Gizmodo: spirit rover

Mars Spirit Rover Suffers Another Setback With Second Wheel Thought Broken

Kat Hannaford — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:54:54 EST

NASA's Spirit Rover just isn't having much luck, between sand storms and broken wheels, with a second wheel presumed broken and the threat of an icy-cold winter freezing the Spirit "to death" if it doesn't move on soon.

Stuck in a soft patch of sand since April, its whole right side sounds damaged, thanks to the front-right wheel which hasn't worked since 2006, and now the back-right wheel that has seized up trying to get out of the sand.

Solar-powered, the Spirit Rover normally rests up each winter with its solar back angled towards any available sunlight, with enough power soaking in to keep its inside-bits from freezing. But if it can't move out of the sand pit it's stuck in, the Spirit Rover won't be able to soak up those vital rays of light.

NASA, if we all collected enough tinned soup and woolly jumpers to send to Mars, would that help? [New Scientist]

Spirit Rover Ready to Take...Those Sunken Wheels...

Chris Jacob — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST

...And learn to roll again, roll again so free. Sure, Spirit is stuck in sand and senile, but that doesn't mean he's down and out. NASA is ready to free Spirit from the sand and put him back to work.

At least, that's the plan. Really they're not expecting much from their efforts. Even though NASA has spent half a year planning how to get the rover out of the loose sand it's stuck in, every step will be dependent on what happens during the previous one. Right now NASA only has six forward rotations of Spirit's wheels planned. They anticipate extreme slippage, and will have to reevaluate the next steps once that first miniscule motion is completed.

If work continues at that pace, it's easy to see why escape efforts are planned to last until 2010. Even if Spirit can't get out of the sand trap that swallowed it, there's still plenty of good the rover can do while stationary. Just know that, whatever happens, we're all pulling for you little buddy. [Network World via Slashdot]

The NASA Spirit Rover Lives!

Sean Fallon — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:15:00 EST

Nerds cheered and wept with happiness as NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit responded to ground control commands today via the Mars Odyssey orbiter. Earlier this week, NASA feared that the rover would fall victim to the same problem that killed our beloved Phoenix Mars Lander. The dust storm is still a problem, but Spirit has managed to gather enough solar energy to communicate normally. Once again, Spirit has lived up to the name and proven that its a fighter. [Spacefellowship via Slashdot]

NASA Releases Dirty Photos of Spirit Rover Solar Panels

Jack Loftus — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Hey Pig Pen. Yeah, you, the Mars Spirit Rover with the red Martian dust all over your solar panels. We're filing a post on a bathtub later today, so why don't you take the hint and use one? What's that? You're millions of miles away and potable water may or may not be somewhere on the planet you're currently exploring? Oh, well, in that case, pray for another wind storm or something, because these filthy before and after pics mean only about 1/3 of the Sun's light is getting through to power your electronics. NASA's plea for a sensor-cleaning interstellar dust storm is after the break.

Says NASA, via its Jet Propulsion Laboratory web page:

If Mars had an on-line Web site for ads, one of them might say something like this: "Wanted: Gentle space-age dust removal system to clean solar cells without leaving grit behind. Please direct inquiries to NASA."
NASA's Spirit rover has accumulated a lot of dust during four years of exploring Mars, especially following last year's dust storms. Only about one-third of incoming sunlight is able to penetrate dust on the rover's solar panels to be converted to electricity. As a result, Spirit is experiencing the lowest energy levels to date and accumulating a backlog of data waiting to be transmitted to Earth. The only available cleaning agent would be a timely gust of Martian wind!

On a more serious note, four years on planet (and one dodged budget cut) is an incredible accomplishment. [NASA via Tom's Astronomy Blog]