spacetoday.net: Spirit ready to roll off lander

Posted: Wed, Jan 14, 2004, 9:04 AM ET (1404 GMT)
Mars Exploration Rover (NASA/JPL)

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is ready to roll off its lander early Thursday as scientists plot a course for its early explorations. Late Monday night the rover cut its final link to the lander and pivoted 45 degrees, the first step in a maneuver that will eventually turn the rover 115 degrees. The rover is scheduled to complete the rotation by early Wednesday and roll off the lander by early Thursday. Scientists said Tuesday they plan to initially direct the rover towards a crater 250 meters from the lander. After that the rover will move in the direction of hills about three kilometers away, although scientists said they don't know if they will be able to reach the hills by the end of the mission. Spacecraft controllers also said that they believe that the rover came to rest 250-300 meters from where it first landed, bouncing nearly 30 times, including an initial bound 8.4 meters high.