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Spirit Outlasts Viking 2 Lander

Posted by Zonk on from the in-for-the-long-haul dept.

ScottMaxwell writes "Spirit, the Mars rover designed for a 90-day mission, has now outlasted the Viking 2 lander. Viking 2 survived until its 1281st sol (Martian day); Spirit is now on sol 1282 and counting. Assuming both rovers continue to weather the ongoing dust storms, Spirit's sister, Opportunity, will reach the same age in a few weeks. They aren't breathing down the neck of the all-time record just yet, though — the Viking 1 lander lasted 2245 sols on the surface of Mars; Spirit and Opportunity won't break that record for another 2.7 Earth years."

3 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. Write "Martian day" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Just because the JPL uses "sol" in their press releases doesn't make it right.

  2. Hank Aaron is gonna be pissed by Tablizer · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Maybe Spirit will break Barry Bonds' record also. That cheatin' druggie deserves to be whipped by a robot.

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    Table-ized A.I.
  3. Re:Slashdot Tags of any worth? by danlock4 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    What exactly is the criteria for tags[...]
    That's explained in the Tags section of the Slashdot FAQ. Part of that section of the FAQ says:

    Tags elsewhere are your own personal playground and nobody cares if you mess around. On Slashdot, abusive uses of tags could have negative consequences. Precisely what that means, we don't know yet.
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    To .sig or not to .sig, that is the question.