iceman
26-10-2004, 08:45 AM
NASA engineers thought that a steering problem on Spirit had cleared up, since they hadn't seen it in almost two weeks. Well, it's back. The glitch first appeared on Oct. 1, and forced the rover to stay put for 5 days while engineers searched for the cause. It went away after that, and returned again on Oct. 13. Engineers are now considering workarounds that would get the rover driving again, such as disabling the brakes on the steering actuator that keeps the misbehaving wheel pointed properly. This means the freely turning wheel might give the rover some difficulty as it negotiates rough terrain.