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Mars Rover Fails to Dig Hole in Rock

Posted on: Sunday, 7 March 2004, 06:00 CST

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Scientists planned to run tests on the rover Opportunity after it failed to grind a hole in Martian rock on Sunday, NASA officials said. The rover tried, unsuccessfully, to use one of its many tools to grind away at an outcropping dubbed "Flat Rock," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement on its Web site.

Scientists hope to learn more about the rock's chemical composition from scrapings off of its exterior. Tests on the rover were planned for Monday and the rover could take another shot at Flat Rock later in the week, officials said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, Opportunity's twin rover, Spirit, maneuvered Sunday around several obstacles in a 72-foot trip toward a large depression scientists have nicknamed "Bonneville Crater."

NASA's $820 million rover mission was designed to seek geological clues on whether the dusty Red Planet ever had enough water to support life. In the past week the agency announced both rovers have found evidence of past water activity.

Spirit was expected to use an array of scientific tools to take measurements of its surroundings before continuing toward the crater.

In other developments, Opportunity viewed the sun through its panoramic camera in preparation for when the robot photographs the martian moon Phobos as it passes in front of the sun.

NASA announced Friday that Spirit's instruments found signs that water may have altered a volcanic rock in a region called Gusev crater. The crater is halfway around the planet from where Opportunity earlier uncovered evidence that its landing site was once drenched.

The amount of water suggested by the Spirit data is far less than what Opportunity found at its site.

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On the Net:

Jet Propulsion Laboratory: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

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