News Archive

Sunday, January 25, 2004 MER Update Outcrop near Opportunity. Credit: NASA/JPL "I think we've got a patient that's well on the way to recovery," is how Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager Pete Theisinger described Spirit. JPL now believes that the problem is in the "file management" software and that the FLASH memory is fine. Opportunity is inside of a small (20m diameter) crater near a larger one. "We have scored a 300-million mile interplanetary hole in one," said Dr. Steve Squyres. The small crater the rover is in appears to expose both surface and subsurface rock, something NASA scientists had dreamed of. "If it got any better, I couldn't stand it," said Dr. Doug Ming, rover science team member. The combination of rocks, soil, and instruments should allow scientist to search for clues of ancient water. Opportunity will spend one to two weeks on the lander before leaving. (More info: NASA/JPL) @ 21:31 EST