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62-657: Prior to the exploration of the crater by the Spirit Rover , the crater was postulated to be an ancient lakebed with Ma'adim Vallis draining into it, of volcaniclastic origin, or a combination of both. These interpretations were based on Viking orbiter imagery, MOC imagery, THEMIS thermal mapping, and MOLA elevation mapping. However, Spirit did not find any lacustrine deposits, instead Spirit found alkaline volcanic rocks , including olivine basalt , comminuted basaltic debris, lavas , and pyroclastic rocks, but no eruption centers. More recently, satellite images showed

124-430: A rocker-bogie system enabled mobility over rough terrain. Each wheel had its own motor. The vehicle was steered at front and rear and was designed to operate safely at tilts of up to 30 degrees. The maximum speed was 5 centimeters per second (2.0 in/s); 0.18 kilometers per hour (0.11 mph), although the average speed was about 1 centimeter per second (0.39 in/s). Both Spirit and Opportunity have pieces of

186-413: A base level of heating, assisted by electrical heaters when necessary. Communications depended on an omnidirectional low-gain antenna communicating at a low data rate and a steerable high-gain antenna, both in direct contact with Earth. A low-gain antenna was also used to relay data to spacecraft orbiting Mars. The science instruments included: The rover arm held the following instruments: Spirit

248-513: A cleaning event, there was a possibility that with the southern summer solstice in March 2011, solar energy would increase to a level that would wake up the rover. Spirit remains silent at its location, called "Troy," on the west side of Home Plate. There was no communication with the rover after March 22, 2010 (sol 2208). It is likely that Spirit experienced a low-power fault and had turned off all sub-systems, including communication, and gone into

310-414: A deep sleep, trying to recharge its batteries. It is also possible that the rover had experienced a mission clock fault. If that had happened, the rover would have lost track of time and tried to remain asleep until enough sunlight struck the solar arrays to wake it. This state is called "Solar Groovy." If the rover woke up from a mission clock fault, it would only listen. Starting on July 26, 2010 (sol 2331),

372-464: A few minutes each day. Due to the 2018 dust storms on Mars, Opportunity entered hibernation mode on June 12, but it remained silent after the storm subsided in early October. The rocks on the plains of Gusev are a type of basalt . They contain the minerals olivine , pyroxene , plagioclase and magnetite. They look like volcanic basalt, as they are fine-grained with irregular holes (geologists would say they have vesicles and vugs). Much of

434-743: A groundmass of augite and more sodic plagioclase and perhaps analcite and biotite . More generally the classification of fine grained rocks recognises a group known as 'picritic rocks' that are characterised by high magnesium content and low SiO2 content. They fit in the TAS classification system only at the lowest level of Si02 (41 to 43% by weight) and Na2O + K2O (up to 3% by weight). They include picrite, komatiite and meimechite. Picrites and komatiites are somewhat similar chemically (defined as >18% MgO), but differ in having 1 to 3% total alkalis and <1% total alkalis respectively. Komatiite lavas are products of more magnesium-rich melts, and good examples exhibit

496-518: A member of the smectite group). Clays require fairly long term exposure to water to form. One type of soil, called Paso Robles, from the Columbia Hills, may be an evaporate deposit because it contains large amounts of sulfur, phosphorus , calcium , and iron . Also, MB found that much of the iron in Paso Robles soil was of the oxidized, Fe form, which would happen if water had been present. Towards

558-525: A month short of surpassing Viking 1's operational record. An archive of weekly updates on the rover's status can be found at the Spirit Update Archive. Spirit's total odometry is 7,730.50 meters (4.80 mi). Spirit (and its twin, Opportunity ) are six-wheeled, solar-powered robots standing 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) high, 2.3 meters (7.5 ft) wide and 1.6 meters (5.2 ft) long and weighing 180 kilograms (400 lb). Six wheels on

620-402: A new procedure to address the possible mission clock fault was implemented. JPL continued attempts to regain contact with Spirit until May 25, 2011, when NASA announced the end of contact efforts and the completion of the mission. According to NASA, the rover likely experienced excessively cold "internal temperatures" due to "inadequate energy to run its survival heaters" that, in turn, was

