The Traveling, Landing, and Discoveries of Mars Pathfinder- Sojourner

 

 

 

 

 

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Traveling!

 

 

 

        Soujourner was launched on Decmeber 4, 1996 atop a Delta II.  It took about seven months to reach Mars. During its journey the spacecraft that carried Sojourner had to perform four in-flight adjustments. During the voyage Sojourner was inside of three triangular solar panel that would unfold, releasing the rover, after landing.

 

 

 

 

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 Landing!

 

         Mars pathfinder impacted the Martian surface on July 4, 1997 and deployed the small rover, Sojourner, it impacted the surface at about 40mph.  As opposed to Viking, Pathfinder will not orbit the planet prior to landing, but go directly to the surface. Large airbags deployed to cushion the delicate rover.  Sojourner landed  at a site known as Ares Vallis, which is an ancient flood plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars. This area is among the rockiest on the red planet. Scientists chose this site due to its large diversity of rocks, and because it seemed to be relatively safe. Upon landing, the site was named The Sagan Memorial Station.Shortly after landing the rover inspected the first rock it came in contact with, Yogi. 

                                                      

                                                                                                             Objectives!

    This mission was important in displaying the possibilities of possibly sending a human to Mars. Some of the other objectives for this mission were to obtain close-up images of the surface of Mars, to explore the Martian environment, take atmospheric readings, which it did while entering the atmosphere, and in general, to atleast satisfy our interminable craving for knowledge about the Red Planet.

      

                                                                                                             

 

 

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 Discoveries!

 

         In all, the Mars Pathfinder mission collected and sent back 2.6 billion pieces of information. 15 chemical analyses, as well as 16,000 images from the lander and an added 550 from the rover, were also returned. The mission also observed the winds and weather. It also produced a 360 degree image of the landing site.

 

 

 

 

Note: The following information was taken directly from http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf-pressrel.html.

 

Scientific highlights of the Mars Pathfinder mission are:

• Martian dust includes magnetic, composite particles, with a mean size of one micron.
• Rock chemistry at the landing site may be different from Martian meteorites found on Earth, and could be of basaltic andesite composition.
• The soil chemistry of Ares Vallis appears to be similar to that of the Viking 1 and 2 landing sites.
• The observed atmospheric clarity is higher than was expected from Earth-based microwave measurements and Hubble Space Telescope observations.
• Dust is confirmed as the dominant absorber of solar radiation in Mars' atmosphere, which has important consequences for the transport of energy in the atmosphere and its circulation.
• Frequent "dust devils" were found with an unmistakable temperature, wind and pressure signature, and morning turbulence; at least one may have contained dust (on Sol 62), suggesting that these gusts are a mechanism for mixing dust into the atmosphere.
• Evidence of wind abrasion of rocks and dune-shaped deposits was found, indicating the presence of sand.
• Morning atmospheric obscurations are due to clouds, not ground fog; Viking could not distinguish between these two possibilities.
• The weather was similar to the weather encountered by Viking 1; there were rapid pressure and temperature variations, downslope winds at night and light winds in general. Temperatures were about 10 degrees warmer than those measured by Viking 1.
• Diversity of albedos, or variations in the brightness of the Martian surface, was similar to other observations, but there was no evidence for the types of crystalline hematite or pyroxene absorption features detected in other locations on Mars.
• The atmospheric experiment package recorded a temperature profile different than expected from microwave measurements and Hubble observations.
• Rock size distribution was consistent with a flood-related deposit.
• The moment of inertia of Mars was refined to a corresponding core radius of between 1,300 kilometers and 2,000 kilometers (807 miles and 1,242 miles).
• The possible identification of rounded pebbles and cobbles on the ground, and sockets and pebbles in some rocks, suggests conglomerates that formed in running water, during a warmer past in which liquid water was stable.

 

 

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Citations!

Images

1.http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mars/rovercom/images/concept-edl.jpg

2.http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/images/crete/mars_rr_path.jpg 

 

Information

1."Untitled Document." JPL. 04 Nov 1997. NASA. 28 Apr 2008 <http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf-pressrel.html>.

2.Could not locate other sources

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