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Dust 'n' Dirt Cause of Opportunity Grinding Tool Stall
posted: 06:30 am ET
09 March 2004
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UntitledPASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- NASA engineers figured out why a grinding tool on the Mars rover Opportunity failed to even leave a mark on a rock that scientists had targeted during the weekend. The grind motor in the rock abrasion tool stalled, most likely because of dust and dirt, as well as temperature variations, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement Monday. Tests confirmed that the motor's voltage can be safely increased to prevent a future stall, the lab said. Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, use the rock abrasion tools to grind through surface layers so that other instruments can determine the mineral composition. The tools have been essential in helping scientists conclude there is evidence of water sometime in the past at both rover sites. Before Opportunity's martian day ended Monday morning, it placed a spectrometer on a rock target called "Mojo 2'' and also used its panoramic and navigation cameras to prepare for study of a future target named "Berry Bowl." The bowl-like depression contains a number of curious round objects that scientists have called "blueberries.'' Scientists hope that "Berry Bowl'' will have enough of the spherules in close proximity to allow the rover's instruments to determine their composition. -- Associated Press MER Mission Update Archives
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