Friday, January 29th, 2010

Mars Rover to Rove No Longer

Array.alttext

A view from the Mars rover Spirit, currently stuck in soft soil. NASA/JPL image.

This week, NASA announced that Spirit, one of the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, appears to be permanently stuck in Martian soil, and that the rover would now be used only as a stationary observation platform. "It looks like Spirit's current location on Mars will be its final resting place," said Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. The announcement comes as both rovers prepare to enter a period of Martian winter. We'll talk with Steve Squyres, a researcher at Cornell University and principal investigator for rovers Spirit and Opportunity, about the Mars mission and what lies ahead.

Guests

Steven Squyres
Principal Investigator, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission
Professor of Astronomy
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Related Links

Segment produced by:Shelley DuBois

$relatedimages[storys].alttext

Image: A wide-angle view from Spirit's front hazard-avoidance camera, toward the north, looking down at Spirit's front wheels.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Science Jobs
JMP
Tasty Mug
Support for Science Friday provided in part by the Noyce Foundation
and
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The National Science Foundation
Research Corporation for Science Advancement