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Testing Spirit on Five Wheels in Reverse Testing Spirit on Five Wheels in Reverse - July 16, 2004

This movie shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners had to come up with a new approach to driving.

This particular test shows rover engineers driving a rover model backward on five wheels. On July 15, 2004, Spirit successfully rolled across the surface of Mars in this new, backward orientation.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

QuickTime 1.4 MB   |   MPEG 2 MB   |   MPEG-4 924 kB
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Testing Spirit on Five Wheels Moving Forward Testing Spirit on Five Wheels Moving Forward
- July 16, 2004

This movie shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners had to come up with a new approach to driving.

This particular test shows rover engineers driving a rover model forward on five wheels. Because the test rover automatically veered toward the faulty wheel, rover engineers also came up with some creative commands that allowed the rover to autocorrect itself to a limited degree. Those commands have been implemented in the test shown here.

Ultimately, it was decided that Spirit would drive backward on five wheels for three reasons: wheel resistance is lower; the rover makes faster progress; and driving is more efficient.

On July 15, 2004, Spirit successfully rolled across the surface of Mars in its new, backward orientation.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

QuickTime 1.2 MB   |   MPEG 1.7 MB   |   MPEG-4 813 kB
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Testing Spirit on Five Wheels in Reverse - 2 Testing Spirit on Five Wheels in Reverse - 2
- July 16, 2004

This movie shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners had to come up with a new approach to driving.

This particular test shows rover engineers driving a rover model backward on five wheels. Because the test rover automatically veered toward the faulty wheel, rover engineers also came up with some creative commands that allowed the rover to autocorrect itself to a limited degree. Those commands have been implemented in the test shown here.

On July 15, 2004, Spirit successfully rolled across the surface of Mars in this new, backward orientation.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

QuickTime 1.8 MB   |   MPEG 2.5 MB   |   MPEG-4 1.1 MB
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Testing Spirit on Five Wheels Uphill Testing Spirit on Five Wheels Uphill - July 16, 2004

This movie shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners had to come up with a new approach to driving.

This particular test shows rover engineers driving a rover model backward on five wheels up a slope of 7.5 degrees. Spirit may ultimately drive up similar slopes on its way into the "Columbia Hills."

On July 15, 2004, Spirit successfully rolled across the surface of Mars in its new, backward orientation.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

QuickTime 2 MB   |   MPEG 2.7 MB   |   MPEG-4 1.2 MB
Rover Rehearses Roll-Off at JPL Rover Rehearses Roll-Off at JPL - January 15, 2004

Footage from the JPL In-Situ Instruments Laboratory, or "testbed," shows engineers rehearsing a crucial maneuver called egress in which the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit rolls off its lander platform and touches martian soil. Engineers at JPL used a test rover to perform this maneuver as if they were at the rover's landing site, Gusev Crater on Mars. Spirit successfully completed its roll-off early Thursday morning.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

QuickTime 8 MB   |   MPEG 5 MB
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Convoy Convoy - June 02, 2003

Ride along with the convoy that transported the Mars Exploration Rover to the launch facility.

QuickTime 8 MB   |   MPEG 10 MB
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Wheels in the Sky Wheels in the Sky - May 30, 2003

Randy Lindemann - Mars Exploration Rover Mechanical Lead
Read more about the rover's wheels

QuickTime 6 MB   |   MPEG 9 MB
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Rover First Steps Rover First Steps - November 06, 2002
JPL MER RealVideo
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How to Land Softly on a Hard Planet How to Land Softly on a Hard Planet - March 25, 2002

Just one of the many problems in landing on another planet, after it's been determined where to land and the method to get there, is landing safely. For NASA'a Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a safe landing is "the name of the game," as engineers work to prepare two rovers for the journey to Mars. [MORE...]

QuickTime 10.5 MB   |   MPEG 6.5 MB
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