Mars rover sees possible water evidence ( 2004-01-31 09:25) (Agencies)
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity spied hints Friday of a mineral that typically
forms in water — a finding that could mean the dry and dusty Red Planet was once
wetter and more hospitable to life.
NASA 's Mars
Exploration Rover Spirit returned this image on January 30, 2004. This is
one of the first images sent back from the panoramic camera on the Mars
Exploration Rover Spirit since the rover fell ill on the 18th sol, or
Martian day, of its mission. They were acquired at Gusev Crater, Mars on
Sol 26 January 29, 2004, showing that the camera's health remained
excellent during Spirit's recovery.
[Reuters]
That is the very question Opportunity
and its twin, Spirit, were sent to answer.
The preliminary discovery came hours before Opportunity was to roll its six
wheels onto the martian surface for the first time. Engineers planned to command
the rover to roll the 10 feet off its lander and onto Mars at 3:12 a.m. EST
Saturday. Confirmation was expected three hours later.
NASA said the US$820 million double-barreled mission should begin in earnest
by Sunday, once Opportunity is on the ground and Spirit, on the other side of
the planet, is cured of the software problems that have crippled it for more
than a week.
"The fat lady has finally gotten onto the stage, but the time of her aria has
not yet arrived," project manager Pete Theisinger said at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.
The rovers face continuing perils, including bitter cold and rough terrain.
NASA scientists want Opportunity to find on the pebbly ground a mineral
called gray hematite. The iron-rich mineral typically — but not always — forms
in liquid water.
Scientists said the preliminary evidence suggests Opportunity has already
spied the mineral in the ruddy soil around it by using its mini-thermal
emissions spectrometer, an instrument that measures infrared radiation.
Confirmation should take a few days, while scientists check and double-check
their data, said Ray Arvidson of Washington University, the deputy main
scientist for the mission.
A NASA satellite called Mars Global Surveyor previously spotted hematite at
Opportunity's landing site. Scientists believe the mineral covers as much as 20
percent of the surface at Meridiani Planum, an area hundreds of miles across.
As for the ailing Spirit rover, NASA deleted 1,700 files from its flash
memory Friday and then rebooted the rover.
"I am pleased to report it appears to be working just fine," said Glenn
Reeves, chief engineer for the rover's flight software. He said NASA should be
able to declare Spirit "fully recovered" by Sunday.
Cornell University astronomer Steve Squyres, the mission's main scientist,
said very little science will have been lost because of the setback.
NASA previously warned that each rover would probably lose one of every three
days of work to unforeseen circumstances.
While on the mend, Spirit already has resumed its science work, snapping the
first-ever microscopic image taken on Mars of the surface of a rock. Spirit
should begin drilling into the rock, dubbed Adirondack, sometime in the next
four days.
Initial measurements reveal the rock is an olivine-rich basalt. The volcanic
rock is the most common type on the surface of Earth and does not require water
to form. That disappointed scientists.
"It is not the kind of smoking-gun evidence we're looking for," Arvidson
said.
Scientists want Opportunity to strike out for an outcropping several yards to
its left. High-resolution images have revealed the presence of fine layers in
the bedrock. The layers could have been laid down by water, wind or the buildup
of volcanic ash.
