To complete the drilling without mishap, the rover's operators on Earth had to devise new procedures to solve a series of computer software problems that affected the craft's motor's control systems, said JPL drill-systems engineer Scott McCloskey.
Developed by Intelligent Energy, the global clean power systems company, and Suzuki Motor Corporation, introduced the scooter at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show in October 2009.
Its battery is an 80 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery made by A123 Systems that powers a 70-kilowatt motor (that translates to a pretty puny 93 horsepower).
The Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre announced this week that it is to conduct independent trials of tracking systems and other advanced security devices to see how effective they are.
Among the largest underlying components of VUG, in trading today Cisco Systems Incorporated ( NASD: CSCO) is up about 1.3%, Ford Motor Company ( NYSE: F) is up about 3.5%, and Visa Incorporated ( NYSE: V) is higher by about 0.4%.