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PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE - To MARS with MER

Daily Updates - March 11, 2004
Spirit Status at end of sol 66

Aerosmith wrote the song "Livin' on the Edge" long before Spirit reached the edge of Bonneville crater, and probably never imagined it would be the wake-up song for a rover on Mars. But its words are appropriate. After a 21-meter (68.9 feet) drive and an elevation gain of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet), Spirit is in fact at the edge of Bonneville crater.

Spirit began Sol 66, which ended at 1:09 a.m. PST March 11, 2004, by taking a look back at the lander with the panoramic camera, and then analyzing selected ground targets. At about 11:30 a.m. Gusev time, Spirit began a 30-minute directed drive of 16 meters (52.5 feet). It then turned right for a final auto-navigation drive that was intended for 6 meters (19.7 feet), but resulted in about 4 meters (13.1 feet). That drive put Spirit in perfect position to look inside "Bonneville" crater and send back stunning images from the navigation camera.

The camera mast was then positioned for a nighttime sky observation of the Orion Constellation. During NASA's Mars Global Surveyor pass tomorrow morning, the navigation camera and panoramic camera will take images of the Orion Constellation using long exposure times.

On Sol 67, which will end at 1:48 a.m. PST March 12, 2004, Spirit will drive about 14 meters (46 feet) to a better vantage point on the crater rim and continue to investigate "Bonneville" with the panoramic and navigation cameras.

Spirit Daily Update Archive