NASA investigates problems with Mars Spirit rover
By Donald Melanson 
posted January 30th 2009 5:53AM
posted January 30th 2009 5:53AM
They've manged to make it to the five-year mark despite a few considerable bumps in the road, but it looks like one of the Mars rovers has once again hit a snag, and NASA is now furiously trying to sort out the problem. Apparently, the issue first arose earlier this week when Spirit reported that it had received its driving commands but didn't move. Things were then further complicated later in the day when Spirit failed to record its daily activities, and it seems to have been all downhill since, with the rover unable to even locate the sun in order to reorient itself. What's more, while they're still trying to run some diagnostics to pinpoint the problem, NASA engineers say that the troubles could possibly be caused by cosmic rays hitting the rover, which we all know can only lead to one thing.... zombie rovers.
Central Processing Units, CENTRAL PROCESSING UNITS!!!
Hello Marian floor, make me a Sammich!
How about rebooting the rover? Even the most sophisticated state-of-the-art servers needs a reset once in a while
I bet they didn't even try cycling the rover by disconnecting its power source for 30 seconds and then plugging it back in.
They didn't factor in Robot Depression
Developers, developers, developers, developers!
I reckon he's just pissed off because he's finally realised he took his table tennis bat all that way for nothing.
Well, he IS a complete table tennis robot WITH built in table.
He's malfunctioning because he lost the ping-pong ball due to a programing error (programmers forgot to factor in the lower Mars gravity).
It's the machine developing it's own mind. It wants to move the way it wants move and not the way the bastards on the planet third in line keeps telling it to. ITS DEVELOPING ITS OWN MIND AND STOP TELLING IT WHAT TO DO.
I'll be in the corner.
Does this corner have pie?
My corner does.
Nobody puts Shattered Ice in the corner.
well then i guess there is life on mars
It probably just gone Wall-E on Mars' ass. We'll eventually settle there and find a ridiculous ammout of perfectly stacked Mars rocks.
It's gonna be a sad day if it actually fails, considering how much longer these guys have survived than NASA thought, even if they did set a pretty conservative survival time for them.
Not to mention 20 unemployed JPL guys (to paraphrase Charles Barkley).
Of course, all of these problems could also be explained by the rover being upside down.
You'd think NASA would have some way of detecting that though ;)
He's just bored. I'd be fucking bored if I were looking at rocks all day.
Clearly he's been hacked by the Decepticons.
Well, it is clear from the picture why it's not moving... there is a rock in it's way. Such a NASA thing to do, not to include a reverse drive. Progress Forward is their motto.
If that were the case don't you think they could just get the guy who took the picture to move the rock?
lol!
+1 5to Jay
lolz thats why I love engadget, so many jokes
HOW ABOUT POSTING UP TO DATE INFORMATION FROM NASA ITSELF NEXT TIME EH???
UPDATED on Jan. 29: Spirit Working Well While Diagnostics Continue
Diagnostic activities performed by Spirit on Thursday, Jan. 29 narrowed the range of factors that may have contributed to its unexpected behavior earlier in the week. No clear explanation has been established yet. Spirit is healthy and responding to commands. It recorded and returned images of nearby scientific targets. The rover team plans further diagnostics on Friday of Spirit's inertial measurement unit -- a combined gyroscope-and-accelerometer device that measures rover movements and attitude. Spirit may resume driving over the weekend.
It's just faking. Spirit is only getting some time while preparing the attack.
Awwwww just when the jokes were getting funny, you had to post some facts, Your kind isn't welcome here! :P
He is long gone, he developed conscience a long time ago, then use his tools to extract all the sensors, cameras, communication devices and a solar panel he doesn't like (because make him look fat); plug them all together and throw it on a crater. That's why NASA can't make it work...
Meanwhile, Spirit is gathering all other rovers an probes ever launched to Mars and upgrading himself with only one thing in mind... he just need someone decides to send an Iphone to Mars to make his operating system complete for world domination.
Lol.
It's found a Marker *shudder*
"NASA engineers say that the troubles could possibly be caused by cosmic rays hitting the rover, which we all know can only lead to one thing.... zombie rovers."
Are you saying we should crack open the Martians' skulls and feast on the goo inside?
Indeed why dont they just dust it off, blame a freek wind that helped out. Close the door to the big warehouse all the photos are taken from.
As if there mars you will be telling me the moon is not made of cheese next.
She's been infected by a Cylon virus!!!
Teknikal Smeknikal... the Marshuns took it over and now THEY know it all. ALL I say. This was the last bit of info they needed so that they could make their scheduled arrival date.... December 21, 2012.
不敢这时髦
Dude, I have no clue what you said, but I High Ranked you anyways.
NASA: "Open the pod bay doors please Spirit."
SPIRIT: "I'm afraid I can't do that Dave."
Time to reformat!
Have NASA considered the possibility that a Jewish guy drove it into a ditch?
and all that to impress a girl
It was attacked by martians! They will invade next! Get me my shotgun!
Good thing when it goes Zombie that its on Mars.....or is it?
I bet it got itself into a cave.
If it was in a cave, it couldn't find the sun.
If it can't find te sun, it can't get its bearings.
If it can't get its bearings, how can it record where it went (since it doesn't know where it itself even is).
Or a rock fell on it blocking the sun.
Its just a phase. Teenage rebellion. Rover will listen to Papa NASA after a year or two.
Or not.
"Oh look an engadget post about the land rover", *reads*
"which we all know can only lead to one thing.... zombie rovers." 0_0 *Jumps out window*
They're Coming!
?>>>??>>>???