Engineers Dave Dwettergreen and Dimitrios Apoftolopolous tend to NASA's Dante II robot before its descent into the active volcano crater of Mount Spurr, 90 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska. The 10-foot-tall, 1,700-pound robot was making a detailed video survey of the floor about 650 feet down the crater before beginning its climb up the inside wall Wednesday. The eight-legged robot tiptoed up a 10-foot hill Tuesday - its most difficult feat so far - so researchers could gain a good vantage point for the survey. "It was an extremely rugged obstacle," said David Lavery, manager of NASA's Telerobotics Research Program.
