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Mars Rover Stuck in a Dune
Bamfarooni writes "The NASA Mars rover Opportunity has gotten stuck in a dune, buried up to the hubs of the wheels. While they haven't given up yet, it doesn't look good for the little guy who's now 359 days into the extended mission." From the article: "The Mars machinery had been cruising southward across the open parking lot-like landscape of Meridiani Planum, full of larger and larger ripples of soil. Opportunity has been en route to its next stopover, Erebus crater, nestled inside an even larger crater known as Terra Nova."
It was probably attacked by a giant sandworm.
Clearly the Martian Highways Dept. need to get a crew up there right away and fix these potholes before someone gets hurt.
They need bigger wheels! Knew they shoulda opt for those shiny 18" !
This is going to take a whole lot of floorin'! /obligatory simpsons quote
If you had let Xzibit and West Coast Customs pimp out the Rover with 20 inch rims you would have avoided this problem.
Letter
Too bad if it's permanently stuck, but what an amazing success for this mission, which has gone on far longer that it was planned for. I hope the NASA engineers get the recognition they deserver for this job well done.
If any NASA or JPL people are reading this thread I have one thing to say:
Mission _very_ accomplished.
The human race knows infinitely more of our red neighbor thanks to your hard work.
THANK YOU!
They have two rovers. The solution is obvious.
They'll get there in less than 30 minutes or the next tow is free!
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
BEAGLE to the RESCUE!!!
...or maybe not...
Hack your mind out of its sandbox.
"We are very optimistic that we'll be able to get out of here, but we're really going to take our time doing it."
It sounds like NASA is going to use a technique I discovered playing video games as a child. If you're stuck somewhere, just wiggle the joystick back and forth for a few hours to see if you can work your way out of it. Too bad they can't reload a saved game. I found that technique helpful too.
I'm a big tall mofo.
From TFA: Rover operators are optimistic they can extricate the robot from its jam, having gotten dug in before. and said Steve Squyres, lead scientist on the Mars Exploration Rover effort at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. "We are very optimistic that we'll be able to get out of here, but we're really going to take our time doing it."
I'd hardly interpret that as "it doesn't look good for the little guy".
If only NASA engineers watched more BattleBots they'd have realized that they needed a flipper arm underneath.
There's discussion on the Mars Rover Discussion Board and again. It seems careful Rover Watchers noticed that it hadn't moved in a few days, and started to wonder why. Apparently NASA had to say something, because people were asking questions.
As much as my Nerd Gene wants a manned mission to Mars, it's hard to argue with the scientific value of (relatively) cheap missions like this. NASA shifted in the late 90's to a series of relatively inexpensive probes with a narrow purpose (as opposed to the Voyager-class missions). These probes make sense. For one, there's less financial damage if one fails or is destroyed. And two, they can be put together, tested, and launched more cheaply and more quickly.
And we're getting some excellent science from them. The Mars rovers were an hour-by-hour news story, then a day-by-day news story, there was a lot of public interest in them during those first few days. These kinds of missions are, I think, more crucial to human space exploration than launching a dude to Mars.
There's some things you must have people in space to accomplish, but we've got a lot to learn yet through frugal unmanned space exploration and I hate to see so much of NASA's focus being shifted towards manned operations. Honestly, I hate to see NASA continuing to be involved in the production and operational side of space exploration. I think NASA should be reformulated as a primarily science and research-oriented organization and launch operations should be almost entirely privatized. NASA does too many things and most of it not that well, and none of it efficiently.
"I have never won a debate with an ignorant person." -Ali ibn Abi Talib
The rover is driving backwards so there is more to see in the front view than there is in the back view
I hope they get it out...
wot no sig
My bet is that its grounded on the wreckage of Beagle II. :)
I was going to dismiss this out of hand, but FTA, Opportunity did find two small craters right before running aground. The cause?
They could have been created by an object from space that was large enough to make it through the martian atmosphere without burning up.
And, let's not forget:
"Given that these two craters haven't been covered by sand even though they are surrounded by sand ripples on a flat plain lends support to the idea that they're fairly recent."
They're too embarrased to admit it, but they actually found the rover on red cement blocks and some Mars fiend has stolen the wheels.
No need to worry! The DID install OnStar didn't they?? Just have the robotic arm press the button... What do you mean they didn't design the arm so it could press the OnStar button?!? Well, there goes THAT idea!
