Spirit and Opportunity make "Longest Journey"

From today's Guardian:

www.guardian.co.uk...

In a few days, a robot vehicle no bigger than a golf cart will complete its analysis of a small patch of red Martian soil. Then it will turn south to continue a journey that will become the longest overland trek ever made on another world.

Spirit and Opportunity touched down, encased in huge inflated airbags, on 3 and 24 January 2004 respectively, and have since sent back more than a quarter of a million photographs, survived dust storms, descended into craters and, in one case, climbed a mountain. Opportunity has operated continuously without a hitch, while Spirit suffered one major glitch two years ago when a wheel jammed. However, the little rover has still managed to move around fairly well on its remaining five wheels.

Amazing theyre still going.

[edit on 11-1-2009 by ruggedtoast]

[edit on 11-1-2009 by ruggedtoast]

Good post the topic exsists here though.. www.abovetopsecret.com...

Sorry didnt realise. Mods please merge.

No prob, I do it frequently they don't "merge" threads BTW and the one I started didn't spark much interest. Nobody cares about those two lonley rovers

Reminds me of the film, I think it was called Silent Running? Little robots, doing their job.

Please direct your comments to this ongoing Thread

Plucky NASA Rovers Complete Fifth Year on Mars



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