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Unmanned Spaceflight.com > Mars & Missions > Past and Future > MER > Spirit
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Pertinax
QUOTE (Astro0 @ Nov 4 2009, 08:16 AM) *
This sequence taken on sol1972 (left navcam) between 13:27.17 and 18:26.41 local time shows the movement which I was putting down to the effect of thermal changes on either the soil or vehicle. The alternative suggested above maybe movement of the IDD or wheel tests - not sure about the activity going on through this sol on that afternoon.


Neat catch.

For what it is worth, I'd have to side with thermal changes with the whole rover / soil system. I have at work a DIY mounted webcam that I use for taking daily time-lapse movies (7s/frame at 30 fps) that faces west-northwest. As a result of being very solidly secured in a sturdy cardboard box that itself is very firmly wedged between a large window and an institutional 'radiator', thermal expansion and contraction movements are rather visible through the day, afternoon and evening in particular. I say all of this because the *smooth movement over time* that is shown in the navcam animation is VERY reminiscent of the thermally driven *smooth movements over time* in my own time lapse camera, and at a time when such movements seem likely (the setting of the sun). An argument from a very imperfect analogy sure, but still I feel rather compelling.

-- Pertinax
mhoward
This photo that showed up on NASA/JPL's Flickr page is interesting:

fredk
And the surface under the rover looks right, if you compare with the localization in this post.
briv1016
New Update:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/sta...ll.html#sol2070

"The engineering team has determined that reformatting the file system portion of flash memory will restore the use of the flash memory for data storage... The project intends to re-format the Flash file system shortly."
Astro0
More MIs...Sol2076
Click to view attachment
Astro0
Spirit IDD elbow joint... ...and comparision to Oppy image of same.
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment


alan
Any idea when a decision will be made about extricating Spirit?
sgendreau
QUOTE (Astro0 @ Nov 5 2009, 07:40 PM) *
Spirit IDD elbow joint... ...and comparision to Oppy image of same.


Is that duct tape? I knew it's used on the Shuttle, but ....
ElkGroveDan
QUOTE (Astro0 @ Nov 5 2009, 07:36 PM) *
More MIs...Sol2076
Click to view attachment

I'd say my six bucks and the other thing are still safe. That thing is touching.
Astro0
Touching?
I'm still not sure about that, but it's really close if it isn't.
This image 'appears' to show that there may be a glimmer of light between 'Pointy Rock' and Spirit's underbelly.
Click to view attachment

Either way, we'll know soon.
AndyG
Looking over my glasses, I can "black drop" my finger and thumb together while they're well out of focus and yet not touching - but the logical side of my brain suggests the rock and Spirit must be in contact.
Ron Hobbs
There is an interesting article at NatureNews:

Mars rover plans its escape

The article interviews John Callas and is, at best, cautiously optimistic. There is an interesting statement:

"If the rover does remain stationary, there's also the possibility of using Spirit's arm to analyse the soil more closely and to measure the area's seismology."

Does anyone here know how they turn the IDD into a seismometer?
nprev
Don't think it'd be the IDD, Ron, but the IMU (inertial measurement unit), which is normally used for navigation & attitude sensing.
fredk
Thanks for the heads up to that article. I don't think the story means that the IDD would be used for seismology. Oppy has already done some seismometry using its accelerometers. Edit - as nprev just said!

This is another interesting quote:
QUOTE
The panel recommended that the rover project team should try to extract Spirit as soon as possible. Time is of the essence — as winter approaches, power from Spirit's solar panels wanes. "The coming winter could pose a risk to the rover," says Callas.
Juramike
Hmmmm. But could you use the IDD for seismometry?

Extend the arm out as far as possible, and use the MI to stare at a patch of distinctive grains.

Any movement of the body of the rover will translate to the extended arm and shift the image. (However, wind and thermal changes might do this too.)
Ron Hobbs
QUOTE (nprev @ Nov 6 2009, 10:59 AM) *
Don't think it'd be the IDD...


Thanks all for the clarification. I found that sentence confusing. I thought maybe they would use a technique like Juramike suggested.
algorimancer
QUOTE (Juramike @ Nov 6 2009, 01:36 PM) *
Extend the arm out as far as possible, and use the MI to stare at a patch of distinctive grains.

That's a really interesting notion. Much the same might be achieved by having pancam stare at the arm or a distant target. Either would require onboard processing of a long-running image sequence, something like watching for dust devils but more intense.
fredk
Using the arm that way might be useful in weather-station mode, but I'd be surprized if you'd get useful seismology out of it since I'd expect the arm movements to be completely dominated by wind. But then you could turn the argument around and use the arm this way as a wind monitor, since we have no wind sock. At least with the arm extended out in one direction you could presumably read off one component of the wind velocity by looking at the arm's displacement. Rotate the arm around 90 degrees to get another component, perhaps.
elakdawalla
Topic split, continued here from the point that Spirit's wheels started moving!
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