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Mystery Phenomenon Cleans Mars Opportunity Rover

Posted by timothy on from the maybe-labor's-just-really-cheap-there dept.

vg30e writes "It seems that some unexplained phenomenon has cleaned the dirt off the Mars Opportunity Rover. While the Spirit rover is down to 400 watt-hours per day due to the dirt obscuring its solar panels, Opportunity has gone from 500 watt-hours to 900 per day. I wish this phenomenon would clean the snow off my car."

10 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. My thoughts by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've got a theory, and I think you may all agree with me on this:

    We've stumbled on an ancient Martain car wash.

    It's invisible, of course.

    To think anything different would be just plain silly.

    --
    Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
  2. Wipers? by vettemph · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I been wondering why they didn't just design a slow moving wiper brush to clean the panels in the first place. One wipe every 30 days or as needed.

    --
    The government which is strong enough to protect you from everything is strong enough to take everything from you.
    1. Re:Wipers? by Bobas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That would add additional complexity to the spacecraft, especially as it was not expected for the rovers to last past the period of 90 days.

  3. Phrase for the ages by CrosseyedPainless · · Score: 4, Funny

    You have to love an article containing the phrase "exciting and unexplained cleaning events".

    I sure wish some of these would happen in my car and apartment!

    1. Re:Phrase for the ages by Alsee · · Score: 4, Funny

      So a woman cleaned the rover?
      Well that clears up a lot of confusion! Women are actually from Mars and men are from Venus!

      -

      --
      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  4. Someone has to say it... by MarkGriz · · Score: 4, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our little green dirt cleaning overlords.

    --
    Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
  5. Just goes to show... by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny


    Women are from Mars.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  6. Re:Not just uneducated by escher · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's because they used the competing brand of rover softener on that one.

  7. Re:Rain. by harrkev · · Score: 4, Funny
    It rains on Mars.

    It is much more likely that NASA is now in posession of a photograph of a green guy in dingy clothes holding his hand out for a quarter.
    --
    "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  8. Conspiracy: Mars by francisew · · Score: 4, Insightful

    After the whole mooon landing hoax ;), NASA still hasn't learned to keep the janitors from having keys into their top-secret sound-stages. One of the cleaners saw the poor little dirty machine, and decided to give it a thorough scrubbing.

    I hope they take better care of the dolphins with lasers on their heads.