NASA can't communicate with Mars Spirit rover

[Maestro Minded]

The Spirit rover has stopped transmitting data from Mars, NASA mission controllers said today, but there were signs it is still operating. NASA scientists have received a basic communication tone from the rover but the solid flows of data that marked its first 18 days on Mars have stopped. ..............


http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/01/22/spirit.contact/index.html

[Don Seer]

well heres a to the people bragging about theirs dissing our british probe...
(talking of which the 'last chance' for that is sunday..)


to the ones who remained curteous.. come join the waiting room.. want a cuppa?

[bez]

Its prob crashed into our one. lol

[Trauma-san]

Wouldn't that be some shit, if they were like "We only have enough power to go 20 yards, what is that partially buried black object over there? SIGNS OF CIVILIZATION!!!! Lets go for it, lets find out what it is!!!" and then spend all the rover's energy getting over to it only to find out it's the piece of shit britian launched up 2 days earlier, lol.  

[Immortal]

what a waste of money

[Woodrow]

PASADENA, California (CNN) -- After two days having trouble with transmissions, the Mars rover Spirit sent data Friday morning to its NASA flight team in a communications session lasting at least 20 minutes, the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said.

"The spacecraft sent limited data in a proper response to a ground command, and we're planning for commanding further communication sessions later today," Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager Pete Theisinger said.

NASA reported transmissions were detected at a NASA antenna complex near Madrid, Spain.

The Spirit rover stopped transmitting data from Mars on Wednesday, but mission controllers remained hopeful about reestablishing a connection, saying there were signs the craft was operating at a basic level.

Their efforts at restoring communications with Spirit come at a time when they are also focusing on a safe landing for the rover's twin, the Opportunity, set to descend on the other side of red planet. Opportunity was on course to land in a region called Meridiani Planum at 6:05 p.m. ET on January 24, NASA said.

Since Wednesday, NASA scientists had received a basic communication tone from the Spirit rover indicating it was alive, but the solid flows of data that marked its first 18 days on Mars stopped, said deputy project manager Richard Cook.

The tone is programmed into the spacecraft, to be emitted when there is a serious problem onboard.

"We know that we have had a very serious anomaly on the vehicle," said Pete Theisinger, manager of the $400 million Spirit mission, told reporters Thursday.

"Our ability to determine exactly what has happened has been limited by our inability to receive telemetry from the vehicle."

To find out what went wrong, scientists need additional data. The team was pursuing several scenarios, such as a possible software crash or a problem with the solar power supply, sources said.

The problem initially was blamed on rain in Canberra, Australia, where NASA operates a major radio dish that receives radio messages from space.

But several opportunities to communicate with Spirit since then came and went with the space agency receiving no solid data, said Cook, who managed the ill-fated Mars Polar Lander, which presumably crashed into Mars in 1999.

Mars project engineers sent a query to the rover Wednesday afternoon, and it did respond. But the craft was silent when the Mars Odyssey, a satellite in Mars orbit, passed over the six-wheeled robot, Cook said.

Later, when another red planet satellite, the Mars Global Surveyor, passed over the rover, NASA received radio communication but no data. Several opportunities came and went Thursday with no communication. But later the basic communication tone was received.

Previously, the rover's performance had been virtually flawless. Scientists were reviewing the early data to see if they might have missed some predictor of trouble.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/01/23/spirit.contact/index.html

[Woodrow]

Sorry try-bo... Looks like everythings gonna be OK.

They've traced the problem to the rover's flash RAM... Looks like things are on track to be back to normal in about 3 weeks. Also, in about 2 and a half hours, another probe is gonna touch down on the opposite side of the planet!

[Maestro Minded]

Sorry try-bo... Looks like everythings gonna be OK.

They've traced the problem to the rover's flash RAM... Looks like things are on track to be back to normal in about 3 weeks. Also, in about 2 and a half hours, another probe is gonna touch down on the opposite side of the planet!

nuthing to be sorry about.. nice recovery

[LyRiCaL_G]

^^word, aint there been water found or sumthang on mars? lol@uk's version failing, i bet some crazy ass aliens kidnapped the muthafucka........soon you gon be hearin on the news from tony blair....."terrorists hiding on the planet marz, have kidnapped our machine" or sumshit like that...........

by the way, if they found water on marz, the fuck does that mean?

[Nightfall]

lol, thats hilarious