Time Lapse: Six years of exploration through the “eyes” of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit.
January 26th, 2010
Now a Stationary Research Platform, NASA’s Mars Rover Spirit Starts a New Chapter in Red Planet Scientific Studies
After six years of unprecedented exploration of the Red Planet, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit no longer will be a fully mobile robot. NASA has designated the once-roving scientific explorer a stationary science platform after efforts during the past several months to free it from a sand trap have been unsuccessful.
The venerable robot’s primary task in the next few weeks will be to position itself to combat the severe Martian winter. If Spirit survives, it will continue conducting significant new science from its final location. The rover’s mission could continue for several months to years.
January 25th, 2010
Looming Martian winter threatens Spirit rover Spaceflight Now
NASA Headquarters managers face an imminent decision to formally halt further extraction maneuvers by the Mars rover Spirit to conserve electricity and to save the rover’s life while it remains stuck in a sand trap 61 million miles from Earth.
After six years of roving, Spirit’s continued survival on Mars is now an open question as this marvel of robotics, human affection and ingenuity now risks freezing to death in the weeks ahead.
January 24th, 2010
Stuck Mars Rover About to Die? National Geographic
NASA’s Mars rover Spirit passed its six-year anniversary January 3rd, but the upcoming Mars winter may spell the end for the ‘all-terrain’ vehicle.
Last year, Spirit’s wheels broke through a crusty Mars surface layer and became trapped in the loose sand hidden underneath. Here, a NASA scale model mockup is seen trying to maneuver out of the predicament.
Latest attempts to recover the real rover have resulted in it sinking deeper in the Martian soil.
Spirit’s twin rover, Opportunity, landed on the opposite side of Mars 3 weeks after Spirit, and is still able to rove across the planet’s surface. The two rovers combined have traveled more than 16 miles, sending back photos and lots of data about the planet.
As daily sunshine on the Red Planet’s southern hemisphere declines with the approaching winter, NASA ground operators are trying to adjust the tilt of Spirit’s solar panels to compensate for the decrease in solar energy.
January 21st, 2010
Stuck Rover on Mars Climbs Slightly in Escape Attempt
NASA’s embattled Mars rover Spirit has managed its first successful, but ever-so-small, climb as it drives in reverse to escape a Martian sand trap that has plagued it for more than eight months.
Spirit lifted itself by nearly half an inch (just over 1 cm) during its latest two drive attempts this month, NASA announced Thursday. While that seems tiny, it’s the first upward motion for the rover since escape attempts began in November, the agency added.
The rover also moved about 2.6 inches (6.5 cm) backwards in the maneuvers, which took place on Jan. 14 and Jan. 16. Spirit’s left-middle wheel stalled on Tuesday during yet another drive attempt.
“The explanation here is that the rover’s rear wheels are climbing, raising the back of the rover,” NASA officials said in a statement. “Images from the rear hazard avoidance camera confirm this.”
December 22nd, 2009
Mars Rover Makes Discovery While Spinning Its Wheels
For nearly six years, Spirit roamed Mars, experiencing a number of close calls. In fact, the solar-powered robot has driven backwards since its right front wheel jammed in 2006.
Spirit’s most challenging ordeal yet began in April, when it got bogged down in a patch of loose soil on the edge of a small crater. As scientists plotted Spirit’s escape for months, they dubbed the area Troy, after the city the ancient Greeks struggled against in myth for a decade.
As frustrating as Spirit’s dilemma has proven, it has yielded an unexpected insight.
“Spirit had to get stuck to make its next discovery,” said geologist Ray Arvidson of the Washington University in St. Louis. “The rover’s spinning wheels have broken through a crust, and we’ve found something supremely interesting in the disturbed soil.”
December 9th, 2009
Second stalled wheel may doom Mars rover New Scientist
A second wheel may now be broken on NASA’s Spirit rover, dampening hopes for freeing the robot from a sand trap it has been trapped in for seven months. The injury will also increase the rover’s risk of freezing to death in the coming winter.
Spirit has been struggling to escape from a patch of soft, sandy soil since April. Its three left wheels are almost entirely buried and have little traction, and its right-front wheel is of no use – it seized up permanently in 2006.
Now, Spirit’s right-rear wheel is also having problems and may be permanently disabled.
December 3rd, 2009
Sandtrapped Rover Makes a Big Discovery
Homer’s Iliad tells the story of Troy, a city besieged by the Greeks in the Trojan War. Today, a lone robot sits besieged in the sands of Troy while engineers and scientists plot its escape.
Welcome to “Troy” – Mars style. NASA’s robotic rover Spirit is bogged down on the Red Planet in a place the rover team named after the ancient city.
So why aren’t scientists lamenting?
“The rover’s spinning wheels have broken through a crust, and we’ve found something supremely interesting in the disturbed soil,” says Ray Arvidson of the Washington University in St. Louis.
December 3rd, 2009
Mars Had Liquid Water in Recent Past, Rover Finds National Geographic
Even while snared in a sand trap, NASA’s Mars rover Spirit has hit “wet” pay dirt: evidence of relatively recent groundwater activity on the red planet. For almost six months the rover has been precariously perched on the edge of a shallow crater in an equatorial region of Mars. The area is filled with cooled lava flows pitted by meteorite impacts. While on a routine drive, Spirit broke through a thin crust of hard soil that capped a filled-in impact crater, and its wheels became half buried in the soft sand.
December 2nd, 2009
Another Stall of Right-Rear Wheel Ends Drive
Spirit’s right-rear wheel stalled again on Sol 2099 (Nov. 28, 2009) during the first step of a two-step extrication maneuver. This stall is different in some characteristics from the stall on Sol 2092 (Nov. 21). The Sol 2099 stall occurred more quickly and the inferred rotor resistance was elevated at the end of the stall. Investigation of past stall events along with these characteristics suggest that this stall might not be result of the terrain, but might be internal to the right-rear wheel actuator. Rover project engineers are developing a series of diagnostics to explore the actuator health and to isolate potential terrain interactions. These diagnostics are not likely to be ready before Wednesday. Plans for future driving will depend on the results of the diagnostic tests.