Opportunity's Arm, Steering Malfunctioning; Spirit's Scraping
Tool Worn
When the Spirit rover
landed on the Martian surface on January 3, 2004, not even the most
wide-eyed optimist in the NASA community believed that the rover
would still be functioning nearly two years later. After all, the
rover was built for a mission expected to last only 90 days, with
stress tests for only three times that number.
But here we are, with Spirit having roamed 5.5 km over the
Martian surface, and it's still chugging along. It's companion
rover, Opportunity, landed after Spirit, but has travelled a
kilometer further it is journeys. Spirit just celebrated its
one-year anniversary on the Martian surface (a Martian year is 687
days long) on November 20th, and Opportunity has its one-year
anniversary coming up next week.
As can be expected, though, both rovers are increasingly showing
their age. NASA reports that Spirit's scraping tool is worn out
after collecting 15 rock scraping samples (it was designed for only
2-3 scrapings). Apart from that, though, the oldest rover is in
remarkably good health.
Opportunity is fairing less well. Although still mobile, one of
the rover's steering actuators has stopped operating -- NASA
speculates the motor's lubricant has begun to break down, after
lasting seven times it's design intent. More troubling, however, is
an inoperable shoulder joint on rover's robotic collection arm. The
arm (shown in the photo below, taken by Spirit) retracts into
a special housing when not in use, and the joint issue might
prevent the arm from being extended again.
"If it has failed, it will be a significant hit. It is the
contact arm of the mission," said John Callas, deputy project
manager for the NASA Mars Exploration Rovers project, according to
media reports.
However, scientists are still optimistic the elbow of the arm
can be jolted out of the T-shaped protective housing, which would
allow enough mobility to allow the golf-cart-sized rover to
continue to collect samples.
It's only a matter of time, however, before the rovers do shut
down... a fact NASA is very aware of.
"We drive it every day as if there were no tomorrow," said
Stephen Squyres, a Cornell University professor and the principal
investigator on the rover project.
The probes' continued operations have allowed NASA to gather a
significant amount of information on the Red Planet, including the
discovery of nine different types of rocks on the Martian
surface.
Squyres, though, added that the two vehicles have brought a
wealth of information about the planet back to Earth. A climb up
the Columbia Hills on Mars, for instance, has revealed an
astounding variety of rocks in a small area.
Scientists have also been able to obtain nighttime observations
from the Mars surface, including a shot of a probable meteor
shower. Most significantly, however, soil samples taken by the
rovers have shown existence of a clay-like consistency, evidence of
the possible existence of water sometime in its history -- and
maybe even today.
Bolen Gives Congress a Rare Thumbs-Up
See All