In this view from behind a test rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., the rear wheels of the rover are turned toward the left, and the left-front wheel is turned toward the the right.
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July 21, 2009
The team that operates rovers on Mars is using a test rover in southern
California to assess maneuvers the Mars rover Spirit might use to get out
of soft, loose soil where its wheels have sunk hub-deep. A live videocast
and chat from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will give
viewers a chance to ask questions of rover team members working to get
Spirit rolling again.
The live event will air on the "NASAJPL" channel available on Ustream Web TV
at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasajpl on Thursday, July 23, beginning
at 3 p.m. PDT (6 p.m. EDT and 2200 UTC).
Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, landed on Mars in January 2004 for what were
planned as three-month missions to study sites on opposite sides of the planet.
Both are still active and returning streams of scientific information. Spirit
has not driven since May 6, 2009, when it had become partially embedded in the
soil. To minimize the risk of worsening Spirit's predicament, operators decided
to conduct a series of experiments with a test rover before driving Spirit again.
Participants in the July 23 event include:
-- John Callas, project manager for NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.
-- Ashley Stroupe, JPL rover planner, deputy lead for "Free Spirit" testing
Viewers may submit questions over Ustream or via Twitter. Twitter users may send
their questions to @NASAJPL using the hashtag #FreeSpirit. In addition, if you are
unable to take part in the live chat, you may submit questions in advance to
chatquestion@jpl.nasa.gov and watch the archived video at a later time.
Information about Spirit and Opportunity is available at http://www.nasa.gov/rovers.
Updates about testing of possible maneuvers for freeing Spirit are at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/freespirit .
JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
Media contact: Guy Webster/Carolina Martinez 818-354-6278/354-9382
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov / carolina.martinez@jpl.nasa.gov
2009-113
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