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Spotlight On Mars - Image |
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No Talking and Driving on Mars |
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September 08, 2008 |
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Question: What does the Mars rover Opportunity have in common with safe drivers?
Answer: The rover doesn't talk on the phone while driving.
If conditions get dicey, as they sometimes do, Opportunity stops driving and waits for a phone call from Earth. That happened recently when Opportunity tried to climb a steep slope to an area of layered rocks nicknamed "Nevada." Like an athlete straining under too much weight, the left front wheel suddenly drew too much current.
Engineers talked Opportunity through a series of tests and found nothing unusual. Even so, they told Opportunity to leave "Victoria Crater" rather than risk wheel failure. With the crater in its shadow, Opportunity set its sights on the crater's rim.
Opportunity frequently "talks" to engineers, but not when moving. The rover can't point its powerful dish antenna while driving. When the wheels are in motion, the rover's eyes are on the road.
Images courtesy of:
Panoramic camera/Navigation camera/Rear hazard-avoidance camera
False-color image credits (layered rocks): NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell
Black-and-white image credits (crater rim and rover shadow): NASA/JPL-Caltech
Related press releases
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20080826a.html
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20080829a.html
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