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Spirit Considers Options for Surviving Another Winter on Mars
Oct. 31, 2007
Spirit's handlers are currently confronted with the decision of where to send the rover for the winter. Dust deposition on the rover's solar panels, a product of the recent dust storms, has made power predictions for the upcoming winter even worse than those experienced during Spirit's last Martian winter. Members of the science team hope to find a place where Spirit can achieve a tilt of 20 degrees or more toward the north, facing the sun.
During the week, Spirit drove approximately 50 meters (164 feet) in a southerly and southeasterly direction toward a potential off-ramp from the top of the elevated plateau known as "Home Plate."
Proposed locations for a winter haven include driving south down the off-ramp and making a break for "von Braun," a hill approximately 120 meters (390 feet) away; heading north across Home Plate and driving down the north-facing edge; or driving west of Home Plate to a hill tentatively identified as "West Knob."
On sols 1349 and 1351 (Oct. 19 and Oct. 21, 2007), Spirit acquired long-baseline stereo images of von Braun, to the south of Home Plate.
Spirit has been generating approximately 345 watt-hours of solar array energy (enough to run a 100-watt bulb for almost 3 1/2 hours) per Martian day (or sol). Measurements of atmospheric dust opacity, known as Tau, have been approximately 0.7 (higher Tau measurements correspond to more dust).
Sol-by-sol summary
In addition to receiving morning instructions directly from Earth via the high-gain antenna, sending evening data to Earth at UHF frequencies via the Odyssey orbiter, measuring atmospheric dust levels with the panoramic camera, and surveying the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, Spirit completed the following activities:
Sol 1348 (Oct. 18, 2007): Spirit drove approximately 14 meters (46 feet) to get into position for the first "eye," or vantage point, of the long-baseline stereo panorama. The rover took a 7-by-1, post-drive image mosaic, measured the thermal characteristics of the external calibration target with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and acquired thumbnail images of the sky with the panoramic camera.
Sol 1349: Spirit created a list of files on board and then proceeded to acquire the left-eye portion of the long-baseline stereo panorama. The rover relayed data to Earth during the overnight pass of the Odyssey orbiter, completed a systematic ground survey using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera, and took spot images of the sky with the panoramic camera.
Sol 1350: Spirit drove approximately 8 meters (26 feet) to the second vantage point for the long-baseline stereo view and then acquired a post-drive image mosaic (a 6-by-1 panel) with the navigation camera. The rover acquired images of the external magnets through all filters of the panoramic camera.
Sol 1351: Spirit acquired the right-eye portion of the long-baseline stereo panorama and spent 6 1/2 hours collecting measurements of atmospheric argon with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer. The rover surveyed the horizon with the panoramic camera and watched for dust devils.
Sol 1352: Spirit acquired pre-drive images with the panoramic camera to fill in portions of the right-eye view of the stereo image mosaic. The rover drove approximately 6 meters (20 feet) south-southeast toward the potential south off-ramp of Home Plate and acquired a 5-by-1 mosaic of images with the navigation camera as well as a 4-by-1 mosaic of images with the panoramic camera. Spirit took spot images of the sky, conducted a survey of rock clasts with the panoramic camera, and searched for dust devils with the navigation camera.
Sol 1353: Spirit drove approximately 10 meters (33 feet) south-southeast toward the potential south off-ramp and acquired a 5-by-1, post-drive image mosaic with the navigation camera and a 4-by-1, post-drive image mosaic with the panoramic camera. The rover surveyed the horizon and completed a survey of rock clasts with the panoramic camera. Spirit watched for dust devils.
Sol 1354 (Oct. 24, 2007): Spirit acquired a 4-by-1, pre-drive panel of images of "West Knob" with the panoramic camera and drove approximately 12 meters (39 feet) south-southeast toward the potential off-ramp. The rover acquired a 5-by-1, post-drive image mosaic with the navigation camera and a 4-by-1 image mosaic with the panoramic camera. Spirit tested communications with the Mars Express orbiter, a European Space Agency mission, in preparation for next year's arrival of NASA's Phoenix lander. The rover completed a systematic ground survey and horizon survey with the panoramic camera.
Odometry:
As of sol 1354 (Oct. 24, 2007), Spirit's total odometry was 7,338.78 meters (4.56 miles).
Source: NASA / JPL
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