[roadcat]

The telemetry, collected earlier and subjected to complex analysis, also shows how the rover bounced across the floor of Gusev Crater before finally rolling to a stop.

The thing was bouncing all over the ground, and worked flawlessly after landing. So how could the failure have been from simple motion rolling over rocks and pebbles? It's got to be an electrical short from static discharge, or a stupid software error. Did they waterproof the sucker? Maybe it got stuck in mud. ;>

[Robert_Paulson2]

"a stupid software error" <========== My VOTE

[Robert_Paulson2]

Probably some software hacker was short on caffeine and forgot to add a requisite ";" at the end of an "if" statement or "functionCall()"... heh heh...

wouldn't be the first time, nor the last.
I have to agree if it took 200 million miles through the vast cold vacuum of space, and survived even thrived after being a bouncing ball on the red planet's frozen ground... it's doubtful that hitting a stone, broke the antennae:

Houston, we have a program error... sounds like to me.
Give them a few weeks.
And LOTSA double shot latte's... they'll get it.

heh heh..