Mars Rovers' Mission Extended Another Six Months

what_the_frell writes "Looks like the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, will be online and in use for at least another six months, after surviving the lowest point of the Martian year, in terms of sunlight. New Scientist has a fascinating article on this and some of the other hurdles the rovers have tackled. It's pretty cool how the rovers have far exceeded their initial 30-day mission (today is Day 263), and that their new projected mission is now well over 365 days."

Comments

Not just the dust...

[Chmcginn]

It wasn't just dust accumulating on the panels that was supposed to degrade their performance... the change in season, and the eventual loss in maximum battery charge after cycling them so many times... This page sums it up.

From what I understand, it wasn't directly a money related problem, it was a weight related problem. As in, they had a set size limit for the rover itself, which was set by the size of the transport, which was set by the size of the rocket used to get it from Earth to Mars. Since it was assumed the lower inclination of the Sun after about 90 days would make the rover unable to hold a charge, they didn't figure it was worth the effort to include a broom. Of course, then, after they got it there, somebody had the idea to park it with the southern side uphill, so the panels would be more directly hit by the sun. Of course, now other stuff is starting to fail...