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NASA's Mars Rover to Head Toward Bigger Crater

PASADENA, Calif., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity is setting its sights on a crater more than 20 times larger than its home for the past two years. To reach the crater the rover team calls Endeavour, Opportunity would need to drive approximately 7 miles to the southeast, matching the total distance it has traveled since landing on Mars in early 2004. The rover climbed out of Victoria Crater earlier this month. "We may not get there, but it is scientifically the right direction to go anyway," said Steve Squyres of

Mars rover's power dips to all-time low

The Mars rover Spirit's power levels dropped to an all-time low after a dust storm blanketed its solar panels late last week. NASA is now awaiting a signal from the rover that it survived the ordeal.

Mars Rover Spirit Remains Quiet as Dust Storm Weakens

The deck of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is so dusty that the rover almost blends into the dusty background. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

Mars Rover Team Sets Low-Power Plan for NASA's Spirit

PASADENA, Calif. -- After assessing data received from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on Thursday, mission controllers laid out plans for the rover to conserve its modest energy during the next few weeks.

Mars Rover's Epic Trek For the Crater Endeavor

Smivs writes "The BBC reports that NASA is to send its Mars rover Opportunity on a two-year trek to try to reach a crater called Endeavour. The robot will have to move about 11km to get to its new target — a distance that would double what it has already achieved on the planet. Endeavour is much bigger than anything investigated to date, and will allow a broader range of rocks to be studied. Detailed satellite imagery from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will help pick out the best route ahead; and new software recently uploaded to Opportunity will enable the rover to make its own decisions about how best to negotiate large rocks in its path. Opportunity has just emerged from the 800m-wide Victoria Crater. Endeavour, by comparison, is 22km across.

Mars Rover Spirit Still Alive

Toren Altair writes with this excerpt from a story at The Space Fellowship: "NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit communicated via the Mars Odyssey orbiter today right at the time when ground controllers had told it to, prompting shouts of 'She's talking!' among the rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 'This means Spirit has not gone into a fault condition and is still being controlled by sequences we send from the ground,' said John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., project manager for Spirit and its twin, Opportunity."

Mars Rover "Spirit" In Danger

Riding with Robots writes "Just days after announcing that the Mars Phoenix Lander has met its icy demise, NASA reports that a dust storm has left the rover Spirit on the edge of power failure. During one recent Martian day, the robotic geologist's solar array produced only 89 watt hours of energy, the lowest output by either rover in their nearly five years on Mars. Mission managers are taking steps to protect the hardy, battle-worn spacecraft, but the agency describes Spirit's status as 'vulnerable.'"

Mars Rover Spirit Surviving on a Low Energy Diet

Last week, Mars Exploration Rover Spirit looked as if its sols were numbered. Hot on the heals of the demise of the frozen Phoenix lander, Spirit was about to succumb to a low-energy death brought on by a dust storm. The build-up of dust on the rover's solar panels were already causing a serious problem, but as a storm raged over Gusev Crater, power output from the panels slumped to an all-time low. As Nancy reported on November 11th, mission controllers were forced to switch Spirit into a low-energy state, leaving them with no other choice but to command the robot to be silent. Although tensions were high, Spirit broke the silence last Thursday.

NASA Tests Rover Concepts in Arizona

A collection of engineers, astronauts and geologists have spent the past week testing out the Small Pressurized Rover in the 11th annual Desert RATS – or Research and Technology Studies -- field tests. Two teams of one astronaut and one geologist each have been driving the rover through the Arizona desert, trying it out in two different configurations.

NASA Tests Rover Concepts In Arizona

A collection of engineers, astronauts and geologists have spent the past week testing out the Small Pressurized Rover in the 11th annual Desert RATS – or Research and Technology Studies -- field tests. Two teams of one astronaut and one geologist each have been driving the rover through the Arizona desert, trying it out in two different configurations.

NASA Tests Rover Concepts in Arizona

A collection of engineers, astronauts and geologists have spent the past week testing out the Small Pressurized Rover in the 11th annual Desert RATS - or Research and Technology Studies -- field tests. Two teams of one astronaut and one geologist each have been driving the rover through the Arizona desert, trying it out in two different configurations.

