Recent failures have marred our space program. The loss of the space shuttle Columbia was catastrophic and the record on Mars missions has been dismal. Fewer than one in three previous Mars landing attempts has been successful. Yet the Spirit mission is an outstanding triumph.
At the time of the landing Spirit was more than 105 million miles from the Earth. It traveled over 300 million miles to get to Mars, yet it made a near perfect landing at the designated point, the Gusev crater, which may prove to be a dry Martian lake bed. Since Spirit landed in an upright position, it was immediately able to transmit photos, adding to the excitement of the occasion. The rover is filled with high-tech camera equipment. A panoramic camera mounted on a vertical telescopic arm is producing outstanding pictures. The first pictures were in black and white, but color photos started being transmitted within 24 hours of the landing. This camera can even produce 3-dimentional images.
These photos are a must see for anyone interested in space exploration. This is where the beauty of the Internet comes into play. NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab at the California Institute of Technology, who manage the Mars project, have joined forces to bring information on the Mars project to the public. The Mars Exploration Rover Mission Web site at http://marsrovers.nasa.gov is the place where would-be space explorers and dedicated couch potatoes can join in the excitement. The site not only displays pictures taken by Spirit, but it is chock full of great information. The site explains all the details of the Mars mission including how much we already know about Mars, and what the project hopes to find out. Although information on space exploration can be quite complex, this Web site gets my Compu-KISS seal of approval. It adheres to my Keep It Short & Simple philosophy. It presents the information in a clear, concise, yet easy-to-understand manner.
This Web site will be a great place to visit all month. The $820 million project includes another identical Mars rover named Opportunity which is scheduled to land on Mars on January 25, 2004. After spending seven months in travel, Spirit and Opportunity will each investigate the red planet for 90 Mars days (equivalent to 92 Earth days). The rovers will look at rocks to understand the types of minerals that they were made of and to determine the environments in which they were formed. This exploration may reveal whether Mars was ever a warmer, wetter place capable of sustaining life. Hopefully it will produce answers to the many questions about Mars’ history and may even assist us in understanding the history and evolution of life here on Earth.
The best part is that with the Internet we can all be a part of the exciting world of space exploration!
