Mars Exploration Rovers Update - February 13, 2004

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

Update: Spirit and Opportunity


SPIRIT UPDATE: Movin' Towards "Mimi" - sol 40, Feb 13, 2004

Spirit woke up to its 40th sol on Mars to the song "What a Wonderful
World" by Louis Armstrong and then proceeded to have a wonderful sol
which ended at 7:59 a.m. Friday, PST. After utilizing the miniature
thermal emission spectrometer instrument on surrounding soil and
completing some pre-drive imaging with the panoramic camera, Spirit
proceeded 90 centimeters (2.95 feet) towards a collection of rocks
called "Stone Council." The drive lasted less than five minutes.
After completing the drive, Spirit imaged several rocks with the
panoramic camera, and completed a mosaic of the area in front and
to the left of itself.

On sol 41, which will end at 8:39 a.m. Saturday, PST, Spirit will be
repositioned in front of the flaky rock called "Mimi" in preparation
for placing its instrument deployment device on that rock during sol 42.


OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Intending to Trench - sol 19, Feb 12, 2004

During its 19th sol on Mars, which ends at 7:41 p.m. Thursday, PST,
Opportunity climbed to Waypoint Charlie, where it will complete its
initial survey of the outcrop nicknamed "Opportunity Ledge."

The flight team at JPL chose 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake as
Opportunity's wake-up music.

The plan for sol 20, which will end at 8:20 p.m. Friday, PST, is to
do a "touch and go," meaning Opportunity will touch the soil with its
instrument arm around the outpost area Charlie, then stow the arm and
drive. It will head for an area of soil that the rover's miniature
thermal emission spectrometer indicates is rich in hematite. Over the
following few sols, engineers intend to use one of Opportunity's wheels
to spin into the soil and "trench" a shallow hole so scientists can check
what's below the surface early next week. Knowing more about the hematite
distribution on Mars may help scientists characterize the past environment
and determine whether that environment provided favorable conditions for
life.

Scientists and engineers will pore over the data collected along
Opportunity Ledge this week to target a return trip to the most
interesting science locations along the outcrop later next week.