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Spirit Rover Disabled on Mars

Posted by michael on from the tow-truck-rates-astronomical dept.

Nick Driver writes " Space.com is reporting that the Spirit Rover hasn't moved since October 1st and is suffering from two wheels that can no longer steer and thus are being held in a fixed direction by their locked steering motors. Hopefully one of the workarounds being considered will allow the rover to be moved again and still retain sufficient steering control over the remaining wheels to continue the mission."

6 of 29 comments (clear)

  1. Send me; I'll give it a push by justanyone · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hey:

    Send me. I'll give it a push and get it going again. Or, I can fix it. Of course, I'm not a Mr. Goodwrench-certified ASME mechanic. But I do have a Bachelor's Degree!

    --
    Unitarian Church: Freethinkers Congregate!
  2. It's been a whole week... by Hell+O'World · · Score: 4, Funny

    and still no post in her LiveJournal.
    http://www.livejournal.com/users/spi ritrover/

  3. I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night! by Picass0 · · Score: 1, Funny

    I have machine empathy and a big hammer. Send me.

  4. I know what's going on here! by vslashg · · Score: 4, Funny

    There's some danger ahead, so the rover shut its wheels off. It's becoming sentient, you see.

    (I learned this kind of science from Star Trek: TNG.)

  5. Re:I'm Surprised by amorsen · · Score: 4, Funny
    Ok, find a car with dirty windows. Take a brush. Clean windows. Observe that the cleaning is pretty ineffective. Another suggestion seen on Slashdot was to blow the dust away with air. For that, take the dirty car from before and drive it for a while. Notice that the wind seems unable to blow the dirt away.

    No, if NASA had been properly optimistic, they would have included a pump/sprinkler system that could use the discovered water. As well as a way to lubricate the stuck wheels with oil made from discovered plants.

    --
    Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
  6. Usually a simple fix by JavaRob · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...suffering from two wheels that can no longer steer and thus are being held in a fixed direction...

    I find that simply rolling back a bit will often dislodge what may be a bottle cap that's causing the wheel to malfunction. If there's string that has become wrapped around the wheel, however, you're done for, and should probably just take another shopping cart.

    Sorry, what are we talking about?