Opportunity Rover Research Papers
Opportunity Rover Research Paper
Review of Science Fiction Paper
My science fiction paper will chronicle the Mars rover Opportunity’s time on the planet Mars from a first-person viewpoint. Opportunity will describe the destitute land of an empty planet and crippling loneliness as its twin, Spirit, gets stuck and ceases communication in 2010 [1]. Finally, Opportunity will reflect on the hope it has for its wellbeing as the Curiosity rover lands on Mars in 2012 [2], only to realize that its mission is not yet over, and it has to continue wandering the red planet alone. This story will deal with the ideas of spectra as Opportunity researches the light given off by sources on Mars’ surface, jet propulsion in terms of how Opportunity made it to …show more content…
Mars, the Sun and how it differed from Earth in its power and intrusiveness into the atmosphere, and the characteristics of Mars itself. All of these focuses will hopefully come together to detail a story about the life and future of the Opportunity rover.
Introduction
On January 24, 2004, the NASA team responsible for the most important Mars mission of all time erupted into cheers for the second time.
This was because Opportunity, the new Mars rover and twin to Spirit, who landed only weeks earlier [3], successfully landed on the surface of Mars [4]. At the time, Opportunity boasted some of the newest and most impressive technology available, including a miniature thermal emission spectrometer, hazard cameras, and a panoramic camera [5]. This paper will detail the changes in technology that led from the Viking landers of the 1970s and beyond, up to the Curiosity rover in 2012. From that point, the paper will identify potential technological changes in the future, in the case of NASA sending more rovers to Mars or planets even further away. This paper will also answer several questions about the logistics of the Opportunity rover, such as its purpose and objectives, the information it gathered, and observations about …show more content…
Mars.
The Viking Landers
Many years before the conception of Spirit and Opportunity, the Viking landers were making their impact on Mars exploration. Launched in 1975, the Viking I and II landers were the first successful attempt at landing and operating a machine on Mars [6]. The objectives of the two landers were to take high-resolution photos of the surface of Mars, make and relay observations about the surface of the planet, and to perform biological experiments with the goal of finding evidence of life [7]. The two landers orbited Mars for about a month, taking photos of the planet that gave NASA its clearest idea of Mars’ surface to that date. The landers identified two distinct stratifications of the land, large landmarks and features, and evidence of water on the surface [6]. The landers were equipped with technology to fulfill their goals: two 360-degree cameras, a sampling arm with temperature sensor, a meteorology boom, a seismology sensor, and an x-ray spectrometer were just some of the state-of-the-art technology fitted to the Viking landers [8]. Upon landing on the surface, the two landers instantly got to work, with Viking I relaying an image of its foot to NASA to indicate how deeply it sank into the surface. The landers deposited seismological and meteorological sensors, searched for signs of life, and took over 50,000 photos of Mars’ surface [9]. Although no conclusive evidence was found, the Viking landers were pioneers for Mars exploration; in their few years researching Mars, the landers provided the clearest view of the Red Planet to date. The Opportunity Rover
While the Viking landers pioneered the robotic exploration of Mars, there was still work to be done.
