Pathfinder starts sending data from Mars
'This is way beyond our expectations'
July 4, 1997
Web posted at: 7:04 p.m. EDT (2304 GMT)
PASADENA, California (CNN) -- The Mars Pathfinder space probe
has started sending data back to Earth after making a landing
on the surface of Mars that one NASA scientist described as
"way beyond our expectations."
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California,
began receiving streams of data from Mars about 5:15 p.m. EDT
(2115 GMT). About five minutes later, people in the control
room cheered and hugged when the first batch of data
indicated there were no discernible problems with the
spacecraft.
"This is the Mom-I-made-it, safe-arrival phone call," said
Donna Shirley, Pathfinder program manager.
"We know we're down, and we know we're healthy," said Brian
Muirhead, flight systems manager at JPL. "This is way beyond
our expectations. The whole day has just been extraordinary."
Landing ends 21-year lull in Mars exploration
The probe landed in a rough, rocky flood plain called Ares
Vallis about 1:07 p.m. EDT (1707 GMT), ending a 21-year lull
in Mars exploration. The last time a spacecraft from Earth
landed on Mars was in 1976.
JPL scientists had expected that it could take two hours or
more after the landing before they would be able to receive
signals from Pathfinder, indicating it had survived intact.
But to their surprise, Pathfinder sent signals continuously,
allowing NASA to declare the landing a success within three
minutes.
Buffeted by a series of balloons that inflated just before
landing, Pathfinder crash-landed onto Mars and bounced to a
stop. If necessary, it could have turned itself over if it
had landed with the wrong side to the ground. But, in a sign
of just how well the landing went, Pathfinder even landed
right side up.
Vice president offers congratulations
NASA officials in Pasadena received a congratulatory phone
call from U.S. Vice President Al Gore shortly after the data
began to flow back to Earth.
"The whole country is just very proud of what you all are
doing and have done today," Gore said. "What a great way to
celebrate America's birthday and celebrate our country's
know-how and ingenuity as we press forward to new heights and
new frontiers."
Friday is the patriotic Independence Day holiday in the
United States, the 221st anniversary of the country's
founding.
The next step for Pathfinder is to deploy an antenna that
will begin to transmit images from the Martian surface. The
first images are expected to be released by 9 p.m. EDT
(2400 GMT).
If all goes according to plan, at about midnight EDT
(0400 GMT), the diminutive rover inside the
landing craft, named Sojourner, will roll down a ramp and
make its first forays onto the Martian surface.
Mission: gathering data for future trips
The primary focus of the Pathfinder mission is to gather data
about what kinds of technology will be needed to designing
future Mars probes, which scientists hope may lead to a
manned mission by 2012.
Sojourner will analyze the Martian surface to determine the
chemical composition of rocks and soil. Other experiments
will explore the feasibility of using solar energy to turn
Mars' atmosphere into rocket fuel, a process that may prove
necessary if spacecraft are ever to fly from Mars back to
Earth.
Both the main landing craft and Sojourner have cameras on
board to beam back detailed images of the planet's features.
The mission is designed to last a month before the
solar-powered Pathfinder reaches the end of its
life. But scientists hope the landing craft and rover will
outperform their scheduled life span.
Pathfinder is not designed to answer the provocative question
of whether life once existed on Mars, because it will not be
returning to Earth with soil or rock samples that would be
needed for a definitive answer.
But the data collected on this mission could provide new
clues to the answer, as well as giving scientists the
information they need for future missions that could offer
definite proof of Martian life.
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