Mars rover Opportunity rolls off its lander ( 2004-02-01 11:41) (Agencies)
The Mars rover Opportunity rolled off its lander early Saturday, beginning
the next phase of its mission to study the rocks and soil of the Martian surface
for signs of water.
At 3:25 a.m. ET, mission controllers sent the rover commands to move 10 feet
(3 meters) down a ramp and onto the Martian soil.
Then nearly three hours later, Opportunity contacted the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California, indicating it had successfully negotiated
its exit from the lander.
An image from the rover showed the lander in the distance, with two track
marks in the dirt trailing behind it. Opportunity is situated in an area called
Meridiani Planum near Mars' equator.
The rover landed in the area Sunday and soon began sending back images
showing exposed bedrock -- scientific paydirt for scientists who have likened
Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, to robotic geologists.
Scientists chose the landing site because they have said they think it is
full of iron-bearing hematite. The semiprecious mineral usually forms on Earth
in the presence of water -- leading scientists to think that water once flowed
there. The rovers' mission is to study rocks and soil to determine whether the
cold, desert world once was a warm, wet planet.
Spirit landed on Mars nearly a month ago and has been exploring an area on
the other side of the planet, about 6,600 miles (10,620 kilometers) from
Opportunity, called the Gusev Crater.
Spirit rolled off its lander earlier this month. It has since been plagued
with onboard computer malfunctions that for a time threatened to end its mission
prematurely.
NASA released new images and scientific data from Spirit on Thursday and
Friday, indicating the rover is back in business. Mission managers have
expressed hope it will be operating normally within a few days.
Both rovers are equipped with eight cameras that are providing stunning
panoramas of the Martian surface, with resolutions sharp enough to retain crisp
detail when blown up to the size of a movie screen.
Their microscopes, spectrometers and drills could unlock geologic secrets
from billions of years ago, when scientists think the red planet may have had
conditions more suitable for life.
