Spirit rover timeline for 2005 April

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This article describes part of the mission timeline of the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit.

Further information: Spirit rover timeline

Contents

[edit] Mars Exploration Rover Mission timelines

[edit] 2005 April 1 to April 7

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Switchbacking Uphill - sol 442-448, April 8, 2005

Spirit continues slipping in sandy terrain but forges ahead using crafty techniques such as switchbacking and creating a zigzag course.

Sol-by-sol summaries:

Sol 442 (March 31, 2005): Spirit drove successfully uphill for 12.6 meters (41.3 feet). At the start of the drive, Spirit averaged a 42.7 percent slip, but this quickly improved. In the last 3 meters (10 feet), Spirit only slipped 14.6 percent. The average slip for the drive was 17.6 percent. Images: navigation

Sol 443: Spirit performed 4 hours of targeted remote sensing, which included panoramic camera images and miniature thermal emission spectrometer readings. Images: panorama navigation

Sol 444: The team planned a long drive through tricky terrain with switchbacks to help Spirit ascend. Spirit drove approximately 8.8 meters (29 feet).

Sol 445: Spirit performed remote sensing in the afternoon, including an image brightness test with the navigation camera. The goal of this test is to establish the latest time when Spirit can take images prior to sunset and still have viable images to use in the rover drivers' planning tools. The image analysis may allow the rover team to use later times for post-drive imaging and thus increase Spirit's drive time every sol. This is part two of the testing.

Sol 446: Spirit and Opportunity use NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter as their main communications link between Mars and Earth. On April 2, Odyssey entered "safe mode," which is a protective state a spacecraft automatically enters when onboard fault protection software instructs the spacecraft to disregard its onboard sequence of commands and wait for instructions from the ground. As a result, relay communication with the rovers was suspended, and Spirit did not receive any data from sols 444 and 445. With an unknown status of the rover after its drive, the Spirit team restricted rover operations to remote sensing.

Sol 447: The Odyssey flight team scrambled to recover the orbiter, but it remained in a safe state, not yet available to support relay communications. received very little information from its "direct-to-earth" communications link, so the rover team planned another basic remote sensing sol, which generated little data.

Sol 448 (April 7, 2005): Spirit performed additional remote sensing, including panoramic camera and navigation camera imaging. The Odyssey team brought the orbiter back on-line, the Spirit team received all imaging needed for continuing to drive, and team members are planning to drive on sol 449 with a new appreciation for their orbiting partner! The Odyssey team is investigating the cause behind the fault protection software sending the orbiter into safe mode. Images: panorama

[edit] 2005 April 8 to April 15

sol 449-456, April 18, 2005: Spirit Gets Through a Rough Week

Talk about a rough week! Spirit experienced a few software glitches, command sequencing errors, and particularly tough terrain from April 8 through April 15, 2005. After problems were solved, the rover picked up and continued exploring the Columbia Hills.

Sol-by-sol summaries:

Sol 449 (April 8, 2005): Spirit has been attempting to climb steep and rock-strewn slopes in the Columbia Hills. The rover automatically went into safe mode when the flight software rebooted on sol 449. Spirit then waited to get commands from engineers back on Earth.

Sol 450: An overlooked condition caused more headaches for the beloved Spirit. When the software rebooted on Sol 449, Spirit lost knowledge of where its high-gain antenna was pointed. When Spirit tried to use the antenna during sol 450's uplink without knowing where it was pointed, a faulty condition resulted. Since Spirit could not figure out where to point the antenna, the rover missed the uplink for the day.

Sol 451: In order to get out of the faulty condition, the rover uplink team came in on the weekend, and put the spacecraft into safe mode, a status in which only systems vital to the rover's health operate. The team commanded Spirit out of the high-gain antenna pointing error and left Spirit in auto mode. Auto mode occurs when the spacecraft is not running instructions from the Earth, but rather is taking care of itself.

