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!
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