When Did the Spirit Rover Land on Mars?

As the news surrounding the end of the Spirit Rover's life circulates the Internet, more people are asking about the history of the long-lasting Mars rover called "Spirit," and want to know when did the Spirit rover land on mars?

When Did the Spirit Rover Land on Mars - A Historic Journey

The story of Spirit rover is a wonderful reflection what Americans are capable of technologically, and the robustness of American devices. The Mars rovers rely on a very wide range of advanced technologies within the fields of propulsion, power, telecommunications, avionics and software engineering.

The Technologies Used on Spirit Rover

After launch, these probes have to stay on course for about 286 million miles before they make it to Mars. Previous missions were so accurate with their initial calculations, that in the case of Opportunity for example, only three trajectory correction maneuvers were required. In the case of Spirit, mission planners decided to skip the final two maneuvers just before landing at Mars, because the initial trajectory was so accurate.

The two Mars Exploration Rovers of Opportunity and Spirit both carry two 8 amp-hour lithium batteries, which are recharged by solar arrays mounted on the rover body. Mission planners land and drive the rovers into the most "solar-rich" areas of the planet, and by doing so the solar arrays provide about "410 watt-hours per martial sol." Communications with the Mars rovers takes place through an impressive uplink of data from the rovers' UHF antennas to the Odyssey, an "orbiter" called Odyssey that orbits the planet, and Odyssey transmits that scientific data to Earth through what NASA calls an "X-band" link.

The Launch, The Trip and the Landing

The two Mars Exploration rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, launched on June 10th and June 7th in 2003. After cruising through they unimaginably cold vacuum of space for so many long miles, the touchdown of Spirit took place around 7:04pm to 8:35pm PST on Saturday, January 3, 2004. AT 7:04, Spirit rotated its heat shield after it's final orbit, and at 8:14 p.m. it separated from the "cruise stage," or the larger section of the spacecraft. At around 8:29 p.m., the small rover started its drop toward the surface of the planet (at about 12,000 miles per hour), until it deployed the airbags (to protect it during impact), and used its rockets to slow itself down. Eventually, the craft essentially crash-landed at around 8:35 p.m., and bounced across the Martian landscape like a huge beach ball until stopping around 8:45 p.m. Honestly, a grown-up kid must have designed this unique landing technique - there's very little that's space-aged or scientific about it. However, it worked.

The real heroes in the launch and trip to Mars were the scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who accurately calculated the speeds and rotations of both planets, and determined the precise trajectory and path that would get the Rovers onto the Martian surface.

Spirit Rover Lives! When Will The Little Rover Really Die?

Starting as early as August of 2004, scientists started wondering how long the Mars Exploration Rovers were going to last. The goal during a rover's time on Mars is to head for the sun - that's its life force. So when engineers plan the rovers' paths, they not only have to avoid physical obstacles, but they need to avoid shade at all costs. By strategically directing the rover, engineers have managed to boost the typical 350 watt-hours up to 410 watt-hours. However, in July engineers noticed that the Spirit's right front wheel was showing signs of age, and the solar panels are constantly plagued with the elements - specifically Martian dust.

While much of Spirit rover's extended life can be ascribed to the quality of craftsmanship of the technological wonder, a great deal of that survival should also be credited to the ingenuity and creativity of the engineers who are constantly developing unique and incredible ways to extend the life of the Rover by optimizing the solar panels and physically "driving" the rover in certain unorthodox ways to overcome mechanical age or breakdown. After a number of years, this "aged" front wheel broke - but it forges on, like a soldier, through the Martian landscape.

Never Forget Spirit Rover

Spirit has lived up to its name. It is a technology that has given not just America, but citizens across the world, a hope for a future that we can scarcely imagine. That will be a future where the limits of our space exploration knows fewer bounds, and it will be a future built upon the persistence and success of this little robot on wheels called "Spirit."

Sources:

Mission Team, "Mars Exploration Rover Mission Overview" NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Guy Webster, "Mars Exploration Rover Mission Press Releases" NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.