Free Republic

LOS ANGELES - Spirit, the mountaineering rover that successfully scaled a Martian hill this summer, is searching for flatter ground. After two months at the summit of Husband Hill, the six-wheeled rover is making its descent toward a basin to the south where it will explore an outcrop dubbed "home plate" that looks like a baseball diamond from orbit. The solar-powered Spirit's yearlong climb to the peak marked a major feat for the rover, which along with its twin, Opportunity, landed on opposite ends of the Red Planet in 2004 in search of evidence of the past history of water...

PASADENA, Calif. - The Mars rover Spirit found a mineral linked to water during its exploration of the Red Planet, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Monday. Scientists identified the mineral goethite in bedrock studied in the West Spur area of the Columbia Hills. Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, were sent to Mars to look for geologic evidence of a watery past. Both rovers, especially Opportunity, have found such evidence in their nearly year-long treks over the martian surface, but the goethite find is particularly important, a mission scientist said in a JPL statement. "Goethite, like the jarosite that Opportunity found...

'Columbia Hills' from OrbitThis view of the "Columbia Hills" in Gusev Crater was made by draping an image from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter (image E0300012 from that camera) over a digital elevation model that was derived from two Mars Orbiter Camera images (E0300012 and R0200357). This unique view is helpful to the rover team members as they plan the journey of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit to the base of the Columbia Hills and beyond. Spirit successfully completed a three-month primary mission, and so far remains healthy in an extended mission of bonus exploration....

PASADENA, Calif. - NASA (news - web sites)'s Spirit rover wrapped up its primary mission to Mars on Monday as it continued to roll across the planet's surface on an extended tour that could last through September. The unmanned robot, marking its 90th full day on Mars, had accomplished all of the tasks NASA considered essential to declare the joint mission a success. Its twin rover, Opportunity, was getting close to achieving the same. "Spirit has completed its part of the bargain, and Opportunity doesn't have much left to do," said Mark Adler, manager of the $820 million mission. The...

<p>PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Scientists working on NASA's twin rover mission to Mars said Friday they are settling in for the long haul, as they ready to dispatch the six-wheeled robots on extended treks that could stretch into the late summer.</p>