NASA's Mars rover might be stuck for good - Mars
source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32860475/ns/technology_and_science-space/
-
-
- vincius
- added this
Efforts to free the stuck Spirit rover on Mars have been dragging on since May, and one NASA official now says the robot may never get free.
"We are proceeding very cautiously and exploring all reasonable options," John Callas, NASA project manager for Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, said in a status report issued Monday. "There is a very real possibility that Spirit may not be able to get out, and we want to give Spirit the very best chance."
Callas and colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been testing ideas on a twin of Spirit at the California facility, in a pit designed to simulate the surface of Mars. It's tricky though, because of the difference in gravity of the two planets. The rover team is also refining a detailed computer model of rover mobility, calibrated with results from testing and measurements from Mars.
"We are proceeding very cautiously and exploring all reasonable options," John Callas, NASA project manager for Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, said in a status report issued Monday. "There is a very real possibility that Spirit may not be able to get out, and we want to give Spirit the very best chance."
Callas and colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been testing ideas on a twin of Spirit at the California facility, in a pit designed to simulate the surface of Mars. It's tricky though, because of the difference in gravity of the two planets. The rover team is also refining a detailed computer model of rover mobility, calibrated with results from testing and measurements from Mars.
-
- groups:
- Community, Science, Space, Weird Science
-
- tags:
- Space, Mars, Space Shuttle, Hubble, 2 more
-
-
Ogaal
-
Fetch the Jaws of Life: Outer Space model!
Honestly just make the next rover equipped with spiked tires and emergency propulsion systems so it can un stick itself. Or just give it legs.
- 2 years ago
-
Ogaal
-
-
Twitchr
-
-
Should of gone with these tires, they say ALL terrain.
- 2 years ago
-
Twitchr
-
-
animaladvocate
-
hmm....well, that definitely sucks.
- 2 years ago
-
animaladvocate
