Spirit rover
hideSpirit, mission designation MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover - A), is the first of the two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars on 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin Opportunity (MER-B) landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition.
The rover completed its planned 90-sol mission, then, aided by cleaning events which resulted in higher power from its solar panels, went on to function effectively over twenty times longer than NASA planners expected. This allowed it to perform more extensive geological analysis of Martian rocks and planetary surface features. Initial scientific results from the first phase of the mission (roughly, the 90-sol prime mission) were published in a special issue of the journal Science.
On May 1, 2009, Spirit was stuck in soft soil on Mars, one of the mission's embedding events. NASA is carefully analyzing the situation to get the rover back on track, but it will take weeks before a new attempt will be made to extricate the rover from its current position called "Troy".
For more information about Spirit rover, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with spirit rover
Spirit Mars Rover: No Wheel Stall in Diagnostic Drive
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
15 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- On Sol 2095 (Tuesday, Nov. 24), Spirit performed a set of diagnostic actions related to a stall of the right-rear wheel on the previous drive, three days earlier.
Tilt Parameters End First Extrication Drive for Spirit
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The preliminary results from the first extrication drive for Spirit on Sol 2088 (Nov. 17, 2009) indicate the rover stopped less than 1 second after it began, sensing more vehicle lateral tilt ...
Team Runs Operational Test to Prepare for Extracting Spirit
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 19, 2009 |
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(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.
Free Spirit Testing Nearing Completion
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 31, 2009 |
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Mars rover engineers at JPL are winding down testing of different escape maneuvers using a test rover in a sand box filled with soil to mimic the Martian surface. It is possible that in early August the first ...
Free Spirit: Rock Under the Belly
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 02, 2009 |
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Engineers placed a rock underneath the test rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., on July 1, 2009, to more closely simulate Spirit's predicament on Mars.
Spirit Takes a Peek at Her Belly
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new image of Spirit's underbelly is helping engineers assess the rover's current state and plan her escape from soft soil. The panoramic mosaic of multiple images was taken by the microscopic ...
Mars and Earth Activities Aim to Get Spirit Rolling Again
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 19, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's rover project team is using the Spirit rover and other spacecraft at Mars to begin developing the best maneuvers for extracting Spirit from the soft Martian ground where it has become ...
Team Continues Analyzing Spirit Computer Reboots and Amnesia Events
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Apr 21, 2009 |
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(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 ...
Mars Rover Team Diagnosing Unexpected Behavior
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jan 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit plans diagnostic tests this week after Spirit did not report some of its weekend activities, including a request to determine its orientation ...
Controllers Cheer as Data Arrive from NASA's Spirit Rover
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit communicated via the Mars Odyssey orbiter today right at the time when ground controllers had told it to, prompting shouts of "She's talking!" among the ...
