The rover is stuck on a slope in powdery soil that allows for little to no traction. Engineers constructed a box to simulate the location and added a mixture of two tons of diatomaceous earth, similar to what can be found in pool filters, and four tons of a fire clay mixture to come up with a composition they feel most replicates the soil on the surface of Mars.
Callus said the team has used the test rover many times in the past to reconstruct situations on Mars.
“We bring Mars to Earth,” he said.
The 5-year-old Spirit has had its problems in the past with low power, sandstorms and a broken wheel, but has always rolled its way out of those situations.
“This is perhaps the most serious embedding event either rover has seen in its five years on Mars,” Callus said.
But it is not all doom and gloom for Spirit. Because the rover has been standing at an angle, the winds have blown dust off its solar panels, allowing it to gain more power. The rover will need it when it attempts to pull free.
“We have gone from 300 watt hours each day to 900 watt hours,” Callus said.
Scientists have been taking advantage of Spirit’s location by collecting data through the rover’s camera and other instruments.
“Spirit has been very busy at its location, which is scientifically an exciting site,” Callus said. “We have churned up soil that looks like it is remobilized material. That geology was formed elsewhere and transported [probably] by water, maybe in the more recent past as opposed to the ancient past.”
As engineers continue to work to free the test Spirit here on Earth, scientists will continue to experiment on Mars and get as much data as they can.
Callus said his team will continue to analyze and work on an extraction plan through the Fourth of July holiday. He expects to try their techniques on the Spirit sometime in mid-July.
For more information, visit www.jpl.nasa.gov.