I wouldn't worry too much about this one - the engineers are already using the engineering test rovers to test possible means of escape here on earth. The test rovers have proven invaluable in the past for modelling such complex situations (where computer models would be unlikely to be of much help).
The rover had made it many kilometers, I don't a little sand dune is going to stop it. All the scientists I've spoken to about this seemed optimistic (which was not how they felt about the spirit anomoly back in January 2004) so... I'm not worried just yet.
Does make for some very cool pictures though!
-- Justin
I couldn't agree more. Even if they can't get Rover up and running again, which I'm sure they will, it's had a good run and garnered a wealth of new information for us. It's essential purpose has been served so regardless of the outcome it's still a good thing.
Now if only one of those dustdevils that's been cleaning the solar panels would be kind enough to wedge a 2"x12" behind the drive wheel...
Sure it would have only gotten a few km down away from the lander before needing to gas up, but no little dune would stop it unless the engineers were afraid of getting it dirty since they only want to use the H2 to drive to the local Mars mini-mart and back.
"Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
Somebody else mentioned treads as well. I'm guessing these things were considered and discarded due to the extra complexity, weight, and power requirements of those modes of locomotion.
"I have never won a debate with an ignorant person." -Ali ibn Abi Talib
looks like worm sign to me...
We need to get those volvo driving NASA geeks out of the drivers seat and call in Cousin Clyde. Sure, he's used to driving a F350 with 10" lift and 32" mudboggers, but hell, just tell him it's eight wheel drive and there's a case of PBR in it for him. He'll have it unstuck in no time.
That really is a small planet!
I am defenseless. Use your button. Mod me down with all of your hatred.
I guess that's why I'm not in charge of NASA.
sigs, as if you care.
If they would just have coughed up the $50 for their AAA membership, this wouldn't be a problem.
As it stands, the towing charges are going to be astronomical.
He had a life, but he got it from Microsoft so it crashed! hahah. I'm so clever.
And they could have launched it on a Rice Rocket. I'm picturing an old Delta-2 with an oversized "Type R" decal, a dozen gigantic fog lights, oversized chrome-plated bell nozzles on the engines, racing stripes, and extraneous fins. ;)
Dear Lord: One of your creatures may be hurt tonight. Please let it be the other creature.
if the rover stays in one place too long, it may be eaten by a sandworm. I hate it when sandworms eat my harvesters.
The rover is dead. Somebody has already stripped the hub caps and key'd the side of the vehicle. Left rear axle is up on blocks. Birds have covered the front and rear windows with poop. It doesn't look good for the little guy who's now 359 days into the extended mission. It is unlikely that a tow truck will reach it anytime soon.
Just take the floormats out and put them under the wheels for traction. Or you can let some air out of the tires which will give them a bigger footprint and better traction.
Being an avid 4x4'er and no stranger to getting stuck, the best suggestions are this:
1. Do *not* make things worse by spinning the wheels and digging yourself *in* further.
(You're not rushing so you know this already, but certainly don't spin the wheels)
2. Try to wiggle/dig *out* some clearance between your undercarriage and the sand. The more contact points you have the more friction you need to overcome. (After exhausting all options you may want to use the arms to remove as much sand from around the wheels and undercarriage as is possible. This may ruin the scientific instruments on those arms, but at least you'll better your chances of getting out.)
3. Straighten your wheels as much as possible, but also try to match the entrance route.
(noticed in the picture that one of the wheels is perpendicular to the track line, not a great way to get out.)
4. Use your highest gear and slowly without tire spin, REVERSE!
(It's usually best to go the route you came from, *not* visa versa because you've compacted the sand and you don't want to "plow" anymore)
5. If that is difficult, ROCK the house! Rocking back and forth to create a space to give momentum on the way out is a great way of "punching" through the hard spot. Again, the reverse route is usually the best choice to rock out of. Give one last good pendulum type run at it when you're ready to try to bust out. Rocking forward then at the pinnacle, rock with all you have backwards.
5. Use time to your advantage; keep working at it with the above. You don't want the sand to settle like cement though, so don't just sit there. Further those pesky dust devils may fill your tracks.
6. Perhaps you can use gravity to your advantage on a slope.
I'd wish you good luck, but there is no such thing as luck.
There's only statistically calculated coincidence.
So good "statistical calculating"!