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Posted by K. M. Kirby, esq. on October 16, 2007, 8:23 pm
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After Opportunity finishes up at Victoria, hopefully an attempt will
be made at reaching the outer gullies of the Valles Marineris.
baa...@earthlink.net wrote:
> Oct. 15, 2007
>
> Dwayne Brown
> Headquarters, Washington
> 202-358-1726
> dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
>
> Guy Webster
> Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
> 818-354-6278
> guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov
>
> RELEASE: 07-208
>
> NASA EXTENDS OPERATIONS FOR ITS LONG-LIVED MARS ROVERS
>
> WASHINGTON - NASA is extending, for a fifth time, the activities of
> the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The decision
> keeps the trailblazing mobile robotic pioneers active on opposite
> sides of Mars, possibly through 2009. This extended mission and the
> associated science are dependent upon the continued productivity and
> operability of the rovers.
>
> "We are extremely happy to be able to further the exploration of
> Mars.
> The rovers are amazing machines, and they continue to produce amazing
> scientific results operating far beyond their design life," said Alan
> Stern, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission
> Directorate, Washington.
>
> The twin rovers landed on Mars in January 2004, 45 months ago, on
> missions originally planned to last 90 days. In September,
> Opportunity began descending into Victoria Crater in Mars' Meridiani
> Planum region. At approximately a half mile wide and 230 feet deep,
> it is the largest crater the rover has visited. Spirit climbed onto a
> volcanic plateau in a range of hills that were on the distant horizon
> from the landing site.
>
> "After more than three-and-a-half years, Spirit and Opportunity are
> showing some signs of aging, but they are in good health and capable
> of conducting great science," said John Callas, rover project manager
> at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
>
> The rovers each carry a suite of sophisticated instruments to examine
> the geology of Mars for information about past environmental
> conditions. Opportunity has returned dramatic evidence that its area
> of Mars stayed wet for an extended period of time long ago, with
> conditions that could have been suitable for sustaining microbial
> life. Spirit has found evidence in the region it is exploring that
> water in some form has altered the mineral composition of some soils
> and rocks.
>
> To date, Spirit has driven 4.51 miles and has returned more than
> 102,000 images. Opportunity has driven 7.19 miles and has returned
> more than 94,000 images.
>
> Among the rovers' many other accomplishments:
>
> - Opportunity has analyzed a series of exposed rock layers recording
> how environmental conditions changed during the times when the layers
> were deposited and later modified. Wind-blown dunes came and went.
> The water table fluctuated.
>
> - Spirit has recorded dust devils forming and moving. The images were
> made into movie clips, providing new insight into the interaction of
> Mars' atmosphere and surface.
>
> - Both rovers have found metallic meteorites on Mars. Opportunity
> discovered one rock with a composition similar to a meteorite that
> reached Earth from Mars.
>
> JPL manages the rovers for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
>
> For images and information about the rovers, visit:
>
> www.nasa.gov/rovers
>
>
> -end-
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