Mars Rovers Updates
Die neue Software für die beiden Rover ist derzeit im Test. Sie wird den beiden Rovern nicht nur eine höhere Autonomie bei der Navigation über die Marsoberfläche gewähren, sondern das Navigationsprogramm selber beschleunigen, da nicht mehr ganz so viele Debug/Kontrolldaten aufgezeichnet werden müssen. Zudem sollen eine Reihe von kleineren Problemen behoben werden. So wird es nun endlich möglich sein, das Heizpanel an Opportunity abzuschalten, das sich unkontrolliert ein- und ausschaltet und somit die Batterien belastet. Hatte man sich bislang nur wegen einer lokalen Überhitzung sorgen gemacht, muss man die Rover nun "winterfest" machen, denn durch die kürzeren Tageslichtphasen im Mars-Winter können die Sonnenkollektoren weniger Strom produzieren, so dass unerwünschte Verbracuher zu einem Problem werden können. Auch auf die Kommunikationsverbindungen werden in einen stromsparenden Modus umgeschaltet.
Spirit befindet sich derzeit auf seinem Weg zum Krater Bonneville in einem Trümmerfeld, das bei dem kraterbildenden Einschlag entstanden ist. Die Navigation durch dieses Trümmerfld stellt die Navigationssoftware vor ein ernstes, aber noch beherrschbares Problem, hat aber die Dringlichkeit des oben erwähnten Updates deutlich gemacht. Auch wenn es nur noch etwa 100 Meter bis zum Kraterrand sind, wird Spirit für diese Strecke wohl noch zwei Wochen brauchen. Danach hoffen die Wissenschaftler Spirit in den 15 Meter tiefen Krater hinein lenken zu können.
Opportunity setzt seine wissenschaftliche Erforschung der Steine und des Marsbodens rund um seinen Landeplatz fort. Erst in zwei Wochen etwa soll der Rover die kleine Senke verlassen.
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Aber es gibt auch unterhaltsammere Nachrichten. Space.com veröffentlichte heute die Liste jener Lieder, mit der die JPL Mitarbeiter morgends von ihrem Chef Adler begrüßt und auf die kommenden Aufgaben eingestimmt werden.
Sol 2: Good Morning, Good Morning, by the Beatles.
Sol 3: Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’, by Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Sol 4: Hail to the Chief, by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. (Presidential phone call.)
Sol 5: Satisfaction, by the Rolling Stones. ("I can't get no ...", Air bags not cooperating.)
Sol 6: Get Up, Stand Up, by Bob Marley. (Lift mechanism actuated.)
Sol 7: Da Da Da, by Casaca. (Brazilian song suggested by investigator from Brazil, RRGTM student that week from Brazil.)
Sol 8: Soak Up the Sun, by Cheryl Crow. (Laid-back sol.)
Sol 9: I Can See Clearly Now, by Jimmy Cliff. (Picture taking sol.)
Sol 10: Unchained, by Van Halen; Hit the Road Jack, by Buster Poindexter; Turn, Turn, Turn, by the Byrds. (Cable-cutting, backup on landing deck. start turn on deck.)
Sol 11: I Get Around, by the Beach Boys; Round and Round, by Ratt; You Spin Me ‘Round, by Thalía. (Rest of turn on landing deck.)
Sol 12: Born to be Wild, by Steppenwolf; Rawhide, by Riders in the Sky; Who Let The Dogs Out?, by the Baha Men. (Egress.)
Sol 13: Reach Out, by the Four Tops. (First robotic arm activity.)
Sol 14: You’ve Got The Magic Touch, by the Platters. (Touching robotic arm down on Mars.)
Sol 15: If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, by Sting; Roam, by The B-52’s; Good Times Roll, by The Cars. (Last engineering activities, first drive on the surface.)
Sol 16: After Midnight, by Eric Clapton; Trash Day, by Weird Al Yankovic. (Crew starts Mars day after California midnight, part of the sol dedicated to deleting contents of flash.)
Sol 17: We Will Rock You, by Queen. (First arm activities and observations on a rock.)
Sol 18: Sledgehammer, by Peter Gabriel. (Intended first [Rock Abrasion Tool] RAT sol, though ran into problems later, to put it mildly.)
Sol 19: S.O.S., by Abba. (Objective was to regain contact with Spirit after a loss of communications. We did.)
Sol 20: Baby, Talk to Me, from the musical Bye Bye Birdie. (Objective was to get Spirit to send data. She did.)
Sol 21: Satellite, by The Hooters. (A rousing lullaby for when we were trying, and succeeded, to get the rover to go to sleep.)
Sol 22: We Can Work it Out, by The Beatles. (Beginning debugging activities to get Spirit back to normal.)
Sol 23: Start Me Up, by the Rolling Stones. (Booting in crippled mode.)
Sol 24: Flash, by Queen. (Clearly a flash problem, continuing to debug.)
Sol 25: (You're The) Devil In Disguise, by Elvis Presley, and With a Little Help From My Friends, by The Beatles. (Continuing debug, got picture!)
Sol 26: I Want a New Drug, by Huey Lewis & The News. (Trying yet another recipe for getting task trace, still didn't work.)
Sol 27: Anticipation, by Carly Simon. (Seeing if the file deletes will do the trick or not. They did.)
Sol 28: On the Road Again, by Willie Nelson. ("Can't wait to get back on ...", back to normal use of the flash file system, itching to get going.)
Sol 29: Here Comes the Sun, by The Beatles. (More normal operations, Mars Express coordinated overflight.)
