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http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html
New enhancements to signal processing of camera data:
1) cloud recogition
2) target tracking
3) arm target selection
4) improvements to autonomous navigation
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20061228a.html
SPIRIT UPDATE: Martian Weather Delays Travel Plans - sol 1063-1069, January 05, 2007:
The dust storm season has apparently arrived at Gusev, causing delays in Spirit's fourth Earth year of exploring the Red Planet. Spirit spent most of the holiday season of 2006 and 2007 keeping an eye on the sky, measuring atmospheric dust that could prevent sunlight from reaching the rover's solar panels.
During the past week, atmospheric dust levels have been typical for this time of year on Mars, measuring about 1 on the scale used by the rover. The rover estimates dust levels by measuring opacity -- the degree to which the atmosphere is impenetrable by light. This value is known as tau and varies on a continuous scale from 0 on up. During most of Spirit's mission on Mars, tau values have fallen between 0 and 1. Values between 1 and 2 can greatly limit the activities the rover can perform. Values of 2 or greater could be fatal.
In addition to measuring atmospheric dust, Spirit continued to watch for dust devils and successfully retested step No. 3 of new computer smarts that will enable the rover to autonomously place scientific instruments of the rover's robotic arm onto a target of scientific interest. During the test, Spirit was able to take images of the workspace, unstow the arm, and plan a path of approach for reaching a target.
Next up for Spirit will be an attempt to approach and conduct scientific analysis of a layered rock exposure known as "Montalva," part of a larger outcrop known as "Troll."
Sol-by-sol summary:
In addition to daily observations that included measuring atmospheric dust with the panoramic camera, searching for clouds with the navigation camera, scanning the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and imaging the sky with the panoramic camera, Spirit completed the following activities.
Sol 1063 (Dec. 29, 2006): After completing a short drive the previous day to a north-facing slope that tilted the rover's solar panels toward the sun, Spirit monitored atmospheric dust, acquired panoramic camera images of a place (called "Desolacion") where the rover's tracks cross each other, surveyed the Martian horizon with the panoramic camera, and monitored dust accumulation on the rover mast.
Sol 1064: Spirit monitored atmospheric dust and surveyed the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Sol 1065: Spirit monitored atmospheric dust.
Sol 1066: Spirit monitored atmospheric dust.
Sol 1067: Spirit monitored atmospheric dust and searched for dust devils by acquiring successive navigation camera images that could be made into a movie.
Sol 1068 (Third Earth-year anniversary of Spirit's landing): Spirit monitored atmospheric dust, surveyed surrounding rocks with the panoramic camera, acquired full-color images of Desolacion with the panoramic camera, and retested step No. 3 of the robotic arm autonomous placement code.
Sol 1069 (Jan. 5, 2006): Plans called for Spirit to approach Montalva, acquire full-color panoramic camera images of a spongy-looking lava rock known as "Esperanza," and acquire panoramic camera images of Montalva and another layered rock exposure known as "Riquelme."
Odometry:
As of sol 1062 (Dec. 28, 2006), Spirit's total odometry was 6,891.34 meters (4.28 miles)
Spirit Update Archive
OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Studies Unusual Rocks on Rim of 'Victoria Crater' - sol 1043-1048, January 05, 2007:
Opportunity continued scientific studies of a rock called "Santa Catarina" on the rim of "Victoria Crater." Scientists suspect that Santa Catarina may be a meteorite or a rock blasted out from beneath the surface of Victoria. Opportunity collected extensive measurements to determine the iron content of the rock using the Mössbauer spectrometer and will continue to do so during the coming week.
Other activities included analysis of cobbles nearby that may be similar to Santa Catarina. Based on the results, members of the science team will either decide to stay and continue investigating the rocks or drive toward the next promontory of Victoria Crater.
Opportunity also conducted tests in support of the Phoenix mission to Mars scheduled for launch later this year. On the rover's 1,037th and 1,047th Martian days, or sols, of exploration (Dec. 24, 2006 and Jan. 3, 2007), Opportunity sent UHF-band transmissions to NASA's Odyssey spacecraft as it passed overhead. These communications mimicked those to be used by Phoenix.
During a routine imaging session on New Year's Day (sol 1045), Opportunity detected a stall in the grind motor of the rock abrasion tool. Subsequent diagnostic tests found no obstructions. More diagnostics were planned for sol 1049 (Jan. 5, 2007).
Sol-by-sol summary:
In addition to daily observations that included measuring atmospheric dust with the panoramic camera, searching for clouds with the navigation camera, surveying the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and imaging the sky with the panoramic camera, Opportunity completed the following activities:
Sol 1043 (Dec. 30, 2006): Opportunity studied the elemental composition of the Martian atmosphere with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer. The rover surveyed the surrounding plains, dust on the horizon, and the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Sol 1044: Opportunity acquired panoramic camera images to survey the soil, measure surface brightness, and scan the horizon. The rover scanned the plains, sky, and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Sol 1045: Opportunity acquired images of the grinding bit on the rock abrasion tool and microscopic images of Santa Catarina. The rover acquired elemental data about Santa Catarina using the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.
Sol 1046: Using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera along with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, Opportunity studied nearby cobbles nicknamed "Joacaba," "Tubarao," and "Igreja." The rover studied Santa Catarina using the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.
Sol 1047: Opportunity conducted diagnostic tests of the rock abrasion tool, analyzed the iron composition of Santa Catarina using the Mössbauer spectrometer, and used all 13 filters of the panoramic camera along with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer to acquire data from nearby cobbles nicknamed "Florianopolis" and "Xanxer." The rover conducted a communications demonstration for the Phoenix mission.
