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NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover has run into a sandy snag. All of its six wheels have sunk in deep into a large ripple of soil.
Rover operators are optimistic they can extricate the robot from its jam, having gotten dug in before. But ground controllers will need time to wheel back on top of the soil again.
Time will also be spent figuring out what’s different about the soil that has bogged down Opportunity, hoping to keep this problem from occurring down the road.
The Mars machinery had been cruising southward across the open parking lot-like landscape of Meridiani Planum, full of larger and larger ripples of soil. Opportunity has been en route to its next stopover, Erebus crater, nestled inside an even larger crater known as Terra Nova.
Originally posted by junglejake
The craziest part is how far past their shelf life these rovers are. It's awesome that they're still ticking at all. Even better that NASA's going to be able to save this opportunity from a little snafu. Very groovy
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Opportunity on the Move Again
The Mars rover Opportunity has successfully escaped from a sand trap. JPL engineers cheered when images returned from Mars showed the rover's wheels were free. Engineers worked for nearly five weeks to carefully maneuver the rover out of the sand dune. (Jun. 4)
Originally posted by Zanzibar
Glad to see that NASA worked that one out, because it really is amazing how they are still alive out there. I wonder how they are doing it?
Originally posted by Jehosephat
you mean engergizer.. as in the energizer bunny
It is sad tho how unmanned exploration is being used to promote manned exploration