Do you need a new license to drive on Mars?

I suppose this post is a bit overdue, seeing as I haven’t updated any of you in a few weeks. It’s the end of week four for me, and Thursday is the new Friday… every other week employees have Fridays off. I am definitely in need of a nice long weekend!

The past few weeks were a roller-coaster of learning, observing, and exploring. Tom came out to visit for six days over valentine’s weekend… I was fortunate enough to snag a lengthy four-day’s break. Tom certainly brought the good weather with him – and I experienced the warmest weather here so far – high 70’s and mid 80’s. Saturday morning Tom and I rolled on over to the local farmer’s market, and we bought some delicious fresh produce and awesome hats! We also rented a car for a couple of days and visited good friends in Santa Monica and strolled along the beaches in Malibu… and of course watched the sun set over the pacific.

My favorite highlight from Tom’s visit were the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. It is by far the most spectacular collection of plant species, both native and non-native that I have ever seen! The cactus gardens house massive succulents, and the landscape makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a Dr. Seuss story. You’ll know exactly what I mean when you look at my photos! We spent the entire afternoon exploring the gardens, and would have stayed longer if they hadn’t closed (or if our feet weren’t about to fall off from all of the walking). I am definitely retuning before the end of my stay.

Tuesday was by far the most exciting day of work for me at the JPL. My mentor extended the invitation to shadow him as he led a team of scientists operate the Mars Opportunity Rover! It’s really interesting to observe a machine - located on a completely different planet mind you – taking orders from a little control room on Earth. Now if you’re expecting to see a joystick and real-time imagery from the rover in this control room at the JPL, you’re wrong. Completely wrong.

Each morning that the rover “wakes up” it uplinks a bunch of data to a nearby satellite orbiting Mars. This satellite then downlinks this data to Earth, and is sent to fancy computers at the JPL Flight Operations Control Center. The scientists I observed yesterday analyzed this data, which involved interpreting high-resolution color images, GPS coordinates, energy levels, location hazards and so on. As my mentor mentioned, their task is to see if the rover was “a good boy” the day before, and had executed all ordered tasks. In Tuesday’s case, Opportunity was obedient, and operated perfectly.

Once this lengthy analysis is complete, the present scientists consult various other scientists via tele-conference throughout the US. Through collaboration of ideas and data results, this team decides exactly what to do with the rover the current sol (meaning “day” on Mars), and the following sol. The final steps involve writing specific commands that the rover can understand, down to the very last second of its operation time. Apparently, a film of dust covers the solar panels of Opportunity, which limits its net solar absorption and thus energy for work. Our team is hoping for a windstorm to clear off the sun-blocking gunk.

So no, there are no joysticks or robots speaking in a monotone voice when the rovers on Mars are operated. In fact, there is a 38-minute time lapse between Earth and Mars, so if you were to give it any commands, it would take that long for any kind of response. The fact that we do have communication with a robot on a neighboring planet is as close to Mars as I’ll ever be. I have to keep pinching myself to see if this is all a dream, and that I didn’t actually experience rover-driving on Mars… but I did! Tuesday’s observing was an incredible experience, and I’m crossing my fingers for another opportunity to be involved. I have a good feeling that I’ll be invited again…

- I'm standing in the overlook bay where the Mars Science laboratory (MSL) rover is under construction!

Greetings From... Mars!

I am happy to announce that I've survived my first week out here at the JPL! Looking back, these past seven days have flown right past me, although each day was full - I mean FULL - of learning. My mentor/ project supervisor is a Martian genius... I swear he knows the surface of Mars better than Earth!

I work on the eighth floor of an exensive research building at the JPL. My day is spent in the Lab, where I get to play with a super-fast (and massive) Mac computer. The computer includes two of the largest desktop screens I have ever seen, and they occupy my entire line of sight... they are really big! Unfortunately there are no windows in the Lab and I usually work alone, except when my supervisors assign me more tasks/ help me navigate through the vast computer systems.

So far, the majority of my work this week contributes to the research efforts of my mentor. I've had several interesting - and sometimes tedious - assignments involving scanning through countless HiRISE images in order to locate an impact crater cluster of interest. Once I've located them on a 6km x 20km high resolution image, I measure their individual and effective diameters. This is easy because all I have to do is zoom to the maximum scale, and count each pixel across the craters. Each HiRISE image captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has a resolution of 23 cm per pixel. It's amazing what we can see on the surface... sorry, no aliens - just really cool geologic features and rocks!

The second project I was just trained to work on involves the four potential landing sites for the Mars Science Laboratory rover, scheduled for take-off in late 2011. Our team is responsible for identifying hazards in each of these four sites. The primary dangers include large, angular boulders, steep hill slopes, and weak dust ground cover, all of which jeopardize the 1.6 billion dollar project. I was recently trained to work with a program designed for MATLAB, which automatically identifies rocks on the surface of these landing sites.

The program measures their relative diameters based upon their shadows. My task is to identify the false positives, or mistaken rocks, that the program identifies. For example, the software might identify a hill or scarp as a rock, and it's my job to re-classify those features. Although hills, thick dust, and scarps are still potentially hazardous to the MSL rover, we need to keep them separate from the rocks.

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL for short) rover is super awesome. It's about the size of a Voltzwagon Beetle, and is fully equipped with the most advanced technologies. The neatest feature, in my opinion, is a laser that shoots out of it's head. It is aimed at a rock, and depending on the color of flame that results, it's chemical and minerologic composition can be identified. Above is a photo with my new best friend.

I suppose I'll end this week with a two-thumbs-up for my internship this spring. Even though this week was a teensy bit daunting, I'm learning so much every day. The most valuable thing in the world is knowledge, and I am more than delighted to share mine with you!

Happy Week!