# Presentation: 878456

## Mars Exploration Rover Mission

**Mars Exploration Rover Mission**

**Week in Review               **
**July 17 - July 23**

**Spirit               and Opportunity **

## Spirit continues driving backwards on five wheels

***Front hazard-avoidance camera, July 17, 2004.  Now, it  looks backwards.  ***

**Spirit continues driving backwards on five wheels**
**to preserve the right front wheel, **
**which is sticking due to old age.  **

**The rover has already traveled 2.2 miles (3.5 kilometers), which is six times its designed capacity.**

**Notes:**
Back to Front Hazcam Sol 191
Left Front Hazard Camera Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 191 of Spirit's mission to Gusev Crater at approximately 16:00:35 Mars local solar time. NASA/JPL

## On July 16, Spirit spotted an unusual looking rock

***Front hazard-avoidance camera,  July 16, 2004***

**On July 16, Spirit spotted an unusual looking rock**
**that the scientists named “Loofah.”  **

## With the microscopic imager, scientists got a closer

**look at the holes and pits in “Loofah.” **

**The rock is probably volcanic, and the holes were **
**probably formed by the release of volcanic gases, **
**but scientists are testing other possibilities too. **

***Microscopic imager,***
***July 17, 2004.***
***Image credit:***
***NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS****** ***

**Notes:**
Back to Microscopic Imager Sol 191
Microscopic Imager Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 191 of Spirit's mission to Gusev Crater at approximately at approximately 13:58:47 Mars local solar time, Microscopic Imager dust cover commanded to be OPEN. NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS

## The microscopic imager captured close-up views of distinct rock layers in the “Wooly Patch” outcrop.

***Microscopic imager, July 19, 2004.   Image credit:NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS****** ***

**Notes:**
Back to Microscopic Imager Sol 193
Microscopic Imager Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 193 of Spirit's mission to Gusev Crater at approximately at approximately 13:02:10 Mars local solar time, Microscopic Imager dust cover commanded to be OPEN. NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS 

Spirit's Course-3

This digital map shows the slopes of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Colors indicate the slopes of the hills, with red areas being the gentlest and blue the steepest. Rover planners have plotted the safest route for Spirit to climb the front hill, called "West Spur." The path is indicated here with a curved black line. Stereo images from the Mars Orbital Camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor were used to create this 3-D map. 

Image credit: NASA/JPL/USGS/MSSS

## The microscopic imager revealed tiny crevices

**in a target called “Sabre.”**

***Microscopic imager,  July 20, 2004.  Image credit:NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS****** ***

**The alpha particle X-ray spectrometer also investigated**
**these areas, and scientists are waiting for results.**

**Notes:**
Microscopic Imager Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 194 of Spirit's mission to Gusev Crater at approximately at approximately 13:29:14 Mars local solar time, Microscopic Imager dust cover commanded to be OPEN. NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS

## The rock abrasion tool dug a surprisingly deep hole in only two

** ****Spirit**

**The rock abrasion tool dug a surprisingly deep hole in only two**
**hours of grinding.**
** **
**The material appears to be softer than what scientists have seen previously in **
**Gusev Crater.**

***Front hazard-avoidance camera, July 21, 2004.  Image credit:NASA/JPL***

**Notes:**
Back to Front Hazcam Sol 195
Left Front Hazard Camera Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 195 of Spirit's mission to Gusev Crater at approximately 16:30:13 Mars local solar time. NASA/JPL 

## Meanwhile, Opportunity is inside Endurance Crater, 

**36 feet (11 meters) down the slope. **

***Rear view of Opportunity’s surroundings, taken July 17, 2004 with the navigation camera. ***

**Notes:**
'Endurance' All Around (cylindrical)
This 360-degree view of the terrain surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was taken on the rover's 171st sol on Mars (July 17, 2004). It was assembled from images taken by the rover's navigation camera at a position referred to as "site 33." Opportunity had driven 11 meters (36 feet) into "Endurance Crater." The view is a cylindrical projection with geometrical seam correction. 

Image credit: NASA/JPL 

## How many RAT holes can you identify

**How many RAT holes can you identify**
**in this picture?**

**As Opportunity cruises down the slope of Endurance Crater, the rock abrasion tool (RAT) has been busy grinding holes. **

## From top to bottom, the hole targets are:

**Tennessee**
**Cobblehill**
**Virginia**
**London**
**Grindstone**
**Kettlestone**
**Drammensfjorden**

***Navigation camera image with graphics added to show rock abrasion tool holes.***

**Peering ever deeper into the past, Opportunity’s RAT has nibbled seven holes into the slope of Endurance Crater.**

## Spirit will aim for a target named “Mammoth” in the Columbia Hills.

***Spirit at the base of the “West Spur” portion of the Columbia Hills, ***

**COMING UP!**

***Microscopic image of soil inside Endurance Crater, July 23, 2004.***

**Spirit will aim for a target named “Mammoth” in the Columbia Hills.**

**Opportunity will continue to investigate the various layers of rock, soil, and “blueberries” **
**inside Endurance Crater.**

**Notes:**
Hilly Surroundings (cylindrical)
This 360-degree view of the terrain surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit was taken on the rover's 189th sol on Mars (July 15, 2004). It was assembled from images taken by the rover's navigation camera at a position referred to as Site 72, which is at the base of the "West Spur" portion of the "Columbia Hills." The view is presented in a cylindrical projection with geometrical seam correction. 

Image credit: NASA/JPL