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Spirit and Opportunity Are Back Online
PinkyGigglebrain sends us news that the Mars rovers have survived the dust storms that have swept the surface of Mars for the last 6 weeks. How well they survived remains to be seen. Due to a combination of dust still suspended in the atmosphere and dust on the rovers' solar panels, they are only producing about half the power they normally would. The article is a little sparse on the exact health of the rovers but it's good to know they are still with us.
from Mars!
Ehm, anyway, it's nice to know they're still alive, but it would be interesting to see how the reduced power affects the rovers.
So the site didn't get too many details? Just go to the NASA page... Convienient NASA website
I'm so glad these machines made it, I was seriously concerned if we would get any more information from these rovers. From what I heard, it would have been many months for replacements to arrive, and that would only be if there would be replacements at all.
Go, Spirit and Opportunity!
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson
I used to think that there was just NO WAY that R2D2 could take the kind of crap he took and still survive... who'd of thought. Those robots are completely amazing to me. Designed for a 90 day mission, and here we are at over 13 times that number of days. The best part of the mission is all of the fantastic images they have sent. Check them out here
load "$",8,1
I suppose if we send another rover to Mars, they might--out of optimism--include a way for the solar panels to free themselves of dust? I know they supposedly didn't expect the rovers to last for quite this long, but it seems like being proactive about this sort of thing really wouldn't hurt for the next time around. I imagine it'd have to be a pretty low-energy method for doing so, and if it's really fine dust it might be a tough job. Maybe piezoeletrically vibrating the panels, if they're set at an angle, would work.
It's great to see that those tough little rovers are still with us.
By how many times have they exceeded their projected life-span now?
WAIT. Eventually a Martian dust-devil will pass over a rover, and after this "cleaning event" occurs, THEN is the time to start significant operations again.
Here's the actual mission site that has more than just multimedia: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html The mission status update page is particularly helpful: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html
...someone deciphers the alien lettering scrawled in the dust on Opportunity's solar panel as reading "wash me."
While admittedly hit or miss as a design element for future rovers, dust devils have been observed responsible for blowing off of the solar panels dust which had previously accumulated in larger dust storms.
"My God...it's full of spam"
But the NASA article doesn't include the word 'boffin', what's the point of a science article without that? I'll stick with El Rego!
Am I the only one who interpreted the title as an announcement that the second .COM era was upon us?
No trees were killed in the making of this post; however, many trillions of electrons were horribly inconvenienced.
I don't think it's at all improper to anthromorphize the little widgets and turn them into heroes. We need all the heroes we can get. Just as we'll need to expand our definition of life so we know it when we find it, we need to expand our definition of worth as individuals so we know them when we create them. I think we'll find we create them in our minds, and so already have.
I say, point them at each other and let them try to meet up. It's probably an impossible task and they'll probably die trying. But they'll die trying, and that's what heroes often do. It would serve to make us think along those lines about ourselves. We need more heroes, and heroes start out as just one of us. If they'll just try, it will give people reason to hope and to dream. We need those more than we need the science that results from the effort.
And who knows? They might just make it, or at least look like they might. Imagine the effect on people. Some would probably even start to call for a Mars mission to rescue the heroes and bring them home. I think that's at least as good a reason to go as any other.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
There is no dust on this solar panel. It is not the problem you are looking for.
waves hand.
THERE IS NO DUST ON THIS SOLAR PANEL.
waves hand * squeak * waves hand * squeak * waves hand * squeak *
Ahem.
There is no dust on this solar panel. It is not the problem you are looking for.
When human drove itself to extinction. When an extra-steller probe is sent to the last and only activity in the solar system (namely: opportunity & spirit) just before extinction of the alien races.
What would happen until the sun dies and the bots will be without solar power?
If you mod this up, your slashdot background will turn into a beautiful sunset!
Morbo hates puny earthlings and their rovers!
Spirit and Opportunity??
..on a monday morning ?
fifteen jugglers, five believers
Cher or the rovers, which will die first?
To clean dust off the panels I'd think it be best to use a proven method: puffs of air. A small motorized air condenser could slowly pump up the pressure in a canister and then use it to blow dust off the panels. Or, just send pre-pressurized air, although that would limit the puffs. We know whirl-winds can do it. Piezoeletrical is untried and may make the problem worse if we don't understand Mars dust. Fast-moving air is known to work.
