The Second Mars Rover Begins Planet Exploration Today - 2004-01-31

Scientists say that the Mars rover 'Opportunity' may have found the point it was looking for, namely minerals that confirm the presence of water on Mars, but scientists are still not sure. It is expected that today, Saturday, Opportunity will detach from its landing device and begin to move around the landing site. However, even before Opportunity's walk, scientists have analyzed its transmitted data and concluded that there may have been water on Mars at some point. A device embedded in the rover measures infrared radiation and the chemical composition of the environment from a distance. Meanwhile, flight operators at the control station are preparing to send movement commands to the Opportunity rover, which is two days ahead of schedule. Opportunity landed in a crater one meter deep and seven meters wide, and its path ahead is clear for movement, unlike the first rover 'Spirit,' which was obstructed by air bags designed for landing. On the other side of Mars, Spirit may resume its activities on Sunday after a software cleanup. Last week, Spirit's computer memory experienced an overload, which caused its activities to cease. Engineers hope that by clearing old data from its computer, they can prepare the memory to receive new commands.