NASA's Spirit Rover is alive

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit communicated via the Mars Odyssey orbiter today right at the time when ground controllers had told it to, prompting shouts of “She’s talking!” among the rover team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

NASA's Mars rover Spirit imperiled by dust storms

The most recent self-portrait of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the solar panels still gleaming in the Martian sunlight and carrying only a thin veneer of dust two years after the rover landed and began exploring the red planet.

The NASA Spirit Rover Lives!

Nerds cheered and wept with happiness as NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit responded to ground control commands today via the Mars Odyssey orbiter. Earlier this week, NASA feared that the rover would fall victim to the same problem that killed our beloved Phoenix Mars Lander. The dust storm is still a problem, but Spirit has managed to gather enough solar energy to communicate normally. Once again, Spirit has lived up to the name and proven that its a fighter. [Spacefellowship via Slashdot]

Controllers Cheer As Data Arrive From NASA's Spirit Rover

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit communicated via the Mars Odyssey orbiter today right at the time when ground controllers had told it to, prompting shouts of "She's talking!" among the rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

NASA's New Lunar Rover, Now Testing in Arizona

MarkWhittington writes "NASA has unveiled a new prototype lunar rover, called the Chariot, a production version of which is hoped to be operational on the lunar surface by 2019. NASA is now testing the Chariot lunar rover in Arizona, on terrain that resembles the lunar surface." Perhaps Arizona's an even closer match to the moon's surface than is Texas, or Moses Lake, WA where NASA was testing the last time we mentioned Chariot. (Here's a bit of video from the Texas round.)

Controllers Cheer as Data Arrive from NASA's Spirit Rover

The deck of NASAs Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is so dusty that the rover almost blends into the dusty background. Image credit: NASAJPL-CaltechCornell

Dust Storm Cuts Energy Supply of NASA Mars Rover Spirit

The deck of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is so dusty that the rover almost blends into the dusty background. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

NASA Invites Students to Name New Mars Rover

Wheels were first attached to NASAs Mars Science Laboratory rover in August 2008. The rover and its descent stage and cruise stage are being assembled and tested at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena Calif. for launch in 2009. Image Credit: NAS ...

NASA Moves Forward with Mars Rover Launch in 2009

Despite “spiraling costs” and looming deadlines, NASA decided to move forward with the planned 2009 launch of the next Mars rover. The next-gen rover is the size of an SUV and will sport a laser. Final price tag is expected to be near $2 billion.

Dust Storm Lowers Power For Mars Rover Spirit

A dust storm on Mars has cut into the amount of sunlight reaching the solar array on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, leaving the rover in a vulnerable state.

Dust Storm Cuts Energy Supply Of NASA Mars Rover Spirit

A dust storm on Mars has cut into the amount of sunlight reaching the solar array on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, leaving the rover in a vulnerable state.

NASA Invites Students to Name New Mars Rover

WASHINGTON -- NASA is looking for the right stuff, or in this case, the right name for the next Mars rover. NASA, in cooperation with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' movie WALL-E from Pixar Animation Studios, will conduct a naming contest for its car-sized Mars Science Laboratory rover that is scheduled for launch in 2009.

NASA may be able to speed up launch of moonship

NASA scientists begin trials on the Small Pressurized Rover (SPR), designed to travel on the moon, on rocky terrain similar to the conditions on the moon at Black Point Lava Flow, north of Flagstaff, AZ. Astronauts would not have to wear spacesuits while in the rover, but could easily climb into spacesuits mounted on the outside through a hatch at the rear. The new rover allows astronauts the travel great distances from a lunar base station without bulky spacesuits. The battery-powered vehicle has 12 wheels and can travel up to 6 mph.

NASA rover low on power from Martian dust storm

NASA's Spirit rover, which is nearing its fifth year on Mars, is struggling to survive after a dust storm sapped its power, mission scientists said Tuesday.

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