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Mars has evoked greater interest than any other planet because of presumption of
possibility life on it. Two major space powers the EU & USA extended their race
for space supremacy to Mars with their spacecrafts landing on the planet within
10 days of each other. The European Space Agency's "Beagle 2" landed on Mars
surface but it failed to respond. NASA launched it turn rover mission
compromising of "Spirit*" and " Opportunity " which landed on two different
sides of Mars. A third mission "Nozomi" by Japan failed to make it.
Timing of mission was precisely chosen. . Because the orbit of Mars is
elliptical & not circular, Earth & Mars approach each other more closely during
some orbits than others. It was the situation in late Aug 2003, Earth & Mars
passed closer to each other than any time since 1924. The two planets will not
get that close again till the year 2287. The current surge of interest on Mars
exploration can be attributed to the signals picked up by the 2001 MARS ODESSEY
MISSION, which suggested that water had once existed on the red planet.
MER MISSION
The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project is a part of the long term Mars
Exploration Programmes of NASA. The basic strategy of this programme is "FOLLOW
THE WATER". Exploration of extreme environment on the earth has shown that
whenever there is liquid water below the boiling point, evidence of life has
been seen.
The goal of the rover mission is to determine when & how water, if it was really
there, disappeared. Since water is crucial for life, the mission will also
search for traces of life to determine whether there was enough time for life to
evolve. MER project is a twin rover mission comprising of "Spirit" and "
Opportunity ".
Spirit landed inside Mars' "Gusev Crater" on Jan 3, 2004.The major task of
Spirit is to explore the clues in rocks & soils about whether Gusev Crater was
ever watery & suitable for life. Gusev Crater is named after a Russian
astronomer MATVEI GUSEV. Gusev is at 15 degree South and is in a transition zone
between the highlands of the Southern part & smoother plains in the north. The
valley, called Ma'adim Vallis, runs about 900 kms from the highlands to Gusev.
The speculation is that water flowing down the valley would have pooled in
Gusev. The one-time Gusev lake may have deposited sediments in the floor of the
crater that preserves records of the lake environment.
Opportunity landed on surface on Jan 24, 2004 . The terrain around Opportunity
is darker & remarkably smooth. It landed in a place called "Meridiani Planum" a
broad plain rich in the mineral-grey hematite, which is rich in iron oxide,
usually formed in association with water.
Launched by the Delta racket, the MERs use the same airbag -cushioned landing
scheme that successfully delivered the Mars Pathfinder rover for entry, descent
& landing. Unlike the Pathfinder, wherein the instruments were divided between
the lander & the small rover, Spirit & Opportunity carry all the instruments.
The NASA's MER project will be followed up by missions upto 2009, beginning with
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2005, Phoenix Mars Scout in 2007, Mars Science
lab in 2009 & Mars Telecommunication Orbiter in 2009.
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