Sol 1048 (Jan. 4, 2006): Opportunity continued analysis of Santa Catarina with the Mössbauer spectrometer and used all 13 filters of the panoramic camera along with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer to study nearby cobbles dubbed "Videira" and "Chapeco."
Odometry:
As of sol 1047 (Jan. 3, 2006), Opportunity's total odometry remained at 9,790 meters (6.1 miles).
New enhancements to signal processing of camera data:
1) cloud recogition
2) target tracking
3) arm target selection
4) improvements to autonomous navigation
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20061228a.html
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20061228a.htmlDecember 28, 2006
NASA Mars Team Teaches Old Rovers New Tricks to Kick Off Year Four
Rover Spirit as viewed by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Rover Spirit as viewed by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The orbiter's high-resolution camera took this picture on Sept. 29, 2006.
Full image and caption
NASA's twin Mars rovers, nearing the third anniversary of their landings, are getting smarter as they get older.
The unexpected longevity of Spirit and Opportunity is giving the space agency a chance to field-test on Mars some new capabilities useful both to these missions and future rovers. Spirit will begin its fourth year on Mars on Jan. 3 (PST); Opportunity on Jan. 24. In addition to their continuing scientific observations, they are now testing four new skills included in revised flight software uploaded to their onboard computers.
One of the new capabilities enables spacecraft to examine images and recognize certain types of features. It is based on software developed for NASA's Space Technology 6 "thinking spacecraft."
Spirit has photographed dozens of dusty whirlwinds in action, and both rovers have photographed clouds. Until now, however, scientists on Earth have had to sift through many transmitted images from Mars to find those few. With the new intelligence boost, the rovers can recognize dust devils or clouds and select only the relevant parts of those images to send back to Earth. This increased efficiency will free up more communication time for additional scientific investigations.
To recognize dust devils, the new software looks for changes from one image to the next, taken a few seconds apart, of the same field of view. To find clouds, it looks for non-uniform features in the portion of an image it recognizes as the sky.
Another new feature, called "visual target tracking," enables a rover to keep recognizing a designated landscape feature as the rover moves. Khaled Ali of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., flight software team leader for Spirit and Opportunity, said, "The rover keeps updating its template of what the feature looks like. It may be a rock that looks bigger as the rover approaches it, or maybe the shape looks different from a different angle, but the rover still knows it's the same rock."
Visual target tracking can be combined with a third new feature -- autonomy in calculating where it is safe to reach out with the contact tools on the rover's robotic arm. The combination gives Spirit and Opportunity a capability called "go and touch," which is yet to be tested on Mars. So far in the mission, whenever a rover has driven to a new location, the crew on Earth has had to evaluate images of the new location to decide where the rover could place its contact instruments on a subsequent day. After the new software has been tested and validated, the crew will have the option of letting a rover choose an arm target for itself the same day it drives to a new location.
The new software also improves the autonomy of each rover for navigating away from hazards by building better maps of their surroundings than they have done previously. This new capability was developed by Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, and JPL.
"Before this, the rovers could only think one step ahead about getting around an obstacle," said JPL's Dr. John Callas, project manager for the Mars Exploration Rovers. "If they encountered an obstacle or hazard, they'd back off one step and try a different direction, and if that direction didn't work they'd try another, then another. And sometimes the rover could not find a solution. With this new capability, the rover will be smarter about navigating in complex terrain, thinking several steps ahead. It could back out of a dead-end cul-de-sac. It could even find its way through a maze."
This is the most comprehensive of four revisions to the rovers' flight software since launch. One new version was uplinked during the cruise to Mars, and the rovers have switched to upgraded versions twice since their January 2004 landings.
Callas said, "These rovers are a great resource for testing software that could be useful to future Mars missions without sacrificing our own continuing mission of exploration. This new software will be a baseline for development of flight software for Mars Science Laboratory, but it's also helpful in operating Spirit and Opportunity." NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is a next-generation Mars rover in development for planned launch in 2009.
Spirit and Opportunity have worked on Mars for nearly 12 times as long as their originally planned prime missions of 90 Martian days. Spirit has driven about 6.9 kilometers (4.3 miles); Opportunity has driven about 9.8 kilometers (6.1 miles). Spirit has returned more than 88,500 images, Opportunity more than 80,700. All the raw images are available online at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/ .
Currently, Spirit is investigating rocks and soils near a ridge where it kept its solar panels tilted toward the sun during the Martian winter. Opportunity is exploring "Victoria Crater," where cliffs in the crater wall expose rock layers with clues about a larger span of Mars history than the rover has previously examined.
Opportunity's key discovery since landing has been mineral and rock-texture evidence that water drenched and flowed over the surface in at least one region of Mars long ago. Spirit has found evidence that water in some form has altered mineral composition of some soils and rocks in older hills above the plain where the rover landed.
Among the rovers' many other accomplishments:
-- Opportunity has analyzed a series of exposed rock layers recording changing environmental conditions from the times when the layers were deposited and later modified. Wind-blown dunes came and went. The water table fluctuated.
-- Spirit has recorded dust devils forming and moving, events which were made into movie clips. These provide new insight into the interaction of Mars' atmosphere and surface.
-- Both rovers have found metallic meteorites on Mars. Opportunity found one rock with a composition similar to a meteorite that reached Earth from Mars.
NASA's Mars Technology Program and New Millennium Program sponsored development of the new capabilities included in the new flight software.
