Rover moves to get unstuck

The Mars rover Opportunity is making progress getting itself unstuck from a sand dune that's immobilised it for the past two weeks, engineers said on Monday.

The Mars rover Opportunity is making progress getting itself unstuck from a sand dune that's immobilised it for the past two weeks, engineers said on Monday.

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Opportunity moved 4.6 cm over the weekend after scientists sent new driving directions last week, said Mark Maimone, a mobility software engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"This is good progress," Maimone said. Opportunity's six wheels starting slipping on April 26 during a 295-foot planned trip. The rover eventually stopped moving and its wheels got stuck hub deep in soft soil while trying to drive over a foot-high sand dune.