Sol 30: Lean On Me, performed by Club Nouveau. (Intended RAT brush sol, pressing RAT on rock, though activities did not complete.)
Sol 31: I Wanna Be Sedated, by the Ramones. (Very low activity sol to get the rover rested and ready for surgery on the following sol.)
Sol 32: Wipe Out, by The Surfaris, and We're Not Gonna Take It, by
Twisted Sister. (File system reformat.)
Sol 33: Back In the Saddle Again, by Gene Autry, and The Star Spangled Banner, performed by Beyoncé. (Back to normal operations, color flag picture on RAT.)
Sol 34: The Laundry Cycle: Pounded on a Rock, by The Bobs, and Bump N' Grind, by R. Kelly. (First RAT grinding.)
Sol 35: Up Around the Bend, by Credence Clearwater Revival. (Intended drive around lander to begin drive to crater. Didn't get anywhere though.)
Sol 36: Stuck On You, by Elvis Presley. (Drive didn't work yestersol -- we've been stuck here for weeks. Drive did work later that sol.)
Sol 37: Proud Mary, performed by Tina Turner. ("And we're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river ...", first long drive, ended up being more than 20 meters.)
Sol 38: Runnin' With the Devil, by Van Halen. (HGA [High Gain Antenna] problem that sol, no activities, song played late in the sol.)
Sol 39: Hit the Road Jack, by Buster Poindexter. (Another long drive -- yes, this is a reuse of that song.)
Sol 40: What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong. (Mars, that is.)
Sol 41: Open Road Song, by Eve 6. (Driving song, though only did several inches of driving to position in front of rock.)
Sol 42: Lift Up Every Stone, by John Hiatt. (Observations of the rock "Mimi".)
Sol 43: Livin' On a Prayer, by Bon Jovi. (Many sols tend to start with our fingers crossed.)
Sol 44: Way Over Yonder, by Carole King. (Heading for that crater.)
Sol 45: Touch Me in the Morning, by Diana Ross. (Touch and go sol.)
Sol 46: Wake Up Little Susie, by The Everly Brothers. (Generic wake-up song.)
Sol 47: Dig Down Deep, by Hot Soup. (Trenching sol.)
Sol 48: Working in the Coal Mine, by Devo. (Working in the trench.)
Sol 49: Coisinha Do Pai, by Beth Carvalho. (Brazilian song played on Mars Pathfinder, played again for Carnival weekend.)
Sol 50: Samba De Marte, by Beth Carvalho. (Brazilian song written by same artist inspired by use of previous song on MPF, this one is a "Mars Samba", also for Carnival weekend. Starts off "Hello NASA!".)
Sol 51: Chariots of Fire, by Vangelis. (Appropriate for slow-motion races.)
Opportunity's playlist:
Sol 2: So Happy Together, by the Turtles (First full sol with both rovers on Mars.)
Sol 3: The Spirit of Radio, by Rush (HGA release.)
Sol 4: n/a
Sol 5: Stand, by REM; I'm Still Standing, by Elton John (Standup.)
Sol 6: Lookin' Out My Back Door, by Creedence Clearwater (Revival.); Release Me, by Elvis Presley (Middle wheel release); Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen (Wake up.)
Sol 7: I'm Free, by The Who (Cable Cut #3); Going Mobile, by The Who (Egress.)
Sol 8: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (First dual surface nominal rover operation.)
Sol 9: I'm Coiming Out, by Diana Ross (IDD release.)
Sol 10: Pictures of You, by The Cure (First MI image.)
Sol 11: Please Please Tell Me Know, by Depeche Mode (First MB data readout of soil.)
Sol 12: I'm Leaving Here, by Motorhead (First drive since egress.)
Sol 13: Little Honda (aka First Gear), by the Beach Boys (Jaunt away from lander.)
Sol 14: Should I Stay or Should I Go, The Clash (We went.)
Sol 15: The Flintstones Theme Song, end credits, Version 2 from 1962 (For the arrival at the "bedrock.")
Sol 16: Slip Slidin' Away, by Paul Simon (Large slips along drive up to the outcrop.)
Sol 17: Wake Me Up, by Wham (Touch and go.)
Sol 18: Running Down a Dream, by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Drive along the outcrop.)
Sol 19: Here I Go Again, by Whitesnake (Repeat of sol 18 drive objective.)
Sol 20: I Like Dirt, by Red Hot Chili Peppers; The Pioneers of Mars, by Landa/Linsley (MI/MB and drive.)
Sol 21: Send Me On My Way, by Rusted Root; Desert Drive, by Tangerine Dream (Drive back to El Capitan.)
Sol 22: Invisible Touch, by Genesis (MI-MB placement.)
Sol 23: Spinning Wheel, by Blood, Sweat, and Tears (Right front trenching wheel.)
Sol 24: Trench Town Rock, by Bob Marley (Make use of the trench.)
Sol 25: Fascination, by Human League (Regarding the img return from the trench.)
Sol 26: Body Movin', by the Beastie Boys (Every rover part exercised.)
Sol 27: Touch and Go, by Emerson, Lake and Powell (Touch and go.)
Sol 28: I am a Rock, by Simon and Garfunkel (El Capitan target assessment.)
Sol 29: Riders on the Storm, by the Doors (Heavy weather at DSS-63 and DSS-14.)
Sol 30: Rock 'n Me, by Steve Miller Band (1st RAT on opportunity.)
Sol 31: Rock around the Clock, by Bill Haley and His Comets (APXS/MB.)
Sol 32: Let It Be, by the Beatles (Long MB integration -- no IDD or mobility.)
Matthias