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27 February 2004 - Euro mission will search for
; Opportunity
threat; rover catches
. Latest press pics
and
;
reports:
Spirit readies to perform new rock
abrasion tool sequence on the rock called "Humphrey."
Opportunity is
ready to unleash the rock abrasion tool for its second bite of Mars.
Also:
launch again; more on
;
NASA studies
.
26 February 2004 - Rosetta launch
due to
- next
Friday morning/
- - !
Also - Latest
and
.
Details to follow.
cut
by trouble -
heading
halfway through ! TV
info ,
play-by-play
and .
25 February 2004 - Latest ; Next is
Thursday at 10AM PST (1PM EST/1800 GMT);
reports:
Spirit makes it to "Middle Ground" and turns its panoramic camera to
image Earth.
Opportunity updated its "attitude knowledge," which fine-tunes the
rover's knowledge of its exact location and position on Mars.
Rosetta launches tonight
- - !
TV coverage info ,
play-by-play .
Thursday's EVA will leave the empty for the first time since it was first occupied.
24 February 2004 - Red Planet
!
Today's pics
.
reports:
After its longest one-sol drive so far,
a careful and patient Spirit waits to drive into "Middle Ground."
Opportunity performed its first rock
abrasion tool operation, grinding a total depth of about 4 millimeters (.16 inches).
Space Coast under ;
Spacewalk TV coverage info .
23 February 2004 - 's to leave ISS
,
wants to , build ; Amateur
spots . Here's the
and tuned for from !
Heading for Middle Ground - sol 50
Spirit finishes inspection of trench and moves on.
in
space center
- fueling caused
at .
22 February 2004 - Sunday -
pics from
- in "".
reports:
Trench Exam Continues - sol 49
Spirit used a microscope and
spectrometers to examine the subsurface soil exposed by the trench it dug
on sol 47.
Busy Microscope at "El Capitan" - sol 28
With its microscope and spectrometers, Opportunity examined several locations
on "El Capitan."
spotted ;
Ads on ??
21 February 2004 - of Columbia disaster ;
will be next to
;
ready for liftoff next week;
launches mil sat;
Search for newborn ;
from
- more
pics
.
20 February 2004 -
manned Mars mission?
mission ; ISS
preps for next week;
Station to serve as "" in case of
.
from
- Don't forget about the
! Rovers uncover
-
reports:
Spirit Digs a Trench - sol 47
Spirit
spent sol 47 excavating a trench
7 to 8 centimeters deep (2.8 to 3.1 inches) at the Laguna Hollow location.
Enter the RAT - sol 26
Opportunity successfully completed the 15-meter (50-foot) drive to "El Capitan" and will sneak a bit closer to
prepare to use the RAT.
Next
is Thursday, Feb 26 at 10AM PST (1PM EST/1800 GMT).
Video update
. Latest images
.
19 February 2004 -
pieces of
are ; NASA to
rescue
on
for future missions;
distant galaxy .
from
- evidence of water?
reports:
Halfway Through - sol 46
Halfway through its primary surface
mission, Spirit, along with the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft,
simultaneously analyzed a patch of martian atmosphere.
Stutter Stepping to El Capitan - sol 25
Opportunity will back up from the
rover-made trench and make a few intentional "stutter steps" along the
9-meter (30-foot) drive to El Capitan.
18 February 2004 - Here's some
from the
,
where the
are
.
Video of yesterday's briefing
here.
Spirit Does a "Wheel Wiggle" - sol 45
Spirit drove 22.7 meters (74.5 feet), reaching the circular depression
dubbed "Laguna Hollow," and then wiggled its wheels to "scuff" the soil
for further analysis.
Peering into the Hole - sol 24
Opportunity continues peering
into the rover-made hole, using its science instruments to search for
clues about the history of Mars.
eats star; flights could be delayed
until ;
ISS
media briefing Thursday at 2PM EST (1900 GMT) - watch live on .
17 February 2004 - More from
,
where Spirit is
, and has dug a
.
reports:
Spirit Sets New Record:
Spirit drove 21.6 meters (70.9 feet),
bringing the grand total to 108 meters (354 feet). That's about 6 meters
(19.7 feet) more than the Sojourner rover's 1997 record.
Opportunity Successfully Dug
Trench: The rover
will now use instruments on the arm to characterize the soil in the trench.
Next is Thursday at 10AM PST (1PM EST/1800 GMT).
Watch live on .
Get the Mars Rover !
16 February 2004 - Latest Mars pic ;
New
for .
reports:
Mega Drive: Spirit first finished an examination of
its own tracks, then completed two driving sessions. It set a new one-sol
record for distance traveled on Mars.
Check Before
Digging: Opportunity made
a thorough "before" examination of the soil surface it will trench on sol
23. It also looked up while an orbiter looked down.
Next is Tuesday at 10AM PST (1PM EST/1800 GMT).
Watch live on .
15 February 2004 - 's more on successful
Titan 4 launch from . The
was a
series
for military .
Pics .
Video .
Latest Mars pic .
Video of Thursday's briefing
here.
14 February 2004 -
Happy Valentine's Day!
's
some
stuff in
. from
;
Opportunity ,
maps
; Rover data rate
up;
to the ; Next
mission may be
;
Oceanographers in
?
In our updates below, we've added links to the
of the almost-daily
, thanks to
. They expire after 15 days, so
get'em while you can! You can also see them at
.