682-526: A predicted meteor shower caused by Halley's Comet , and although at least four imaged streaks were suspect meteors, they could not be unambiguously differentiated from those caused by cosmic rays. A transit of Mercury from Mars took place on January 12, 2005, from about 14:45 UTC to 23:05 UTC. Theoretically, this could have been observed by both Spirit and Opportunity ; however, camera resolution did not permit seeing Mercury's 6.1" angular diameter. They were able to observe transits of Deimos across

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744-519: A prominent rock in each group. Their chemical compositions, as measured by APXS, are significantly different from each other. Most importantly, all of the rocks in Columbia Hills show various degrees of alteration due to aqueous fluids. They are enriched in the elements phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and bromine—all of which can be carried around in water solutions. The Columbia Hills’ rocks contain basaltic glass, along with varying amounts of olivine and sulfates . The olivine abundance varies inversely with

806-532: A result of "a stressful Martian winter without much sunlight." Many critical components and connections would have been "susceptible to damage from the cold." Assets that had been needed to support Spirit were transitioned to support Spirit's then still-active twin, Opportunity , as well as the then-upcoming Curiosity rover. The primary surface mission for Spirit was planned to last at least 90 sols . The mission received several extensions and lasted about 2,208 sols. On August 11, 2007, Spirit obtained

868-552: A stationary science platform role until communication with Spirit stopped on March 22, 2010 (sol 2208). JPL continued to attempt to regain contact until May 24, 2011, when NASA announced that efforts to communicate with the unresponsive rover had ended, calling the mission complete. A formal farewell took place at NASA headquarters shortly thereafter. The scientific objectives of the Mars Exploration Rover mission were to: Opportunity and Spirit rovers were part of

930-596: A strong decline in olivine presence, although the rocks probably once contained much olivine. Olivine is a marker for the lack of water because it easily decomposes in the presence of water. Sulfate was found, and it needs water to form. Wishstone contained a great deal of plagioclase, some olivine, and anhydrate (a sulfate). Peace rocks showed sulfur and strong evidence for bound water, so hydrated sulfates are suspected. Watchtower class rocks lack olivine consequently they may have been altered by water. The Independence class showed some signs of clay (perhaps montmorillonite

992-612: A variety of factors. In Eagle crater the cells were producing about 840 Wh per day, but by Sol 319 in December 2004, it had dropped to 730 Wh per day. Like Earth, Mars has seasonal variations that reduce sunlight during winter. However, since the Martian year is longer than that of the Earth, the seasons fully rotate roughly once every 2 Earth years. By 2016, MER-B had endured seven Martian winters, during which times power levels drop which can mean

1054-409: A veneer of normal-looking soil. Iron sulfate has very little cohesion, making it difficult for the rover's wheels to gain traction. On January 26, 2010 (sol 2155), after several months attempting to free the rover, NASA decided to redefine the mobile robot mission by calling it a stationary research platform. Efforts were directed in preparing a more suitable orientation of the platform in relation to

1116-543: Is a Mars robotic rover , active from 2004 to 2010. Spirit was operational on Mars for 2208 sols or 3.3 Martian years (2269 days ; 6 years, 77 days ). It was one of two rovers of NASA 's Mars Exploration Rover Mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), which landed on

1178-437: Is a strong possibility the rover's batteries lost so much energy at some point that the mission clock stopped. In previous winters the rover was able to park on a Sun-facing slope and keep its internal temperature above −40 °C (−40 °F), but since the rover was stuck on flat ground it is estimated that its internal temperature dropped to −55 °C (−67 °F). If Spirit had survived these conditions and there had been

1240-410: Is a variety of picritic basalt characterized by its large amounts of olivine phenocrysts and lesser amounts of augite and by having a groundmass of olivine, plagioclase and augite. The term was coined by Antoine Lacroix in 1923 for rare basalts with more than 50% olivine. Olivine basalt is commonly used by foundries, boilermakers and boiler users to protect the area around a burner tip or to protect

