Spirit Rover Stuck In Martian Soil
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Thursday, 14 of May , 2009 at 4:01 am
Last time the Spirit rover was in danger on Mars, it was NASA’s fault. But this time, it’s something even worse than an inefficient and overburdened and underfunded bureaucracy: loose soil. With only five functional wheels, Spirit has sunk up to its axles, and will likely not move for weeks as engineers try to decide what to do.
Having operated on Mars for 1,800 days (Martian days), Spirit has outlived its original mission plan by a factor of twenty. It certainly deserves a more dramatic end than getting stuck in some dirt… I’m voting for either a direct hit by a tornado, or alien abduction.
VIA [ Mars Daily ]
Comments (1)
Category: Space
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Comment by ethan454
Made Monday, 18 of May , 2009 at 9:41 am
Man, I hope they put tracks on the mars lab rover–that thing will get stuck so easily in loose sand if it has the same 6 wheel system like the spirit. (I say that because I think the lab will be a heck of allot heavier than the spirit and sink easier, no?) Well, I guess that they could put big enough tires on it to make it work. . .and if one track breaks down, then your screwed. . . but still.