13 February 2004 - Lots of
from
; Euro
orbiter to .
video report
.
states:
Movin'
Towards "Mimi": Spirit spent its
40th sol roving as planned, another 90 centimeters (2.95 feet) towards the
feature "Stone Council" and a flaky rock called "Mimi."
Milspace: Will the cooperate
for of an
Titan 4
? The
will be
a
which will
missile
and
. It will soon be the
for the
, which
. Play-by-play and . Liftoff from Florida's
is scheduled for (1821 GMT) -
watch the webcast .
12 February 2004 -
on the
. Video report
.
states:
- sol 39, Feb 12, 2004
New driving record During its 39th sol on Mars, Spirit broke its own
driving record, adding 24.4 meters (80 feet) to its odometer and getting
near an interesting set of rocks dubbed "Stone Council."
- sol 19, Feb 12, 2004
Opportunity successfully arrived at outpost Charlie on sol 19. Next, it will dash off to a hematite-rich
area where it will dig a trench next week.
Next is
Tuesday at 10AM PST (1PM EST/1800 GMT).
Watch live on .
11 February 2004 -
object
from baffles
staff; on
and , new
Mars ; Next
is Thursday at 10:15AM PST (1:15PM EST/1815 GMT).
reports:
Waking up to Tina Turner's "Proud Mary," Spirit rolled through a
record-breaking 21.2 (69.6 feet) meter drive.
Extended Tour
Opportunity had a couple of little
hiccups while trying to use its arm and mast on February 11, but engineers
have solved the problems so Opportunity can complete the tour of the
outcrop on sol 19, Thursday, February 12.
from
's
orbiter . ESA and the UK government are
an
into the
of the
lander.
10 February 2004 - Next
is Wednesday at 10:15AM PST (1:15PM EST/1815 GMT). Mars Rover status
. Video
of yesterday's briefing
here.
08 February 2004 -
change; Hubble ?
grinds
rock; Next
is Monday at 9AM PST (Noon EST/1700 GMT). Mars Rover status
.
07 February 2004 - The Spirit rover has used its robotic
arm to brush the dust off a Martian rock to examine the surface underneath.
status
. Video
of yesterday's Mars briefing
here.
06 February 2004 - The Spirit Rover is
at Mars'
.
Sad news: The girl who was reported abducted this week in Florida was
today. NASA had been
enhancing video footage of the suspect, captured by a
security camera.
05 February 2004 - Up on Mars, Opportunity is
as it tools around the surface of Mars.
reports:
Spirit's Memory Surgery Successful! The memory operation went well,
and Spirit is preparing to grind into the rock Adirondack.
Opportunity Passes Her Driver's Test! Opportunity completed a total
traverse of 3.54 meters (10.6 feet) and did a nice sashay in the middle.
Next
is Friday at 10AM PST (1PM EST/1800 GMT). Video of yesterday's Mars briefing
here.
04 February 2004 - the to locate a who was
Tuesday.
JPL has new Mars pics
.
reports:
NASA's Opportunity has
examined its first patch of soil in the small crater where it landed and found
strikingly spherical pebbles among the mix of particles there.
03 February 2004 - With both rovers roaming the surface of Mars, the
""
(and the )
just keep on .
Also, has at Opportunity's landing site in honor of the . Next is Wednesday at 10AM PST (1PM EST/1800 GMT).
Watch live on . reports:
Each of NASA's two Mars Exploration
Rovers is using its versatile robotic arm for positioning tools at selected
targets on the red planet.
Video of yesterday's Mars briefing
here.
Video of yesterday's Columbia Memorial dedication
here.
02 February 2004 - Houston, We Have A Screw-up: We got our facts wrong about the
to the
- it turned out to be in the
show,
.
Our apologies! You can see the
song
,
and the of
's "Dream On" video clip
.
Today, a was
at
in a
for the
Columbia families.
Meanwhile, back on Mars, the Opportunity rover has
and is ready to dig in to the Martian soil. The twin
is
(OK, maybe a brownish red) and has also
- now the missions are in full swing!
on the
surface of Mars were dedicated to the Columbia crew today.
reports:
Spirit Is Healthy Again. Next up: brush dust off the rock Adirondack
and apply Rock Abrasion Tool. When analysis finished, the driving mission
begins!
"Mission success" panorama complete. Engineers confirm all instruments
on the rover's arm are "working great."
The next is Wednesday at 1PM EST.
01 February 2004 -
is the
of Shuttle Columbia's breakup over
.
Seven astronauts lost their lives returning from a 16-day science mission,
STS-107. NewsFromSpace was covering the landing
as it happened.
The hole was by a
of
coming
from the
and striking the
during liftoff. The
is
currently in storage at Kennedy Space Center. This afternoon's
will feature a
to the Columbia crew.
In the
since the
, human
with some major
from our
. New players entered the scene,
but successful robotic missions have made some question the need for human presence in space.
Fortunately,
with the
and courage it takes to
in the
. The cause of the accident was a determined to be a hole in the leading
edge of the left wing, which allowed a blast of superheated air to
the
underlying structure,
the orbiter apart as it was doing March 22
across the American South. 's leader will dedicate a
tomorrow
at in honor of the Columbia fallen.
reports:
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe will preside at the dedication of the
memorial at 3 p.m. EST on Monday, February 2, 2004.
In other news, the Mars Rover
is now across the Martian surface,
finding
(which typically forms in the presence of water). Its twin, Spirit, will
be back in action .
