Spirit Sets New Martian Driving Record
Posted on: Wednesday, 28 April 2004, 06:00 CDT
By ANDREW BRIDGES
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- NASA's Spirit rover Wednesday completed its longest drive yet on Mars, traveling toward a cluster of hills that scientists hope to reach by mid-June.
The 292-foot drive set a one-day distance record for the rover, but the cluster nicknamed the Columbia Hills still lies more than a mile away.
A recent software upgrade has allowed the wheeled robot to travel three times the daily distance it could previously. Spirit has covered about eight-tenths of a mile since landing on the Red Planet in January.
"The vehicle is doing a good job of making progress," mission manager Matt Wallace told a news conference at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Scientists are eager for Spirit to reach the hills, since they may contain geologic evidence that Mars was once a wetter place. Such evidence eluded the rover in exploring its landing site inside Gusev Crater, where scientists believe a lake once may have filled the broad depression.
While on its way, Spirit has made only brief "whistle stops" to gather measurements that will help scientists study the terrain, science team member Dave Des Marais said.
Halfway around Mars, Spirit's twin Opportunity arrived Wednesday within 250 feet of the rim of a crater nicknamed Endurance.
Preliminary images suggest the far wall of the 430-foot-diameter crater contains layered rocks, which could offer further evidence of the salty sea thought to have covered the Meridiani Planum region.
Scientists are debating whether Opportunity could safely enter the crater.
"It's going to be a tough call," said Wallace, adding that some scientists have suggested the rover roll into the crater and spend its final days exploring it from within.
NASA officials believe the Columbia Hills and Endurance Crater contain geologic evidence that will shed light on the history of Mars and broaden scientists' understanding of whether the planet ever was capable of sustaining life.
"For both rovers, the big punch-line could be yet to come," Des Marais said.
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