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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov Guy Webster (818) 354-6278 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Donald Savage (202) 358-1547 NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. NEWS RELEASE: 2004-142 June 4, 2004 Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater NASA has decided the potential science value gained by sending Opportunity into a martian impact crater likely outweighs the risk of the intrepid explorer not being able to get back out. Opportunity has been examining the rim of the stadium-sized "Endurance Crater" since late May. The rover team used observations of the depression to evaluate potential science benefits of entering the crater and the traversability of its inner slopes. The soonest Opportunity could enter Endurance is early next week. It will drive to the top of a prospective entry-and-exit route on the southern edge of the crater and make a final check of the slope. If the route is no steeper than what recent testing runs at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., suggest a rover can climb, controllers plan to radio Opportunity the command to go into the crater. "This is a crucial and careful decision for the Mars Exploration Rovers' extended mission," said Dr. Edward Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for space science. "Layered rock exposures inside Endurance Crater may add significantly to the story of a watery past environment that Opportunity has already begun telling us. The analysis just completed by the rover team shows likelihood that Opportunity will be able to drive to a diagnostic rock exposure, examine it, and then drive out of the crater. However, there's no guarantee of getting out again, so we also considered what science opportunities outside the crater would be forfeited if the rover spends its remaining operational life inside the crater." Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, successfully completed their primary three-month missions on Mars in April. At a rock outcrop in a small impact feature nicknamed, "Eagle Crater," where Opportunity first landed, the rover found small-scale rock textures and evaporite mineral compositions testifying that a body of salty water covered the site long ago. The wet environment may have been a suitable habitat for life, if it ever existed on Mars. However, only the uppermost layer of the region's layered crust was exposed at Eagle Crater, not deeper layers that could reveal what the environment was like earlier. The rock layer seen at Eagle Crater appears at Endurance Crater, too. At Endurance, though, it lies above exposures of thicker, older layers, which are the main scientific temptation for sending Opportunity inside the crater. "Answering the question of what came before the evaporites is the most significant scientific issue we can address with Opportunity at this time," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the science instruments on both rovers. "We've read the last chapter, the record of the final gasps of an evaporating body of water. What came before? It could have been a deep-water environment. It could have been sand dunes. It could have been a volcano. Whatever we learn about that earlier period will help us interpret the upper layer's evidence for a wet environment and understand how the environment changed." Richard Cook, project manager at JPL for the rovers, said that reaching one exposure of the older rock layers inside Endurance requires driving only about 5 to 7 meters (16 to 23 feet) into the 130-meter-diameter (140-yard-diameter) crater. The rover is on the rim at that site, which had been dubbed "Karatepe." "We'll take an incremental approach, edging our way down to the target," Cook said. The plan is to use the tools on Opportunity's robotic arm to analyze the exposed layers for several days, then drive in reverse back up the slope and exit the crater. The slope between the rim and the layered outcrop at Karatepe is about 25 degrees. "We have done testing that says we can do 25 degrees, provided the wheels are on a rock surface and not loose sand," Cook said. Engineers and scientists on the rover team built a test surface mimicking the rocks and sand seen in Opportunity's images of Endurance Crater. The surface was tilted to 25 degrees, and a test rover climbed it. If portions of the route to the outcrop turn out to be between 25 and 30 degrees, the team plans to proceed slowly and use Opportunity to assess the amount of traction the rover is getting. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Images and additional information about the project are available from JPL at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov and from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., at http://athena.cornell.edu . -end- |
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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
"We have done testing that says we can do 25 degrees, provided the wheels are on a rock surface and not loose sand," Cook said. Engineers and scientists on the rover team built a test surface mimicking the rocks and sand seen in Opportunity's images of Endurance Crater. The surface was tilted to 25 degrees, and a test rover climbed it. If portions of the route to the outcrop turn out to be between 25 and 30 degrees, the team plans to proceed slowly and use Opportunity to assess the amount of traction the rover is getting. They did tests on Earth. Wouldn't the lesser gravity on Mars (1/3 Earth normal) make it possible to climb steeper slopes, as the rover be only 1/3 of the weight, or did they lighten the simulation rover by removing stuff? Bart |
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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
"Bart Declercq" wrote in message t.net... "We have done testing that says we can do 25 degrees, provided the wheels are on a rock surface and not loose sand," Cook said. Engineers and scientists on the rover team built a test surface mimicking the rocks and sand seen in Opportunity's images of Endurance Crater. The surface was tilted to 25 degrees, and a test rover climbed it. If portions of the route to the outcrop turn out to be between 25 and 30 degrees, the team plans to proceed slowly and use Opportunity to assess the amount of traction the rover is getting. They did tests on Earth. Wouldn't the lesser gravity on Mars (1/3 Earth normal) make it possible to climb steeper slopes, as the rover be only 1/3 of the weight, or did they lighten the simulation rover by removing stuff? Bart The lower gravity may actually make slipping on a steep slope more likely. |
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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
In article t,
Bart Declercq wrote: They did tests on Earth. Wouldn't the lesser gravity on Mars (1/3 Earth normal) make it possible to climb steeper slopes, as the rover be only 1/3 of the weight, or did they lighten the simulation rover by removing stuff? http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/spotlight/opportunity/b20_20040309.html During their on-Earth of testing of the slippage experienced while climbing out of Eagle crater, they used the Surface System Test Bed (SSTB), which has a full-size, full-weight copy of the MER rovers. I suspect the lighter weight of the rovers on Mars is offset by the lesser traction, but I don't know the physics of it. In any case, they have good experience at using the SSTB to predict what might happen on Mars. What they predicted for Eagle crater was tried and measured and compared to the predictions. The biggest unknown seems to be the precise characteristics of the soil, but builders sand surprisingly echoed the actual performance of the Meridiani soil. They have a lot of confidence in what they can predict. -- Hud Nordin Silicon Valley |
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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
Bart Declercq wrote in message et.net...
