Talk about getting our money’s worth. The Opportunity mars rover has now been wheels down on Mars for eight years, and she’ still going. While Her sister Spirit is now gone, Opportunity continues to send us data and pictures, move around, and expand our knowledge of the red planet.
“Greeley Haven is Opportunity's current workplace, an outcrop with a Sun-facing slope that will allow the aging rover to soak up solar power during its fifth Martian winter*. Within reach of the rover's robotic arm are plentiful sites for scientific investigation, including inspection of mineral compositions and textures within the outcrop. A full-circle colour panorama is also on the schedule along with a radio science experiment that will record information about the tiny wobbles in Mars' rotation to provide insight into the planet's interior.”
Eight years of service is not bad for a rover designed to last 90 days. And she’s not through yet.
*What gives, you ask? Why five winters? Because the Mars year is 687 Earth days, or 1.88 Earth years. That means that although the rovers have been on Mars eight Earth years, they have been there for less than five Mars years. Same amount of absolute time of course.
No comments:
Post a Comment