Mars Rover Spirit Mission Update Thread

[fangsheath]

The layering in this area is more apparent in anaglyph. The summit of Husband Hill is to the right of this panorama.<br /><br />Note: Because I am not satisfied with the resolution limits here, I have begun to link to this website, but I have a 10 Mb limit, so don't expect these links to last for very long.<br /><br />http://home.att.net/~fangsheath/

 

[fangsheath]

Squyres is now quoted as indicating that 3 rocks on Cumberland Ridge are of similar composition, Peace, Alligator, and Crocodile. These rocks are high in sulfur, yet unlike the West Spur rocks have significant amounts of olivine and pyroxene. Peace reportedly has the highest sulfur levels of any rock yet analyzed in Gusev Crater, and the sulfur remains high below the surface.<br /><br />Again this suggests basaltic material that has been highly altered by water. The question is, was the material actually transported here by water, or did the water come later? And why does some of the rock on Cumberland Ridge look similar to Clovis, while other rock has the Peace/Alligator "corroded" appearance? I think the larger rocks ahead will make the stratigraphic relationships more clear.

 

[claywoman]

Centsworth, when did they release details on Peace? I've been waiting forever to hear what they found!!!

 

[fangsheath]

My remarks are based on the following:<br /><br />http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/new_rock_050215.html<br />http://planetary.org/news/2005/mer-update_0216.html

 

[claywoman]

Thank you fangsheath!!! I've been wondering what they found out about Peace....

 

[centsworth_II]

<i>"Centsworth, when did..."</i><br /><br />I know nothinnnnk! Better to ask fangsheath, he does all the heavy lifting in this thread. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[farmerman]

How dusty is the atmosphere getting? Nasa says the opacity is less than months before, but viewing the lastest images from spirit, one now can see the walls of gusev crater which I didn't think we could see earlier. Is it just me or can we see farther now than months before? Can the lower atmosphere be clearer and the upper atmosphere be dirtier? What am I missing?

 

[jaredgalen]

This soil looks very different to me, very crumby. Any thoughts?<br /><br />http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/micro_imager/2005-02-17/2M161877904EFFA600P2957M2M1.JPG

 

[fangsheath]

What I find interesting about the soil is that once again we see very light-colored material juxtaposed with much darker stuff. It appears that in many places the subsurface is laced with material that is remarkably light in color at all visible wavelengths. With this stuff spread out over the surface, hopefully we can get some Mossbauer and APXS data on it, if they haven't already.

 

[thechemist]

In the latest mission manager's update, they mentioned that they will do just that. <br />Stop climbing towards Larry and examine the "disturbed soil" with the spectrometers. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[paulolearysp]

I'm trying to find a location where the recent Mars Rober press conferences are stored. I've found some on the jpl website, but the most recent ones there are from the 1st anniversary in early january. Any ideas on where lese to look? Sqyures was qyoted in the press last week, but I haven't been able to find the entire press conference. If only Jpl/NASA was as detailed about posting their cached press conferences as esa was! Esa posts every single one!<br /><br />Thanks<br />Paul<br /><br />

 

[aaron38]

As for updates there are the daily flight director's updates. Maybe you'll find something in there?<br /><br />http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mer/flightdir.cfm<br /><br />I couldn't find anything else. Maybe Sqyures comments were just mentioned to the press without the formality of a taped press conference?

 

[thechemist]

Here is a large (1 MB) quick and dirty panorama I stitched from Sol405 NavCam images:<br /><br />http://freefilehosting.net/play.cfm?id=3B2F4E0A-CF1F-D571-AFBBDF8DA9534244 <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[farmerman]

Nice job on stitching the photos together chemist, what a view!!!! Can't wait to see what is on the other side of the hill.

 

[paulolearysp]

Thanks for the feedback. The flight director reports are a step in the right direction for me.

 

[telfrow]

Thanks Chemist...great view!<br /><br />Oh, to be there with a rock hammer in hand... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[thalion]

The two rovers should be on the up-and-up...if they can hold on until July, they can make it to the peak of southern summer, which will be especially beneficial for Spirit.

 

[aaron38]

Spirit got a couple shots of Phobos eclipsing the sun!<br /><br />I saw the pictures from last year of Deimos crossing the sun, but I hadn't seen one of Phobos yet.

 

[aaron38]

NASA put this out last week. 2.57 miles traveled. That's a heck of a journey for a little robot. And look at how little an area we would have seen if Spirit had only lived to it's 90 day warenty period!

 

[Swampcat]

<font color="yellow">"Spirit got a couple shots of Phobos eclipsing the sun!<br /><br />I saw the pictures from last year of Deimos crossing the sun, but I hadn't seen one of Phobos yet."</font><br /><br />Check out these two posts from the SS&A thread Images of Mars -- Pt2.<br /><br />2/23/05<br />2/28/05<br /> <br />The 2/28/05 post includes a 4 frame animation, so give it time to load. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>

 

[thechemist]

March 02, 2005<br />Mars Rovers Break Driving Records, Examine Salty Soil<br /><br /><i>The bright patch of disturbed soil, dubbed "Paso Robles," has the highest salt concentration of any rock or soil ever examined on Mars. Combined information gained from inspecting it with Spirit's three spectrometers and panoramic camera suggests its main ingredient is an iron sulfate salt with water molecules bound into the mineral. The soil patch is also rich in phosphorus, but not otherwise like a high-phosphorus rock, called "Wishstone," that Spirit examined in December. "We're still trying to work out what this means, but clearly, with this much salt around, water had a hand here," Squyres said.</i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[thechemist]

ok, a question for JonClarke or anyone else feeling up to it :<br /><br />Why hydrated iron sulfates on Gusev but not in Meridiani, where magnesium and calcium sulfates seem to be more abundant ? <br />Does this imply something about the geology of each place ?<br /><br />Note that the presence of sulfates in both sites now means they share common episodes of acidic brines on or close to the surface. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

Well, I would expect gypsum to be more abundant because Ca is more abundant that Fe. In fact, I am fairly confident it is. There are several possibilities why the reports focus on iron sulphates.<br /><br />1) The Fe signal is stronger than Ca signal for a number of reasons.<br /><br />2) The Fe signal is more focused on because it gets reported by the dratted Mossbauer.<br /><br />3) The team are more interested in Fe sulphates than Ca sulphates (the fact they got a Mossbauer which is only useful for Fe-bearing minerals on board suggests this).<br /><br />4) The presence or absence of Fe sulphates is taken to prove particular models (acid brine or acid fog) of Martian water and therefore is more note worthy than boring Ca sulphates, which just say it was saline.<br /><br />cheers<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[alpha_taur1]

The question is - <br /><br />Do you think that this acidic water period could represent a very early stage in Martian history at a period when Mars was still cooling and sulfuric acid was condensing from a still relatively thick atmosphere and reacting with surface rocks? <br /><br />If we take Venus as an example, here we have clouds of sulfuric acid. Perhaps this is analogous to Mars prior to the stage at which first acid, then water condensed from the atmosphere, although perhaps it was not quite such a thick atmosphere. <br /><br />Can we learn anything about early Mars through studying Venus?

 

[JonClarke]

As you know am something of a sceptic about the acid water model. Large volumes of water will tend to be buffered down to near neutral pH (say 6-8) by water-rock reactions. Basalts in particular tend to produce quite alkaline water through such actions. I would tend to see acidic alteration as either very proximal to volcanic vents or due to cold weathering - as happens in the Antarctic. <br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />Jon<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>