The most glaring example of limitations on the landers was their lack of mobility. There was a need for a rover that could navigate the rocky surface of Mars in order to explore new areas up close, and twins Opportunity and Curiosity proved to be up to the challenge. Opportunity’s mission was a planned 90 sols (Martian solar days – around 90 Earth days), but it’s been overstaying its welcome to this day, operating for over 4,000 days [10]. After its initial landing, Opportunity searched through rock and soil in a crater (which it happened to land in) and take high-resolution photos of its site. Next, it traveled to the Endurance crater and the location of the impact of its own heat shield, where it found an intact meteorite on the planet’s surface [11]. Early in the rover’s life, disaster struck as Opportunity lodged itself in a sand dune, rendering it nearly immobile. NASA scientists spent over a month devising the best method of escaping the sand and finally, by maneuvering each wheel a few centimeters at a time, freed Opportunity from the sand
[11]. Opportunity continued to explore the surface of Mars, visiting the Erebus and Victoria craters, where it experienced mechanical difficulties in its robotic arm. The rover was directed to explore the large Endeavour crater, as scientists had previous evidence of phyllosilicates (sheet-like silica materials) located there, in addition to clay materials on the bed, suggesting a watery past [12]. While heading to Solander Point, Opportunity began to experience problems with its onboard memory, in an issue that scientists dubbed “amnesia”. It appeared that one of its seven memory units was faulty, and despite NASA’s best efforts to manually bypass the problem, they had to force Opportunity to run in RAM-only mode for the rest of its days, in addition to a remote reset [13]. While the rover is old and riddled with age-related problems, the rover continues its mission to this day. Opportunity is currently near Marathon Valley, a land feature lining the Endeavour crater, and just celebrated its twelfth year on Mars [13]. Opportunity has spent more time on Mars actively doing research than any other machine, and it shows no signs of slowing down its progress, as it continues to examine rocks and terrain and perform experiments for NASA. Achievements of Opportunity
Opportunity accomplished much important research while on the surface of Mars. Opportunity has taken many high-resolution photos of Mars’ surface, giving humanity a new perspective on its neighboring planet. Opportunity also examined several soil and rock samples and allowed NASA scientists to hypothesize the existence of hematite (a metal form of iron oxide) and water in Mars’ past. In addition, Opportunity found and sampled a meteorite near its landing site [11]. The rover continues to try and fulfill its objectives, and maintains its mission to find hard-soil evidence of water and life on the surface of Mars. While there is no concrete evidence of life on Mars, Opportunity did discover what appears to be a salty basin lining the edge of the Endeavour crater, suggesting that, at one point, there existed a salty sea on the surface of Mars, where life, however primitive, may have called home [13]. Opportunity also discovered wind-swept plains on the surface, indicating that Mars’ axis tilt was different from today [14]. In its time on Mars, Opportunity has had to deal with a multitude of hardships. In addition to getting stuck in the sand and injuring its arm, Opportunity has had to brave many Martian dust-devils and storms, while having to do research on both [14]. Opportunity has also had to deal with the incredibly cold winters on the planet, in addition to dust blocking the Sun’s rays from reaching its solar panels [11]. Opportunity’s most important discovery was the subject of its first objective: to find evidence of life or of a habitable planet. While Opportunity did not find life or evidence of life on Mars, it succeeded in finding evidence of the potential for life, long ago. The potential evidence of water on the planet, in addition to layers of soil and clay that may have been oxidized, show that life, primitive as it may be, might have existed on Mars [14]. The Curiosity Rover
While the Spirit and Opportunity rovers are both technological marvels, their technology was quickly dwarfed by NASA’s new star: Curiosity. Curiosity brought a new suite of abilities and technology to Mars exploration, showing its immense capabilities over Opportunity’s. One of the biggest differences between the two rovers is their top speed; Curiosity maxes out at 3.35 miles per hour, significantly faster than Opportunity’s top speed of .1 miles per hour. This increase in speed will be immediately useful, as Curiosity can explore much more area than Opportunity (for perspective, in its 4,000+ days, Opportunity has traveled a total of 21 miles). In addition, Curiosity has the potential to visit the now-deceased Spirit and assess the damages for NASA. Curiosity is also able to study the chemical compositions of rocks and minerals, and can split rocks using a laser. Curiosity weighs over six times heavier than Spirit or Opportunity, and boasts twice the instruments for research [15]. The Curiosity rover is clearly a worthy extension to the groundbreaking advances of Opportunity. Conclusion
As NASA increases its emphasis on Mars exploration, Opportunity’s and Curiosity’s explorations have become incredibly important. While the two rovers explore, gathering data and making new discoveries, we learn more about our neighboring planet every day. The rovers’ missions aren’t finished, and NASA’s goal is to keep the rovers running for as long as possible. Without NASA’s landers and rovers, we would know significantly less about Mars and the potential for life.
