MER-B
MER-B (Opportunity)one oftwo roversNASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars on January 24, 2004 at 21:05 PST (05:05 UTC on January 25). Its twin, MER-A ("Spirit"), landed on Mars three weeks earlier on January 3, 2004.Note: Days on Marscalled Solslast 24 hours37 minutes. The landing date (January 24, 2004)MER-Bcalled Sol 1. When referringMER-A, however, Sol 1 means its landing date.
| Tablecontents |
|
2 Timeline 3 Related articles 4 External links |
Eventsdiscoveries
First panorama
This 360-degree panorama isfirst panorama beamed backEarth fromMars Exploration Rover Opportunity shortly aftertouched down at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The image was captured byrover's navigation camera.First color panorama
This color image showsmartian landscape at Meridiani Planum, whereMars Exploration Rover Opportunity successfully landed at 9:05 p.m. PST on Saturday. Thisone offirst images beamed backEarth fromrover shortly aftertouched down. The image was captured byrover's panoramic camera.Opportunity lands incrater
The interior ofcrater surroundingMars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum on Mars can be seenthis color image fromrover's panoramic camera. This isdarkest landing site ever visited byspacecraft on mars. The rim ofcraterapproximately 10 meters (32 feet) fromrover. The craterestimatedbe 20 meters (65 feet)diameter. Scientistsintrigued byabundancerock outcrops dispersed throughoutcrater, as well ascrater's soil, which appearsbemixturecoarse gray grainsfine reddish grains. NASA Scientists were so excited about landing incrater thatcalled this"holeone."Bedrock outcroppings
This sweeping look atunusual rock outcropping near Opportunity was captured byrover's panoramic camera. Scientists believeseemingly layered rockseither volcanic ash deposits or sediments laid down by wind or water.Geologists said thatlayers -- some no thicker thanfinger -- indicaterocks likely originated either from sediments carried by water or wind, or from falling volcanic ash. "We should be abledistinguish between those two hypotheses," said Dr. Andrew KnollHarvard University, Cambridge,member ofscience teamOpportunityits twin, Spirit. Ifrockssedimentary, water ismore likely source than wind, he said.
Timeline
2003
- June 25 - The first launch attempt was scheduled12:38:16 am EDT. With 15 seconds until launch,attempt was scrubbed dueproblems withcork insulation onDelta II launch vehicle's first stage. Later opportunities were foregone due tovarietyreasons including strong high-altitude winds,battery problem,due toboat that ventured too close tocoastal launch site.
- July 7 - At 11:18:15 pm EDT, MER-B (Opportunity) was launched aboardDelta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch window lasted through July 15.
2004
- January 16 - Opportunity adjusted its trajectory, or flight path, today forfirst timefour months. Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., commanded Opportunity at 6 p.m. PSTfire thrusters insequence carefully calculated bymission's navigators. The spacecraftspinning at two rotations per minute. The maneuver began with20-second burn indirection ofaxisrotation, then included two 5-second pulses perpendicularthat axis.
- January 24 (PST) / January 25 (UTC), Sol 1 -
- At 9:05 pm PST, MER-B began bouncing onsurfaceMarsMeridiani Planum. UnlikeSpirit landing three weeks earlier where signal was lost immediately after touchdown, Opportunity continued broadcasting strong signalsEarth even after touching down. Opportunity continued bouncingrolling onsurfaceMarsseveral minutes after touchdown. California Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggerformer Vice President Al Gore were both present at Mission Controlcongratulated mission scientists after touchdown.
- At first, mission control was underimpression thatlander had been rolling forlong time (5 minutes), butturns outantenna usedcommunicateEarth was pointing towardsground, which madesignal bounce off Mars asEarth moved, makingseem as ifhad been bouncing, thoughhad not been.
- January 25 (images from January 25)
- The Opportunity releases its first blackwhite photographits first full-color Pancam image. Also released are3 DIMES images taken by Opportunity on its way towardsMartian ground.
