The Mars Pathfinder Rover is being given a longer leash.

On Thursday, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineers radioed up commands for the Sojourner Rover to make a self-guided, 10-foot (3 meter) trip using internal sensing systems to stay out of trouble.

Friday's excursion was to take Sojourner through a rocky patch toward a rock dubbed souffle.

``This should be a good test of the Rover's autonomous capabilities,'' said Richard Cook, mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. ``The Rover will try to drive in a straight line as long as it can, and if something is in the way, it will drive around it, using lasers and cameras for guidance,'' Cook said. During two communications sessions with the spacecraft, controllers received more of a panoramic view of the landscape.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.