Spirit

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Discount Airline Close to Charging Pee Fee

Skip to the loo may soon cost $1.50

(Newser) - In the latest move to squeeze every possible penny from travelers, a discount airline is close to charging flyers a fee to use the bathroom. Europe's Ryanair is preparing to dun travelers $1.50 for each trip to the loo. The airline is working with Boeing to develop a coin-operated...

Mars Rover Will Rove No More
 Mars Rover Will Rove No More 

Mars Rover Will Rove No More

NASA gives up trying to get it unstuck from the sand

(Newser) - NASA has given up on trying to get the Spirit rover out of the Martian sand trap it's been stuck in since May. Calling the rover's position "a golfer's worst nightmare," engineers are now focused on simply helping the rover to survive the Martian winter. If it does,...

NASA Rover on Strike
 NASA Rover on Strike 

NASA Rover on Strike

Mars Spirit fails to report for work

(Newser) - NASA engineers are perplexed by a rebellious streak that has developed in its Martian roving robot, Spirit. It was expected to last just 90 days when it landed on Mars five years ago, but the robot has continued to send back data. This past weekend, however, Spirit failed to report...

Built for 90 Days, Mars Rovers Mark 5 Years

Spirit, Opportunity brave adversity, and they're not done yet

(Newser) - NASA’s twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity are celebrating their fifth birthdays on Mars after surviving more than 20 times their expected lifespan, Space.com reports. The two probes were each built for a 90-day trek across the Red Planet but have survived computer glitches and blistering weather conditions. “...

7 Minutes of Danger in Mars Quest

Probe makes risky landing Sunday in hunt for water

(Newser) - The latest NASA mission searching for signs of life on Mars comes to a heart-pounding climax Sunday as the Phoenix Lander attempts to touch down at the red planet's pole in a hunt for water. The lander must perform complex maneuvers in which the whole mission is at risk for...

Mars Rovers Dodge NASA Cuts
 Mars Rovers Dodge NASA Cuts 

Mars Rovers Dodge NASA Cuts

Budget called for 1 to hibernate, 1 to go part-time

(Newser) - NASA has spared its far-flung Mars rovers from budget cuts, reports the Washington Post, after its administrator got wind of the plan to hibernate Spirit and roll Opportunity back to part time. "Closing down either of the rovers is not on the table," his spokesman said, and underlings...

$4M NASA Cut May Strand Mars Rover

Shrinking budget could also leave 300 jobless

(Newser) - NASA confirmed and denied plans today to scuttle a Mars rover and fire 300 employees, CNN reports. The space agency first announced a $4 million cut to the Mars program's $20 million budget and vowed to unplug one of two rovers roaming the red planet. Then a NASA spokesman told...

Opportunity Knocks on Mars
Opportunity Knocks on Mars

Opportunity Knocks on Mars

NASA's rover explores bedrock that could be ancient Martian surface

(Newser) - NASA’s Martian explorer Opportunity reached its first destination inside the cavernous Victoria Crater yesterday and prepared to get to work drilling into bright rock layers to collect data. The six-wheeled robot last month began the precarious decline into the crater, headed for a shiny piece of bedrock that scientists...

Mars Rover Crater Descent Delayed by Dust Storm

(Newser) - Mars Opportunity Rover has been perched on the edge of Victoria Crater on Mars for nine months waiting to descend and explore the crater. Then, this week, when scientists were to send it down, a dust storm thousands of miles wide partially blocked the sunlight Opportunity needs to recharge its...

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