long means big bills and with more missions on the horizon I think they are in budget risk even if they could move.

Offline StarStuff

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #83 on: 05/24/2009 09:41 am »
I just reread Steve Squyres book "Roving Mars."

My favorite quote, when they were arguing for several days about how much time to spend on science experiments in Eagle crater:

"We have to be on our way out of this crater by Sol 60 ... There's a big world out there and Opportunity isn't going to last forever."


Offline Antares

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #84 on: 05/26/2009 12:07 am »
They wont fund it for 5 years as a weather station. Maybe one but afterwards they will more than likely retire it.

Pioneer?  Voyager?  MGS?  DIXI?  The only reason you terminate a spacecraft is when it runs out of consumables (GEOs, the JAXA comet hunter, Galileo).  You're way off.  Obviously there won't be more people than necessary, but they'll never euthanize it.
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Offline robertross

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #85 on: 05/26/2009 12:32 am »

They wont fund it for 5 years as a weather station. Maybe one but afterwards they will more than likely retire it.

These rovers have broken so many records and given back insane amounts of science. But they are expensive to operate and a 90 day mission lasting this long means big bills and with more missions on the horizon I think they are in budget risk even if they could move.

You forget: there's still a perfectly good camera on these guys, even if they do stop dead in their tracks. They can record ground-level dust storms, possible moisture build-up on the lens. Lots they could do while awaiting big brother.

Another thing they could do is just spin one wheel and see what comes to the surface! Poor-man's grinding/digging tool. :)
« Last Edit: 05/26/2009 12:33 am by robertross »

Online DaveS

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #86 on: 05/26/2009 06:04 am »
Another thing they could do is just spin one wheel and see what comes to the surface! Poor-man's grinding/digging tool. :)
That's what they did with Spirit and why Spirit has a dead front-right wheel.

They quickly found out that doing this was killer for the wheels and why they haven't done it since. I'm not sure if even they did it with Opportunity.
"For Sardines, space is no problem!"
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"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
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Offline Kaputnik

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #87 on: 05/26/2009 08:18 pm »
Didn't some of the Apollo surface equipment get turned off due to cost? I read that in a Patrick Moore book actually.
"I don't care what anything was DESIGNED to do, I care about what it CAN do"- Gene Kranz

Offline ugordan

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #88 on: 05/27/2009 04:11 pm »
The only reason you terminate a spacecraft is when it runs out of consumables (GEOs, the JAXA comet hunter, Galileo).  You're way off.  Obviously there won't be more people than necessary, but they'll never euthanize it.

Hmmm, this blog entry suggests that's exactly what was ordered for ISEE-3/ICE.

Then again, I can't find any other evidence if that was true after a quick google search.

Offline Ben the Space Brit

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #89 on: 05/27/2009 07:51 pm »
FWIW, I see from NASA Watch that the MSL has been named 'Curiosity'.

Is there even a 'NET' launch date for this mission yet?
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Offline Antares

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #90 on: 05/28/2009 03:27 am »
That blog entry about ISEE-3/ICE pretty much proves my point.  It sounds like its execution was ordered in a far different funding environment than today.  But they talk about how to use it in terms of delta-V remaining, which is one of the only meaningful ways to consider the age of spacecraft.

Ben, there aren't really NETs for planetary windows: they are already known.  In this case, it's the 2011 Mars window, which is around the end of the year.  About the only time I can think of a NET for a planetary is if you're already inside the window and something like weather or additional testing or scrub recovery is causing an uncertain next attempt.
If I like something on NSF, it's probably because I know it to be accurate.  Every once in a while, it's just something I agree with.  Facts generally receive the former.

Offline iamlucky13

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #91 on: 05/28/2009 04:25 am »
FWIW, I see from NASA Watch that the MSL has been named 'Curiosity'.

Is there even a 'NET' launch date for this mission yet?

It was originally this year, but after review, they pushed it back by a launch window to make sure time constraints didn't adversely affect chance of mission success. The timing was getting extremely tight at that time.

But NASA did move forward with a naming competition through cooperation with Disney (using branding from the movie WALL-E) aimed generating interest and educating kids.

Quote from: Antares
Pioneer?  Voyager?  MGS?  DIXI?  The only reason you terminate a spacecraft is when it runs out of consumables (GEOs, the JAXA comet hunter, Galileo).  You're way off.  Obviously there won't be more people than necessary, but they'll never euthanize it.