Sol 452: Because Spirit was in auto mode, with no sequence of commands running, Spirit just relaxed and took care of itself on sol 452.

Sol 453: Before Spirit could drive, the rover needed to take fresh images of the surrounding terrain. Sol 453 was spent taking these images in preparation for driving on sol 454. Images: panorama

Sol 454: Spirit made another attempt to drive uphill. The drive did not go very well. Spirit slipped quite a bit. Engineers and scientists decided to try a different tactic for Spirit to climb this hill. Images: navigation

Sol 455: Rover team scientists and engineers decided that they had tried long enough to coax Spirit up this hill at this location and that it was time to try another approach. Instead of going up, Spirit would go down and cross the slope a bit. They will send Spirit cross slope until an easier path to the summit is identified.

Sol 456 (April 15, 2005): This sol's plan consists of a small drive forward to a soil target where Spirit will use its front wheels to churn up a bit of Mars. The plan is to then examine this soil with instruments on the robotic arm.

[edit] 2005 April 15 to April 21

sol 456-462, April 21, 2005: Spirit Drives to 'Methuselah'

Spirit has had a great week. The rover has completed some soil studies, taken lots of images, done a little driving, and captured a dust devil image1 with its panoramic camera. Late in the week, Spirit drove over to a piece of outcrop called "Methuselah." Spirit is healthy and doing fine!

Sol-by-sol summaries:

Sol 456 (April 15, 2005): Spirit drove toward a soil target to perform a maneuver that engineers and scientists call a "scuff." To scuff the soil, Spirit rotates and backspins one of its front wheels, creating a very shallow trench.

Sol 457, 458, 459: The scuffmark that Spirit created gave the science team a chance to do some soil studies. Spirit used its full complement of science instruments over the weekend (April 16 and 17, 2005) to learn about the soil.

Sol 460: Spirit took some additional images of the scuff with the microscopic imager, and then drove toward a piece of outcrop in the neighborhood, which attracted the eye of the science team. The science team thinks the outcrop is pretty old and has given it the informal name Methuselah.2

Sol 461: Using the panoramic camera, Spirit captured an image of a dust devil passing by.

Sol 462 (April 21, 2005): The plan is for Spirit to drive about 4 meters (13 feet) closer to Methuselah in order to be in position for an extended imaging campaign during the weekend.

[edit] 2005 April 22 to April 30

sol 462-467, May 4, 2005: Spirit Analyzing 'Keystone'

Spirit is in excellent health. The rover has spent this week (April 22 to April 30, 2005) studying an outcrop called "Methuselah," focusing on the "Keystone" rock. Before Spirit drives away next week, it will have analyzed this feature with every tool in the science payload.

Sol-by-sol summaries:

Sol 462 (April 22, 2005): Spirit drove 3.8 meters (12.7 feet) to reach a place to stop for the weekend and perform remote sensing.

Sol 463: Spirit performed light remote sensing to save space in the flash memory for the weekend.

Sols 464-466: Spirit took extensive imaging of Methuselah. It used its panoramic camera to shoot frames that will be joined together into a mosaic view. Spirit also took images with its miniature thermal emission spectrometer and made atmosphere observations.

Sol 467: Spirit did a 4.75-meter (16-foot) drive to Keystone, a rock that is part of the Methuselah outcrop. The rover also used its miniature thermal emission spectrometer to examine a target informally called "Abigail."

Sol 468: Spirit used the panoramic camera and the miniature thermal emission spectrometer to takes images of Abigail and another target called "Priscilla."

Sol 469: Spirit took pictures of Keystone with the microscopic imager and performed an overnight alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration on Keystone.

Sol 470: Spirit finished acquiring mosaic pictures of Keystone with the microscopic imager, dusted the target with the rock abrasion tool brush, and performed another overnight alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration.

As of sol 470 (ending on April 30, 2005), Spirit's odometry total is 4,310.68 meters (2.68 miles).

[edit] References