Mars Rover, Mars Rover...

Scientists say motor on Mars rover's robotic arm worsens

Associated Press | Apr 23, 08

NASA engineers say a balky arm on one of the Mars rovers has worsened recently.Last week, a tiny motor in Opportunity's arm that controls the sideways motion of the shoulder joint stopped working while the robot was exploring an inner crater slope. The failure meant that the rover could not extend its arm.The shoulder motor, one of five in the robotic arm, has stalled several times since 2005 and usually starts up again by applying voltage.

Mars Rovers Dodge NASA Cuts

newser | Washington Post | Mar 26, 08 7:10 AM CDT

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 are looking elsewhere for cuts. More »
$4M NASA Cut May Strand Mars Rover

newser | CNN | Mar 24, 08 8:38 PM CDT

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 CNN that "the cancellation of the Mars Exploration Rovers is not under consideration." More »

Mars Was Too Salty for Life

newser | BBC | Feb 16, 08 7:58 AM CST

Hopes that Mars may once have supported life have taken a blow with the discovery that the planet has been too salty for life for much of its history, the BBC reports. "It was salty enough that only a handful of known terrestrial organisms would have a ghost of a chance of surviving there when conditions were at their best," a member of NASA's Mars rover team said. More »

OMG! Bigfoot on Mars! Run!

newser | Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jan 24, 08 6:19 PM CST

After nearly four years of important discoveries, it has taken a tiny rock outcropping that looks like Bigfoot to make people passionate about the Mars rovers, the Telegraph reports. Conspiracy theorists are sure a photo snapped in 2004 reveals an alien, or perhaps a creature like Sasquatch. "I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars," writes one blogger. More »

Opportunity Knocks on Mars

newser | Associated Press | Sep 28, 07 10:47 AM CDT

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 think is a relic of the ancient Martian surface, the AP reports. More »
Mars Rover Steps Into Crater

newser | Wired | Sep 13, 07 6:00 PM CDT

The dust has finally settled on Mars, and NASA's Mars rover Opportunity took its first steps Tuesday 13 feet into the half-mile-wide Victoria Crater—and then backed out after slipping beyond acceptable levels. With Opportunity's six wheels perched over the lip of the crater, researchers paused the operation in order to analyze data collected in the foray, Wired reports. More »

Martian Dust Imperils Rover Mission

newser | Reuters | Jul 22, 07 9:20 AM CDT

The violent dust storm that has immobilized NASA's Mars rovers for three weeks shows no signs of letting up, and is now threatening the future of the mission. "This is by far the worst storm the rovers have ever seen," the rovers project manager told reporters. "Now it's all about saving power." More »
Mars Rover Crater Descent Delayed by Dust Storm

newser | Fox News | Jul 6, 07 3:16 PM CDT

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 batteries. Until the dust abates the mission is on hold. More »

Analysis: Mars rover marks second anniversary of landing - All Things Considered

NPR | Jan 3, 06

As we speak, two remarkable robots are hard at work more than 30 million miles away on the surface of Mars. The six-wheeled explorers known as Spirit and Opportunity were supposed to last 90 days. Well, tonight is the two-year anniversary of Spirit's landing, and both rovers are going strong. They've provided scientists with data to back up their theories about whether Mars was once a wetter, warmer planet, one that could have harbored life. NPR's Joe Palca reports.

NASA Rovers' Adventures on Mars Continue

NASA | Jan 3, 05

NASA lit a birthday candle today for its twin Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) Spirit and Opportunity. The Spirit rover begins its second year on Mars investigating puzzling rocks unlike any found earlier.The rovers successfully completed their three-month primary missions in April. They astound even their designers with how well they continue operating. The unanticipated longevity is allowing both rovers to reach additional destinations and to keep making discoveries. Spirit landed on Jan. 3 and Opportunity Jan. 24, 2004, respectively.

Second rover lands successfully on Mars

Deseret News (via HighBeam) | Jan 25, 04

NASA's Opportunity rover landed on Mars late Saturday, arriving at the Red Planet exactly three weeks after its identical twin set down, prompting whoops and cheers of delight from mission scientists who gathered to monitor the touchdown."We're on Mars, everybody," Rob Manning, manager of the entry, descent and landing portion of the Mars mission, shouted as fellow scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory burst into wild applause.The unmanned, six-wheeled rover landed at 10:05 p.m. MST in Meridiani Planum, NASA said. The smooth, flat plain lies 6,600 miles and halfway around the planet from...
Mars rover hits 'sweet spot,' to NASA's delight

The Record (Bergen via highbeam.com | Jan 5, 04

Thrilled by the apparently flawless landing of the Spirit rover on Mars, NASA scientists pored over photos and other information Sunday, awaited a stream of even more tantalizing data, and worked on the days-long process of getting the robot ready to roll.Spirit made a nerve-racking but safe landing on Mars late Saturday on what scientists believe is the rocky bed of an ancient lake that once may have harbored life.Just three hours later, the six-wheeled rover began zipping the first black-and-white images of its surroundings to Earth, 106 million miles distant at the time. Scientists were jubilant...

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