[Sabertooth]

[Sabertooth]

((((((growl)))))

[southernnorthcarolina]

After years of intensive study, numerous missions, and delivery of sundry vehicles and communications equipment to the surface of Mars, NASA has determined that some of the rocks on Mars are reddish-brown, and some are brownish-red. Some of the rocks are more rounded than others. And they differ considerably in size.

All of this has been determined for the low, low taxpayer-funded price of $83,271,504,687,923,066,384,197.

[newgeezer]

The first geologists on Mars are not going to be humans of flesh and bone, but robot automatons of metal and wheels.

That's more like it. Manned space programs? Been there; done that. Today, that should be the domain of third-world wannabes who don't have what it takes to do serious unmanned exploration.

[js1138]

If all goes well, the six-wheeled rovers will be rolling around the Red Planet sometime in January 2003.

All will not go well if they don't get their date/time conversions programmed correctly.

[from occupied ga]

The MER rovers are not quick robots. While scientists expect them to traverse 330 feet (100 kilometers)

330 ft = about 100 METERS Not kilometers.

[hang 'em]

If all goes well, the six-wheeled rovers will be rolling around the Red Planet sometime in January 2003.

Is it just me or is there something wrong with this statement?

[AndrewC]

Update

Mars Rover Launch Delayed to Fix Problem

Tue Apr 15, 3:40 PM ET

Add Science - AP to My Yahoo!

By ANDREW BRIDGES, AP Science Writer

PASADENA, Calif. - NASA (news - web sites) has delayed this summer's launch date for the first of two Mars rovers after discovering they were vulnerable to short circuits that could have doomed them.

NASA must partially disassemble both rovers to fix the problem, delaying launch of the first from Cape Canaveral, Fla., by eight days, to no earlier than June 6. The second rover is expected to be launched between June 25 and July 15 as scheduled.



The robots have electrical connections to the spacecraft carrying them to Mars. Recent testing revealed a guillotine-like device designed to sever the cables could produce a short circuit that might affect circuit boards inside the rover, NASA said.



Project manager Peter Theisinger said such a short could cause the rovers to lose the radar data they require to determine their position and velocity during descent to the surface of Mars, expected in January 2004. /font>

At least they seem to be catching the problems before it is too late to fix them.

[AndrewC]

[Sabertooth]

((((((growl)))))

[RansomOttawa]

. . . the six-wheeled rovers will be rolling around the Red Planet sometime in January 2003.

In other news, NASA unveiled its new design for the next-generation space shuttle:

[green team 1999]

well,nasa is in a hurry doing some rewiring,something is not ready before launch!

[Jhoffa_]

Each time a MER robot moves, the hazard cameras take more images, feed them into the onboard computer which analyzes them to decide whether an obstacle can be surmounted or avoided. If it gets in a real jam, then it phone's home for instructions.

But MER scientists will also be able to tailor the hazard level up or down depending on Martian terrain each robot faces. "So if we land in a parking lot, and think the terrain is relatively safe, then we'll give the rover a longer leash," Manning said, adding that rover controllers can also set waypoints for each MER robot to pause and reevaluate its surroundings before moving on.

They don't make a big deal of it here, but this type of autonomy is a huge step forward for rovers. I believe (correction welcome) that prior to this they were essentially "RC" vehicles and one had to take the control signals TOF into account when maneuvering.

I like.. Tiz very cool.

[Junior]

We seem to have gone backward since Thomas Edison first set foot on Mars in 1870.

[Captain Beyond]

bump for later read