|
|
Article: Rover ready for overland Martian trek; A six-wheeled robot is expected to exit the Spirit lander Wednesday night and scour the Gusev Crater for evidence of life.(USA)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- January 14, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Mark Sappenfield Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
PASADENA, CALIF. -- Wednesday night, as the hours of the West Coast evening drain toward midnight, the sun will rise over the Gusev Crater some 106 million miles away. In the gathering light of a Martian morning, seeping from pale blue to the featureless pink veil of day, the planet's latest visitor will blink to life.
In the 11 days since it hurtled from the sky and came to rest here on the flat and endless fields of russet dust, the cocoon of the Spirit lander has unfurled like a massive metallic flower in time-lapse, spreading its solar petals in anticipation of this moment. ...