NASA works to resolve bug that threatens twin Mars rovers

[Ediacara]

Posted on Mon, Feb. 02, 2004
NASA works to resolve bug that threatens twin Mars rovers
ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - NASA planned for Opportunity on Monday to reach out to the martian soil with its instrument-laden robotic arm for the first time while engineers plan to reformat the flash memory of its twin, Spirit.

Opportunity already spied a mineral called gray hematite in the soil at its landing site. Preliminary evidence suggests the iron-rich mineral is of a variety that forms in liquid water, providing the first evidence that the site was wetter and maybe hospitable to life long ago.

Meanwhile, the Spirit rover was a week away from rolling on Mars again and that the software problem vexing the spacecraft may threaten both it and Opportunity for the duration of their double-barreled mission, NASA said.

Engineers deleted more files from Spirit's flash memory but delayed until Monday reformatting it completely, giving them more time to diagnose the rover's ongoing problems, mission manager Mark Adler said. NASA originally planned to perform the task Saturday.

More at the San Jose Mercury News

[jean]

1. this makes me think of bbv

and wonder what walls the NASA nerds have up to protect our little rovers up there.

[Atlant]

2. The last photo sent back by Spirit was of a letter from a Nigerian Dr...

...announcing that he most urgently and confidentially needed
help recovering some assets that were abandoned. And if the
Spirit Rover would only kindly and confidentially send back
to him by Express Mail the account number for its bank, the
most esteemed Nigerian Doctor would joyfully transfer 25% of
the proceeds from the abandoned account directly into Spirit's
bank account.

Atlant

[Bush_Unemployed_04]

3. But that was how Bush was going to balance the budget....

:shrug:

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

4. Are the rovers running Windows XP? If so, no wonder... n/t

JB