Projects: Red Rover Goes to Mars
Student Astronaut Nomathemba Kontyo
Nomathemba and Camillia Presenting a 3D Image
On their last day at JPL, Nomathemba and Camillia made a presentation to the Opportunity Science Assessment Meeting about the Student Astronauts' work with the MarsDial images. Created: 28 February 2004.
Credit: The Planetary Society
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Spirit Sol 47 / Opportunity Sol 27
Friday, February 20, 2004
Well this is it; I am inside the mission operations at NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in California. I had a long flight from South Africa after a wonderful
send-off from my country where I had the president Mr. Thabo Mbeki coming
to visit me at school with the Minister of Education and his cabinet. That
day I was over Mars because that visit meant a lot and encouraged and inspired
me. I have been excited since the day I heard that I am one of 16 Student
Astronauts going to work on the Mars Exploration Rover mission.
Yesterday night we were at a conference where we met the Star Trek TV stars
and we were introduced to everyone and we all had a great time and we even
got DVD’s with Star Trek shows to take home with and we had so much
fun.
This morning we attended a Science Context meeting with the mission specialists
for Opportunity. Well I was impressed with the scientists because they are
not as boring as I thought they would be but they are all very friendly and
willing to answer as many questions that we ask. These people turn out to
be just normal people who love what they do and one thing I noticed is that
they are all passionate about what they do and most of all they work as a
team. We met Matt Golombek who was the head of the Mars Pathfinder mission
and who works on both rovers.
We also went to the Science Assessment meeting led by Steve Squyres. I enjoyed
this one the most. At the meeting the people working on the different instruments
on the rovers were presenting information about how the rover’s instrument
is doing and presenting the sequence for the following sol. Well before the
meeting we went to see what the scientists were doing and asked them a few
questions and how they feel about what they are doing and working on the mission
like working long hours. Jim Rice told me that he really loves what he is
doing and if he did not then he would not work till those hours at night.
I noticed that the scientists are all passionate about what they do and they
all have a dream. I also observed that they all work as a team even though
they work on different instruments.
It can get confusing at the meetings because you might think that you got
the idea of what they were saying and the next minute you hear a scientific
term and you might kind of lose what you were hearing but what helps is that
after the meeting you get a chance to ask questions about what you might have
missed.
We also went to the Science Operations Working Group meeting were the mission
specialists combine their data so to develop with a sequence for the rover.
JPL did not turn out exactly as I thought it would be, it turns out to be
a fun place to work at and I think that I might consider being a Geologist
as one of my careers so I can get a chance to work at JPL one day.
Well I will write a lot more about the inside mission operations any way
it is my first day but I had lots of fun.
Spirit Sol 48 / Opportunity Sol 28
Saturday, February 21, 2004
Today is my second day at JPL and a day for real work. We went to the context
meeting for about an hour regarding Sol 27 of Opportunity with the Science
Theme Group. At the meeting we saw an image captured yesterday by Opportunity.
The image captured by the Microscopic imager was very interesting and it also
had two or three extremely interesting features.
We were also told about the Pancam instrument by one of the scientists. Each
team had to report about how their instruments are doing and what is new.
One of the scientists made a presentation about certain elements that they
had found and that was really interesting because one of the mission objectives
is to look for certain elements in minerals, and we are on the right track.
Well after the meeting we had went to our new office that the other students
were working in. Kristyn and Cheng-Tao, the Student Astronauts that we will
be taking over from had to show us the ropes, and fill us in on what they
were doing. We did a few practice images and tried to pick up on what they
were showing us and that was so much fun because we were getting used to working
in the office. And of course we do not just have fun but we work hard late
hours. Yesterday we worked till 9:30 at night by anyway we did not even notice
the time because we were just enjoying our selves.
Tonight after work hours we will be going to CalTech that is the University
of California to watch a play by Shakespeare and the play is called Macbeth
and we will be going with our parents because Kristyn and Cheng-tao are leaving
us tomorrow so it will something like a farewell get together.
We just attended the Science Assessment meeting but we had missed a few things
because we were late and because we had to finish a few things before attending
the meeting.
We are getting used to JPL learning lots of things and getting lots of experience.
I hope that other students around the world will see the fun and adventure
of science and having this opportunity to be part of this mission is one thing
we will never forget.
Spirit Sol 49 / Opportunity Sol 29
Sunday, February 22, 2004
My mother and I went shopping this morning before coming to JPL. When we
were living we asked the shop assistant to call a cab for us to take us to
the Guesthouse. I was late getting back so I went back to the room quickly
and took my stuff and by luck I saw Kristyn's dad and he took me to JPL where
everybody was waiting for me.
