NASA's Mars
rover Spirit is suffering a new bout of amnesia, one that comes after months of
being stuck in deep Martian sand.
The
6-year-old rover's latest
memory lapse occurred Oct. 24 and came more than six months after a series
of four other amnesia events earlier this year. During the events, the
plucky rover failed to record science observations in the part of its flash
computer memory that stores information overnight when other systems are
powered down.
"We
still don't have information about what causes these amnesia events," said
rover project manager John Callas at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif., in an update.
In the
latest event, Spirit did not use its flash memory between Oct. 24 and Oct. 27.
The rover does have an alternate memory system in which to store data, but must
beam that information home to Earth before entering an overnight sleep period,
mission managers said.
Callas said
engineers are weighing Spirit's amnesia problem to determine how it may affect
day-to-day operations for the long term. Aside from the memory glitch, the rover is in good health and
communicating with Earth.
"If they
are intermittent and infrequent, they are a nuisance that would set us back a
day or two when they occur. If the condition becomes persistent or frequent, we
will need to go to an alternate strategy that avoids depending on flash memory,"
Callas said. "We would only get data collected the same day and any unsent data
from an earlier day would be lost. The total volume of data returned by the
rover is expected to be about the same."
Meanwhile,
the new memory lapses will likely further delay NASA's efforts to extricate Spirit
from its Martian sand trap. The rover has been mired in deep sand since April,
unable to move.
An
independent team of robotics experts is currently reviewing recent NASA tests
that used a ground-based version of Spirit to come up with escape plan for the
stuck rover on Mars. NASA has mounted a "Free Spirit" campaign to come up with
ways to free its beloved rover.
NASA launched
Spirit and its robotic
twin Opportunity in 2003 on a mission to explore Mars. The rovers landed in
different parts of the planet in January 2004 and spent more than five years
roving across Mars and uncovering clues to the planet's watery past.
While
engineers try to free Spirit, its robotic twin Opportunity is headed toward a
giant Martian crater called Endeavour. Earlier this month, Opportunity spotted
a Martian meteorite dubbed Shelter Island on the heels of another space
rock find — called Block Island — in September. The rover used its onboard
instruments to study both meteorites.
Initially
built for a 90-day mission, the two rovers have received repeated life
extensions. Spirit is the older of the two rovers and has spent five years and
nine months exploring Mars.
advertisement