1302-522: Is thought that small amounts of water may have gotten into cracks inducing mineralization processes. Coatings on the rocks may have occurred when rocks were buried and interacted with thin films of water and dust. It was noted that these rocks were easier to grind compared to their Earth counterparts. Scientists found a variety of rock types in the Columbia Hills, and they placed them into six different categories. The six are: Clovis, Wishbone, Peace, Watchtower, Backstay, and Independence. They are named after

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1364-790: Is very rich in the mineral olivine . It is dark with yellow-green olivine phenocrysts (20-50%) and black to dark brown pyroxene , mostly augite . The olivine-rich picrite basalts that occur with the more common tholeiitic basalts of Kīlauea and other volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands are the result of accumulation of olivine crystals either in a portion of the magma chamber or in a caldera lava lake. The compositions of these rocks are well represented by mixes of olivine and more typical tholeiitic basalt. The name "picrite" can also be applied to an olivine-rich alkali basalt : such picrite consists largely of phenocrysts of olivine and titanium-rich augite pyroxene with minor plagioclase set in

1426-527: The Mars Exploration Rover program in the long-term Mars Exploration Program . The Mars Exploration Program's four principal goals were to determine if the potential for life exists on Mars (in particular, whether recoverable water may be found on Mars), to characterize the Mars climate and its geology, and then to prepare for a potential human mission to Mars. The Mars Exploration Rovers were to travel across

1488-514: The Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT). The dust in Gusev Crater is the same as dust all around the planet. All the dust was found to be magnetic. Moreover, Spirit found the magnetism was caused by the mineral magnetite , especially magnetite that contained the element titanium . One magnet was able to completely divert all dust, hence all Martian dust is thought to be magnetic. The spectra of

1550-481: The Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT). There are a variety of rocks in the Columbia Hills (Mars) , some of which have been altered by water, but not by very much water. The dust in Gusev Crater is the same as dust all around the planet. All the dust was found to be magnetic. Moreover, Spirit found the magnetism was caused by the mineral magnetite , especially magnetite that contained the element titanium . One magnet

1612-423: The first photo of Earth from the surface of another planet in early March 2004. In late 2005, Spirit took advantage of a favorable energy situation to make multiple nighttime observations of both of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos . These observations included a " lunar " (or rather phobian) eclipse as Spirit watched Phobos disappear into Mars' shadow. Some of Spirit' s star gazing was designed to look for

1674-636: The spinifex texture. They are largely restricted to the Archean . In contrast, picrites are magnesium-rich because crystals of olivine have accumulated in more normal melts by magmatic processes. Picrite basalt is found in the lavas of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in Hawaiʻi , Curaçao , in the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Réunion Island and various other oceanic island volcanoes. In addition to extrusive occurrences, it also occurs in minor intrusions. Oceanite

1736-510: The Martian surface and perform periodic geologic analyses to determine if water ever existed on Mars as well as the types of minerals available, as well as to corroborate data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Both rovers were designed with an expected 90 sols (92 Earth days) lifetime, but each lasted much longer than expected. Spirit 's mission lasted 20 times longer than its expected lifetime, and its mission

1798-464: The Sun in an attempt to allow a more efficient recharge of the platform's batteries. This was needed to keep some systems operational during the Martian winter. On March 30, 2010, Spirit skipped a planned communication session and as anticipated from recent power-supply projections, had probably entered a low-power hibernation mode. The last communication with the rover was March 22, 2010 (sol 2208) and there

1860-507: The Sun, but at 2' angular diameter, Deimos is about 20 times larger than Mercury's 6.1" angular diameter. Ephemeris data generated by JPL Horizons indicates that Opportunity would have been able to observe the transit from the start until local sunset at about 19:23 UTC Earth time, while Spirit would have been able to observe it from local sunrise at about 19:38 UTC until the end of the transit. Both rovers passed their original mission time of 90 sols many times over. The extended time on

1922-429: The amount of alkali elements to the amount of silica on a graph; in this system, Gusev plains rocks lie near the junction of basalt, picrobasalt , and tephrite. The Irvine-Barager classification calls them basalts. Plain's rocks have been very slightly altered, probably by thin films of water because they are softer and contain veins of light-colored material that may be bromine compounds, as well as coatings or rinds. It

