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'Spirit' stirs, gets ready to hit the ground rolling
By Associated Press
Published January 14, 2004
PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Spirit rover is just about ready to roll onto the surface of Mars late tonight or early Thursday.
Spirit cut the last umbilical cord to its lander, backed up 10 inches atop its platform and started a three-part turn to line itself up with the ramp it will use to reach the ground, officials said Tuesday.
"Spirit is a rover," flight director Chris Lewicki said of the six-wheeled vehicle, which previously stood up from a crouch but otherwise had been largely immobile since it reached Mars on Jan. 3.
Its first target will be a 200-yard-wide crater about 800 feet to the northeast, although it will likely make several stops to examine rocks.
A second rover is expected to land on the opposite side of the Red Planet on Jan. 24.
For updates, go to marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html on the Internet.
[Last modified January 14, 2004, 01:33:12]
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