Slashdot Mirror
Mars Rovers Alive Until 2005?
maggeth writes "The BBC is reporting that negotiations are under way to extending funding for the Mars rovers beyond this September. Originally designed to work for 90 Martian days, they now predict they may last well beyond the 250 Martian days they had announced previously." hoferbr writes "A new analysis by Phil Berardelli at the United Press International quotes Steve Squyres, chief scientist for the Mars rover mission, in which he says that the Mars rovers '... could go into 2005'. Spirit and Opportunity will complete six months on the Martian surface on July."
They might not have for a simple reason. It may originally have been decided that the parts on the rover had a very limited lifespan due to problems like the temperature swing throughout the day. Given the existence of these problems it was probably assumed that the lifespan limitation due to dust collection would never come into play. Now that we realize that the parts have lasted it may be an error, admittedly with hindsight, not to have dealt with the dust.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
200 MPH winds at 0.01 atmosphere aren't that big a deal. There's some dust. Here are Viking lander pictures taken during a Martian dust storm in 1976.