Mars Rover Spirit Develops Wheel Problem

Yahoo! News ^ | 6/15/04 | John Antczak - AP

[NormsRevenge]

PASADENA, Calif. -

The Mars rover Spirit has developed a problem with one of its six wheels, but NASA (news - web sites) officials said Tuesday they believe the robot geologist can continue working.

The right front wheel has become balky, requiring more electrical current to turn, said Mark Adler, the mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Engineers are considering whether to simply continue using the wheel until it fails or drive on five wheels and only use the problem wheel when necessary. The Spirit rover also had a problem last week receiving commands from Earth.

The communication problem was the result of cold temperatures, which caused the rover's receiver to drift out of the frequency range in which the commands were sent. The range was broadened and the rover received commands after the loss of only one day of work, Adler said.

"So right now what we're seeing is Spirit's gotten a little hard of hearing due to temperature, not due to age, and also she's gotten a little bit of arthritis in one of her joints and that is due to age and that's a real degradation," Adler said.

Spirit and the twin rover Opportunity landed on Mars in January and completed their primary mission. They are now in extended missions.

Spirit is exploring the vast Gusev Crater region. On the opposite side of Mars, Opportunity has entered a deep crater named Endurance to explore stratified rock that could open a window deeper into the geological history of the Red Planet.

[NormsRevenge]

Reuters article -- same stuff

Mars Rover Experiencing Wheel Problems

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One of the two rovers exploring the surface of Mars is having problems with the motor operating one of its six wheels, creating the possibility that the wheel may fail, NASA (news - web sites) scientists said on Tuesday.

In a briefing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, scientists said the right front wheel motor on the rover Spirit is drawing increasing amounts of electrical current compared to the other wheel motors. Mission manager Mark Adler said the motor might only have 200 meters or so of traveling left before it dies.

"Spirit is beginning to show some signs of age," Adler said. "It's possible that other wheels will eventually meet the same fate but we don't know when or how."

But he noted that the rover could easily operate on five wheels and said mission managers were considering shutting the wheel off entirely, except for the toughest climbs up steep terrain. Adler also said the scientists would look at running tests of the rover's operations on four or even three wheels.

Meanwhile, Spirit's twin, the rover Opportunity, continued its descent into a stadium-sized crater called Endurance. Last week scientists said they would send Opportunity into the crater despite the risk it might not be able to emerge.

But Adler said the rover was handling the crater well so far, with instances of sliding about equal to or less than what they had expected to see.

"We have no reason to believe we won't be able to get out of the crater and we're continuing down into it," Adler said.

[NormsRevenge]

One of the two rovers exploring the surface of Mars is having problems with the motor operating one of its six wheels, creating the possibility that the wheel may fail, NASA (news - web sites) scientists said on June 15, 2004. In a briefing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, scientists said the right front wheel motor on the rover Spirit is drawing increasing amounts of electrical current compared to the other wheel motors. Mission manager Mark Adler said the motor might only have 200 meters or so of traveling left before it dies. Wheel tracks from Spirit are visible on the Martian surface in this June 10 image. (NASA-JPL/Reuters)

[LasVegasMac]

Breaking news................

NASCAR is sending a top pit crew to fix....expected time to effect repairs is 14.3 seconds.

LVM

[ken5050]

Can it run without the right front wheel, or heaven help us, will it pull to the LEFT?

[NormsRevenge]

This composite image of Mars' Endurance Crater was made by combining images from the camera on NASA (news - web sites)'s orbiting Mars Global Surveyor with images from the Mars Exploration rover Opportunity cameras. The jagged white line around the lower left portion of the crater indicates the path Opportunity took while searching for the best entry point into the crater. The potential scientific value of exploring Endurance Crater outweighs the risk that the six-wheeled rover may not be able to drive back up its inner slopes, mission officials said Friday, June 4, 2004. The earliest Opportunity could be sent into the 140-yard-diameter crater would be early next week, NASA said. (AP Photo/NASA, JPL)

[Rebelbase]

"NASCAR is sending a top pit crew to fix....expected time to effect repairs is 14.3 seconds."

Unfortunately it'll take a full year for them to get to the track!

[RandallFlagg]

Anyone blame Bush yet?

[LasVegasMac]

Not if "Rocket Man" Ryan Newman is driving!! LOL

LVM

[Bluntpoint]

The best minds are on the job.

[NormsRevenge]

06.15.04

NASA's Mars rovers are delighting scientists with their extra credit assignments. Both rovers successfully completed their primary three-month missions in April.

Image above: This is part of a 360-degree panorama taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The image highlights Spirit's arrival at the base of the "Columbia Hills." Since landing at Gusev Crater, Spirit has put more than 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) on its odometer. + Click for full image. Image credit: NASA/JPL.

