Boost to the Rover’s Power Systems on Mars
“Conditions are still dangerous for both rovers and could get worse before things get better,” said John Callas, rover project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “We will continue our cautious approach to the weather and configure the rovers to maintain a high state of charge on the batteries. Communication sessions with both rovers will remain limited until the skies clear further.”
As of August 6, 2007, the dust storms on Mars have finally decreased enough to improve the serious condition the Mars Exploration Rovers were in, with the Martian skies beginning to clear up slightly. Both Spirit and Opportunity were seriously running short of power, having to shut down communication for several days. There was serious doubt that the rovers would make it or not to the end of the storm.
But on Monday, the Spirit had collected approximately 295 watt hours while Opportunity gathered 243 watt hours, a definite improvement over the past month or so. Before Monday, the Opportunity had dropped to 128 hours while the Spirit had dropped to 261 watt hours. This was compared to their normal 700 watt hours per sol, prior to the dust storm which began back in June. To get an idea of what a watt hour is, figure 100 watt hours run a 100-watt bulb for one hour. Because of the low wattage, there was serious concern that the two twin rovers could not be able to keep their electronics heated overnight when it would get the coldest on the red planet.
For the first time in the past month or so, Opportunity could now make observations of the Martian atmosphere. Due to the solar rays from the sun, Spirit could now have enough energy to so science work again. The rover was commanded to move its robot arm for the first time in twenty days, which according to NASA was used to position its microscopic image. This fantastic piece of technology is used for two photographs and a rock target. The rover’s 1,277th Martian day was a day of hope for the NASA controllers, even though the two rovers are still not out of the woods yet.
With the increased sunlight coming onto Mars, both of the NASA rovers have recharged their batteries to their fullest capabilities, with the Martian night air warming up enough to decrease the planet’s cold which was going to freeze their electronics when the dust covered the planet so long.
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 12:28 am and is filed under Mission Objectives, Technical Concerns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
