Sol Zero: Curiosity’s First Day on Mars

August 6, 2012 12:32 AM Text Size: A . A . A Pasadena, Calif.?At the Jet Propulsion Lab, tucked into the San Gabriel of southern California, people are no longer running on Earth-time. Now that Curiosity has landed safely on Mars, everyone here is now on Mars time, where each day is 40 minutes longer.

A day on Mars is called a Sol. For this mission, Sol 0 started the moment the lander touched down on Mars to begin its two-year-long examination of the red planet. It all starts with a bang?many of them actually. An electrical signal triggers 11 pyrotechnic, guillotine-like devices that sever cables that secure pieces of the rover during its trip and rough descent.

Two hours before the landing, Rob Manning the MSL?s Chief Engineer, showed off one of these devices. Each is only a few inches long, with twin electrical connections that trigger the release of the blade?redundancy is everything.

"There are 70 of these on MSL," Manning says. "Eleven are triggered on the surface after we land." The pyros are set off by a signal from an electrical box on the rear of MSL?the engineers want this job out of the way before the night falls. Temperature change takes the biggest toll on the hardware on Mars, and no one wants a malfunction that leaves the MSL unable to free itself from the bonds that hold down its mast, arm and high-gain antenna. Those motor-driven actions will come in the days ahead.

Another Sol 0 action is to free the covers that shield the rover?s forward and rear cameras. Dust covers are loaded on springs that pop off, which enabled the Hazcams to capture those first, grainy images of Mars. (In the days ahead the rover will activate its other cameras and produce high resolution, color images.)

Science starts on Sol 1, when some of the instruments have been programmed to start collecting data. The first drive and movement of the rover?s arm occurs a week after the landing. The mission is expected to last two years, but scientists here say a 4 to 6 year lifespan is possible.

"The mission is certified to last two years," says Steven Lee,? a control systems manager who is transitioning from landing team to the ground operations. "All of our expectations are much higher."

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/moon-mars/sol-zero-curiositys-first-day-on-mars-11397088?src=rss

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