Review of Science Fiction Paper
My science fiction paper will chronicle the Mars rover Opportunity’s time on the planet Mars from a first-person viewpoint. Opportunity will describe the destitute land of an empty planet and crippling loneliness as its twin, Spirit, gets stuck and ceases communication in 2010 [1]. Finally, Opportunity will reflect on the hope it has for its wellbeing as the Curiosity rover lands on Mars in 2012 [2], only to realize that its mission is not yet over, and it has to continue wandering the red planet alone. This story will deal with the ideas of spectra as Opportunity researches the light given off by sources on Mars’ surface, jet propulsion in terms of how Opportunity made it to …show more content…
Mars, the Sun and how it differed from Earth in its power and intrusiveness into the atmosphere, and the characteristics of Mars itself. All of these focuses will hopefully come together to detail a story about the life and future of the Opportunity rover.
Introduction
On January 24, 2004, the NASA team responsible for the most important Mars mission of all time erupted into cheers for the second time.
This was because Opportunity, the new Mars rover and twin to Spirit, who landed only weeks earlier [3], successfully landed on the surface of Mars [4]. At the time, Opportunity boasted some of the newest and most impressive technology available, including a miniature thermal emission spectrometer, hazard cameras, and a panoramic camera [5]. This paper will detail the changes in technology that led from the Viking landers of the 1970s and beyond, up to the Curiosity rover in 2012. From that point, the paper will identify potential technological changes in the future, in the case of NASA sending more rovers to Mars or planets even further away. This paper will also answer several questions about the logistics of the Opportunity rover, such as its purpose and objectives, the information it gathered, and observations about …show more content…
Mars.
The Viking Landers
Many years before the conception of Spirit and Opportunity, the Viking landers were making their impact on Mars exploration. Launched in 1975, the Viking I and II landers were the first successful attempt at landing and operating a machine on Mars [6]. The objectives of the two landers were to take high-resolution photos of the surface of Mars, make and relay observations about the surface of the planet, and to perform biological experiments with the goal of finding evidence of life [7]. The two landers orbited Mars for about a month, taking photos of the planet that gave NASA its clearest idea of Mars’ surface to that date. The landers identified two distinct stratifications of the land, large landmarks and features, and evidence of water on the surface [6]. The landers were equipped with technology to fulfill their goals: two 360-degree cameras, a sampling arm with temperature sensor, a meteorology boom, a seismology sensor, and an x-ray spectrometer were just some of the state-of-the-art technology fitted to the Viking landers [8]. Upon landing on the surface, the two landers instantly got to work, with Viking I relaying an image of its foot to NASA to indicate how deeply it sank into the surface. The landers deposited seismological and meteorological sensors, searched for signs of life, and took over 50,000 photos of Mars’ surface [9]. Although no conclusive evidence was found, the Viking landers were pioneers for Mars exploration; in their few years researching Mars, the landers provided the clearest view of the Red Planet to date. The Opportunity Rover
While the Viking landers pioneered the robotic exploration of Mars, there was still work to be done.
