Daily Updates - April 2, 2004
Spirit Status at end of sol 88

Spirit spent most of Sol 88, which ended at 3:39 p.m. PST on April 2, driving toward the "Columbia Hills." Before beginning the drive, Spirit acquired some pre-drive remote sensing, which included panoramic camera photometry and a mini thermal emission spectrometer stare of the rock called "Carlsbad."

Spirit then began the 35-meter (114.8 feet) combination directed and autonomous navigation drive down the rocky, ejecta-covered side of "Bonneville Crater." Fifteen meters (49.2 feet) of the drive were directed by rover planners and did not require the rover to use its hazard avoidance software. The remaining 20 meters (65.6 feet) were navigated by Spirit autonomously and did cause the rover to make some back and forth adjustments as it avoided what it perceived to be a depression hazard in its path. Rover controllers will look at hazard avoidance camera images tomorrow to confirm the details of Spirit's behavior.

Spirit will begin Sol 89, which ends at 4:19 p.m. PST on April 3, using the instrument deployment device on a rock target in front of it, followed by another drive toward the Columbia Hills.

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