Average Joe
Feb 03, 2006, 02:04 PM
Over two years and still going!
Opportunity has limited use of its instrument arm though... so they leave it out and extended while driving the rover. It also has lost one of its 4 steering motors, but it can continue to steer using the other 3 "corner" wheels.
Spirit's rock grinder is too worn to be used for grinding anything anymore. And that rover has to drive backwards most of the time because one of its wheels was acting up (that was over a year ago I think).
But both rovers are heading toward interesting objects-- spirit is looking at a salt deposit, and Opportunity is about to make a looong drive to a half-mile wide crater. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/smoking.gif http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060202/sc_space/marsrov...wardtovictoriacrater (http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060202/sc_space/marsroverupdateslidingintohomeplateonwardtovictori acrater)
Opportunity has limited use of its instrument arm though... so they leave it out and extended while driving the rover. It also has lost one of its 4 steering motors, but it can continue to steer using the other 3 "corner" wheels.
Spirit's rock grinder is too worn to be used for grinding anything anymore. And that rover has to drive backwards most of the time because one of its wheels was acting up (that was over a year ago I think).
But both rovers are heading toward interesting objects-- spirit is looking at a salt deposit, and Opportunity is about to make a looong drive to a half-mile wide crater. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/smoking.gif http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060202/sc_space/marsrov...wardtovictoriacrater (http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060202/sc_space/marsroverupdateslidingintohomeplateonwardtovictori acrater)