Sol64_left_th.jpg

Sol64_right_th.jpg

The Sojourner rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is shown deployed against the rock "Moe" on the afternoon of Sol 64 (September 7). The rocks to the left of Moe are "Shark" (left of Sojourner) and "Half Dome" (behind Sojourner). They were previously measured by the APXS.

MARS PATHFINDER MISSION STATUS
8 September 1997, 4:30 p.m. PDT

The lander powered up on the surface of Mars this morning at 8:58 a.m. PDT.

At 11:37 a.m. PST a science imaging sequence was up linked at 250 bps to the spacecraft from a 34 meter antenna located in Madrid Spain. The first down link of the day was not received because of a misconfiguration of the Madrid antenna. The Second down link occurring over Goldstone California was successfully conducted. Two hours and 49 minutes of data was returned at a rate of 1185 bsp . This data included APXS analysis of the rock Mo. The data appears excellent and the science team is eager to explore it. In addition the ASI/MET continues to collect data concerning the tempurature, pressure, and wind in the Mars atmosphere. Also returned today were IMP images of the super res mosaic being assembled by the science team . For tomorrow the rover team has not yet determined whether Sojourner will drive or continue to remain at the rock Mo. Both the lander and rover continue to be in excellent health.

For further information on the Mars Pathfinder Mission, please call our Mission Status Report line at 1-800-391-6654.