Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Rover trouble

New Scientist magazine is reporting that the Opportunity rover (on Mars) has lost the ability to steer its right-front wheel, one of six. This is more of a nuisance than a real problem, though it will make fine maneuvering more challenging. The rover has new software designed explicitly to deal with this situation, uploaded a few weeks ago in anticipation of some of the moving parts wearing out.

Both rovers are continuing to do good science, 16 months after landing (and 13 months beyond the "warranty" date!).

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