Opportunity rover slips as it tries to leave Mars crater

PASADENA, California (AP) — The Opportunity rover slipped down a sandy uphill slope as it tried to leave the crater it has explored since landing on Mars nearly two months ago, mission scientists said.

The six-wheeled robot tried driving out of the crater Sunday, but the soft martian terrain prevented it from doing so, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said. Controllers planned to try a second way out of the crater Monday.

Opportunity landed inside the 21-meter (72-foot) diameter crater on Jan. 24.

Halfway around Mars, Opportunity’s twin rover, Spirit, has been exploring the rim of a far larger crater.

NASA launched the $820 million mission to search Mars for evidence the planet once was a wetter place. Opportunity already has uncovered such evidence.

NASA scheduled a Tuesday news conference in Washington to announce what it called another “major scientific finding” by the mission.

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On the Net:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/