Notes on the MER- 'Spirit'
Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER)
1024-pixel by 1024-pixel images,
-ongoing robotic space mission
-car sized
-landing site: Columbia Memorial Station
- 2 rovers; spirit & opportunity
-spirit launched June 10, 2003
-opportunity launched July 7,2003
-1.4 meters high, 2.3 meters wide, 1.6 meters long
-weighing at 180 kg
-1 cm per second
-in 2003 NASA sent 2 rovers to Mars
-launched June and July 2003 landed January 2004
-automated motor vehicle (can run by itself)
-electronic system (own power)
-consists of smaller robots
-2 robotic arms (anthropomorphic robotic arm)
-moves the same way as a human arm with an elbow & wrist
Mission:
-90 Martian solar days (92 earth days)
-operations: 2269 days landing to last contact
-sol: Martian solar day 24h 37min 22.663 seconds
-march 22 2010 , end of mission.
-dry mass, 185 kilograms, only rover
-active on mars from 2004 till 2010
Cost: 400 million USD
Max speed 0.18 km/h
Purpose:
-search for and characterize rock and soil samples to see if there are traces of water
(Minerals from precipitation, evaporation, sedimentary cementation, hydrothermal activity.)
-to find out if there is life or was life on mars, because every living organism needs water
-characterize the mineralogy & texture of rocks & soil to figure out how they were created
-takes images of the environment on Mars
How does it work?
-solar arrays collect solar energy from sunlight
-converts solar energy into electricity
-uses 2 rechargeable lithium ion batteries (7.15 kg each) at night for energy
-when sunlight decreases the rover can enter a low-power hibernation mode
-when the sunlight increases the rover comes out of hibernation
-sensors and cameras collect data & images
-images are compressed into 8 bits per pixel using ICER ( a wavelet-based image compression file format used by the NASA Mars Rover.)
-images are stored then sent to Earth or nearby spaceships via antennas
Driver System:
-6 circular wheels
-used to move around on mars since the surface is very rocky
-four steering motor
Features:
Panoramic Camera: (Pancam)
-analyzes the mineralogy, texture and terrain of the area 1024-pixel by 1024-pixel images.
Navigation Cam (Navcam) : A camera used for navigation and driving that is positioned higher so there is a larger filed of view, but it also has a lower resolution.
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini- TES)
-examines the rock and soil samples closely
-determines how Martian rocks were formed
-measure the temperature of the atmosphere on Mars
2 Robotic Arms
-similar to the way a human arm with an elbow and wrist move
-microscopic image-taker
Alpha particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) :
-closely analyzes the components of rocks and soils
Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB) :
- closely analyzes iron bearing rocks and soils mineralogy
Rock Abrasion Tool:
-grinds the rock samples
-removes dusty & weathered rock surfaces
-exposes the material for observation
Effects of society:
-carries out tasks less expensively and quicker
-purpose is to preform space exploration
-able to conduct dangerous space missions that are inaccessible to humans & transfers accurate info back to Earth
-helps scientist to better understands what Mars is like and wether or not there was and or is life on Mars.
-finds new materials & elements that we may have use for in industry
-future discoveries may even help to make life possible on Mars
Discoveries:
-dust devil, scientist can see change in Mars surface
-occurred in 2005
-discovered ballistic rocks
-region created when a volcano erupted
-mixing on magma and water
-stuck in the soil
1024-pixel by 1024-pixel images,
-ongoing robotic space mission
-car sized
-landing site: Columbia Memorial Station
- 2 rovers; spirit & opportunity
-spirit launched June 10, 2003
-opportunity launched July 7,2003
-1.4 meters high, 2.3 meters wide, 1.6 meters long
-weighing at 180 kg
-1 cm per second
-in 2003 NASA sent 2 rovers to Mars
-launched June and July 2003 landed January 2004
-automated motor vehicle (can run by itself)
-electronic system (own power)
-consists of smaller robots
-2 robotic arms (anthropomorphic robotic arm)
-moves the same way as a human arm with an elbow & wrist
Mission:
-90 Martian solar days (92 earth days)
-operations: 2269 days landing to last contact
-sol: Martian solar day 24h 37min 22.663 seconds
-march 22 2010 , end of mission.
-dry mass, 185 kilograms, only rover
-active on mars from 2004 till 2010
Cost: 400 million USD
Max speed 0.18 km/h
Purpose:
-search for and characterize rock and soil samples to see if there are traces of water
(Minerals from precipitation, evaporation, sedimentary cementation, hydrothermal activity.)
-to find out if there is life or was life on mars, because every living organism needs water
-characterize the mineralogy & texture of rocks & soil to figure out how they were created
-takes images of the environment on Mars
How does it work?
-solar arrays collect solar energy from sunlight
-converts solar energy into electricity
-uses 2 rechargeable lithium ion batteries (7.15 kg each) at night for energy
-when sunlight decreases the rover can enter a low-power hibernation mode
-when the sunlight increases the rover comes out of hibernation
-sensors and cameras collect data & images
-images are compressed into 8 bits per pixel using ICER ( a wavelet-based image compression file format used by the NASA Mars Rover.)
-images are stored then sent to Earth or nearby spaceships via antennas
Driver System:
-6 circular wheels
-used to move around on mars since the surface is very rocky
-four steering motor
Features:
Panoramic Camera: (Pancam)
-analyzes the mineralogy, texture and terrain of the area 1024-pixel by 1024-pixel images.
Navigation Cam (Navcam) : A camera used for navigation and driving that is positioned higher so there is a larger filed of view, but it also has a lower resolution.
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini- TES)
-examines the rock and soil samples closely
-determines how Martian rocks were formed
-measure the temperature of the atmosphere on Mars
2 Robotic Arms
-similar to the way a human arm with an elbow and wrist move
-microscopic image-taker
Alpha particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) :
-closely analyzes the components of rocks and soils
Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB) :
- closely analyzes iron bearing rocks and soils mineralogy
Rock Abrasion Tool:
-grinds the rock samples
-removes dusty & weathered rock surfaces
-exposes the material for observation
Effects of society:
-carries out tasks less expensively and quicker
-purpose is to preform space exploration
-able to conduct dangerous space missions that are inaccessible to humans & transfers accurate info back to Earth
-helps scientist to better understands what Mars is like and wether or not there was and or is life on Mars.
-finds new materials & elements that we may have use for in industry
-future discoveries may even help to make life possible on Mars
Discoveries:
-dust devil, scientist can see change in Mars surface
-occurred in 2005
-discovered ballistic rocks
-region created when a volcano erupted
-mixing on magma and water
-stuck in the soil