The most glaring example of limitations on the landers was their lack of mobility. There was a need for a rover that could navigate the rocky surface of Mars in order to explore new areas up close, and twins Opportunity and Curiosity proved to be up to the challenge. Opportunity’s mission was a planned 90 sols (Martian solar days – around 90 Earth days), but it’s been overstaying its welcome to this day, operating for over 4,000 days [10]. After its initial landing, Opportunity searched through rock and soil in a crater (which it happened to land in) and take high-resolution photos of its site. Next, it traveled to the Endurance crater and the location of the impact of its own heat shield, where it found an intact meteorite on the planet’s surface [11]. Early in the rover’s life, disaster struck as Opportunity lodged itself in a sand dune, rendering it nearly immobile. NASA scientists spent over a month devising the best method of escaping the sand and finally, by maneuvering each wheel a few centimeters at a time, freed Opportunity from the sand
[11]. Opportunity continued to explore the surface of Mars, visiting the Erebus and Victoria craters, where it experienced mechanical difficulties in its robotic arm. The rover was directed to explore the large Endeavour crater, as scientists had previous evidence of phyllosilicates (sheet-like silica materials) located there, in addition to clay materials on the bed, suggesting a watery past [12]. While heading to Solander Point, Opportunity began to experience problems with its onboard memory, in an issue that scientists dubbed “amnesia”. It appeared that one of its seven memory units was faulty, and despite NASA’s best efforts to manually bypass the problem, they had to force Opportunity to run in RAM-only mode for the rest of its days, in addition to a remote reset [13]. While the rover is old and riddled with age-related problems, the rover continues its mission to this day. Opportunity is currently near Marathon Valley, a land feature lining the Endeavour crater, and just celebrated its twelfth year on Mars [13]. Opportunity has spent more time on Mars actively doing research than any other machine, and it shows no signs of slowing down its progress, as it continues to examine rocks and terrain and perform experiments for NASA. Achievements of Opportunity
Opportunity accomplished much important research while on the surface of Mars. Opportunity has taken many high-resolution photos of Mars’ surface, giving humanity a new perspective on its neighboring planet. Opportunity also examined several soil and rock samples and allowed NASA scientists to hypothesize the existence of hematite (a metal form of iron oxide) and water in Mars’ past. In addition, Opportunity found and sampled a meteorite near its landing site [11]. The rover continues to try and fulfill its objectives, and maintains its mission to find hard-soil evidence of water and life on the surface of Mars. While there is no concrete evidence of life on Mars, Opportunity did discover what appears to be a salty basin lining the edge of the Endeavour crater, suggesting that, at one point, there existed a salty sea on the surface of Mars, where life, however primitive, may have called home [13]. Opportunity also discovered wind-swept plains on the surface, indicating that Mars’ axis tilt was different from today [14]. In its time on Mars, Opportunity has had to deal with a multitude of hardships. In addition to getting stuck in the sand and injuring its arm, Opportunity has had to brave many Martian dust-devils and storms, while having to do research on both [14]. Opportunity has also had to deal with the incredibly cold winters on the planet, in addition to dust blocking the Sun’s rays from reaching its solar panels [11]. Opportunity’s most important discovery was the subject of its first objective: to find evidence of life or of a habitable planet. While Opportunity did not find life or evidence of life on Mars, it succeeded in finding evidence of the potential for life, long ago. The potential evidence of water on the planet, in addition to layers of soil and clay that may have been oxidized, show that life, primitive as it may be, might have existed on Mars [14]. The Curiosity Rover
While the Spirit and Opportunity rovers are both technological marvels, their technology was quickly dwarfed by NASA’s new star: Curiosity. Curiosity brought a new suite of abilities and technology to Mars exploration, showing its immense capabilities over Opportunity’s. One of the biggest differences between the two rovers is their top speed; Curiosity maxes out at 3.35 miles per hour, significantly faster than Opportunity’s top speed of .1 miles per hour. This increase in speed will be immediately useful, as Curiosity can explore much more area than Opportunity (for perspective, in its 4,000+ days, Opportunity has traveled a total of 21 miles). In addition, Curiosity has the potential to visit the now-deceased Spirit and assess the damages for NASA. Curiosity is also able to study the chemical compositions of rocks and minerals, and can split rocks using a laser. Curiosity weighs over six times heavier than Spirit or Opportunity, and boasts twice the instruments for research [15]. The Curiosity rover is clearly a worthy extension to the groundbreaking advances of Opportunity. Conclusion
As NASA increases its emphasis on Mars exploration, Opportunity’s and Curiosity’s explorations have become incredibly important. While the two rovers explore, gathering data and making new discoveries, we learn more about our neighboring planet every day. The rovers’ missions aren’t finished, and NASA’s goal is to keep the rovers running for as long as possible. Without NASA’s landers and rovers, we would know significantly less about Mars and the potential for life.