Posted by Davin Flateau on 30 Apr 2005 at 9:25 am.
Filed under Astronomy.
[an actual call taken by an OnStar operator…not really]
“OnStar, may I help you?”
“Help! I’m stuck in the sand!”
“It’s okay, ma’am, don’t worry. Are all four wheels stuck?”
“All six wheels!”
“How far are you from a service station?”
“130 million miles! Hello?”
On Friday, the The Mars Exploration Rover team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory learned that Opportunity was spinning its wheels in the Martian sand as it tried to climb a foot-high sand dune. The wheels have sunk down more than a wheel radius, and as you can see from the picture, the Rover’s hollow wheels have filled more than halfway up with sand. Engineers are now studying the problem on earth with a test rover, trying various scenarios in a sand box that simulates the Martian surface. Engineers will spend days or perhaps weeks carefully trying to free Opportunity. The Rover’s other systems are still functioning normally.
Davin Flateau
