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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 1: Struggle with the Martian Sand Trap

During the week of May 9 through May 13, 2005, the engineers at the Jet Propulsion Lab concentrated on building a large sandbox. Why did these respected scientists at this southern California facility want to play in the sand? Their attention was focused on helping the Mars rover, Opportunity, which had become stuck in a Martian sand dune.

The scientists hoped that their “play” with a model rover would allow them to figure out how Opportunity had become bogged in sand, and how they could start the rover rolling once again. The Mars rover had been stuck in the sand since April 26, when its wheels slipped, causing the rolling robot to slide in the planet’s fine soil.

On Wednesday, May 11, the California scientists sent the rover directions that allowed it to inch slowly down the slopes of the Martian sand dune. The scientists hope that these mini-drives would work the hub of the rover out of the troublesome area into which it rolled.

According to the Associated Press, Jim Erikson, the project manager, said, “Mars gives us surprises on a regular basis--some major, some minor.”

Now the engineers at the sandbox wait for a signal that the rover continues to progress beyond that small, sandy region of Mars, while some of the scientists initiate an examination. They are analyzing the pictures taken by the slowly-moving rover--pictures of the area known as the “etched terrain.” Scientists hope to discover information in these pictures that will yield information about the level of wind erosion on the red planet.

Scientists have already received much valuable information from Opportunity and its twin, Spirit. Together these two rovers, one on each side of the planet, have given the scientists valuable data about Martian geology--data that contains evidence of past water activity. Both rovers kept roving over the Martian surface for much longer than anyone had expected.

--Written by Sue Chehrenegar

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