spacetoday.net: Spirit to roll off lander mid-week

Posted: Mon, Jan 12, 2004, 1:18 PM ET (1818 GMT)
Mars Exploration Rover (NASA/JPL)

The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is set to roll onto the Martian terrain by early Thursday, project officials said on Sunday. The date of the rolloff has been moving around in recent days as engineers dealt with a problem retracting an airbag on the lander that will force the rover to move off the lander using an alternative ramp. Under the current schedule, the last cable connecting the rover to the lander will be severed on Monday night, and the rover will also rotate 45 degrees clockwise. On Tuesday night the rover will rotate an additional 50 degrees and, if photos find no problems with the movement, complete its rotation by shifting an additional 20-25 degrees. If all goes well the rover would move off the lander and onto the Martian surface on Wednesday night. The rover will move off the lander in the direction of a depression dubbed "Sleepy Hollow" by project scientists.