Table-ized A.I.
The rovers' solar cells must recharge Energizer batteries. They keep on going and going...
The game.
Not to get near these two rovers. We didn't want the IRS to know where we were.
"...good to know they are still with us." pfft....
:)
We've had this conversation before (apparently to no avail). Anthropomorphizing machines, whether you choose to name the new document shredder in the next room or pine over a planetary research vehicle that is taking a licking and yet still kicking, only serves to marginalize the human element that put them where they are.
You want a machine for a friend, fine...R2D2 is available, all for the price of a used DVD. Knock yourself out...but please stop knitting red/white/blue sweaters for the mailbox, 'cause the women and men that did the real work need love too
IANARS (I am not a rocket scientist), but I wonder if NASA could start building these in relative volume (10-20 or so). Then, combined with a MIRV-like rocket (that would eject each rover's landing pod at a calculated latitude/longitude), this could get more of the surface of Mars studyable close up.
It would be an excellent (and relatively inexpensive... emphasis on relatively) way to study Mars as well as other planet's moons in great detail.
These to hardy - well engineered - bots prove that we can do a lot of space exploration and basic science remotely via small and mid-sized bots. The trick here is to not over-engineer (cost over runs) or kitchen sink (mission creep) the poor little bots. The fact that these 2 bots have gone well beyond their life expectancy is a great thing --- from these base designs should come a new generation of "bot platforms" that can accept modular payloads for missions that should last at least a year long.
Bots that can - reboot - reconfigure - rebuild / relink SW + HW systems - and analyze the best new course of action (after something has happened) will truly lead us to the age of 'bots
Its not the years, its the mileage
I don't think that showing anthropomorphic "love" to a machine somehow makes less love available to the people who built and operate it.
In fact, without the cutesy anthropomorphic love to the rovers, the people responsible would probably get less recognition and love from the public, because tough little robots are interesting and emotionally accessible to people (it's easy to cheer on a symbolic banner) while rocket scientists are intimidating and hard for the public to identify with.
Finally, the very people who build and run these things are the ones most guilty anthropomorphizing them, as evidenced by the names and how they talk about them in the press. The NASA guys love those little bots.
So you are telling me they didn't think to include a wiper to clean the panel surfaces? Most cars have enjoyed that luxury since the beginning of the 20th century!
Why didn't they take dust into account when building the things, and why couldn't they just incorporate a simple brush into the robot arm to clear dust from the solar panels? Doesn't really take a rocket scientist to comprehend the value of a good set of windshield wipers.
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
So they'll be spending the next couple of days catching up on their e-mail and a backlog of facebook stuff.
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
I for one welcome the return of our Martian rover overlords!
Just make a tiny robot the size of an ipod that slowly drives on the panels and cleans the dust away and then throws it out the side like a mini hoover.
Doesnt matter that it would take 1 week to clean a whole panel, it would be powered by its own battery/recharge on the side.
Or just be cheap use a one time sticky roll on roller that rolls off, total weight a few ounces , zero electronics, 100% glue based.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
It would be interesting to imagine what you could do with those rovers if they had an RTG or two instead of solar panels as the power source ( ignoring the inevitable debate about sending RTG's onto other planets ). Each rover could potentially survive decades if the bot was designed for longevity, and could be running night and day.
A high power budget enables plentiful science options...
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1298665268 &size=l
Shows Opportunity's current view. At the edge of Victoria, ready to dive in to her goodness.
Note the darkening from dust on the right side of each image making up the composite panorama.
In related news, thousands of soldiers have survived yet another day in Iraq. Oh wait, these are robots so that must mean only they are worthy of a news alert. "It's good to still know they are with us". When was the last time you said that about any soldier in Iraq? Sorry, but it's a bit ridiculous that the only time I have seen relief for something that survived was over a robot.
Kaku! Kaku! Time to talk out of your ass!
Kaku! Caca! Theoretical media whore!
"Both rovers are now generating around 300 watt hours from their panels."
Does that even make sense? The watt-hour is a unit of energy, not of power.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
I don't know if this has been thought of or mentioned before, but how hard would it have been to design a solar panel cleaning mechanism like car windshield wipers? Seems like it would be possible to scrape the dust and debris off of the panels with a mechanical bar that occasionally passes over the panels. -Dr_b_