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Today, Spirit's mission team announced the plan for the rover's traverse after it leaves the lander, late tomorrow night. After egressing off the lander, Spirit will first attempt to characterize the landing site by examining a handful of local rocks & soil samples. The science team is currently examining the site to determine which rocks will be large enough to use the Mini-TES instrument, yet diverse enough to get several different types of rocks. Also, they will need to be close together so the rover can visit them all within the shortest amount of "Sols".
Next, the rover will head for the nearest crater, to explore the materials ejected from deep below the surface. Spirit may even attempt to drive up to the rim and look down into the crater. The nearest crater is only a few hundred meters away and will be relatively easy to visit since many of the rocks ejected by the impact event are on the other sides of the crater from the rover's present location.
After exploring the crater, the rover will then attempt to traverse the long distance to a complex of several hills approximately 3 kilometers east of the landing site. The distance is over 5 times more than the rover was designed for, so it's somewhat of a stretch goal, but just getting nearer to the hills will help mission scientists to better understand them.
Spirit was engineered to last for 120 Sols of activity on the surface, and is was hoped to be able to traverse at least 600 meters. However, with everything working perfectly, it could be expected to last even longer. Barring any mechanical failure or problems with driving the rover, the limiting factor will be the ability for Spirit to continue to generate power from its solar panels, as they will eventually be coated with dust.
Posted by jburk at January 13, 2004 12:00 PM
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