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Spirit rover finishes primary mission

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 April 2004, 06:00 CDT

PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Spirit rover wrapped up its primary mission to Mars on Monday as it continued to roll across the planet's surface on an extended tour that could last through September.

The unmanned robot, marking its 90th full day on Mars, had accomplished all of the tasks NASA considered essential to declare the joint mission a success. Its twin rover, Opportunity, was getting close to achieving the same.

"Spirit has completed its part of the bargain, and Opportunity doesn't have much left to do," said Mark Adler, manager of the $820 million mission.

The mission's key tasks included a requirement that one of the rovers travel at least 1,980 feet - a mark Spirit surpassed on Saturday.

Between the two of them, the rovers also had to take stereo and color panoramas of their surroundings, drive to at least eight locations and operate simultaneously for a minimum of 30 days.

NASA assumed technical and other problems would ground the rovers fully one-third of the time they operated on Mars. Despite computer memory problems that left Spirit sidelined for 2 1/2 weeks, it has still spent more days at work than expected. Opportunity must function for another 20 days before meeting all its goals, Adler said.

"It's better than we could have possibly imagined," Adler said.

NASA has extended the mission through September. If the rovers continue to function, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will apply for money to extend the project again, Adler said. l

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