Mars Exploration Rover Update - April 6, 2006

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

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Seeks Alternate Winter Science Station - sol
796-804, Apr 06, 2006:

On the way to north-facing slopes on "McCool Hill" between outcrops
nicknamed "Oberth" and "Korolev," Spirit ran into an impassable, sandy
area. To increase solar power output, Spirit's handlers redirected the
rover to a closer north-facing slope in an area known as "Low Ridge" or
"Low Ridge Haven," about 20 meters away from the rover's position on
sol
802 (April 5, 2006). Spirit continued to make progress in that
direction
after successfully exiting the sandy area on sol 799 (April 2, 2006).

Sol-by-sol highlights:

Sol 796 (March 30, 2006): In an attempt to get the rover out of some
slippery sand, engineers planned a 5-meter (16-foot) drive. Spirit
terminated the drive after less than one meter (3 feet) due to
excessive
slip.

Sol 797: Spirit recharged the batteries and conducted atmospheric
remote
sensing.

Sol 798: Spirit conducted targeted remote sensing, which included
observations of the rover's own tracks using the miniature thermal
emission spectrometer and 13 filters of the panoramic camera.

Sol 799: Rover planners designed a drive that finally got Spirit out of
the sandy stuff. Spirit drove 5.8 meters (19 feet) to firmer ground.

Sol 800: Spirit recharged the batteries and conducted atmospheric
remote
sensing.

Sol 801: Rover handlers transmitted drive commands to Spirit via the
Odyssey spacecraft. Uplink time, however, was shorter than expected,
and
only 10 of 16 drive sequences made it on board. The rover remained
healthy but did not execute the plan.

Sol 802: Spirit successfully drove 8.2 meters (27 feet), experiencing
maximum slip of only 11 percent.

Sol 803: Drive plans call for moving the rover closer to "Low Ridge
Haven," using post-drive images to design a safe approach.

Sol 804 (April 7, 2006): Planned activities include recharging the
batteries, monitoring dust and observing clouds.

Odometry:

As of sol 802 (April 5, 2006), Spirit's total odometry was 6,853.98
meters (4.26 miles).