NASA Mars Rover Spirit May Move Forward By Spinning Its Wheels 175
coondoggie writes "As NASA celebrates its Mars rover Spirit's sixth anniversary exploring the red planet, it is hunting for a way to keep the machine, which is mired in a sand trap, alive to see a seventh year. On its Web site, the space agency this week noted there may indeed be such an option. That option would be spinning the wheels on the north side of Spirit, letting it dig in deeper in the Martian sand but at the same time improving the tilt of the rover's solar panels toward the Sun."
Re:Let's start digging then... (Score:3, Informative)
Yes, that is likely what would happen. What they're saying is, they may not be able to get the rover out, and if not this will provide the longest lifetime for observations from the now-stationary rover.
Re:Let's start digging then... (Score:5, Informative)
(We've tilted the rover into the sun every winter so far-- if we don't, this will be the first winter we've tried to survive without tilting into the sun)
Opportunity still going strong (Score:4, Informative)
Because it was the first thing I wanted to know, Spirit's twin Opportunity is still going strong and puttering around a rock called Marqeutte Island. So regardless of how Spirit pans out, there's a really good shot at seeing year 8 of the Mars Rover 90 day mission.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_opportunity.html [nasa.gov]
Re:Let's start digging then... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:liquid methane oceans... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:And one should add (Score:5, Informative)
Re:And one should add (Score:4, Informative)
90 days may have been something of a lowball, but the expectation was that dust would accumulate on the rover's solar cells, gradually reducing their power output. Turns out, the dust wasn't as sticky as they thought, and the wind will blow it off on clearer days. That's a genuine discovery, and the main longevity boost. NASA can and have happily paid for a lot more ground crew and radio time for the little ladies.
Re:Let's start digging then... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Design (Score:5, Informative)
I really hope you are joking.
If not, you saying that that a rover that survived for 8 years, that was supposed to only survive 90 days - was poorly designed. Oh, and NASA should have known about this problem (based on all the other rovers we've sent over the years) and added a complicated jacking mechanism and bigger wheels. And I guess, if in 20 years it gets attacked by aliens someone will post "oh, and they should have seen this coming and added laser defenses."