SPACE.com -- Engineers Urge Caution as Anxious Mars Rover Scientists Await Rolloff

This segment of the first color image from the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's airbag trails. These depressions in the soil were made when the airbags were deflated and retracted after landing. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell University

This mosaic image taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows a 360 degree panoramic view of the rover on the surface of Mars. Image credit: NASA

This is the first color image of Mars taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. It is the highest resolution image ever taken on the surface of another planet. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell University

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	Engineers Urge Caution as Anxious Mars Rover Scientists Await Rolloff By Leonard David Senior Space Writer posted: 04:30 pm ET 08 January 2004

PASADENA, Calif. -- A balky lander airbag continues to slow the readying of the Spirit rover to start its science-gathering duties on the surface of Mars. An attempt Wednesday to retract an airbag that could foul the robot's egress off its platform was not successful.

Engineers here at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are strategizing alternate pathways Spirit can hit the dirt running. Another attempt to retract the problem airbag is slated for Friday.

There is a tension building between cautious Spirit engineers and heavy-breathing scientists, forced to basically look but not yet touch the tantalizing terrain with their instruments.

Do the right thing

"Our focus here is making sure we do the right thing," said Matt Wallace, a JPL Mission Manager for rover operations. "We want to be brave... but not stupid," he said here today during an early morning press briefing.

Another set of impressive surface shots taken by Spirit's Panoramic Camera (Pan Cam) were released Thursday, tagged as "fresh pixels off the presses" by Jim Bell, Payload Element Lead for the Pan Cam from Cornell University.

A pixel is an abbreviation of the term 'picture element.' A pixel is the smallest picture element of a digital image.

Now captured within Spirit's onboard computer are images that will fill out the remaining 360 degrees sweep of where the lander now rests within Gusev Crater. These are to be dribbled back to Earth during the next several days.

Sleepy Hollow bounce marks

In an area labeled by scientists as "Sleepy Hollow," it appears that Spirit's airbag landing system took it straight across the feature, disturbing the coating of surface dust in several spots.

Bell said that he remains personally enticed by Sleepy Hollow, a location that scientists may send Spirit early in its roving.

Given the airbag impressions that seem to cross Sleepy Hollow, "it looks like we've been there already," Bell said. "So we'd really be retracing our steps in a way if those really are bounce marks," he said.

The builders of Spirit are characterizing all its traits before unleashing it to begin wheeling through the martian environment.

"When we get down to the surface and have six wheels in the dirt, we're going to crawl before we walk, before we run," said Albert Haldemann, Deputy Project Scientist at JPL.

"Patience is required," Haldemann advised.

Transformer toy

Today, the first phase of a multi-day effort to stand Spirit up on its lander deck, then deploy and lock its wheels for lander roll off are scheduled.

"Our whole transformer toy has to be unfolded, deployed, stood up, locked and latched in place and then the rear wheels have to be extended. And then the issue of getting off the lander is a bigger story," Haldemann told SPACE.com.

If all goes in step-by-step order, getting Spirit's wheels on the reddish brown surface of Mars is still about a week away.

Science targets

Science data is being taken even though Spirit remains secure to its landing platform.

The Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) has already swept across sections of the landscape. Mini-TES is built to see infrared radiation emitted by objects and is capable of recognizing carbonates, silicates, organic molecules and minerals formed in water.

Calibration of Mini-TES, and analysis of the data it has already gleaned is underway.

"We are eager, but patient to see those results," said Haldemann. Two Mini-TES scans Gusev Crater territory is on tap for Friday, he added.

Haldemann said that drivers for the Spirit rover are warming up. The science teams have begun defining a half-dozen candidate science targets. Those that will steer Spirit have begun using imagery to prepare themselves for running the golf cart-sized rover onto the surface.

JPL's Wallace described Spirit "as a thoroughbred, anxious to get out of the starting gate."

ZOOM IN ON MARS!

Like driving the rover, you can zoom to any rock or feature
in this Jan. 8 Spirit photo with SPACE.com's Zoom Viewer.