Gusev (Martian crater) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-525: The amount of sulfates. This is exactly what is expected because water destroys olivine but helps to produce sulfates. The Clovis group is especially interesting because the Mössbauer spectrometer (MB) detected goethite in it. Goethite forms only in the presence of water, so its discovery is the first direct evidence of past water in the Columbia Hills's rocks. In addition, the MB spectra of rocks and outcrops displayed

2046-499: The dust was similar to spectra of bright, low thermal inertia regions like Tharsis and Arabia that have been detected by orbiting satellites. A thin layer of dust, maybe less than one millimeter thick, covers all surfaces. Something in it contains a small amount of chemically bound water. Spirit pointed its cameras towards the sky and observed a transit of the Sun by Mars' moon Deimos (see Transit of Deimos from Mars ). It also took

2108-518: The fallen World Trade Center 's metal on them that were "turned into shields to protect cables on the drilling mechanisms". Solar arrays generated about 140 watts for up to fourteen hours per sol, while rechargeable lithium ion batteries stored energy for use at night. Spirit ' s onboard computer uses a 20 MHz RAD6000 CPU with 128 MB of DRAM and 3 MB of EEPROM. The rover's operating temperature ranges from −40 to +40 °C (−40 to 104 °F) and radioisotope heaters provide

2170-505: The information they need to select promising geological targets and drive to those locations to perform on-site scientific investigations. The MER team named the landing site " Columbia Memorial Station," in honor of the seven astronauts killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster . On May 1, 2009 (sol 1892), the rover became stuck in soft sand, the machine resting upon a cache of iron(III) sulfate ( jarosite ) hidden under

2232-534: The middle of the six-year mission (a mission that was supposed to last only 90 days), large amounts of pure silica were found in the soil. The silica could have come from the interaction of soil with acid vapors produced by volcanic activity in the presence of water or from water in a hot spring environment. After Spirit stopped working scientists studied old data from the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer, or Mini-TES and confirmed

2294-412: The minerals goethite and carbonates which only form in the presence of water. It is believed that Gusev crater may have held a lake long ago, but it has since been covered by igneous materials. All the dust contains a magnetic component which was identified as magnetite with some titanium. Furthermore, the thin coating of dust that covers everything on Mars is the same in all parts of Mars. Gusev crater

2356-598: The other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition . The rover got stuck in a "sand trap" in late 2009 at an angle that hampered recharging of its batteries; its last communication with Earth was on March 22, 2010. The rover completed its planned 90- sol mission (slightly less than 92.5 Earth days). Aided by cleaning events that resulted in more energy from its solar panels, Spirit went on to function effectively over twenty times longer than NASA planners expected. Spirit also logged 7.73 km (4.8 mi) of driving instead of

2418-403: The past, the crater Gusev , a possible former lake in a giant impact crater about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the center of the target ellipse at 14°34′18″S 175°28′43″E  /  14.5718°S 175.4785°E  / -14.5718; 175.4785 . After the airbag-protected landing craft settled onto the surface, the rover rolled out to take panoramic images. These give scientists

2480-450: The plains show they contain the minerals pyroxene, olivine, plagioclase, and magnetite. These rocks can be classified in different ways. The amounts and types of minerals make the rocks primitive basalts—also called picritic basalts. The rocks are similar to ancient terrestrial rocks called basaltic komatiites . Rocks of the plains also resemble the basaltic shergottites , meteorites that came from Mars. One classification system compares

2542-432: The planned 600 m (0.4 mi), allowing more extensive geological analysis of Martian rocks and planetary surface features. Initial scientific results from the first phase of the mission (the 90-sol prime mission) were published in a special issue of the journal Science . On May 1, 2009 (5 years, 3 months, 27 Earth days after landing; 21 times the planned mission duration), Spirit became stuck in soft sand. This