"We have done testing that says we can do 25 degrees, provided the wheels are on a rock surface and not loose sand," Cook said. Engineers and scientists on the rover team built a test surface mimicking the rocks and sand seen in Opportunity's images of Endurance Crater. The surface was tilted to 25 degrees, and a test rover climbed it. If portions of the route to the outcrop turn out to be between 25 and 30 degrees, the team plans to proceed slowly and use Opportunity to assess the amount of traction the rover is getting. They did tests on Earth. Wouldn't the lesser gravity on Mars (1/3 Earth normal) make it possible to climb steeper slopes, as the rover be only 1/3 of the weight, or did they lighten the simulation rover by removing stuff? Bart It's more complicted than that. Soil doesn't hold together in exactly the same way it does on Earth. That is to say the angle of repose is slightly different. --Chris Vancil |
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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
In article t,
Bart Declercq wrote: They did tests on Earth. Wouldn't the lesser gravity on Mars (1/3 Earth normal) make it possible to climb steeper slopes, as the rover be only 1/3 of the weight... No, because as a result, it also has only 1/3 of the traction. (It would need only 1/3 as much *power* for the climb, but at the speed the rovers move, that's a lesser issue.) If I recall correctly, to a first approximation, questions of *stability* (whether of the rover or the soil underneath it) are independent of gravity, because the major factors that influence stability scale up and down together as gravity changes. Looked at more closely, that isn't quite true, because secondary issues which don't scale the same way have some influence. A more important factor for Opportunity is that the properties of the soil under its wheels are not known very precisely. That introduces large uncertainties into any attempt to predict such things. -- "Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend." | Henry Spencer -- George Herbert | |
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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
"Henry Spencer" skrev i en meddelelse ... In article t, Bart Declercq wrote: They did tests on Earth. Wouldn't the lesser gravity on Mars (1/3 Earth normal) make it possible to climb steeper slopes, as the rover be only 1/3 of the weight... No, because as a result, it also has only 1/3 of the traction. (It would need only 1/3 as much *power* for the climb, but at the speed the rovers move, that's a lesser issue.) If I recall correctly, to a first approximation, questions of *stability* (whether of the rover or the soil underneath it) are independent of gravity, because the major factors that influence stability scale up and down together as gravity changes. That's my impression too Looked at more closely, that isn't quite true, because secondary issues which don't scale the same way have some influence. A more important factor for Opportunity is that the properties of the soil under its wheels are not known very precisely. That introduces large uncertainties into any attempt to predict such things. I'll guess that the spherules are the danger. Riding on solid rock should be safe, but a sudden slide on the spherules can bring the rover into unforeseeable situations. I were a bit 'piqué' when some JPL staff member was prized for his ability to bring the missions into public attention - it made me, as a scientific observer, feel possibly manipulated by the choice of published material. I wonder weather the decision of going in is in part to catch a bit more public attention. It's non the less a courageous one that I look forward to follow. How much trouble do they get for loosing the rower in the attempt? I suspect that part of the problem in taking the decision is, that even in the crater, the rower will not be able to 'climb up' to the exposed profiles. Does anyone by the way have an idea of how come the rock-surfaces are so plane. Is it a function of the very blast, or is it a later erosional feature. The topology and stratified nature of the crater-rim as seen in the profile seems to me to suggest a horizontal compression that 'thickened' the strata into an elevated rim more than the ejected material have made a build up on top of the familiar 'evaporitic' strata. Maybe the lack of ejected blocks next to the crater, more than anything else, gives a clue about the kind of blast that has taken place. Aren't these craters the first unique opportunity for the astro/planetary people to study a 'pristine' crater? Carsten |
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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
that's what I thought the concern would be also the spherules.Like
