Mars Rover Opportunity Stuck in Sand

Fresh after discovering a pair of tiny craters dotting the open terrain of Meridiani Plunum, the Mars rover Opportunity drove into a ripple of sand and was stopped dead in its tracks, unable to free its six wheels. "Get used to the current scenery, because we're going to be here a while," Mars rover lead scientist Steve Squyres with Cornell University in New York, wrote in his rover Weblog. "The first rule in a situation like this is 'do no harm,' which means that you don't rush anything," Squyres said. "We are very optimistic that we'll be able to get out of here, but we're really going to take our time doing it." Mars rover Opportunity looks at its own wheels stuck in the Martian soil. Experts say the rover will be there for some time as engineers figure out how to get it unstuck.