Mars Exploration Rovers Update - March 25, 2004

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

SPIRIT UPDATE: Open the Door - sol 80, Mar 25, 2004

On sol 80, which ended at 10:23 a.m. PST on March 25, NASA's Mars
Exploration Rover Spirit repeated overnight measurements of
"Illinois" and "New York," two targets on the rock "Mazatzal." The
measurements needed to be repeated because the alpha particle X-ray
spectrometer's doors inadvertently did not open during the prior
sol. In honor of doors being stuck partially open, sol 80's wake
up song was "Open the Door" by Otis Redding.

Mazatzal is one of an apparent class of "light-toned rocks," which
may be common in the area where Spirit landed in Gusev. This rock
appears to be a "ventifact," which means it may have been carved
by the steady winds that scientists know come from the northwest
into the top area of this crater rim.

The plan for sol 81, which will end at 11:02 a.m. on March 26 PST,
is to grind into Mazatzal with the rock abrasion tool.



OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Browsing Bright Material - sol 59, Mar 25, 2004

Opportunity spent sol 59, which ended at 10:04 p.m. PST, placing
the Mössbauer spectrometer on the bright material it approached
yestersol, and conducting more remote sensing observations.

This relatively light workload allowed the rover to recover energy
for the next sol's activities. Those will include completing an
alpha particle X-ray spectrometer read on the same soil target and
initiating the panoramic mosaic image from the rover's current
position.

The wake-up tune for the sol was "59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling
Groovy)" by Simon and Garfunkel.