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Mars Rover Breaks Free

QuantumFTL writes "According to an MSNBC story Opportunity, the same rover that scored an interplanetary hole-in-one, has broken free of an interplanetary sand trap. The MER science operations mailing list was abuzz this morning with the news, as soon as the first rear hazcam image indicating success came down. Engineers were praised for working long nights and weekends to make this extrication possible. Good job, NASA!"

24 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. Nice work guys. by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now I'll know who to call next time my car gets stuck in the snow this winter.

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    1. Re:Nice work guys. by Cutie+Pi · · Score: 1, Funny

      Why don't you RTFA first? Then you'd realize that the stuck rover is nothing like a car being stuck in the snow. They had to do things completely differently.

    2. Re:Nice work guys. by nick-less · · Score: 3, Funny

      Now I'll know who to call next time my car gets stuck in the snow this winter.

      Good luck, but keep the following in mind before calling this guys:
      4 hours after your call you'll be called back an instructed to turn 30
      4 hours later you'll be instructed to drive back slowy for 1.5 minutes
      [...]

      I'd rather wait for Mister Plow instead...

    3. Re:Nice work guys. by AndroidCat · · Score: 3, Funny

      No way. They'll just get started and then they'll get all excited because they've dicovered water on the surface. You'll never any work out of them after that.

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  2. What the article doesn't mention ... by PxM · · Score: 4, Funny

    is that they were so busy looking at the rear hazcam that they didn't see the giant water trap right in front of them.

  3. That Little Rover by chillmost · · Score: 2, Funny
    It's such a trooper!

    Rove little rover, rove like the wind!

  4. Re:Working Nights and Weekends by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Martians who were watching it all unfold were running out of popcorn and getting antsy. It would have been just a matter of time before one of them gave up and just kicked the thing.

  5. Not screwed up yet?! by scovetta · · Score: 3, Funny

    What I can't understand is, why didn't "management" come in and screw this all up? How could something that was supposed to last only for 90 days last for 18 months? Seems like with most things, if they are supposed to last for 90 days, they MIGHT make it to 93 or 94 days.

    My hats off to the engineers. I wish I worked at a place like that.

    --
    Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. --Nietzsche
  6. YEE HAH! by varebel · · Score: 4, Funny

    If there was any question about Earthlings being the rednecks of the universe, that image of us rootin' up the martian surface oughta clear it up.

    Lock the hubs and put 'er in low lock. YEE HAH!!

    1. Re:YEE HAH! by amliebsch · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now we just need some County Sheriff rovers to chase the good ol' boys around the martian byways.

      --
      If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
  7. Re:Working Nights and Weekends by AndroidCat · · Score: 5, Funny

    They should have just dropped another rover at the edge of the sandtrap and carried on. It would have cost them a stroke, but that's not so bad.

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  8. Re:What this proves out is.. by Timesprout · · Score: 5, Funny

    Didn't you hear? They started broadcasting some of Bushes speeches to the Rover. The convulsions it suffered in response to George butchering the English language were enough to dislodge it.

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  9. In other news... by Saeger · · Score: 2, Funny
    ...the rover stopped to take a neat picture after it freed itself from the rut, only to get stuck once again in so doing!

    Everybody knows that in situations like that you're supposed to KEEP MOVING for a long ways after freeing yourself so that you don't sink back into similar muck nearby, but those nerds apparently missed that life lesson. :)

    --
    Power to the Peaceful
  10. Re:What this proves out is.. by kfg · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am looking forward to the day when, like on the moon, I see the Stars and Stripes planted in the Martian soil.

    As am I, and I'm sure the Indians we hire to put it there will feel a sense of pride in their accomplishment.

    KFG

  11. Golf by iamdrscience · · Score: 2, Funny
    the same rover that scored an interplanetary hole-in-one, has broken free of an interplanetary sand trap.
    Good thing all the water hazards are frozen then, isn't it.
  12. Re:How they did it by zepmaid · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually they played the Queen song "I want to break free" and the rover was like totally inspired to break free.

  13. Re:What this proves out is.. by mbrewthx · · Score: 3, Funny

    And when they need to put in sleep mode they just bradcast an AL Gore speech..

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  14. Walking by lullabud · · Score: 2, Funny

    Good idea. I personally think they should've gone with a more Metroid Prime robot style, so that it could just roll like a ball, then when it got stuck it could unwind itself and start walking and hopping around. That'd be pretty entertaining as a battlebot too.

  15. Re:Working Nights and Weekends by tundog · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Martians who were watching it all unfold were running out of popcorn and getting antsy

    They really started getting worried when the Rover reported back "The Alien is nibbling on your arm...". At that point it was either have the engineers put in some long hours to find a solution or hit the space bar to release the cyanide gas...

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    All your base are belong to us!
  16. Rear hazcam image has been photoshopped... by Peter+Simpson · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...to remove a group of 3 martians with dust all over them, high-fiving each other :-)

  17. Re:What this proves out is.. by Alien+Being · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why would native Americans be proud about planting the Stars and Stripes? Ohhh, never mind.

  18. Re:How they did it by RichardX · · Score: 2, Funny

    (btw. do you get that in the US too? I thought it was a UK affliction).

    I'm British too, you insensitive clod! :P
    But yeah. Good question.. any Americans know what we're referring to with Crazy Frog? (if not, consider yourselves lucky)

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    Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
  19. Re:Working Nights and Weekends by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 2, Funny

    I hope they took out the onsite replacement warranty.

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    liqbase :: faster than paper
  20. Re:How they did it by TedCheshireAcad · · Score: 2, Funny

    they called me as a consultant. i'm awesome at mario kart.