Gusev (Martian crater) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-459: The presence of large amounts of carbonate -rich rocks, which means that regions of the planet may have once harbored water. The carbonates were discovered in an outcrop of rocks called "Comanche." In summary, Spirit found evidence of slight weathering on the plains of Gusev, but no evidence that a lake was there. However, in the Columbia Hills there was clear evidence for a moderate amount of aqueous weathering. The evidence included sulfates and

2666-450: The region proved disappointing in its lack of available bedrock for study on the flat lava plains of the crater. It eventually arrived at the Columbia Hills , however, and rocks examined in that region showed evidence of small amounts of briny (salty) water interacting with them in ancient times, although not nearly as much as at Meridiani Planum , the landing area for Spirit ' s twin, Opportunity . In 2009, Spirit became stuck in

2728-473: The remainder of the mission. Scientific instruments also experienced degradation as a result of exposure to the harsh Martian environment and use over a far longer period than had been anticipated by the mission planners. Over time, the diamond in the resin grinding surface of the Rock Abrasion Tool wore down, after that the device could only be used to brush targets. All of the other science instruments and engineering cameras continued to function until contact

2790-473: The rover avoids doing activities that use a lot of power. During its first winter power levels dropped to under 300 Wh per day for two months, but some later winters were not as bad. Another factor that can reduce received power is dust in the atmosphere, especially dust storms. Dust storms have occurred quite frequently when Mars is closest to the Sun. Global dust storms in 2007 reduced power levels for Opportunity and Spirit so much they could only run for

2852-514: The second longest operational duration on the surface of Mars for a lander or rover at 1282 Sols, one sol longer than the Viking 2 lander. Viking 2 was powered by a nuclear cell whereas Spirit is powered by solar arrays. Until Opportunity overtook it on May 19, 2010, the Mars probe with longest operational period was Viking 1 that lasted for 2245 Sols on the surface of Mars. On March 22, 2010, Spirit sent its last communication, thus falling just over

2914-501: The soil of the region, and in 2010 went offline after a harsh Martian winter. Gusev was also considered a potential landing site for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover . The rocks on the plains of Gusev are a type of basalt . They contain the minerals olivine , pyroxene , plagioclase , and magnetite, and they look like volcanic basalt as they are fine-grained with irregular holes (geologists would say they have vesicles and vugs). Much of

2976-501: The soil on the plains came from the breakdown of the local rocks. Fairly high levels of nickel were found in some soils; probably from meteorites . Analysis shows that the rocks have been slightly altered by tiny amounts of water. Outside coatings and cracks inside the rocks suggest water deposited minerals, maybe bromine compounds. All the rocks contain a fine coating of dust and one or more harder rinds of material. One type can be brushed off, while another needed to be ground off by

3038-498: The soil on the plains came from the breakdown of the local rocks. Fairly high levels of nickel were found in some soils; probably from meteorites . Analysis shows that the rocks have been slightly altered by tiny amounts of water. Outside coatings and cracks inside the rocks suggest water deposited minerals, maybe bromine compounds. All the rocks contain a fine coating of dust and one or more harder rinds of material. One type can be brushed off, while another needed to be ground off by

3100-449: The surface as the rover traveled, thus allowing areas to be imaged that would normally be inaccessible. However, in mid-December 2009, to the surprise of the engineers, the right front wheel showed slight movement in a wheel-test on sol 2113 and clearly rotated with normal resistance on three of four wheel-tests on sol 2117, but stalled on the fourth. On November 29, 2009 (sol 2098), the right rear wheel also stalled and remained inoperable for

3162-420: The surface, and therefore additional stress on components, resulted in some issues developing. On March 13, 2006 (sol 778), the right front wheel ceased working after having covered 4.2 mi (7 km) on Mars. Engineers began driving the rover backwards, dragging the dead wheel. Although this resulted in changes to driving techniques, the dragging effect became a useful tool, partially clearing away soil on

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3224-468: The trails of dust devils on Gusev's floor. The Spirit rover later photographed dust devils from the ground, and likely owes much of its longevity to dust devils cleaning its solar panels. On January 3, 2004, Gusev was the landing site of the first of NASA 's two Mars Exploration Rovers , named Spirit . It was hoped that the numerous smaller and more recent craters in this region would have exposed sedimentary material from early eras, although at first

