Space

DATE=01/25/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= MARS ROVERS - UPDATE (L)

NUMBER=2-312257

BYLINE=DAVID McALARY

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

/// EDS: EXPANDED INTRO, BUT TEXT REMAINS THE SAME ///

INTRO: Another U-S spacecraft has landed successfully on Mars to begin a three-month search for traces of ancient water. It has deployed itself and begun transmitting its first images of the surrounding terrain, never seen before. V-O-A's David McAlary reports from Washington that engineers are making progress fixing the malfunctioning rover that arrived earlier in the month.

TEXT: /// APPLAUSE AND CHEERS ///

Pandemonium broke out at mission control in California when the Opportunity spacecraft endured a fiery descent through the Martian atmosphere to land safely on target halfway around the planet from the Spirit rover already there.

The manager of the landing phase, Rob Manning, cheerfully and succinctly confirmed the touchdown.

/// MANNING ACT ///

We're on Mars, everybody!

/// END ACT ///

Like Spirit three weeks ago, Opportunity's descent signals showed that it deployed a parachute and fired braking rockets to slow its 20-thousand kilometer per hour entry speed, then inflated airbags to cushion its landing.

Navigation team member Louis D'Amario [duh-MAH-ree-oh] says the landing was on target within a cigar shaped area 74-by-five kilometers.

/// D'AMARIO ACT ///

It looks like that we hit the bull's-eye again with Opportunity, just like for Spirit.

/// END ACT ///

At a jubilant news conference, NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe toasted with champagne, as he had done three weeks ago when Spirit landed.

/// O'KEEFE ACT ///

What a night! (LAUGHS) As the old saying goes, it's far better to be lucky than good (LAUGHTER), but, you know, the harder we work, the luckier we seem to get.

///END ACT///

The goal of Opportunity, like Spirit, is to seek signs that water once flowed on Mars, an indication that it might have supported life. While Spirit landed in a crater scientists believe is an ancient lake bed, Opportunity is on a high, flat plain with rich deposits of a mineral called hematite, known to form in association with water.

Hours before Opportunity's touchdown, mission engineers described progress in fixing what they believe is a computer software problem that has interrupted Spirit's science operations.

Project manager Peter Theisinger [TIE-sing-er] suggests that part of the vehicle's computer memory is faulty and predicts that technicians can work around it to rely on another part of the memory. He says his team does not yet know what caused the computer software problem, but adds that they have been able to regain command over the malfunctioning rover and might get it back to work in three weeks.

/// THEISINGER ACT ///

24 hours ago, I sat up on this stage and told you that we had a serious problem with Spirit. Here we are tonight with Spirit, we think, on a path to recovery and we've successfully landed Opportunity on Mars. I think we've been surprised how well it has gone.

/// END ACT ///

Mission officials say Opportunity bounced to an upside down landing, but has already made itself upright, opened its petals like a flower, and deployed its solar energy panels and antenna.

///REST OPT///

NASA's chief of space science, Ed Weiler [WYE-ler], says the agency's Mars landing record has now improved, with five of six attempts since the 1970s successful. He praised engineers' efforts to resuscitate the Spirit rover.

// WEILER ACT ///

I came here prepared for a funeral, basically, and instead we resurrected one rover and we saw the birth of another today.

/// END ACT ///

(SIGNED)

NEB/DEM/MEM