Rovers On Course For Mars

[Shyriath]

*In a Cartman-like voice* You know that feeling you get when you send a probe an a HUGE trip to Mars?

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars2003-03x.html

NASA's Spirit spacecraft made its third trajectory correction maneuver on Friday, Nov. 14, fine tuning its flight path toward Mars with an engine-firing operation planned into the seven-month trip.

The trajectory adjustment was designed to alter Spirit's velocity by 0.6 meters per second (1.3 miles per hour), moving the arrival point by 770 kilometers (478 miles) and arrival time by 16.5 minutes closer to the planned target location and time, said Louis D'Amario, the project's navigation team chief. To accomplish that adjustment, the flight team commanded Spirit to fire its engines for 132 seconds in the direction of the spacecraft's rotation axis and for short pulses totaling 27 seconds in a direction roughly perpendicular to the rotation axis.

Spirit has three more scheduled dates for additional trajectory corrections before reaching Mars less than seven weeks from now. The spacecraft is carrying the first of two Mars Exploration Rovers equipped to examine the geology around their landing sites for evidence about past environmental conditions.

It's awesome.</cartmanvoice>