It was never going to be a quick-fix to Mars Expedition Rover Spirit's predicament, but today's first attempt at rolling the wheeled robot out of the soft sand was aborted in less than 1 second.
Fortunately, this isn't an indicator that the escape plan is flawed, it was a fail safe in the system that sensed the vehicle had tilted more than permitted.
As the rover is in a delicate position -- where any slight error could result in Spirit getting beached permanently -- very tight limits on her range of motion have been set. In this case, tight limits have been placed on her pitch and roll. As Spirit started to move, her roll was sensed to be outside of the 1 degree limit and the system was safely shut down.
Data from today's cautious abort will aid the next attempt which is scheduled for Wednesday. As the rover drivers become more confident with their understanding of the surrounding rocks and regolith, these tight restrictions may loosen, but for now we will have to wait until the tough robot finds her feet again.
Image: The underside of Spirit's belly. Of particular concern is the jagged rock that appears to be making contact with her underside; should Spirit loose her grip, she could become beached (NASA/JPL)
Source: Free Spirit (JPL)
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