Posted on 16-1-2004
Rover
rolls on to the Red Planet, ready to start work
The spirit rover rolled on to Mars early yesterday, placing
its six wheels on solid Martian ground for the first time since
the robot bounced down on the Red Planet nearly two weeks ago.
Engineers and scientists at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) cheered after confirmation that the manoeuvre was a success.
Charles Elachi, the JPL's director, said: "Mars now is
our sandbox, and we are ready to play and learn." Black-and-white
pictures beamed from Spirit showed its two rear wheels on the
Martian soil, with its lander behind it. Two parallel tracks
led away from the lander.
"This is a big relief. We are on Mars. Spirit has landed,"
said Rob Manning, manager of the entry, descent and landing
portion of the mission. "Our wheels are finally dirty."
Jennifer Trosper, the mission manager for surface operations,
opened a bottle of champagne in celebration at a news conference.
"Now we are the mission that we all envisioned three and
a half years ago," she said.
Mr Elachi made reference to President George Bush's call on
Wednesday for moon missions and long-term robotic and human
journeys to Mars. "We at Nasa, we move awfully fast,"
he joked. "In less than 15 hours, we are doing our first
step."
Spirit was to have taken less than two minutes to travel the
three metres from the unfolded petals of its lander on to Mars.
Engineers said the move was likely to be the riskiest of Spirit's
three-month mission. Engineers delayed the move for three days
to give Spirit time to reposition itself on top of its lander,
where it had sat since arriving. Spirit had to turn 115 degrees
to line up with one of the exit ramps that ring the lander.
Originally, Spirit was to roll straight off the lander on its
ninth day on Mars. But the now-deflated air bags that cushioned
the rover's landing blocked that way, forcing Spirit to perform
a slow pirouette, turning clockwise in three separate moves.
Mission plans called for Spirit to spend several days parked
beside its lander after rolling off, giving it time to find
its bearings and perform a preliminary analysis of the soil
and rocks around it.
Nasa then planned for Spirit to begin a meandering trip in
the direction of an impact crater about 825 feet away. Spirit
was designed to travel dozens of yards a day. On its way, it
will prospect for geological evidence that the now dry planet
was once wetter and hospitable to life. Spirit landed in the
middle of Gusev Crater, a 95-mile-wide depression scientists
believe was once a lake.
Even while parked, the vehicle was busy. It used its nine cameras
to take at least 3,900 pictures of its surroundings. Mission
scientists used those images, including sweeping panoramas,
to chart the rover's planned movements.
The $820m (£450m) project also includes a second, identical
rover named Opportunity. Spirit's twin should land on the opposite
side of the Red Planet on 24 January. Sojourner, the much smaller
rover that Nasa landed on Mars in 1997, spent one day on top
of the Pathfinder lander before moving off to roam.
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