The California weather is very cold from what I had expected. It seems to
be the rainy season. When we left South Africa everyone was telling us that
it was going to be warm but not exactly everyone because some people were
telling us to bring warm clothing which we did not bring. Well, we're getting
used to it.
Cheng-Tao, Kristyn, Millie and I exchanged gifts symbolizing the countries
we come from and I gave them small South African flags and pens from Cape
Town.
We attended the Science Context meeting as usual and during the presentation
we saw the targets that the rover went to and we even saw that it was looking
down in the soil. At the meeting, the scientists presented a couple of mission
activities planned for the rover. At the meeting we met Walter Goetz who is
a magnet scientist from Germany. He was working on Spirit but is now working
on Opportunity. We had a chat with him, asking him about what he does and
we all gave him our name and told him where we come from and we even took
some pictures with him.
We went back to the office to work. Kristyn and Cheng-Tao were assisting
us with what we were not familiar with yet. Walter Goetz also popped by at
the office to see how were doing and we also talked about the magnet experiment.
After that we went to the Mission Operations we to see what the scientists
were up to and we met one of the scientists, Bob Anderson. We also had a chat
with Bob and took some pictures before going to the Science Downlink Assessment
meeting.
So far every instrument is doing well. The Rock Abrasion Tool is doing well
and there had been discussions on what instruments to use and when. As far
as the geology side goes, they are able to observe the minerals and elements
that they are looking for. All the instruments are healthy and they are able
to capture many images.
Spirit Sol 50 / Opportunity Sol 30
Monday, February 23, 2004
This morning Kristyn came knocking on my door calling us to come and meet
them in their room before they leave. Well they had a great goodbye from their
fellow student astronauts and we had a wonderful break fast and a great time.
We will miss both of them but we will stay in touch till we meet again and
we even decided that we would create a mars mission in 2010 so we can meet
the other student astronauts that we were not able to meet.
Today we had to take a cab going to JPL because Kristyn and her dad were
leaving. This morning we had a couple of images to calibrate although we had
a few problems with the software. There were also some reporters from the “Times
Education Supplements” who come from London. They interviewed Millie
and I and they took us out side with K.J (our mentor) for a couple of pictures
next to the palm trees. We also went to the Von Karmon for some pictures next
to the rover and we even got a chance to see them before going back to the
office and that was very exciting.
As usual we went to the Science Context meeting of Opportunity where there
was a presentation about the long –term planning of the rover’s
activities. The scientists also have a sequence of each of the rover’s
instruments telling which instruments will do what and when and which instrument
is going to be disturbed when the other is used. Well that is exactly what
I call teamwork because these people just love and know what they are doing,
but they do not know exactly everything and that’s one of the reasons
why they are exploring Mars. And not forgetting the guy who was busy taking
pictures while we were listening to the presentations well anyway that was
fun though.
After the meeting we popped by Michael D. Smith, one of the atmosphere guys,
and we had a long chat with him and of course with the camera guy busy taking
pictures on the side. Michael told us that they study the temperature on Mars,
the weather and study the amount of dust as well as searching for the clouds.
They work with the data received by the Mini-TES (the Miniature Thermo Emission
Spectrometer), “that is really fun working with,” he said.
Spirit Sol 51 / Opportunity Sol 31
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
This 5th day in California and I am getting homesick already. Today our shift
to go to JPL was at 3:15 so I had enough time to go out shopping and check
out Pasadena. My mother and I bought ourselves some cute t-shirts and we ate
at Conrad’s restaurant. We had to rush back to the Guesthouse because
I had to prepare myself for going to JPL and getting that red sweatshirt on.
I called a cab to pick us up and take Millie and I to JPL. As far as the weather
goes, it was very surprising because it was just a bit warm but, after a few
hours, it went back to square one and became colder again.
Yesterday we were late for the Science Downlink Assessment meeting because
we had a few things to sort out at the office. We managed to ask a few of
the scientists about what they were talking about before leaving. There were
presentations about the instruments and so far it seems like the entire set
of the rover’s instruments are healthy. Because the rovers have heaters
that release heat, energy is being utilized and wasted, so one of the teams
came up with a technique for saving energy. And at the meeting, one thing
was emphasized that scientists must come up with lots of sequences before
others are applied. Also we got to see the timetable for the instruments.
That was very interesting!
At the context meeting today we saw an outcrop and images captured by the
Mini-TES from the mineralogy and geochemistry teams. The rock explanations
had to wait because we sometimes have to give the scientists some time because
they get very busy.
