2 Mars rovers may share software problem: NASA

1 posted on 02/01/2004 4:59:09 PM PST by Mr. K

Yes, but if they get together, fall in love, swap bits, and so on - are we going to end up with ROVERS ALL OVERS? And if so, will Spirit and Opportunity ever run out of those randomly-selected inspiring names for their dirtrats - like Faith, Hope, Charity, Patience, Prudence, Liberty, Virtue, etc.? Inquiring minds want to know these things...

2 posted on 02/01/2004 5:05:16 PM PST by anniegetyourgun

i thought file sharing was frowned upon :)

3 posted on 02/01/2004 5:05:26 PM PST by dware (GET ACTIVE NOW! ---> http://www.davidwareonline.com)

The problem with Spirit has been overcome. All systems go!

4 posted on 02/01/2004 5:07:37 PM PST by RightWhale (Repeal the Law of the Excluded Middle)

5 posted on 02/01/2004 5:08:08 PM PST by Pan_Yans Wife (Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'--- Kahlil Gibran)

To: anniegetyourgun

lol . . you crack me up! :)

6 posted on 02/01/2004 5:16:36 PM PST by ChadGore (Bush 2004 HE'S EARNED IT)

I don't know ,why can't give them more RAM ?

7 posted on 02/01/2004 5:18:32 PM PST by serurier (We come here for the freedom of the world)

The problem with Spirit has been overcome. All systems go!

There's a lot of Spirit left in NASA! Let's go before the sand and the fading sunlight take their toll!

8 posted on 02/01/2004 5:31:25 PM PST by Aracelis

Let me guess. Windows?

9 posted on 02/01/2004 5:38:54 PM PST by sine_nomine (Protect the weakest of the weak - the unborn babies.)

I hear they've been flashin' each other...

10 posted on 02/01/2004 5:39:38 PM PST by Drango (Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.)

To: xm177e2; XBob; wirestripper; whattajoke; VOR78; Virginia-American; Vinnie_Vidi_Vici; VadeRetro; ...

If you'd like to be on or off this MARS ping list please FRail me

11 posted on 02/01/2004 5:57:57 PM PST by Phil V.

Sigh....I think you are my only fan....and I'm grateful for even one!

12 posted on 02/01/2004 6:01:32 PM PST by anniegetyourgun

It would follow that the problem that happened to Spirit will happen to Opportunity as well, if they don't work to forestall what happened to Spirit.

14 posted on 02/01/2004 6:10:15 PM PST by Darksheare (The voices in YOUR head are talking to ME!)

Gee, they share the same software problem. There's a flash. know I'm shocked. /sarcasm

15 posted on 02/01/2004 7:05:12 PM PST by Clara Lou

Programers are so lax these days. A bad influence from Microsoft I guess.

16 posted on 02/01/2004 7:27:02 PM PST by Revel

I bet I know where they've been....

17 posted on 02/01/2004 7:31:46 PM PST by mewzilla

Old news, deceptive headline.

Quit scaring folks busy working and paying their taxes by posting stories that recycle last week's problems.

Spirit (Or MER-A, if you have a problem with poetic names thought up by school kids) was in critical nervous breakdown a week ago.

18 posted on 02/01/2004 7:41:27 PM PST by Prospero (Ad Astra!)

Commentary: 'It's Time to Soar Again'
By James Lovell

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1069773/posts

19 posted on 02/01/2004 8:25:44 PM PST by Prospero (Ad Astra!)

Feb. 1, 2004. 07:17 PM

	RELATED LINKS

>	Mars Exploration Rover Mission site (NASA)

>	MarsNews.com

>	Red Colony.com

>	Mars Express site - European Space Agency

>	Beagle2 site

>	Fast facts and links

>	Photo collection

>	exploreMarsnow.org

>	Speak out: Is it worth the price tag?

>	Special section

2 Mars rovers may share software problem: NASA
Spirit may begin operating normally again by Tuesday, at the earliest

LOS ANGELES (AP) — NASA said today its Spirit rover was a week away from rolling on Mars again and that the software problem vexing the spacecraft may trouble both it and its twin, Opportunity, for the duration of their double-barrelled mission.

Engineers deleted more files from Spirit's flash memory but held off from reformatting it completely until Monday — giving them more time to diagnose ongoing problems, mission manager Mark Adler said. NASA originally planned to perform the task Saturday.

The rover has been hampered by problems since Jan. 21, when it stopped transmitting intelligible information back to Earth.

Once its flash memory is reformatted, Adler said, Spirit should be able to leave the low-power mode, which has restricted night-time operations, and begin operating normally again, by Tuesday at the earliest.

"Then I think we can declare we are completely back in our normal mode," Adler said during a conference call with reporters.

Engineers will have to keep deleting computer files from Spirit's flash memory to keep their numbers low enough for the rover's random-access memory to manage. The same will be done for Opportunity.

Engineers also may regularly reformat the robots' flash memory, perhaps every week or two, Adler said.

Even with the computer glitch, engineers believe at least one of the robots may last longer than their warranted 90-day lifetimes. A 15-watt heater that's been turning on unnecessarily on Opportunity may curtail its extended mission, however.

20 posted on 02/01/2004 8:34:26 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)

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