3286-438: Was 'driven' by several operators throughout its mission. The rover uses a combination of solar cells and a rechargeable chemical battery. This class of rover has two rechargeable lithium batteries , each composed of 8 cells with 8 amp-hour capacity. At the start of the mission the solar panels could provide up to around 900 watt-hours (Wh) per day to recharge the battery and power system in one Sol, but this could vary due to

3348-437: Was June 25, 2003. NASA's Launch Services Program managed the launch of both spacecraft. Spirit successfully landed on the surface of Mars on 04:35 Spacecraft Event Time (SCET) on January 4, 2004. This was the start of its 90-sol mission, but solar cell cleaning events would mean it was the start of a much longer mission, lasting until 2010. Spirit was targeted to a site that appears to have been affected by liquid water in

3410-425: Was able to completely divert all dust hence all Martian dust is thought to be magnetic. The spectra of the dust was similar to spectra of bright, low thermal inertia regions like Tharsis and Arabia that have been detected by orbiting satellites. A thin layer of dust, maybe less than one millimeter thick covers all surfaces. Something in it contains a small amount of chemically bound water. Observations of rocks on

3472-665: Was declared ended on May 25, 2011, after it got stuck in soft sand and expended its power reserves trying to free itself. Opportunity lasted 55 times longer than its 90 sol planned lifetime, operating for 5498 days from landing to mission end. An archive of weekly updates on the rover's status can be found at the Opportunity Update Archive. The MER-A ( Spirit ) and MER-B ( Opportunity ) were launched on June 10, 2003 and July 7, 2003, respectively. Though both probes launched on Boeing Delta II 7925-9.5 rockets from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17 (CCAFS SLC-17), MER-B

3534-459: Was lost; however, towards the end of Spirit' s life, the MIMOS II Mössbauer spectrometer took much longer to produce results than it did earlier in the mission because of the decay of its cobalt -57 gamma ray source that has a half life of 271 days. To commemorate Spirit' s great contribution to the exploration of Mars , the asteroid 37452 Spirit has been named after it. The name

3596-544: Was not the first of the mission's "embedding events" and for the following eight months NASA carefully analyzed the situation, running Earth-based theoretical and practical simulations, and finally programming the rover to make extrication drives in an attempt to free itself. These efforts continued until January 26, 2010, when NASA officials announced that the rover was likely irrecoverably obstructed by its location in soft sand, though it continued to perform scientific research from its current location. The rover continued in

3658-408: Was on the heavy version of that launch vehicle, needing the extra energy for Trans-Mars injection . The launch vehicles were integrated onto pads right next to each other, with MER-A on CCAFS SLC-17A and MER-B on CCAFS SLC-17B. The dual pads allowed for working the 15- and 21-day planetary launch periods close together; the last possible launch day for MER-A was June 19, 2003 and the first day for MER-B

3720-441: Was one of three candidates for a landing site for the Mars 2020 rover as of 2017. Columbia Hills was previously explored by Spirit rover, which after several years of activity stopped communicating in 2010. Other landing site candidates for the Mars 2020 rover, by 2017, were Northeast Syrtis ( Syrtis Major )and Jezero crater . Spirit Rover Spirit , also known as MER-A ( Mars Exploration Rover – A ) or MER-2 ,

3782-639: Was proposed by Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld who along with Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Tom Gehrels discovered the asteroid on September 24, 1960. To honor the rover, the JPL team named an area near Endeavour Crater explored by the Opportunity rover , 'Spirit Point'. Documentary film, Good Night Oppy , about the Opportunity , Spirit , and their long missions, was directed by Ryan White , and included support from JPL and Industrial Light & Magic . It

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3844-456: Was released in 2022. The rover could take pictures with its different cameras, but only the PanCam camera had the ability to photograph a scene with different color filters. The panorama views were usually built up from PanCam images. Spirit transferred 128,224 pictures in its lifetime. Picrobasalt Picrite basalt or picrobasalt is a variety of high-magnesium olivine basalt that

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