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Mars Rover Opportunity Still Stuck In a Dune
Maddog Batty writes "The mars rover Opportunity, which has been stuck in a sand dune since the end of April, is still going nowhere after wheel spinning attempts were made to free the probe. It did manage to move a very short distance as can be seen in the difference between these two images. Before this attempt the NASA JPL team were playing in their own sandpit trying to replicate the conditions on Mars. (older coverage)"
The rover is still stuck.
Wait, I'm getting a newsflash right now... The rover is still stuck.
Oh, wait, here's another update... The rover is still stuck.
More on this as it develops.
Millions of dollars launched into space, only to get stuck in a Martian sand dune.
I'm in between insightful sigs right now...
In other news, the sky is still blue, water is still wet, and heat is still hot. Just letting you know that nothing has changed.
At least it's doing better than Spirit, which last I heard was sliding inexorably into an ominious pit of sand, where it will be slowly digested over a thousand years.
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
In other news, a team of NASA's best psychologists is scheduled to hold a meeting where they will determine how to best break the news to Spirit that her brother may be nearing the end of his life.
Mission planners at NASA are concerned about the consequences this could have. While they still want Spirit to remain functional and capable of scientific discovery, they are aware of the moral issues involved and have decided against keeping the news from her, fearing a backlash from the MCLU (Mars Civil Liberties Union).
NASA administrator Michael Griffin released a statement saying the team is carefully weighing the choices and will continue striving to preserve Spirit's technical functionality and psychological stability. Should Spirit become too depressed over the impending demise of her brother and refuse to cooperate, there is talk of calling in a special favor from a nearby resident to cheer her back up. Apparantly Spirit has recently become infatuated with a local hunk named Marvin.
>Before this attempt the NASA JPL team were playing in their own sandpit trying to replicate the conditions on Mars.
Okay, so I gather that the sand was to simulate martian soil conditions, and the radio-operated vehicle simulated the rover's movements. But what was the significance of the tanning lotion and beach umbrella? :P
NASA is just practicing to be on http://www.carstuckgirls.com/
Nasa: Hello, my rover is stuck in a dune.
AAA: Where is the dune?
Nasa: On mars.
AAA: What is the make and model of the vehicle?
Nasa: It's a rover.
AAA: What color?
Nasa: Grey.
AAA: What is the license plate?
Nasa: It does not have a license plate.
AAA: I'm sorry, if you don't have a license plate, we can't send out a tow truck. [click].
Fight Spammers!
We should use this as a reason to send a human to mars. The primamry mission will be to get oppritunity out of the dune, using a mars tow buggy. Then if theres time, they'll play some martian golf. The'll need to watch out for those sand traps though.
All misspellings and grammatical errors in the above post are intentional and part of my artistic expression.
Now taking bets at when a Rancor will devour it!
"If these maneuvers aren't successful by sol 483, then the controllers will have to accept the disintegration risk, and they will go ahead and hit the hyperspace button."
Hey, long time reader first time poster, but NASA's 'recreation' of a sandpit sure makes it look simple to forge the mars surface eh? eh? see where i'm going with this?
And I'm stuck in this sand dune. (Spins wheels fruitlessly) and my solar collectors are getting dusty again. And I have this terrible pain down the diodes in my right side...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Lassie! What, lassie? The opportunity mars rover got stuck in the sand? I'll go get the sherrif.
...but at least Opportunity herself is keeping in touch through her LiveJournal blog.