Extricating Spirit, Digging out from Troy Options

[fredk]

The RF turned a bit between the first and second frames of 2122. I can't see any motion after that. Of course we don't know what they commanded the RF to do.

[Joffan]

...there was some real forward movement coinciding with the LF wheel raising slightly. And it looks like Spirit's left side actually rose a tiny bit at the end, instead of sinking for once. I'd say I'm cautiously excited about that... but still waiting to hear something official.

One cheer, for sure: definitely forward movement. I think though that the left side is still sinking, despite the LF wheel coming up for air. At best it recovered part of the sinking from earlier in the same drive.

Thanks for the animation Hungry.

[mhoward]

At best it recovered part of the sinking from earlier in the same drive.

For sure: overall the left side sank more than it rose. And what's going on with the rear wheels still seems pretty alarming. Not out of the woods yet; not even close.

[climber]

I mostly agree. I also saw more soil coming from front of LF going underneath. (?)

[serpens]

It is hard to tell exactly what happened. A little bit of forward motion at the end and the LF certainly rose a tad. But it seems to me that the the vehicle tilted slightly to the left rear. If the LR sank deeper then perhaps, just perhaps it sank far enough to get some traction from a deeper layer which would explain the terminal forward lurch. One can only hope.

[Hungry4info]

Looking at the buildup of sand on the top of the LF wheel, it looks like sand builds up, then sand seems to be removed. I would guess that the LF may be getting some more traction toward the end of the day's drive.

(and what's that splat that appears half way through, just below and to the left of the robotic arm?)

[mhoward]

The latest update suggests that greater movement of the RF was intended but did not occur. The update covers sol 2120 but not sol 2122.

Spirit's drive on Sol 2120 (Dec. 19, 2009) included commands for using all six wheels. However, the right-front wheel rotated less than 2 degrees and the right-rear wheel did not rotate at all. The other four wheels completed enough rotations to drive about 10 meters (33 feet), but produced no measurable forward motion by the rover.
The rover team plans to command further driving this week while continuing to assess the possibility of getting more motion from the right-front wheel.

[Astro0]

Lots of concentration on the RF and RR wheels, but how about those middle wheels.
Here are two animations of the RM and LM wheels between Sols 2113 and 2122.

[Astro0]

Sol 2122. How low can Spirit go?!

[Astro0]

leaving its mark on Husband Hill between Sols 2120 and 2122.

[Tesheiner]

Nice catch, Astro0!

Back to the extrication business, the next "move" is already planned for sol 2126 (26th Dec).

[Guest_Oersted_*]

December 24th is when we celebrate Christmas in Denmark, so here's wishing the Christmas SPIRIT to all of you rover drivers at the JPL and to the UMSF followers all over the world.

This is not a time to be downhearted over the troubles of our mobility-challenged rheumatic old lady, but rather to rejoice in her long, adventurous and productive life!

Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår!

Søren "Ørsted" Dalsgaard

[Greg Hullender]

December 24th is when we celebrate Christmas in Denmark . . .

But when do they celebrate it on Mars?

--Greg :-)

[marsophile]

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/pa...92P2563L6M3.JPG

The latest pancam seems to suggest some maneouver involving the RF wheel. Or is this just a matter of the pancam perspective versus the hazcam perspective?

[Tesheiner]

It's a quiet evening here at home.
Meanwhile, Spirit finished another extrication move today, sol 2126. No images for the time being but the "telemetry" tells: 5mm forward and 10mm downwards.