News tagged with mars exploration

NASA to Begin Attempts to Free Sand-Trapped Mars Rover

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 12, 2009 | 5 / 5 (6) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA will begin transmitting commands to its Mars exploration rover Spirit on Monday as part of an escape plan to free the venerable robot from its Martian sand trap.

Amnesia-Like Behavior Returns on Spirit

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 31, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (8) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Until Oct. 24, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover had gone more than six months without an episode of amnesia-like symptoms like those that appeared on four occasions earlier this year.

Team Runs Operational Test to Prepare for Extracting Spirit

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 19, 2009 | 3 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers using test rovers on Earth to prepare for extracting the sand-trapped Spirit rover on Mars have added a new challenge to their preparations.

Scientists work to free Mars rover Spirit

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 13, 2009 | 5 / 5 (11) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the past several weeks, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory finished experimentation on methods to get the rover Spirit unstuck from its location near a plateau called Home Plate.

Second Test Rover Added to Driving Experiments

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Aug 24, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

A second, lighter-weight test rover has entered the testing setup at JPL where rover team members are assessing strategy for getting Spirit out of soft soil where it is embedded on Mars.

Europe and Russia sign Mars exploration deal

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Aug 19, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 1

The European Space Agency (ESA) on Wednesday signed a deal with its Russian counterpart Roscosmos to cooperate on two Mars exploration projects, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

Image: Spirit's View From 'Troy'

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Aug 18, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (4) | 0

Today, Aug. 18, 2009, marks the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's 2,000th sol, or Martian day, on the Red Planet.

Rover Confirms Meteorite on Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Aug 06, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (6) | 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- Composition measurements by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity confirm that this rock on the Martian surface is an iron-nickel meteorite.

Mars Dust Devil Has Colorful Effect in Image Series

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jul 14, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have combined a trio of shots taken seconds apart through different colored filters to create a special-effects portrait of a moving dust devil on Mars.

Rover Tests Evaluating Crabwalk Moves

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jul 13, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

On firm ground, NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers can make crablike moves by turning all four steerable wheels to the same side angle, then rotating the wheels either forward or backward.

NASA Releases Interactive 3-D Views of Space Station, New Mars Rover

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

May 07, 2009 | 3.3 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA released an interactive, 3-D photographic collection of internal and external views of the International Space Station and a model of the next Mars rover on Thursday, May 7.

Spirit Resumes Driving While Analysis of Problem Behaviors Continues

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Apr 24, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit drove on Thursday for the first time since April 8, acting on commands from engineers who are still investigating bouts of amnesia and other unusual behavior ...

Team Continues Analyzing Spirit Computer Reboots and Amnesia Events

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Apr 21, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- After three days of completing Earth-commanded activities without incident last week, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit had a bout of temporary amnesia Friday, April 17, and rebooted its ...

Spirit Healthy but Computer Reboots Raise Concerns

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Apr 14, 2009 | not rated yet | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- The team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is examining data received from Spirit in recent days to diagnose why the rover apparently rebooted its computer at least twice over ...

Mars Rover Update

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Mar 26, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (7) | 5

In January 2004, NASA landed two identical robotic rovers named Spirit and Opportunity on the surface of Mars. The twins were primed for a brief 3-month mission to tell us a story of water and possibly life ...