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Minimal Progress In Recent Extraction Drives
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 06, 2010 Spirit remains embedded at the location called "Troy" on the west side of Home Plate. Attempts to extricate Spirit have been complicated by the loss of functionality in the right-rear wheel and the lack of meaningful functionality with the right-front wheel. On Sol 2126 (Dec. 26, 2009), an extrication drive was commanded with all six wheels, although performance was not expected from the right-front and right-rear wheels. Spirit was commanded forward in five steps of 10 meters (33 feet) of wheel rotation each. The rover stopped during the fifth step when excessive rover sinkage was detected. Little forward progress was achieved. On Sol 2130 (Dec. 30, 2009), a different drive strategy was commanded where the wheels were steered back and forth before forward motion was commanded. However, the activity stopped when one wheel encountered excessive resistance while turning, likely a result of the buried state of the wheels. The plan ahead is to straighten the wheels and proceed with a forward extrication drive. As of Sol 2130 (Dec. 30, 2009), Spirit's solar-array energy production was 260 watt-hours, with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.480 and a dust factor of 0.557. Total odometry was 7,730.04 meters (4.80 miles).
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Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASAWashington (AFP) Jan 3, 2010 NASA Sunday celebrated Mars rover Spirit's bountiful, six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is in Martian sand. The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, ... read more |
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