Mars Exploration Rovers Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit Opportunity

Mars Exploration Rovers

Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit Opportunity § Launch: June 10, 2003 § Landed on Mars: January 4 § Location: Gusev Crater § Planned mission duration: 90 days § Mass: 185 kg § Power: solar panels § Mission concluded: May 24, 2011 (last transmission to Earth: March 22, 2010) § Launch: July 7, 2003 § Landed on Mars: January 25 § Location: Meridiani Planum § Planned mission duration: 90 days § Mass: 185 kg § Power: solar panels § Mission concluded: N/A – ongoing

MER Landing Site Locations Spirit, Gusev Crater Opportunity, Meridiani Planum

Instruments § Cameras: § § Panoramic Camera (Pancam) Microscopic Imager (MI) Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) Navigation Cameras (Navcams) § Spectrometers: § Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) § Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB) § Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) § Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) § Magnet Array

MER Imagery and Data § How would you rate the quality of the images? § What observations can you make? § How would you interpret these observations? § What could you say about Mars from these images? § Can you use previous mission data to make a generalization? § What can you say we know about Mars at this point? How certain are you? § What questions would you ask about Mars? § How would you attempt to answer these questions? § What are limitations to this type of mission (rover/instruments)?

What we learned about Mars from MER § There are several minerals that form in water at both landing sites § Bedrock exists and is accessible § Not all of Mars is the same as the Viking and Pathfinder landing sites (barren plains with rocks strewn everywhere) § Hills, bedrock, plains of sand, and large and small craters can all be explored by a MER-sized rover § The RAT is a useful tool for revealing the insides of rocks § A stuck wheel can also be a useful tool for revealing what is under the surface § The Earth is visible from the surface of Mars § Ground truth of orbital observations – hematite at Meridiani Planum § A rover designed for a 90 -day mission may last many years