Winter is bearing down on the southern hemisphere of Mars, where the days are growing shorter and colder, and the dimming Sun seems to be running out of energy. That means it’s time for the two robotic rovers there, Spirit and Opportunity, to be going into a kind of hibernation. Not that any season anywhere on Mars is ever balmy. By the start of winter in the middle of next month, temperatures are forecast to fall as low as minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit and never rise above zero, a range only a few degrees lower than current autumnal levels.
August 9th, 2004
Rovers pave way to comprehending Mars San Francisco Chronicle
The sands of Mars inside the ancient crater named Gusev, wind- rippled and perhaps once briefly filmed by water, are marked now by the tracks of Spirit. Images of the rover tracks, documenting the imprint of human curiosity on an alien, rocky landscape, are some of the most remarkable pictures ever produced by the space program — part of the photographic legacy of NASA’s continuing robotic exploration of Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor.
August 9th, 2004
NASA Scientist Sees Possible Mat of Martian Microbes
A future astronaut traipsing across the landing sites of the Mars Exploration Rovers
August 5th, 2004
Rover reveals magnetic Mars PhysicsWeb
Almost all dust particles in the Martian atmosphere are magnetic, according to new data obtained by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The craft also examined rocks at the Gusev crater, which were found to contain the strong magnetic mineral magnetite (Fe3O4). The results — obtained by a team of scientists from Denmark, Germany and the US — could help to determine if water was involved in the formation of these minerals (P Bertelsen et al. 2004 Science 305 827).
August 5th, 2004
Glitches Dog Both Mars Rovers
In a prelude of more problems that are likely to arise, both of NASA’s Mars rovers experienced glitches this week as they plow through unknown engineering territory, operating well beyond what the mission blueprints called for. The twins are working at reduced capacity while project managers try to figure out what’s wrong. Both rovers had 90-day primary missions and have more than doubled that time on the surface of the red planet.
August 3rd, 2004
More Data from Mars Rover Spirit’s First Month Now Online
Millions of people have viewed pictures from NASA’s Spirit on the Mars rovers home page and other Internet sites. Beginning today, a more complete set of science data from Spirit’s first 30 martian days is posted on a site primarily for scientists and technical researchers, but also available to anyone who’s interested.
August 3rd, 2004
Life on Mars Likely, Scientist Claims
Those twin robots hard at work on Mars have transmitted teasing views that reinforce the prospect that microbial life may exist on the red planet. Results from NASA
July 24th, 2004
Israeli calculations helped ‘Spirit’ and ‘Opportunity’ rovers land on Mars ISRAEL21c
After the rovers ‘Spirit’ and ‘Opportunity’ landed on Mars in January 2004, international excitement was so great that NASA received over 6.5 billion hits on its website in less than two months. Helping the wildly popular Mars program get off the ground, so to speak, were some calculations of an Israeli scientist, Prof. Joseph Appelbaum of Tel Aviv University, along with colleagues at NASA.
July 22nd, 2004
Rovers to get extra time on Mars
The US space agency’s Mars Rovers will be given another seven months to explore the Red Planet, says NASA. Dr Firouz Naderi, director of Solar System exploration at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told BBC News Online that he had recommended the missions be extended. Although NASA headquarters has said the project will not get any new money, Dr Naderi – who manages the rover finances – says the money will be found from elsewhere within the organisation.
July 16th, 2004
Spirit Rover Hits Rock Paydirt on Mars
While NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity toils away inside a crater, its robotic twin Spirit has rolled over its first rock outcrop on the other side of the planet. NASA scientists were elated at Spirit’s rocky find, which came as the rover rolled backwards along the foot of a region called the West Spur at the Columbia Hills. “This is what we came to the Columbia Hills for,” said an excited Matt Golombek, a rover science team member, during a press briefing today at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “We’ve been seeking it, and we’ve finally found it.”