PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 2 (UPI) – NASA, yet again reporting failure in the latest of its attempts to free the stuck Mars rover Spirit from a sand trap on the surface of the Red Planet.
Scientists at the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Spirit's right-rear wheel stalled Nov. 28 during the first step of a two-step extrication maneuver. However officials said the stall is dissimilar in some characteristics from a Nov. 21 stall. NASA said the latest event occurred more rapidly and the inferred rotor resistance was elevated at the end of the stall.
Scientists at the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Spirit's right-rear wheel stalled Nov. 28 during the first step of a two-step extrication maneuver. However officials said the stall is dissimilar in some characteristics from a Nov. 21 stall. NASA said the latest event occurred more rapidly and the inferred rotor resistance was elevated at the end of the stall.
Investigation of past stall events, along with the new characteristics, recommend the latest stall may not be result of the terrain, but may be internal to the right-rear wheel actuator, NASA said.
"Rover project engineers are developing a series of diagnostics to explore the actuator health and to isolate potential terrain interactions," the space agency added, noting plans for future driving will depend on the outcome of the diagnostic tests.
The space agency alleged earlier its effort to extract Spirit from the Martian sand trap is expected to take weeks or even months, with uncertain probability of success.
Spirit has been stuck in loose Martian sand from April 23.
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