riding over hundreds of ball bearings on a slope,could be tricky !? I believe that Steve Squyres in the May 6th briefing said that all the layers were laid out there where the crater is the most easily accessible so there shouldn't be any trouble getting to all the layers. "Carsten Troelsgaard" wrote in message ... "Henry Spencer" skrev i en meddelelse ... In article t, Bart Declercq wrote: They did tests on Earth. Wouldn't the lesser gravity on Mars (1/3 Earth normal) make it possible to climb steeper slopes, as the rover be only 1/3 of the weight... No, because as a result, it also has only 1/3 of the traction. (It would need only 1/3 as much *power* for the climb, but at the speed the rovers move, that's a lesser issue.) If I recall correctly, to a first approximation, questions of *stability* (whether of the rover or the soil underneath it) are independent of gravity, because the major factors that influence stability scale up and down together as gravity changes. That's my impression too Looked at more closely, that isn't quite true, because secondary issues which don't scale the same way have some influence. A more important factor for Opportunity is that the properties of the soil under its wheels are not known very precisely. That introduces large uncertainties into any attempt to predict such things. I'll guess that the spherules are the danger. Riding on solid rock should be safe, but a sudden slide on the spherules can bring the rover into unforeseeable situations. I were a bit 'piqué' when some JPL staff member was prized for his ability to bring the missions into public attention - it made me, as a scientific observer, feel possibly manipulated by the choice of published material. I wonder weather the decision of going in is in part to catch a bit more public attention. It's non the less a courageous one that I look forward to follow. How much trouble do they get for loosing the rower in the attempt? I suspect that part of the problem in taking the decision is, that even in the crater, the rower will not be able to 'climb up' to the exposed profiles. Does anyone by the way have an idea of how come the rock-surfaces are so plane. Is it a function of the very blast, or is it a later erosional feature. The topology and stratified nature of the crater-rim as seen in the profile seems to me to suggest a horizontal compression that 'thickened' the strata into an elevated rim more than the ejected material have made a build up on top of the familiar 'evaporitic' strata. Maybe the lack of ejected blocks next to the crater, more than anything else, gives a clue about the kind of blast that has taken place. Aren't these craters the first unique opportunity for the astro/planetary people to study a 'pristine' crater? Carsten |
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Mars Rover Opportunity Gets Green Light To Enter Crater
This is one advantage a legged robot will have over a wheeled one
"Bill" wrote in message om... that's what I thought the concern would be also the spherules.Like riding over hundreds of ball bearings on a slope,could be tricky !? I believe that Steve Squyres in the May 6th briefing said that all the layers were laid out there where the crater is the most easily accessible so there shouldn't be any trouble getting to all the layers. "Carsten Troelsgaard" wrote in message ... "Henry Spencer" skrev i en meddelelse ... In article t, Bart Declercq wrote: They did tests on Earth. Wouldn't the lesser gravity on Mars (1/3 Earth normal) make it possible to climb steeper slopes, as the rover be only 1/3 of the weight... No, because as a result, it also has only 1/3 of the traction. (It would need only 1/3 as much *power* for the climb, but at the speed the rovers move, that's a lesser issue.) If I recall correctly, to a first approximation, questions of *stability* (whether of the rover or the soil underneath it) are independent of gravity, because the major factors that influence stability scale up and down together as gravity changes. That's my impression too Looked at more closely, that isn't quite true, because secondary issues which don't scale the same way have some influence. A more important factor for Opportunity is that the properties of the soil under its wheels are not known very precisely. That introduces large uncertainties into any attempt to predict such things. I'll guess that the spherules are the danger. Riding on solid rock should be safe, but a sudden slide on the spherules can bring the rover into unforeseeable situations. I were a bit 'piqué' when some JPL staff member was prized for his ability to bring the missions into public attention - it made me, as a scientific observer, feel possibly manipulated by the choice of published material. I wonder weather the decision of going in is in part to catch a bit more public attention. It's non the less a courageous one that I look forward to follow. How much trouble do they get for loosing the rower in the attempt? I suspect that part of the problem in taking the decision is, that even in the crater, the rower will not be able to 'climb up' to the exposed profiles. Does anyone by the way have an idea of how come the rock-surfaces are so plane. Is it a function of the very blast, or is it a later erosional feature. The topology and stratified nature of the crater-rim as seen in the profile seems to me to suggest a horizontal compression that 'thickened' the strata into an elevated rim more than the ejected material have made a build up on top of the familiar 'evaporitic' strata. Maybe the lack of ejected blocks next to the crater, more than anything else, gives a clue about the kind of blast that has taken place. Aren't these craters the first unique opportunity for the astro/planetary people to study a 'pristine' crater? Carsten |
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