NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is facing one of its biggest challenges yet with a patch of soft soil that is currently holding the rover hostage.
During recent attempts to drive around the Home Plate area of Mars, Spirit’s wheels have sunk about halfway into the ground. Concerns have been raised that Spirit may sink so low that its body may make contact with rocks on the surface, making the escape from this situation even more of a challenge. Engineers and scientists have temporarily suspended all driving while they simulate driving options with a test rover back on Earth.
Behavioral problems that Spirit exhibited in early April – episodes of amnesia, computer resets and failure to wake for communications sessions – have not recurred in the past three weeks, though investigations have yet to diagnose the root causes.
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