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November 20, 2009 -- Update
Team Sets Plan for Third Extrication Drive
Another drive is planned for Spirit on Sol 2092 (Saturday, Nov. 21). >>
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November 13-19, 2009 (sols 2084-2090)
Mission Manager Report:
Extrication Attempt Begins >>
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November 19, 2009 -- Update
Second Extrication Drive Yields Slight Progress
Spirit successfully completed the first step of its planned two-step motion on Sol 2090 (Nov. 19). >>
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November 18, 2009 -- Update
Second Planned Extrication Drive is Straight Ahead Again
Because the first extrication drive for Spirit, on Sol 2088, stopped as soon as it began due to an exceeded tilt limit, the plan for an extrication drive on Sol 2090 will essentially be a repeat of the first drive plan, but with improved rover attitude knowledge. >>
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November 17, 2009 -- Update
Team Prepares to Uplink Commands to Spirit
The preliminary results from the first extrication drive for Spirit on Sol 2088 (Nov. 17, 2009) indicate the rover stopped less than 1 second after it began, sensing more vehicle lateral tilt than permitted. >>
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November 16, 2009 -- Update
Team Prepares to Uplink Commands to Spirit
Driving commands are being prepared to instruct Spirit to attempt to drive forward. These are the first driving commands since Spirit became embedded in a Martian sandtrap approximately six months ago. >>
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November 12, 2009 -- Update
NASA to Begin Attempts to Free Sand-Trapped Mars Rover
NASA will begin transmitting commands to its Mars exploration rover Spirit on Monday as part of an escape plan to free the venerable robot from its Martian sand trap. >>
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November 05-11, 2009 (sols 2077-2083)
Mission Manager Report:
Flash Memory in Use Again >>
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October 29 - November 04, 2009 (sols 2070-2076)
Mission Manager Report:
Dealing with Flash Access >>
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October 30, 2009 -- Daily Update
Amnesia-Like Behavior Returns on Spirit
Until Oct. 24, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover had gone more than six months without an episode of amnesia-like symptoms like those that appeared on four occasions earlier this year. >>
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October 22-28, 2009 (sols 2063-2069)
Mission Manager Report:
Amnesia-like Symptoms Return >>
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October 15-21, 2009 (sols 2056-2062)
Mission Manager Report:
Antenna Back to Normal Use >>
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October 19, 2009 -- Daily Update
Team Runs Operational Test to Prepare for Extracting Spirit
Engineers using test rovers on Earth to prepare for extracting the sand-trapped Spirit rover on Mars have added a new challenge to their preparations.
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October 09-14, 2009 (sols 2050-2055)
Mission Manager Report:
In X-Band Fault Mode >>
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September 30 - October 08, 2009 (sols 2042-2049)
Mission Manager Report:
Busy with Antenna Brake Testing and Underbelly Imaging >>
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September 23-29, 2009 (sols 2035-2041)
Mission Manager Report:
Intermittent Problem with Antenna Brake >>
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September 17-22, 2009 (sols 2029-2034)
Mission Manager Report:
Progress on Antenna Actuator >>
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September 10-16, 2009 (sols 2022-2028)
Mission Manager Report:
Diagnostics on Antenna Actuator >>
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September 14, 2009 -- Daily Update
Computer Modeling Supplements Dusty Testing
Tests on Earth simulating Spirit's predicament on Mars have reinforced understanding that getting Spirit to rove again will be very difficult.
