Saturday, May 14, 2005
[JPL Mars Rovers sol 464, 5/14/2005] Careful Rollout: The Mars Rover Opportunity rotated its wheels on sol 463 for the first time since it dug itself into a sand dune. The wheels made about two and a half rotations. In the loose footing, the rover advanced 1.1 inch forward, 0.19 inch sideways and 0.18 inch downward. The results were a good match for what was expected from tests under simulated Mars conditions on Earth, and the rover team will decide whether to repeat the same careful movement again in two days. Two weeks ago, Opportunity had completed nearly 131 feet of a planned 295-foot drive, when it started slip on a one foot tall by 8 feet wide sand dune. Its wheels kept rotating, but the rover barely inched forward. The rover team spent more than two weeks designing and conducting tests before choosing the best way for Opportunity to drive out of the dune. [Thumbnail links to 1,436K animated GIF]  
 

© Copyright 2005 Eric Hartwell .
Last update: 5/15/2005; 9:46:00 AM .

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