Step Ten: Descent imager takes pictures of the surface
While radar measurements are acquired, a descent imager will take three pictures of the surface and compare high-contrast features (for example, a crater) to determine the horizontal velocity at which the lander is moving across the surface. This measurement helps determine which transverse rockets should be fired in the retro rocket system.

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Step Eleven: Data transmission to the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter begins
The descent UHF (ultra-high frequency) antenna, mounted on the lander, begins transmitting once the lander descends from the backshell, which stays attached to the parachute. From the lander's position at the bottom of a tether (aka bridle) connected to the backshell, this antenna can transmit to the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter that will be passing overhead at this time. The link allows Spirit to supplement the tone-coded information with additional status reports that can be forwarded to Earth by Mars Global Surveyor almost immediately. The window for relaying information to Mars Global Surveyor closes by about 8:42 p.m., when the orbiter sets below the landing site's horizon, about seven minutes after Spirit hits the ground. Although this communication link has been extensively planned and simulated, there is no guarantee that Mars Global Surveyor will successfully relay information from Spirit. When the lander descends from the backshell, a low-gain X-band antenna mounted on the rover itself takes over from the backshell antenna the job of transmitting tones to Earth. It transmits tones until retro rockets fire, six seconds before impact. Then, during the spacecraft's impact, bouncing, and rolling, it transmits a carrier signal only.

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Step Twelve: Airbags inflate
Airbags inflate to protect the lander for a soft lading over the hard rocks on Mars. The airbags used in the Mars Exploration Rover mission are the same type that Mars Pathfinder used in 1997. Airbags must be strong enough to cushion the spacecraft if it lands on rocks or rough terrain and allow it to bounce across Mars' surface at freeway speeds after landing.

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Step Thirteen: Retro rockets fire
At this point in entry, descent, and landing, the lander is only a football-field length off the ground. Three rockets fire, bringing the airbag-cocooned lander to zero vertical velocity nearly 40 feet off the ground

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Step Fourteen: Bridle is cut and first impact occurs
At about the height of a four-story building and three seconds before landing, the bridle is cut and the vehicle freefalls to the surface. The mass of Spirit and its lander is about 544 kilograms (1,200 pounds).

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Step Fifteen: Lander rolls to complete stop
The rover, protected by its lander structure and airbags, could bounce up to four or five stories high and roll as far as 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) across the martian surface before it comes to a complete stop around 20:45 PST [04:45GMT].

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Step Sixteen: Communication attempt begins
About 14 minutes after Spirit hits the ground and four minutes after it stops bouncing and rolling, transmission of tones resumes from the rover's low-gain X-band antenna. If the rover lands with its base petal down, this antenna will be near the top of the bundle and in a position that may be favorable to sending a signal to Earth. Its transmission of tones ends 150 seconds later. The lander, however, may not be in this orientation. Therefore, beginning about three minutes later, another low-gain X-band antenna, this one mounted on the lander's base petal, transmits tones for 150 seconds as well.

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Step Seventeen: Critical deployments begin
Immediately after landing, the rover will go through a series of critical deployments for 80 minutes or longer, depending on which base petal it lands. The lander will retract its airbags, deploy its lander petals and solar arrays, and raise its panoramic camera mast.

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That's what is SUPPOSE to be happening. ......... on another planet................. FAR away from us. To me that's one hell of a statement and an even more impossible agenda. Each time I look at the specie, what it does to eah other, itself, the planet and shake my head ................ we do something like this to show we CAN do something worth while.

God HAS to be a woman!...... Will just ALWAYS make you wrong.

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Step Eighteen: Data transmission to the Mars Odyssey orbiter begins
The Mars Odyssey orbiter passes across the sky above the landing site for about 15 minutes. If Spirit gets through its critical deployments in time, it will use the rover's UHF antenna to send information, perhaps including images, to Odyssey. Odyssey forwards that information to Earth between 23:00 and midnight PST. However, Spirit might not be ready to communicate with Odyssey by the time the orbiter flies overhead, especially if Spirit ends its roll with a side petal instead of its base petal down. Also, as with the communications attempt with Mars Global Surveyor (step eleven), there has never been a chance to test communications between a transmitter on the surface of Mars and an orbiter.

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Step Nineteen: Spirit sleeps
Under normal conditions, the rover goes to sleep after the Odyssey pass.

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It will be very interesting to see the degree of success is possible for such a giant task. Good luck to one of the more noble endeavors of a selfish specie.

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Thanks for the site references and the discussion of the steps Spirit will take. Very interesting stuff, isn't it?

Jubilant Mars Exploration Rover Team members cheer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory as they get the first tones from a healthy Spirit on Mars! Check back to this page for more rover updatesJubilant Mars Exploration Rover Team members cheer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory as they get the first tones from a healthy Spirit on Mars! Check back to this page for more rover updates

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NASA's Mars Exploration Spirit is sending back its first images from the surface of Mars. More images will be available shortly. NASA's Deep Space Network received a signal confirming that Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is alive after rolling to a stop on the surface of Mars(Updated - Jan 4. 12 am PST)

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