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September 02-09, 2009 (sols 2015-2021)
Mission Manager Report:
Examining Target 'Olive Leaf' >>
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August 27 - September 02, 2009 (sols 2009-2014)
Mission Manager Report:
Sky Clearer at 'Troy,' Smoky at JPL >>
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August 20-26, 2009 (sols 2002-2008)
Mission Manager Report:
Regional Dust Storm >>
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August 25, 2009 -- Daily Update
Dust Storm Passing Over Spirit
The amount of electricity generated by the solar panels on Spirit has been declining for the past several Martian days, or sols, as a regional dust storm moved southward. >>
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August 21, 2009 -- Daily Update
Second Test Rover Added to Driving Experiments
A second, lighter-weight test rover has entered the testing setup at JPL where rover team members are assessing strategy for getting Spirit out of soft soil where it is embedded on Mars. >>
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August 13-19, 2009 (sols 1995-2001)
Mission Manager Report:
More than 2,000 sols >>
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August 13, 2009 -- Daily Update
Planned Rover Test to Run a Week or More
Mars rover team members are planning a long-duration experiment with the test rover at JPL beginning next week. >>
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August 07-12, 2009 (sols 1989-1994)
Mission Manager Report:
Deeper Look into Soil Targets >>
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August 07, 2009 -- Daily Update
More Testing Before Driving on Mars
A review on Aug. 6 of test results to date yielded a decision to conduct further checkouts in an augmented testing set-up on Earth before beginning to send driving commands to Spirit. >>
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July 30- August 06, 2009 (sols 1981-1988)
Mission Manager Report:
Illumination Experiment and Other Studies >>
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July 30, 2009 -- Daily Update
Free Spirit Testing Nearing Completion
Mars rover engineers at JPL are winding down testing of different escape maneuvers using a test rover in a sand box filled with soil to mimic the Martian surface. >>
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July 24-29, 2009 (sols 1975-1980)
Mission Manager Report:
Robotic Arm Diagnostics >>
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July 24, 2009 -- Daily Update
Longer Tests Beginning
Mars rover team members have begun a new phase of testing at JPL -- using longer-duration experiments -- in their preparations for driving Spirit again on Mars. >>
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July 16-23, 2009 (sols 1968-1974)
Mission Manager Report:
Poking 'Cyclops Eye' >>
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July 21, 2009 -- Daily Update
Next Step: Combinations of Basic Moves
As the Mars rover team uses testing at JPL to evaluate possible ways to drive Spirit out of loose soil on Mars, the team is finishing tests of individual "building block" maneuvers and is about to begin stringing some of those together. >>
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July 16, 2009 -- Daily Update
Test Rover Checks Pivoting Technique
The Mars rover team is using a test rover at JPL to assess various extraction techniques that might get Spirit out of the loose soil of "Troy" on Mars. >>
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July 9-15, 2009 (sols 1961-1967)
Mission Manager Report:
More Soil Studies and Extraction Tests >>
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July 13, 2009 -- Daily Update
Rover Engineers Test More Maneuvers
Engineers checking possible rover movements to get Spirit out of the "Troy" sand trap on Mars are evaluating how a comparable rover at JPL fares in a crablike backward drive, with all four corner wheels turned 60 degrees toward the right. >>
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July 10, 2009 -- Daily Update
Tests Evaluating Crabwalk Moves
On firm ground, NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers can make crablike moves by turning all four steerable wheels to the same side angle, then rotating the wheels either forward or backward. >>
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July 1-8, 2009 (sols 1953-1960)
Mission Manager Report:
Active Days and Nights >>
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July 08, 2009 -- Daily Update
Second Rover Test Maneuver is Backwards
Engineers used straight-backward driving of a test rover on Earth on Wednesday, July 8, as they evaluate maneuvers that might be useful for getting Spirit out of a sandtrap on Mars. >>
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July 06, 2009 -- Daily Update
Rover Extraction Tests Begin
Using a test rover in a sandbox at JPL with special soil simulating Spirit's predicament on Mars, engineers are assessing possible maneuvers for getting Spirit out and onto firmer ground. >>
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July 01, 2009 -- Daily Update
Rock Under the Belly
Engineers placed a rock underneath the test rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., on July 1, 2009, to more closely simulate Spirit's predicament on Mars. >>
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June 30, 2009 -- Daily Update
Test Rover Rolls In
After several days of preparing a sloped area of soft, fine soil to simulate Spirit's current sandtrap on Mars, the rover team drove a test rover into the material on June 30, 2009. >>
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June 26-30, 2009 (sols 1948-1952)
Mission Manager Report:
Soil Investigation Continues >>
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June 26, 2009 -- Daily Update
The Mixing Begins
Rover team members mix materials to fill the testbed box. Once filled, the rover will be driven into the test area and set in place to mimic how the actual rover sits on Mars. >>
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June 25, 2009 -- Daily Update
Mars Team Digs in To Free Spirit
Mars team members have rolled up their sleeves and will be shaping a few tons of diatomaceous Earth and clay into an exact replica of the area where the Spirit rover is embedded on Mars. >>
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June 18-24, 2009 (sols 1941-1947)
Mission Manager Report:
Studying Troy >>
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June 25, 2009 -- Press Release
Mars Rover Yielding New Clues While Lodged in Martian Soil
NASA's Mars rover Spirit, lodged in Martian soil that is causing traction trouble, is taking advantage of the situation by learning more about the Red Planet's environmental history. >>
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June 11-18, 2009 (sols 1934-1940)
Mission Manager Report:
Soil Investigation >>
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June 03, 2009 -- Daily Update
Spirit Photographs Her Underbelly, Sol 1925
A new image of Spirit's underbelly is helping engineers assess the rover's current state and plan her escape from soft soil. >>
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May 18, 2009 -- Press Release
Mars and Earth Activities Aim to Get Spirit Rolling Again
NASA's rover project team is using Spirit and other spacecraft at Mars to find a way for the rover to get dislodged from soft Martian ground. >>
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May 11, 2009 -- Press Release
Spirit's Wheels Digging into Soft Ground, Sol 1899
The five wheels that still rotate on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit have been slipping severely in soft soil during recent attempts to drive, sinking the wheels about halfway into the ground. >>
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