We had a chat with one of the Geology people, Bradley Jollif, and asked him
a few questions about what we didn’t get during the presentations. I
asked about the flash status that they usually talk about because it can get
confusing sometimes. He told us that it is kind of like a memory card that
holds images from the Pancam and other instruments, from the rover. Dr. Jollif
also told us that there are two types of flash storage, sent data that is
not complete and the new data that has not been sent because the scientists
do not have enough time to get to it yet. I’ll tell you more about this
tomorrow because I have to get to the Science Downlink Assessment Meeting.
Spirit Sol 52 / Opportunity Sol 32
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Well the days are flying by and I am just starting to love this place. Today
our shift was at 4:00pm and we had time to do our laundry and have enough
time to rest as preparation for Friday when we will be working till 2:15 AM.
Anyway, who cares, because at least we will be experiencing and learning new
things.
At the context meeting today the scientists had the long term planning for
the rovers instruments. Before the context meeting Emily introduced us to
Jim Bell who is the head of the Panoramic Camera team but we were not able
to chat for long because the meeting was about to start.
We bumped into Walter Goetz and we talked to him and we told him that we
are making some sundial movies and that really caught his interest. He even
advised us to use images from Filter 7 when looking at the dust on the magnets,
because he believes that they are the clearest images captured by the rovers.
He also asked us if we have done any magnet dust movies yet because if weve
got any questions to ask we can ask him.
Well now we are working our buts off at the office making sundial movies,
and calibrating images from Spirit, which is really fun though. It might get
confusing though but KJ who is our teacher was with us today and explained
to us what we did not understand, which makes the work much easier though.
That made me to be very enthusiastic because knowing that there are people
willing to assist you makes you feel comfortable and more enthusiastic.
Today Millie had bought some chocolates for everyone before the downlink
assessment meeting we handed the to the scientists and they loved them, and
some even asked for more!
Well it amazes me how these scientists work because they work as a team and
that is what fascinates me the most about them. They discuss their ideas and
give opinions and come to a conclusion where by everyone is happy with it
and then they develop their sequence.
We have a couple of images to calibrate and a couple of Mars Dial movies
to make so Ill tell you more about whats happening inside the mission operations
of the NASAs JPL tomorrow.
Spirit Sol 53 / Opportunity Sol 33
Thursday, February 26, 2004
The time is flying and our days at JPL are numbered. We are doing the Mars
dial movies. I am struggling a bit on but Joe is helping us.
This morning I received a call from my former neighbor in South Africa. He
lives here in Los Angeles now. Well it was really great for my mother and
I to be in touch with someone we know since we are not able to get in touch
with my family.
Today went to a conference meeting that was held at the Von Karman auditorium
here at JPL. There was a presentation on the women working on the Mars Exploration
Rovers. The ladies were telling us about their input in the mission and their
experiences at JPL. The ladies work with the engineering teams where they
develop the rover’s instruments and put them together which is quite
exciting and hard work of course! We asked them a few questions and they are
all passionate and dedicated to what they do because their work at JPL means
a lot to them. The ladies said sometimes they just pinch themselves to make
sure they are not dreaming. What they like the most is saying, “I work
at this place.”
After the conference there were group discussions but we were not able to
be there because we had to run to the office and work. We went to the Science
Context meeting and the first person we bumped into was Matt Golembek, one
of the funniest scientists who working on the Geology team. He was busy trying
to pull textures from the images. The images had a high contrast so that made
it to hard for him to see the textures so he had to stretch the image until
he is able to do so.
The rovers are doing great and there are still a few observations to be done
using the Mossbauer spectrometer. Everything is still going smoothly.
Spirit Sol 54 / Opportunity Sol 34
Friday, February 27, 2004
Today Shonte Wrigat came to visit us at the office she is one of the ladies
who have been working with the engineering team on building the rover. Shonte
loves working at the JPL and this is her 11th year and she says that she loves
working at this place more than her colleagues do. We had a great time chatting
with her and she has been working hard on the mission, as they had to run
a great many tests on the instruments. As we were talking I told her about
South Africa and I told her about Table mountain and the clouds that lay beautifully
on the mountain like a cloth and she said she would love to visit South Africa
one day.
We went to the Science Context meeting as usual and we were just going around
to see what scientists were up to. We went to Carthy Weitz who is with the
geology science working group and she was working on a Pancam image. She was
looking at a false color image trying to see the spectrum of the image trying
to see if she can see what minerals are on the Martian surface.
