- LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The
Mars rover Spirit resumed sending data to Earth on Friday after the robot
suffered from garbled communications and periods of intermittent silence,
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Friday.
-
- JPL, which manages the Mars project for NASA, said in
a statement on its Web site that the flight team received data from Spirit
starting at 8:26 a.m. EST and continuing for 20 minutes.
-
- "The spacecraft sent limited data in a proper response
to a ground command, and we're planning for commanding further communication
sessions later today," Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager Pete
Theisinger said.
-
- The six-wheeled craft landed on the red planet on Jan.
3 for a planned three-month mission. Officials had described the loss of
communications as a "very serious anomaly."
-
- The scientists reported on Thursday Spirit had radioed
a signal indicating it was receiving Earth transmissions even though it
had not resumed sending data back to Earth.
-
- Spirit had been unable to return any science or telemetry
data since early Wednesday.
-
- Spirit landed on Mars on Jan. 3 on a planned three-month
mission to explore the geologic history of the planet.
-
-
-
- Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
|
