spacetoday.net: Steering glitch strikes Spirit again

Posted: Sat, Oct 23, 2004, 5:28 PM ET (2128 GMT)
Mars Exploration Rover (NASA/JPL)

The Mars rover Spirit has experienced the same steering glitch that immobilized the rover for several days earlier this month, project officials said Thursday. The problem, first noticed October 1, has been traced to a system that prevents the wheels from being jostled in other directions while driving. The problem disappeared after several days of testing, and the rover traveled several meters as planned, but the problem reappeared on October 13 and intermittently since then. Engineers are looking into several solutions, including disabling the affected actuator. Spirit's twin, Opportunity, continues to operate well on the other side of the planet as controllers prepare to drive the rover out of Endurance Crater. The amount of power Opportunity's solar panels generate has unexpectedly increased in recent weeks to levels not seen since the first 10 weeks of the mission. Engineers believe that either winds blew off some of the dust that had accumulated on the panels, or frost caused the dust to clump, exposing more of the panel's solar cells.