Posted on 01/26/2019 8:54:52 AM PST by BenLurkin
Engineers haven't heard from the beleaguered robot since June 10, 2018, shortly before a global dust storm developed on Mars. The Opportunity rover, which is solar-powered, has ignored hundreds of calls from Earth since it first fell silent, which made team members worry that its mission has come to an end.
As the silence stretched on over the summer, mission members hoped that the storm had simply dropped dust on the solar panels that power Opportunity and that a natural seasonal weather phenomenon on Mars could clear that dust away, letting the rover recharge....
That hope led the team to focus on so-called "sweep-and-beep" commands designed to nudge the rover to send a signal home when it powered up again, even if its internal clock was still off-kilter because of the storm. The new commands are designed to tackle that possibility and two others: the failures of its primary or of both its X-band radios. (In the statement, NASA called these scenarios unlikely.) With this new approach, Opportunity will be told not just to beep but also to switch communication modes entirely.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
“He’s dead, Jim.”
It landed 15 years ago and was originally designed to operate 90 Martian days. I think we got our money’s worth.
Gaaah... Enough with the calls! I told you guys: IM RETIRED!
Can’t one of our astronauts who planted the flag go over and give it a kick?
Thats frakkin AWESOME! :-D
Probably buried under 20 feet of sand. Bring your shovel.
Another great post!!! TOO COOL! :-D
I could hear the voice of Marty Robbins when I read that.
thank you
Heh. It does sound like Marty.
Newbie: Why don’t we put windshield wipers on the solar panels?
Old Hand: It doesn’t rain on Mars, you idiot.
Newbie: Oh, yeah. Right.
Joe the Janitor told them over and over again to use Duracell batteries, but would they listen? Oh Heck no! Now the kids have no toy to play with
Hey BL, I like your posts. Youve got a good touch for posting both educational and interesting topics. Thanks.
*ping*
Send Wall E to dust it off.
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