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Posted by no-one on August 21, 2007, 12:00 pm
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Another Spirit update!
What about Opportunity? We know it has serious power issues, but there has
been no word for over a month.
Concerned.
> http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html
>
> SPIRIT UPDATE: Dust from Martian Sky Accumulates on Solar Panels -
> sol 1284-1287, August 20, 2007:
>
> Even though the Martian sky above Gusev Crater continued to clear,
> solar
> power levels on NASA's Spirit rover remained fairly constant as dust
> settling from the atmosphere accumulated on top of the solar panels.
> Activities remained restricted. Measurements of atmospheric opacity,
> known as Tau, dropped from 3.6 on Martian day, or sol, 1283 (Aug. 12,
> 2007) to 3.3 on sol 1286 (Aug. 16, 2007), generating power levels of
> 301
> watt-hours (100 watt-hours is the amount of energy needed to light a
> 100-watt bulb for one hour).
>
> During recent wind storms on Mars, some dust appears to have gotten
> past
> the cover of the microscopic imager, based on images Spirit acquired
> on
> sols 1279 and 1284-1286 (Aug. 8, 2007 and Aug. 14-16, 2007). Engineers
> conducting tests with a surrogate rover on Earth hoped to position the
> instrument in a downward-facing position as early as sol 1290 (Aug.
> 20,
> 2007) in an attempt to get accumulated dust to fall out.
>
> While assessing the well-being of the microscopic imager, Spirit
> completed an analysis of a crushed rock target known as "Innocent
> Bystander" with the Moessbauer spectrometer and continued to make
> observations of the ground and atmosphere. The rover remains healthy
> and
> is parked just east of the elevated plateau known as "Home Plate."
>
> The forecast for the next week is for no new dust storm activity,
> based
> on weather reports provided by Malin Space Science Systems, the
> builder
> of the Mars Color Imager on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The
> camera is being used to monitor conditions on the red planet. Skies
> are
> expected to continue to clear over the next couple of months.
>
> Sol-by-sol summary:
>
> Except where noted, daily communications included morning,
> direct-from-Earth uplinks over the rover's high-gain antenna and
> evening
> relays of data to Earth at UHF frequences via the Odyssey orbiter. In
> addition, Spirit completed the following activities:
>
> Sol 1284 (Aug. 13, 2007): Spirit placed the Moessbauer spectrometer
> back
> on Innocent Bystander and began analysis with the instrument. The
> rover
> also acquired images of ripples using the front and rear hazard
> avoidance cameras and microscopic images looking toward the sky
> through
> the dust cover of the microscopic imager. Spirit measured atmospheric
> opacity with the panoramic camera and surveyed the sky and ground with
> the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
>
> Sol 1285: Spirit surveyed atmospheric opacity with the panoramic and
> navigation camera and acquired images of ripples using the front and
> rear hazard avoidance cameras. The rover acquired microscopic images
> looking through the dust cover of the microscopic imager and surveyed
> the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
>
> Sol 1286: Spirit surveyed the sky and ground with the miniature
> thermal
> emission spectrometer and measured atmospheric dust with the panoramic
> and navigation cameras. The rover continued with Moessbauer analysis
> of
> Innocent Bystander and took diagnostic images at different times of
> day
> looking skyward through the dust cover with the microscopic imager.
> Spirit surveyed the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission
> spectrometer and acquired images with the front and rear hazard
> avoidance cameras.
>
> Sol 1287 (Aug. 17, 2004): Spirit surveyed the sky and ground with the
> miniature thermal emission spectrometer and measured atmospheric dust
> with the panoramic and navigation cameras. The rover continued with
> Moessbauer analysis of Innocent Bystander and acquired images with the
> front and rear hazard avoidance cameras. Spirit took more
> skyward-oriented images through the dust cover with the microscopic
> imager and surveyed the sky and ground with the miniature thermal
> emission spectrometer.
>
> Odometry:
>
> As of sol 1287 (Aug. 16, 2007), Spirit's total odometry remained at
> 7,153 meters (4.44 miles).
>
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