Wheel Trouble, ...down to 5 good wheels? |
Wheel Trouble, ...down to 5 good wheels? |
Mar 14 2006, 12:29 AM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 90 Joined: 13-January 05 Member No.: 143 |
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I just heard that there is a serious problem with Spirit's right front drive actuator after yestersol's drive. (This is the actuator that had high currents in the past and led to the backward-driving strategy.) It will take awhile to evaluate the situation, but early speculation is grim.
In a worst-case scenario, they can still drag the bum wheel along, but don't expect another summit view. Best-case scenario would be a rock or debris jammed in the wheel. This is a heads-up, sorry I can't really give more info at this time. I still thought you all would like to know. |
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Mar 16 2006, 04:44 PM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 90 Joined: 13-January 05 Member No.: 143 |
The wheel is definitely looking dead (open circuit, consistent with a brush failure).
Without giving up on the motor, the most productive engineering effort will probably be enhancing the efficiency of 5-wheel-drive. The sol 781 drive took almost an hour to drive a total of ~4 meters, because of the need for visodom and other extra imagery. Their durrent energy budget only allows 1 to 1.5 hours of driving per day, so this gives you an idea of the pace you can expect. Another drive is planned on sol 782. I assume for now that the wheel will turn when it meets enough resistance. My understanding is that it takes ~30 N-m (22 ft-lb) of torque on the wheel to overcome the detent. Good for holding position on slopes, but it now makes it unlikely that the wheel will ever turn again. Deeply embedded rocks could easily snare the RF wheel. |
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Guest_Sunspot_* |
Mar 16 2006, 05:28 PM
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Guests |
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Mar 16 2006, 05:50 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 128 Joined: 5-May 04 Member No.: 74 |
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