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Mystery Martian 'Carwash' Helps Space Buggy
Reuters ^
| 12.21.04
Posted on 12/21/2004 11:31:23 AM PST by anymouse
An unexplained phenomenon akin to a space-borne car wash has boosted the performance of one of the two U.S. rovers probing the surface of Mars, New Scientist magazine said on Tuesday.
It said something -- or someone -- had regularly cleaned layers of dust from the solar panels of the Mars Opportunity vehicle while it was closed down during the Martian night.
The cleaning had boosted the panels' power output close to their maximum 900 watt-hours per day after at one stage dropping to 500 watt-hours because of the heavy Martian dirt.
By contrast, the power output of the solar panels of Mars Spirit -- on a different part of the Red Planet -- had dropped to just 400 watt-hours a day, clogged by the heavy dust.
"These exciting and unexplained cleaning events have kept Opportunity in really great shape," the magazine quoted NASA rover team leader Jim Erickson as saying.
TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: alienswithsqueegies; mars; nasa; space
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To: anymouse
Perhaps it was cleaned off when an alien was taste-testing to see if the Buggy was ripe?
21
posted on
12/21/2004 11:42:06 AM PST
by
theDentist
(Jerry Springer: PBS for White Trash)
To: anymouse
Condensation on the solar panels? If you leave a car parked for a few days and its dusty, the condensation will eventually run off the windshield in rivulets, taking dust with it.
22
posted on
12/21/2004 11:43:35 AM PST
by
asgardshill
(Cost of the ink in a signature: .016 cent. A fallen American soldier's life is priceless.)
To: Scythian
hell - convection and condensation could do this, as could static charges. I see no allusion to the possibility of this being the work of a living agency.
23
posted on
12/21/2004 11:43:39 AM PST
by
King Prout
(tagline under reconstruction)
To: anymouse; bonfire; RadioAstronomer; bonesmccoy; Ernest_at_the_Beach; GeronL; glock rocks; ...
24
posted on
12/21/2004 11:44:34 AM PST
by
Howlin
(W, Still the President)
To: Scythian
well ok, there is that " - or someone - " BS, but that's just Reuters drumming up ratings.
25
posted on
12/21/2004 11:44:58 AM PST
by
King Prout
(tagline under reconstruction)
To: Howlin
LOL!!!..well, I wanted a new keyboard for Christmas..
26
posted on
12/21/2004 11:46:05 AM PST
by
ken5050
(Ann Coulter needs to have children ASAP to propagate her gene pool. Any volunteers?)
To: Edgerunner
To: anymouse
28
posted on
12/21/2004 11:47:02 AM PST
by
CougarGA7
(Is it ignorance or apathy....I don't know and I don't care.)
To: ken5050
That is my absolute favortie editorial cartoon. I never miss a chance to post it! :-)
29
posted on
12/21/2004 11:47:07 AM PST
by
Howlin
(W, Still the President)
To: reagan_fanatic
Great flick! Not sure, but I think it's based on a short story, "Can we remember it for you, wholesale?" by Philip K. Dick
30
posted on
12/21/2004 11:48:04 AM PST
by
djf
To: reagan_fanatic
31
posted on
12/21/2004 11:48:56 AM PST
by
wireman
To: anymouse
To: shaggy eel
Hey shaggy !
I told you it would work. They haven't even noticed how much power we're siphoning off to run our Martian Roller Disco !
Just remember...don't go anywhere near those cameras with your squeegie and Windex.
FReepmail me back after you re-enter our atmosphere...Muttly out.
33
posted on
12/21/2004 11:50:16 AM PST
by
PoorMuttly
("The right of the People to be Muttly shall not be infringed,")
To: Howlin
Good one. Some people are still wondering why they've never pointed Hubble at Mars.
But there are hundreds of thousands of pics taken by Mars Global Surveyor sattelite, many with some really unusual things on them.
One thing is for sure. Mars has had a much more varied history than we ever thought before.
34
posted on
12/21/2004 11:52:33 AM PST
by
djf
To: anymouse
You are obviously not keeping up with the latest.
The newest line of black helicopters to be distributed to the worthy among us have deep space capability including ultra warp drive. It only takes a matter of minutes to get there, clean the dust off and return in time to rinse the coffee cup and get back to work.
35
posted on
12/21/2004 11:53:58 AM PST
by
JoeV1
(The Democrats-The unlawful and corrupt leading the uneducated and blind)
To: anymouse
An even bigger mystery: a carwash each night...but no rain the next day.
To: asgardshill
37
posted on
12/21/2004 11:56:38 AM PST
by
Red Badger
(If the Red States are JESUSLAND, then the Blue States are SATANLAND......)
To: JoeV1
I just talked to a guy at the MUFON convention last week whose uncles, cousin in laws, brothers, ex-college roommates long lost adopted sons biological father installed the new zero-point gravity flux capacitor 2.0 into the helicopters out at area-51. He seemed legit except for a democraticunderground.com t-shirt./sarcasm
38
posted on
12/21/2004 11:58:20 AM PST
by
IllumiNaughtyByNature
(Never underestimate the power of a cacophony of Cowbells played in unison...It shocks the mind.)
To: anymouse
DAFFY DUCK!!!
I LOVE DAFFY DUCK!!!
THUFFERIN' THUCCOTASH!!!!!!!!!!
39
posted on
12/21/2004 11:58:32 AM PST
by
JoeV1
(The Democrats-The unlawful and corrupt leading the uneducated and blind)
To: djf
> they've never pointed Hubble at Mars.
Bwah? Hubble has imaged Mars lots of times.
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