Ulysses is an even better example. It's not just on the margins. It's taking remarkable effort to keep it alive. The RTG isn't even producing enough power for its x-band antenna. It only communicates in brief snippets, and only in real-time because they don't have enough bandwidth to send recorded data. They're so low on power that rather than use the intended electrical heaters to keep their hydrazine maneuvering fuel from freezing in the lines, they're venting small amounts of fuel just like homeowners in cold environments sometimes leave a tap dripping to keep the pipes under the house from freezing.

That was the last update as of March, at least. Ulysses is currently in its 19th year of a five year mission.

If they can use that much effort (and time on the DSN) to get only tiny tidbits of information from a probe truly on its deathbed, then surely they'll be able to spare some to get data from a stationary but otherwise functional rover.

That sort of situation should dramatically drop the costs, too. There would be no long-term science planning, and no driving planning. Nearly everything could be automated. There'd be a little bit of time on the DSN to pay for, plus a couple engineers to keep an eye on it.

Online jacqmans

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #92 on: 06/26/2009 09:58 am »
NEWS RELEASE: 2009-102                                                                        June 25, 2009



Mars Rover Yielding New Clues While Lodged in Martian Soil

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars rover Spirit, lodged in Martian soil that is causing traction trouble, is taking advantage of the situation by learning more about the Red Planet's environmental history.

In April, Spirit entered an area composed of three or more layers of soil with differing pastel hues hiding beneath a darker sand blanket. Scientists dubbed the site "Troy." Spirit's rotating wheels dug themselves more than hub deep at the site. The rover team has spent weeks studying Spirit's situation and preparing a simulation of this Martian driving dilemma to test escape maneuvers using an engineering test rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

A rock seen beneath Spirit in images from the camera on the end of the rover's arm may be touching Spirit's belly. Scientists believe it appears to be a loose rock not bearing the rover's weight. While Spirit awaits extraction instructions, the rover is keeping busy examining Troy, which is next to a low plateau called Home Plate, approximately 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) southeast of where Spirit landed in January 2004.

"By serendipity, Troy is one of the most interesting places Spirit has been," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis. Arvidson is deputy principal investigator for the science payloads on Spirit and its twin rover, Opportunity. "We are able here to study each layer, each different color of the interesting soils exposed by the wheels."

One of the rover's wheels tore into the site, exposing colored sandy materials and a miniature cliff of cemented sands. Some disturbed material cascaded down, evidence of the looseness that will be a challenge for getting Spirit out. But at the edge of the disturbed patch, the soil is cohesive enough to hold its shape as a steep cross-section.

Spirit has been using tools on its robotic arm to examine tan, yellow, white and dark-red sandy soil at Troy. Stretched-color images from the panoramic camera show the tints best.


"The layers have basaltic sand, sulfate-rich sand and areas with the addition of silica-rich materials, possibly sorted by wind and cemented by the action of thin films of water. We're still at a stage of multiple working hypotheses," said Arvidson.  "This may be evidence of much more recent processes than the formation of Home Plate…or is Home Plate being slowly stripped back by wind, and we happened to stir up a deposit from billions of years ago before the wind got to it?"


Team members from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston feel initial readings suggest that iron is mostly present in an oxidized form as ferric sulfate and that some of the differences in tints at Troy observed by the panoramic camera may come from differences in the hydration states of iron sulfates.

While extraction plans for the rover are developed and tested during the coming weeks, the team plans to have Spirit further analyze the soil from different depths. This research benefits from having time and power. In April and May, winds blew away most of the dust that had accumulated on Spirit's solar panels.

"The exceptional amount of power available from cleaning of Spirit's solar arrays by the wind enables full use of all of the rover's science instruments," said Richard Moddis of the Johnson team. "If your rover is going to get bogged down, it's nice to have it be at a location so scientifically interesting."

The rover team has developed a soil mix for testing purposes that has physical properties similar to those of the soil under Spirit at Troy. This soil recipe combines diatomaceous earth, powdered clay and play sand. A crew is shaping a few tons of that mix this week into contours matching Troy's. The test rover will be commanded through various combinations of maneuvers during the next few weeks to validate the safest way to proceed on Mars.


Spirit's right-front wheel has been immobile for more than three years, magnifying the challenge. While acknowledging a possibility that Spirit might not be able to leave Troy, the rover team remains optimistic. Diagnostic tests on Spirit in early June provided encouragement that the left-middle wheel remains useable despite an earlier stall.


"With the improved power situation, we have the time to explore all the possibilities to get Spirit out," said JPL's John Callas, project manager for Spirit and Opportunity. "We are optimistic. The last time Spirit spun its wheels, it was still making progress. The ground testing will help us avoid doing things that could make Spirit's situation worse."

