Exquisitely detailed drawings of the Hale Telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory and a JPL model of the Mars Pathfinder rover Soujourner are among the works on display in "Tools," a new exhibit at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design showcasing a diverse range of objects from the worlds of contemporary art, science, and natural history. The renderings of Palomar were produced in 1939 and 1940 by artist and master instrument builder Russell Porter, who worked closely with Caltech astronomer George Ellery Hale on the design and construction of the 200-inch telescope and observatory dome. The show also includes a model of the Mars Pathfinder lander. "Tools" runs through January 10, 2010, in the Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery at Art Center. For more information, go to http://www.artcenter.edu/williamson/now.

On May 6, 2009, Spirit got stuck. The Mars rover, about the size of a go-kart, was traveling south on the red planet when it found itself hubcap-deep in loose, flourlike sand. To make matters worse, the rover's right front wheel had locked up three years earlier, leaving it with only five working ones. Fearful of its digging in deeper with every turn of the wheels, Spirit's controllers at JPL called a halt until they could find a way to get it out. Since then, the engineers have been testing maneuvers here on Earth in a big sandbox with two rovers--an exact replica and a lighter one that's closer to what Spirit weighs on Mars. The team is still at it as of this writing, and so far this Spirit is anything but free. . . .
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