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Mars Pathfinder Mission Status

6 June 1997


The spacecraft remains in good health and is currently about 148 million kilometers from Earth (14 million km from Mars). The total flight time since launch is now 182 days, and we have 28 days until Mars arrival.

The flight team completed uploading the final flight software patch to the spacecraft on June 5-6. The patch corrects a number of problems in the Entry, Descent, and Landing control software. The total volume of the patch was approximately 400 Kbytes. The decision was made to delay using the new software until after Operational Readiness Test #7 (ORT #7) because it will be a good final regression test. The spacecraft will begin using the new software on June 16.

Completed two mini-ORTs which tested our petal move and low gain antenna contingency plans for Sol 1. All flight sequences for pre-entry and surface operations have now been completed (except for some minor tweaks to the backup mission load), and will be loaded on the spacecraft on June 18. We have also completed all preparations for the mission dress rehearsal (ORT #7), which will start on June 9.

Completed a detailed review of Public Outreach plans involving project, program office, and JPL PIO personnel. No major issues or concerns exist, and the detailed implementation activities are proceeding well.


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