Being the new arrival on Mars, the Opportunity spacecraft made use of its parachute/airbag landing system to plop itself down within Meridiani Planum.On approach to Mars’ surface, Opportunity’s Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES) worked like a champ. A set of three images were taken by a camera on the bottom of the lander during the craft’s final descent DIMES is onboard to calculate the spacecraft’s horizontal motion during its final seconds of flight. The system determined that sideways motion was small, so Opportunity's computer decided not to fire the lateral rockets carried specifically for slowing that motion. That was not the case for Spirit’s landing, some three weeks ago.The three DIMES photos were released Sunday here at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and will help determine the exact whereabouts of Opportunity at Meridiani Planum.In those photos, the shadow of Opportunity’s parachute can be seen moving across two of the three images. Opportunity did bounce and roll into a small impact crater. About one-half mile (1 kilometer) from the spacecraft’s final resting location, a large crater about 500 feet (150 meters) is within easy driving distance for the Opportunity rover."That crater is Mother Nature’s drilling rig," James Garvin, NASA Lead Scientist for Mars Exploration in the Office of Space Science in Washington, D.C. told SPACE.com . Scientists value such crater locations as a way to see what's beneath the surface without needing to dig, he said.
View: Full Article | Source: space.com