Subscription Center
Jun 30, 2009 01:30 PM | 2
The hobbled Spirit rover, stuck in a tricky patch of Martian soil, is whiling away the hours with a little stargazing. From its stationary post in an area known as Troy, the rover has been turning its cameras to the skies to act as an ad hoc observatory on Mars, as noted by Universe Today.
Planetary scientist Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, the member of the rover team who is leading the effort, tells ScientificAmerican.com that Spirit has been observing stars and planets for about two weeks.
But it is a different kind of observation than that on Earth. "Images of stars are useful not for the astronomy but for the atmospheric information," Lemmon says. "Astronomers on Earth use multiple observations to cancel out the Earth's atmospheric effects and leave information on the target. We cancel out the information on the target to learn about Mars's atmosphere."
Spirit's tiny cameras are hardly purpose-built for sky observation. As such, astronomy from Spirit and its more able-bodied twin, Opportunity, don't "compete with their ability to do what they were designed for," Lemmon says. "But at least we can use the excess power we have to good purpose."
Photo from Spirit's Navigation Camera: NASA
Tags:
rovers,
Troy,
Spirit,
Mars,
Opportunity
More News Blog:
Next: Wildfire season ignites research and debate
Previous: Mounting cost of cancer drugs raises questions about their value
See what we're tweeting about
robinlloyd99 Economic Recovery, Made in Bangladesh? http://t.co/3f5M3UcEV7
sciammind Why Do Top Athletes Suddenly Develop the Yips --a Tendency to Choke under Pressure? http://t.co/pAJIi1TEEZ
notscientific Your weekend reading from #SciLogs: Science Seeker Awards, The Conversation UK, Endlings, Hopeful Monsters http://t.co/oIoprNGqRK
Deadline: Jul 25 2013
Reward: Varies
This challenge provides an opportunity for Solvers to build a web-based or mobile “app” to explore data relationships in scholarly conte
Deadline: Jul 30 2013
Reward: $100,000 USD
The Seeker desires a method for producing pseudoephedrine products in such a way that it will be extremely difficult for clandestine che
Powered By: 
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
2 Comments
Add CommentSpirit and Opportunity have lived multiple times their intended lifespans. Well done.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou have done your job well.
As always NASA has designed a vehicle that can no only land on a distant planet but exceed it's expectations.
To the men and women of NASA, I salute you for a job more than well done.
PS. as far as that pesky martian dust on the solar panels. How about windshield wipers on the next one. Just a thought.
The fact that the dedicated men and women at NASA came up with this novel concept is a testament to our engineers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd I agree. Next rover should have a built in whisk broom arm!