Conversations with Jim Bell, Exploration Update; 5 April 2006 Options

[mars loon]

Conversations with Rover Scientist Prof. Jim Bell. On April 3, 2006 the rover Spirit celebrated 800 Sols of exploration and discovery as Opportunity exceeded 780 Sols, almost 9 times the original design lifetime of 90 Sols. And both sisters are well on their way to significant new science targets as the cold and dark martian winter approaches.

Cornell Professor Jim Bell, the lead Pancam imaging scientist for the Mars Rovers, spoke with me recently by phone for pleasant conversations on the latest adventures from Mars, his late 2006 Princeton lecture and his upcoming new book. He began by saying that “Opportunity is now well on the way to the giant Victoria Crater, and driving about 30 to 50 meters a day. That equates to about the distance she can see ahead in 1 day” with her approximate 20/20 vision. He said the rover team has adopted conservative practices to preserve healthy operations, especially to “avoid another near-death experience with sand traps” as happened in May 2005 at Purgatory Dune. Therefore, the very long 100 meter or more drive days of 2005 are unlikely at this point. According to Jim more deadly sand traps “and high dunes lie just a bit to the east of Opportunities current location”. So the team “is driving her down lanes to be safe". And they are driving with the robot arm being stowed underneath, not elbow out. He added that the recent “arm deploy problems are currently understood but could recur again”, so they need to be conservative since rover safety is the order of the day to extend her life.

Jim told me that “Opportunity is headed due South to Southeast and on pretty level ground". The team is on a tear "while rushing to reach the spectacular Victoria Crater", about 1.7 Km (1.1 miles) away. They plan only minimal stops along the way unless “scientifically compelling rock outcrops or interesting new geologic deposits” appear.

On the other side of Mars, Jim mentioned that “the power level on Spirit is way down to about 350 watt hours per day and sometimes less, so a big dust storm could spell doom". Spirit is in a drive or die situation right now and must reach the north facing slopes of McCool Hill quickly to maximize the power output from the solar arrays. She is several hundred meters and at least a few weeks away. He said the science and engineering teams “have located several sweet spots with regard to power and tasty outcrops with regard to science”. Jim added that they will direct Spirit to “climb up to the sweet spots and tasty outcrops" but not necessarily to climb up to the summit. In this way they preserve the option to return to the mysterious circular Home Plate feature at a later date if Spirit survives the low power of the winter months. He personally would like to return to Home Plate, since lots of science exploration remains still to be done. Spirit only had time to journey about 1/3 of the way around and they “don’t know what was missed at the uninvestigated parts”. Jim said that because the earlier mad dash from the Husband Hill summit to Home Plate saved time by not stopping much along the way, this allowed for more time to explore the fantastically rich layering of Home Plate. About 5 weeks vs. just 2 or 3, but they had to sacrifice tasty science targets along the way.

Jim says “there is no team consensus right now on returning to Home Plate, the focus is on moving ahead and day to day activities. The engineering focus is on Saving Spirit and that overrides all else at this point. So it’s imperative to move on. It’s a frightening power situation with Spirit and she may not survive the winter”. Recently, the driving became even more difficult after the right front wheel stopped working on this difficult and sandy uphill terrain. Check the excellent JPL update for the latest details and graphics on the wheel problem here:
“Spirit Struggles to Survive the Martian Winter”
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/spotlight/20060404.html.

I am pleased to announce that I have confirmed 12 Dec 2006 as the date for Prof. Jim Bell as guest speaker to the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton (AAAP) in Princeton, NJ at 8 PM in Peyton Hall. He will present the story of Astrophotography from Mars, Hubble, NEAR and more. As the date approaches, details will be posted here and at the AAAP Website: http://www.princetonastronomy.org/


Jim will also be autographing his glossy new book “Postcards from Mars”, scheduled to appear in mid-November. The hefty coffee-table book will be about 12” x 12” (30 cm x 30 cm) in size and the images will be reproduced on high quality paper and include several fold-out panoramic views. He said that the time period will cover up to about winter 2005 and include some of the explorations at Erebus Crater and the descent from Husband Hill, perhaps including El Dorado. Certainly that would be a treat for our UMSF friend USTRAX !

Finally, Jim is already hard at work on his next book project, a collection of high quality and striking 3-D images. Jim has asked me and the forum for suggested images and will consider including those created by forum members. He will give photo credit to those selected, although NO copyrights can be granted. Please contact Jim or me by email with suggestions: (jfb8@cornell.edu or ken@princetonastronomy.org).

Ken Kremer
5 April 2006

Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton
Program Chairman
Email: ken@princetonastronomy.org
http://www.princetonastronomy.org/