At the Science Context meting today there were discussions about using the
RAT on the target selected. If the RAT doesn't RAT there is a back up plan
that other instruments may then be used.
On an image that was taken by the Pancam there was an outcrop seen which
attracted the scientists interest. They hope that some Mossbauer work is going
to be applied and the scientists are hopping to drive towards the outcrop
and then take some Pancam images of the outcrop. Also today there was a Rover
traveler map shown to the scientists that showed were the rover traveled with
I the past sols.
After the meeting we talked to Jascha Sol-Dickstein who works with the Pancam
team and he also told us about the other team at Cornell University which
calibrates images the same way we do. Jascha is working on studying dust deposition
on the Sundial.
Then we went back to the office and there are a couple of images that need
to be calibrated. Well time seems to fly, though we have a big night ahead
of us. Today Millie’s father will be picking us up at 2:15am and by
then will probably be walking zombies.
Something past ten we went to the Science Downlink Assessment Meeting and
the first thing we saw was the scientists looking at a amazing image captured
by the Pancam. There image was showing the rock after the rover did some RATing
on it and the rock was a very hard rock. There was some brushing done on it
too. The rock had the blue berries on it, so after the RATting the blue berries
were very flat and their appearance was a bit different from the side rocks.
Well it was really interesting to see the scientists looking at the rock
and actually commenting on it and of course with Emily taking pictures on
the side. When the meeting started the RAT team was given a round of applause
and everybody was extremely excited about the image. The RAT team had come
up with something different and uncovered the rock’s different insides
and that was really awesome.
The scientists were planning on generating a list of data and were hoping
to see bigger chucks and some other big stuff on top of the rock. All the
rover’s instruments are doing great so far.
Well now we just come from the S.O.W.G meeting that took for an hour and
that is were the scientists develop the sequence for the instruments. Larry
Soderblom saw that everybody was getting tired and he told us that we still
have another hour before the meeting ends. I was starting to feel very tired
and some of the scientists were starting to fall asleep and two minutes later
the meeting ended and we were like, "that was a nice one."
Well we really had a long day today and we were supposed to be leaving at
2:00am but Emily saw that we were starting to lose it so she gave us 1:15am.
Anyway we can’t complain because this is what dedication and being a
Student Astronaut is. Even the scientists themselves work till the next day
so we will chat with you tomorrow when we spend our last day at the Jet Propulsion
Lab.
Spirit Sol 55 / Opportunity Sol 35
Saturday, February 27, 2004
Today is our last day at JPL and I really feel sad about it. We had a great
time here; we met new people and learned lots of new things and I really wish
that I can turn the hands of time and extend the days. I gained experience
here and I am very compelled that when I return to South Africa I will have
something to share with the students of South Africa and to everyone. When
I return back home to Cape Town I hope to inspire the youth and motivate them
by telling them that nothing is impossible in life and it is just that a person
has to put effort to what he/ she wishes to achieve. Even I myself, the student
astronaut from South Africa, when I entered the competition I did not expect
to win, but when I was writing my essay I gave it my best shot and a month
later I received a certificate confirming that I am one of the international
finalists. And from the day that I received the certificate I started believing
in myself and I made it, and that is what I wish other students could do for
themselves.
Well Kristyn, Cheng-Tao, Millie and I had already discussed that in 2020
we are going to create a mission and send a rover, not one that looks like
Opportunity or Spirit but we will come up with our own design and that will
enable us to meet the other Student Astronauts that we were not able to meet.
Today I decided that I am going to keep in contact with the scientists while
we are away so we can be updated with what is currently happening on Mars.
At the context meeting we bothered them for the last time and we asked them
for their email addresses before the meeting started so we can keep in touch.
Before the meeting KJ told the long-term planner who was the chair of the
meeting that we want to present some of the things that were doing after the
meeting discussion we were given a chance to speak and Millie presented the
Mars dial movie that she had made showed it to the scientists then I told
them what we have been doing for the past couple of days and we told them
how we feel about the great opportunity we had to be actually part of the
mission. Actually we were the first group to get a chance and be able to present
our work and of course we are the anchors of the Student Astronauts. After
the meeting we returned back to the office and KJ had brought some Burrito
shredded beef, which was very good.
Well we both had a great time at the Jet Propulsion Lab and in a few years
to come you will hear from us again and of course when the student astronauts
meet for the mission that we are planning in 2020 remember? Last but not least
we had a marvelous time that no one ever had before so I am really going to
make the most out of it and I will again never forget the great time we had,
I am sure you must be bored of hearing me bubbling about the great time we
had but I just can’t help it! See ya.
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