Mars Exploration Rover Update - January 18, 2005

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit at 'Arad' - sol 715-722, Jan 18, 2006:

Spirit is healthy and is driving as efficiently as possible toward
"Home Plate."
On the way to Home Plate, Spirit stopped to look at "Arad," where
scientists
encountered a cluster of white, powdery soil. Researchers decided to
stop for a
few days and use the robotic arm to conduct some measurements on it.
Results are
expected soon.

Sol-by-sol summaries:

Sol 715 (Jan. 6, 2006): Spirit performed untargeted remote sensing.

Sol 716: Spirit drove 54 meters (177 feet), using a combination of
commanded and
autonomous navigation.

Sol 717: Spirit drove only 1.38 meters (4.5 feet) on slippery terrain,
experiencing
slippage of 80 percent as the wheels were turning.

Sol 718: Spirit conducted untargeted remote sensing.

Sol 719: Spirit drove 9.3 meters (30.5 feet). The rover stopped when
the slip rate
of its wheels exceeded 80 percent in an area of sandy, unfamiliar
terrain.

Sol 720: Spirit conducted untargeted remote sensing and atmospheric
studies.

Sol 721: Spirit adjusted position to place the robotic arm next to Arad
for a
weekend of scientific measurements. The rover also used its panoramic
camera and
miniature thermal emission spectrometer to take images of targets
called "Arad1"
and "Arad2."

Sol 722: Spirit conducted untargeted remote sensing and took panoramic
camera
images of tracks created by the rover's wheels.

As of sol 722 (Jan. 14, 2006), Spirit's total odometry was 6,096 meters

(3.79 miles).