 

Images and further information about Spirit and Opportunity are available at: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/rovers .

Jacques :-)

Offline marsavian

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Offline toddbronco2

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #94 on: 07/01/2009 04:09 am »
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/freespirit/

What they don't show you is that a bunch of the MER people at JPL have taken to wearing some cool "Free Spirit" t-shirts to go along with all of this effort.  Here's another view of the engineering rover today.

Online jacqmans

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #95 on: 07/22/2009 04:21 am »

INTERNET ADVISORY: 2009-113                                                                       July 21, 2009

Tests on Earth to Help Free Spirit Rover on Mars: Live Webcast, Chat

The team that operates rovers on Mars is using a test rover in southern California to assess maneuvers the Mars rover Spirit might use to get out of soft, loose soil where its wheels have sunk hub-deep. A live videocast and chat from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will give viewers a chance to ask questions of rover team members working to get Spirit rolling again.

The live event will air on the "NASAJPL" channel available on Ustream Web TV at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasajpl on Thursday, July 23, beginning at 3 p.m. PDT (6 p.m. EDT and 2200 UTC).

Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, landed on Mars in January 2004 for what were planned as three-month missions to study sites on opposite sides of the planet. Both are still active and returning streams of scientific information. Spirit has not driven since May 6, 2009, when it had become partially embedded in the soil. To minimize the risk of worsening Spirit's predicament, operators decided to conduct a series of experiments with a test rover before driving Spirit again.

Participants in the July 23 event include:

John Callas, project manager for NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.
Ashley Stroupe, JPL rover planner, deputy lead for "Free Spirit" testing
Viewers may submit questions over Ustream or via Twitter. Twitter users may send their questions to @NASAJPL using the hashtag #FreeSpirit. In addition, if you are unable to take part in the live chat, you may submit questions in advance to [email protected] and watch the archived video at a later time.

Information about Spirit and Opportunity is available at http://www.nasa.gov/rovers . Updates about testing of possible maneuvers for freeing Spirit are at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/freespirit .

JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

-end-


Jacques :-)

Offline iamlucky13

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #96 on: 08/05/2009 08:54 pm »
Opportunity has spotted another apparent meteorite on the surface, this one relatively large (about 70 cm long).They'll spend a couple days examining it, then head onward towards Endeavor Crater. Meanwhile, they've got the cover on the Mini-TES spectrometer open in hopes that if another cleaning event of the solar panels occurs it will remove some of the dust from Mini-TES, also.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090803-opportunity-meteorite.html

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_opportunityAll.html#sol1954

Spirit continues to do extensive remote observations while the team finishes putting together an escape plan and running the testbed rover through it. Spirit also experienced a couple stalls of the elevation actuator on the robotic arm.

Ironically Spirit, although stuck and having faced such a dire power situation over the winter, is generating over 900 Watt-hours per day. Opportunity, which needs the energy for driving, is getting 400-500 Watt-hours per day.

Online jacqmans

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #97 on: 11/09/2009 09:04 pm »
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-214

NASA'S STUCK MARTIAN ROVER SPIRIT TOPIC OF MEDIA CALL NOV. 12

WASHINGTON -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST on
Thursday, Nov. 12, to discuss attempts to free the Mars rover Spirit
from sandy soil where the venerable robot has been stuck for the past
six months.

The participants are:
- Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program, NASA
Headquarters in Washington
- John Callas, project manager, Mars Exploration Rovers, NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
- Ashley Stroupe, rover driver, Mars Exploration Rovers, JPL
- Ray Arvidson, deputy principal investigator, Mars Exploration
Rovers, Washington University in St. Louis

To participate in the teleconference, reporters must contact the JPL
media relations office at 818-354-5011 for the call-in number and
passcode.

At the beginning of the briefing, related images and supporting
material will be available online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/telecon/tel20091110.html

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio
Jacques :-)

Offline Jeff Lerner

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #98 on: 11/09/2009 09:54 pm »
I realize this isn't typical stuff for NSF but for whatever  it's worth, Unmannedspaceflight.com is reporting that Spirit has started some movement but it "only involved steering, not driving the wheels"

Offline iamlucky13

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Re: Mars Exploration Rovers Update
« Reply #99 on: 11/09/2009 10:47 pm »
Wow...I'd forgotten how long it's been since I've check the MER site for updates.

Just noticed yet another meteorite had been found by Opportunity, dust factors are getting a little high for both rovers at the moment, and Steven Squyres has been awarded the 2009 Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society for excellence in public communication.

The Planetary Society Blog has a couple animations up on it from the first movements of Spirit:

http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002196/

*fingers crossed*

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