Browse Archive
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Free Spirit: Rear Wheel Trouble Continues
12.10.09 - Results of diagnostic tests on Spirit's right-rear wheel on Sol 2109 (Dec. 8, 2009) continue to indicate a troubled wheel, which may leave the rover with only four operable wheels.
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Spacecraft Out of Safe Mode
12.08.09 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter today has been taken out of the precautionary "safe mode" it had been in since August.
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Another Stall of Right-Rear Wheel Ends Drive
12.01.09 - Spirit's right-rear wheel stalled again on Sol 2099 (Nov. 28, 2009) during the first step of a two-step extrication maneuver.
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No Wheel Stall in Diagnostic Drive
11.25.09 - 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.
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Team Plans Uplink of Protective Files
11.24.09 - The team operating NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter plans to uplink protective files to the spacecraft next week as one step toward resuming the orbiter's research and relay activities.
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Third Extrication Drive Ends With Wheel Stall
11.23.09 - Spirit experienced a wheel stall with the right-rear wheel during the second step of a two-step drive on Sol 2092 (Saturday, Nov. 21).
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Third Extrication Drive Ends With Wheel Stall
11.23.09 - Spirit experienced a wheel stall with the right-rear wheel during the second step of a two-step drive on Sol 2092 (Saturday, Nov. 21).
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Free Spirit: Second Extrication Drive Yields Slight Progress
11.19.09 - After spinning the wheels for the equivalent of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in the forward direction, the center of the rover moved approximately 12 millimeters (0.5 inch) forward, 7 millimeters (0.3 inch) to the left and about 4 millimeters (0.2 inch) down.
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Free Spirit: Second Planned Extrication Drive is Straight Ahead Again
11.18.09 - Because the first extrication drive for Spirit, on Sol 2088 (Nov. 17), stopped as soon as it began due to an exceeded tilt limit, the plan for an extrication drive on Sol 2090 (Nov. 19) will essentially be a repeat of the first drive plan, but with improved rover attitude knowledge.
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Free Spirit: Tilt Parameters End First Extrication Drive
11.17.09 - 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 than permitted.
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NASA and Microsoft Allow Earthlings to Become Martians
11.17.09 - NASA and Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., have collaborated to create a Web site where Internet users can have fun while advancing their knowledge of Mars.
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NASA to Begin Attempts to Free Sand-Trapped Mars Rover
11.12.09 - 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.
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Free Spirit: Tests Prepare to Extract Rover
10.19.09 - 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.
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New Set of High-Resolution Mars Images Online
10.07.09 - Thousands of image products from 233 recent telescopic observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show a diversity of surface shapes and textures on Mars.
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Squyres Wins Carl Sagan Medal for Public Outreach
10.05.09 - The principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rovers is honored for excellence in communicating the mission to the public.
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Panelist Biographies
09.24.09 - The team operating the Context Camera (CTX) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter frequently discovers new dark spots on Mars that, upon closer examination, turn out to be brand new impact craters.
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NASA TO HOLD TELECONFERENCE TO DISCUSS NEW FINDINGS ABOUT MARS
09.24.09 - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., will host a media teleconference at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, Sept. 24, to discuss new research results from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
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Preventive Care Continues; Science on Hold
09.04.09 - During analysis of four safe-mode events this year, engineers for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project have identified a vulnerability to the effects of subsequent events.
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Radar Map of Buried Mars Layers Matches Climate Cycles
09.22.09 - New, three-dimensional imaging of Martian north-polar ice layers by a radar instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is consistent with theoretical models of Martian climate swings during the past few million years.
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Free Spirit: Computer Modeling and Dusty Testing
09.14.09 - Tests on Earth simulating Spirit's predicament on Mars have reinforced understanding that getting Spirit to rove again will be very difficult.