SPACE.com -- Spirit Ready to Get Down 'n' Dirty on Mars

This image taken by the navcam Spirit shows an overhead view of the rover as it prepares to roll off the lander and onto the martian surface. The arrow illustrates the direction the rover may take to safely disembark. The rover was originally positioned to roll straight forward off the lander (south side of image). However, an airbag is blocking its path. To take this new route, the rover must back up and perform what is likened to a 3-point turn in a cramped parking lot. CREDIT: NASA/JPL

This image shows the hills southeast of Spirit's landing site. Like a smoggy day in Los Angeles, dusty martian skies limit how much detail can be seen. This lack in visibility is demonstrated by comparing hills on the left to those on the right, located nearly two times farther away. The left panel was captured in the late morning martian hours, looking toward the Sun. The right image, in the early afternoon, when the Sun was higher and the skies appeared darker. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell Univ.

ANIMATION: Spirit stands up, in stages. The rover first elevates itself and unfolds the wheels. It then lowers, lifts and lowers again into its final position, approximately 12 inches higher off of the Lander to allow a better view of the surrounding terrain.

STAND UP: Engineers played Bob Marley's Get Up, Stand Up in the control room as images confirmed Spirit stood up late Jan. 8. Front hazard avoidance camera shows the rover in the final stage of this process. The two wheels on the bottom right and left are locked into position, along with the suspension system. Note the deflated airbag partially blocking the main exit route.

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	Spirit Ready to Get Down 'n' Dirty on Mars By Leonard David Senior Space Writer posted: 03:40 pm ET 11 January 2004

SPIRIT READY TO ROLL

PASADENA, Calif. -- Engineers here at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are one cable cut away from having a free range Mars rover on their hands.

But cautious technicians now project a day adjustment in the Spirit robots egress onto Gusev Crater terrain, moving it to late Wednesday evening, overnight into Thursday morning.

In a final step, Rover engineering teams have readied Spirits set of middle wheels -- there are six in all -- that will enable the mechanical wonder to first roll across the deck of the lander upon which it is perched, and then exit onto Mars surface.

In another important milestone, the robots arm was released, and then stowed in "drive position."

Stood up on Mars

The extra day sitting on the lander platform will give Spirit scientists more opportunity to carry out scans of the surrounding landscape.

"So we are now fully stood up and all of our six wheels are deployed in a normal configuration," said Arthur Amador, a mission manager for Spirit operations on Mars, at an early morning JPL press briefing.

Spirits status in terms of power and communications capability remains top-notch.

Amador detailed the rovers still-to-come set of turns on the landing deck. Over the next couple of days, Spirit is to make a three-part turn that equals some 120 degrees in relationship to the orientation the robot now rests.

Each of the trio of turns is to be imaged to assure that all has worked as intended.

Yesterday, technicians in a special JPL facility simulated the turning of Spirit in preparation for the real thing on Mars. This dress rehearsal helps determine the correct software and command uploads required for the robot to rotate itself on faraway Mars.

Taking the off-ramp to Mars

John Callas, JPL Science Manager for the Mars Exploration Rover mission, said the extra day that Spirit will now spend on the lander allows for "unplanned science".

Callas said the Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) sitting high on the Rovers mast will take detailed "stares" at three individual targets. One of those targets is "Sleepy Hollow" -- an interesting feature filled with loose material.

Mini-TES sees infrared radiation emitted by objects.

In addition, Callas said, the rovers Panoramic Camera will take images that can be co-registered with the Mini-TES. Still being assembled is a 360-degree, full-color panorama of the rock strewn, wind swept, dusty and sand covered landscape where Spirit rests. That is expected to be released shortly.

"This rover is a very visually-rich mission," Callas explained.

Science on the run

When the rover begins its reconnoitering at Gusev Crater, Callas said, scientists will have to analyze data very rapidly, making quick judgments and decisions about what they see in that information.

To run the rover each day costs roughly $4 million. So gathering and then transmitting data gleaned must be executed on a tight schedule.

Once Spirit is physically down and dirty on Mars, science instruments mounted on the robots arm will be lowered onto the surface. These rover measurements, likely including both soil and rock, are to be carried out over the first day or two.

Clean cut

A major milestone is set for Monday night.

That event is the cable cutting of an umbilical attaching Spirit to its lander platform. Spirit receives power and communications through that umbilical. Once cut, the robot can begin making its moves, taking an off ramp to Mars.

"We expect a clean cut," Amador explained.

Once Spirits umbilical is severed, the lander becomes space debris on Mars -- it is no longer functional.

The umbilical cut "is a critical event," Amador told SPACE.com . That cable is fairly thick containing numbers of wires. Redundant cable cutters are now ready to do the task. Once cut, that umbilical springs back, snaking its way back underneath the lander, he said.

Monday night, the commands to cut the umbilical will be sent up to Spirit by ground controllers.

"Were almost there," Amador said.

Mars Rovers: Complete Coverage