- The NASA science teamvery excited that Opportunity landed incrateris thrilledsee an exposed bedrock outcropping. [1]
- January 26 (Sol 2) -
- Duringsecond day on MarsOpportunity, key science instruments passed health tests androver made important stepscommunicating directlyEarth. Opportunity has testedthree scientific sensing instruments on its robotic arm that will be usedup-close examinationrockssoil:microscopic imager,alpha particle X-ray spectrometerdetermining what elementspresent, andMossbauer spectrometeridentifying iron-containing minerals. "I'm pleasedreport that allin perfect health," said Dr. Steve SquyresCornell University principal investigator forscience instruments onrovers.
- January 27 (Sol 3) -
- Opportunity deployed , pointed,started usinghigh-gain antenna.
- January 27 (images from January 27)
- At12:00 EST press briefing, Squyres goes into further detail concerningoutcroppings: "The thinnest layers arecentimeter, something like that. The total height at highest pointoutcrop isfoot andhalf, maybe. That's good news. Less threatening torover because you can drive right up onit."
- Dr. Andrew Knoll, Mission Scientist from Harvard University, describespossibilitywaterthese areasMars: "If [the cause ofoutcropping formations]volcanic then all betsoffliquid water. Simply wouldn't need it. If it's sedimentary I think you need water, I doubt thesewindblown. Doesn't tell you aboutduration ofwater though. There hasberollliquid watersculptingsurfaceMars. The question we're tryinganswerwas itshort burst or persistent water. Both GusevMeridianiinteresting becausecould be consistentpersistent water. What we seefrontus today makes no strong claimslongstanding persistencewater."
- Squyers says that he believeshematite "is most likelybe presentfiner grained soil. In floorscraterssoilstrikingly dark. Surrounding plains somewhat lighter (though still dark relativerestMars) We think that soil has hematite. What we don't understand isrelationship betweensoilthis rock layer. Notsurprisefind no hematitethis layered rock unit. We'll find out soon enough." Knoll adds that "Intriguing inhematitethis rock layer, if you back uplook atdistribution they're co-existent. The light rock unit andhematitefound together. While there'srangeprocesses going on, if we can understand this bedfrontuswill be helpfulunderstanding this co-existent pair."
- Mission manager Jim Erickson reported that Opportunity experienced power loss overlast Sol. He described thatcurrent theorythatheater inshoulder joint ofinstrument armunnecessarily heating it. Ithoped thatwayfoundcontrolheating element as was originally planned. He said, "There issetthermostatic-controlled heaters. Onethemlocated physically inshoulder joint ofinstrument arm. Normally thisenabled bygroundthenthermostat onside ofrover determines whatair temperatureand, if it's cold enough,turns on this heaterthis armkeepuptemperatureoperation. Normally we don't always wanton because we aren't normally always operatingarm. Right now, webelieving itgoingbe on continuously whenever it's cold enough."
- January 28 (Sol 4) -
- Opportunity's "stand up" procedure was initiated. The rover successfully deployed its front wheels during this Sol. A lift mechanism inlander base jacked uprover, allowingfront two wheelsbe released from their launch stowage locationsextend into position.
- Opportunity's "stand up" procedure was initiated. The rover successfully deployed its front wheels during this Sol. A lift mechanism inlander base jacked uprover, allowingfront two wheelsbe released from their launch stowage locationsextend into position.
Related articles
External links
- SpaceFlightNow Status Page
- JPL's Mars Exploration Rover home page
- Mission Status updates from NASA JPL
- Finding Opportunity: high resolution imageslanding site (Mars Global Surveyor - Mars Orbiter Camera)
- Finding Opportunity: interactive Mars atlas based on Viking images: you can zoom in/outpan images,find your preferred site
- MER Imagery: automatically generated 3D stereo anaglyphspseudo-color images based on JPL raw images
![[1]](http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA05149_modest.jpg){kind=link}