On this close up picture of the RAT:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/oppor tunity/20040202a/2_rock_abrasion_tool-B009R1.jpg
you can see a small (probably metal) brush that extends out further then the cutting blades. This must be what they use to dust off the rocks.
The problem with cleaning off the solar panels is that you have to be aggressive enough to clean the dust, but gentle enough not to damage the panel. This is not a problem when dusting off a rock.
At one of the press conferences they said they explored a couple options for cleaning the panels but it was decided that it wasn't worth it. One of the problems they mentioned was that the dust on mars is extremely fine and would become elctro-statically attached to the solar panels thus making it even harder to get off.
Although dust on the solar panels is the most common "life-limiting" problem you hear about there are others. For example amount of sun light they get per sol will go down due to normal movement of mars thus making it harder to keep the rover warm at night, and leading to damage of other components in the rover.
Slashdot Mirror
On this close up picture of the RAT: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/oppor tunity/20040202a/2_rock_abrasion_tool-B009R1.jpg
you can see a small (probably metal) brush that extends out further then the cutting blades. This must be what they use to dust off the rocks.
The problem with cleaning off the solar panels is that you have to be aggressive enough to clean the dust, but gentle enough not to damage the panel. This is not a problem when dusting off a rock.
At one of the press conferences they said they explored a couple options for cleaning the panels but it was decided that it wasn't worth it. One of the problems they mentioned was that the dust on mars is extremely fine and would become elctro-statically attached to the solar panels thus making it even harder to get off.
Although dust on the solar panels is the most common "life-limiting" problem you hear about there are others. For example amount of sun light they get per sol will go down due to normal movement of mars thus making it harder to keep the rover warm at night, and leading to damage of other components in the rover.