In 2003, Spirit and Opportunity were successfully launched from Cape Calaver by Delta two-stage carrier rocket, and they had the same mission and design.

work

Spirit and Opportunity were launched by Delta II staged launch vehicle.

Spirit and Opportunity are twin rovers, sent to complete the mission of Mars rover. Spirit was named Mars exploration rover A, and Opportunity was named Mars exploration rover B. Initially, the rover was designed to work continuously for 90 Mars days, but their photovoltaic cells received more energy than expected, which enabled them to work longer. The rover is controlled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Rover equipment

Both rovers are equipped with panorama camera, microscope imager and thermal emission spectrometer, which can measure the temperature of Martian air and rocks. The two rovers are also equipped with Mossbauer spectrometer to investigate iron-bearing rocks and X-ray spectrometer to investigate various rocks. Both rovers have rock grinding tools, which can penetrate the rock surface and analyze the substances under it. They also have magnets to collect magnetic iron particles for analysis and a microscope imager to take photos of mineral samples.

Both rovers have heaters to keep the temperature between -40 degrees Celsius and 40 degrees Celsius.

The rover is driven by three layers of solar panels. In order to keep enough power before the days get longer in spring, both rovers must spend the winter on sunny slopes. Solar panels spend 4 hours a day capturing enough sunlight to charge the battery.

The detectors are 1.5m high, 2.3m wide and 1.6m long, each with six wheels. Their maximum speed is two inches per second, about 0.2km/h, and each detector weighs about 400 pounds or 180kg.

Spirit rover

Gousev crater.

The rover Spirit was launched on June, 2003 10, and landed at the gusev Crater on June, 2004. Spirit was sent there because people suspected that there was a lake in the middle of Gousev crater. In March 2004, Spirit arrived at bonneville Crater, and then it was sent to Missoula Crater and Columbia Mountain.

In 2005, Spirit sent back a video of a Martian dust storm. Sandstorm did not damage the rover, but in fact it blew away most of the dust accumulated on the solar panel of the rover. Then Spirit went to Husbender Mountain and home plate. Then, in order to spend the winter on Mars, Spirit went to McCool Mountain, but because the soil was too loose to go on, he finally stopped at a low-collar shelter. In 2007, a wheel of the Spirit probe sank into the soil. When it finally moved away, it left a huge chisel on the ground. This chisel was originally used to dig the soil on Mars. The soil under the iron-rich top layer is mainly composed of silicon dioxide, which may be formed by ancient geysers or acid steam rising from the ground. Both possibilities mean that this place has warm running water in the history of Mars.

Before being trapped in 2009, Spirit crossed about 5 miles or 8 kilometers on Mars, leaving only four steerable wheels. In view of the upcoming Martian winter and the poor position of the probe, Spirit may not turn until May 20 10. 20 10, 1, Spirit began to lose signal contact with the earth, and in March of the same year, it stopped contact with the earth. NASA spent a year trying to get in touch with the probe and finally announced his death. It is believed that the reason is the lack of sunlight on the back of Mars, so the battery of the detector becomes too weak. The equipment may be turned off because the power of the heater is low to prevent it from failing due to cold, or he didn't restart it when enough sunlight shone on the solar panel again, because he forgot the mission parameters.

Opportunity rover

Radial tire

Opportunity was launched on July 7, 2003. About three weeks after Spirit landed, Opportunity landed on the meridian plateau of Mars on June 25th, 2004.

Opportunity first explored the exposed area of the crater where he landed, and then he went to Emirates Rock, where he dug the first deep trench on Mars. Then Opportunity endured hitting rocks, stopped at 180 Mars, and went to the heat shield rock. A rock that was later confirmed as a meteorite was found near the impact point of Opportunity's own heat shield.

Opportunity also went to Argo crater and dark crater.

Opportunity explored Victoria Crater for two years, then went to Concepcion Crater on 20 10, and arrived at Santa Maria Crater on 20 1 1.

In 20 12, Opportunity made a walk on Mount Ma Thievy, which is located at the edge of hard impact crater, where he found something that might be clay. 20 12 On July 2nd, Opportunity celebrated the 3000th Mars Day on Mars.

Opportunity is now the longest-running probe on Mars. Its time is longer than the previous record holder Viking 1, and its continuous running time even exceeds its design service life by 30 times.

The discovery of spirit and opportunity.

Spirit and Opportunity probes found an object named "blueberry" on the land of Mars. These "blueberries" are almost round iron-rich balls scattered at their landing sites. These features are thought to have been formed in mineral-rich water.

In addition to the meteorites found on the moon, Opportunity discovered meteorites on other planets for the first time. Although orbiting satellites have taken photos of sandstorms before, Opportunity recorded a sandstorm on Mars by video for the first time in history.

Opportunity also discovered gypsum vein, which is a very important discovery, because gypsum is the evidence that flowing water once existed in the history of Mars.

Detector communication

Odyssey

The Mars Odyssey is a Mars exploration satellite, and the rover Opportunity will contact him regularly. According to NASA, Opportunity can also contact the Earth when the orbital relay station is unavailable.

In 2007, both rovers updated their computer software based on data from the Earth. This software update has improved the decision-making ability of the rover. They can decide whether to send images to the earth, instead of storing and compressing all the images at once and then sending them back. At the same time, the rover also has the ability to decide whether to use their mechanical arm, which can shorten the time for the rover to start exploring interesting samples.

reference data

1. Wikipedia

2. Astronomical terminology

Translation: big lazy egg

Author: thetimenow

Please also get authorization for reprinting, and pay attention to maintaining integrity and indicating the source.