The Spirit rover is exploring a range of martian hills that took two months to reach. It is finding curiously eroded rocks that may be new pieces to the puzzle of the region's past. Spirit's twin, Opportunity, is also negotiating sloped ground. It is examining exposed rock layers inside a crater informally named "Endurance."

"Both rovers have begun exploring brand new places," said Dr. Mark Adler, mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Opportunity has entered Endurance Crater. Spirit has arrived at the Columbia Hills. Both rovers are getting their second wind in bonus time, and we are very excited about the scientific potential we see at their new homes. Of course, the terrain at both locations is challenging, one up and one down. We are making certain that we proceed safely to keep these wonderful machines as healthy as we can for as long as we can."

Spirit began climbing into Columbia Hills late last week, and right away sent pictures of tantalizing rocks. "Some of the rocks appear to be disintegrating. They have an odd kind of rotting appearance, with soft interiors and resistant rinds or hulls," said Dr. Larry Soderblom, a rover science- team member from the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz. "The strangest things we've encountered are what we're calling hooded cobras, which are evidently the resistant remnants of some of those rocky rinds. They stand above the surface like small canopies."

Image left: Spirit's panoramic camera took this false-color image of the rock dubbed "Pot of Gold" (upper left), located near the base of the "Columbia Hills" in Gusev Crater. The rock's nodules and layered appearance have inspired rover team members to investigate the rock's detailed chemistry in coming sols, or days.+ Click for full image. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell.

Another rock, dubbed "Pot of Gold," appears to have nodules and resistant planes in a softer matrix. Scientists have chosen it as a target for Spirit to examine with the instruments on the rover's robotic arm. Afterwards, controllers plan to send Spirit to an outcrop farther uphill.

"Although it's too early to even speculate as to the processes these rocks have recorded, we are tremendously excited over the new prospects," Soderblom said.

The Columbia Hills rise approximately 90 meters (about 300 feet) above a plain Spirit crossed to reach them. Scientists anticipate a complex blend of rocks in the hills, perhaps holding evidence about a broader range of environmental conditions than has been seen in the volcanic rubble surfacing the plain. The entire area Spirit is exploring is within Gusev Crater. Orbital images suggest water may have once flowed into this Connecticut-sized basin.

"Halfway around Mars, Opportunity has driven about five meters (16 feet) into stadium-sized Endurance Crater. "As we look back up toward the rim, we can see the progress we've made," said Scott McLennan, science-team member from the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

Image above: This image from Opportunity is a 360-degree panoramic camera mosaic of "Endurance" crater and the surrounding plains of Meridiani. + Click for full image. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell.

Opportunity's first target inside the crater is a flat-lying stone about 36 centimeters by 15 centimeters (14 inches by 6 inches) dubbed "Tennessee" for its shape. Opportunity will inspect it for analysis with the spectrometers and microscopic imager on the rover's robotic arm. It is in a layer geologists believe corresponds to sulfate-rich rocks. The rocks are similar to those, in which Opportunity previously found evidence for a body of water covering the ground long ago.

"The next step will be to move farther down from this layer to our first close-up look at a different sedimentary sequence," McLennan said. "Color differences suggest at least three lower, older layers are exposed below Opportunity's location."

"The interpretation of those lower units is in a state of flux," he said. "At first, we thought we would encounter poorly consolidated, sandy material. But as we get closer, we're seeing more-consolidated, harder rock deeper into the crater. If we can get to the lower units, this will be the first detailed stratigraphic section ever done on another planet. We're doing exactly what a field geologist would be doing."

Spirit is showing what may be the first sign of age and wear. "The right front wheel is drawing about two to three times as much current as the other wheels, and that may be a symptom of degradation," Adler said. "There may be steps we can take to improve it. We'll be studying that possibility during the next few weeks."

[DoctorMichael]

This whole mission has been a resounding success. I've been checking into the Rover-Website every few days to find out whats going on and access the larger picture-files. Hopefully they can squeeze some more time and distance out the rover and make to the other side of the hills.

I've got my fingers crossed over the Saturn probe!

[gitmo]

Hope they have a full-sized spare and not one of those little undersized spares.

[Fitzcarraldo]

The rovers run on six wheels and there is a certain amount of redundancy.

[Fitzcarraldo]

I wonder if a small rock or sand is lodged in the wheel.

[GSlob]

Relax: just as on a previous mission they screwed up with metric/inch conversion, so now they were looking backwards: it is actually LEFT wheel which is causing trouble.

[Thumper1960]

Art Bell reports that NASA detected several Martian homies propping the rover up on blocks and attempting to snatch the chrome. A reptilian cruiser conducted a drive-by vaporizing and offed the Martian homies. Unfortunately, they didn't have a jack to fix the one wheel. AAA claims the rover's out of their service area. So, looks like the rover will have to wait until the Martian program proposed by President Bush 43 lifts off in a few years.

[sawmill trash]

Anyone blame Bush yet?

Hah...no, but you know they will.