Jinxed Mars rover strikes trouble again
January 5, 2010, Tuesday
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SPIRIT has always been the unluckier of NASA's twin Mars rovers.
Just weeks after landing in a Martian crater in 2004, it went haywire and transmitted gibberish to Earth. Engineers nursed it back to health.
As if the near-death experience wasn't enough, Spirit was upstaged early on by its twin Opportunity, which landed in a geologic gold mine and was the first to determine that the frigid, dusty planet possessed a wetter past.
Bad luck has fallen again on Spirit. As the workhorse rover marked its sixth year on the red planet on Sunday, it found itself stuck in a sand trap, perhaps forever.
The six-wheel robot geologist has been in jams before, but this is the worst yet.
With Martian winter arriving in several months, Spirit may not have enough power to keep going unless scientists can point the solar-powered rover toward the sun.
Spirit "has always been our drama queen," said chief scientist Steve Squyres of New York's Cornell University.
The latest misfortune occurred in April when Spirit, driving backward because of a lame wheel, broke through the crusty ground like a person falling through a frozen pond and became bogged in fluffy sand. Little progress has been made to free Spirit since.
NASA was dealt a major setback recently when another wheel appeared to have stopped moving.
"With only four driving wheels, it doesn't look good," project manager John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said.
It's been a rough year for Spirit. Besides getting stuck, it suffered bouts of amnesia and other woes including sudden computer reboots.
Though the prognosis of getting Spirit out looks bleak, scientists are not ready to surrender. If they exhaust all escape options, they will switch to Plan B and try to tilt the rover to the north where it can get more sunshine to keep running so it can continue to function in one spot.
"If we can't get the rover unstuck, it will become a Mars lander," Callas said.
Fortunately for researchers, what may turn out to be Spirit's final resting spot looks like a scientific bonanza. The sand is rich in sulfate, a mineral that forms in the presence of water, researchers say.
Originally designed as a three-month mission, Spirit and Opportunity have operated past their warranty.
Since Spirit landed on January 3, 2004, followed by Opportunity three weeks later, the rovers have driven a total of more than 26 kilometers, cresting hills and peering into craters.
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