Family Life

11.16.09 | FL News Team

In addition to trying to get Space Shuttle Atlantis off the ground, NASA engineers will be busy today trying to free the Mars rover Spirit from a sand trap. Spirit has been out of commission since late April, when its wheels broke through what appeared to be a solid, crust-like layer of soil on the planet's surface and got stuck in the fine Martian sand underneath. Scientists have spent six months running simulations in sandboxes on earth in the hopes that they would be able to free Spirit from the soft powder without damaging the rover's undercarriage on nearby rocks. Today, they will relay a command telling the vehicle to rotate its five working wheels. Scientists don't expect Spirit to gain enough traction to make much headway during its first escape attempt. However, the data relayed back to NASA will help engineers come up with better instructions to send the rover next time. The whole process of freeing Spirit is expected to take a long time, if it works at all. Meanwhile, Spirit's twin, named Opportunity, continues to roam the Martian surface. Both rovers have been collecting data on the Red Planet since landing there on what was supposed to be a 90-day mission back in January 2004.