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.
Great blephage.
Dunno. Maybe a link from that website.
2147 GMT (4:47 p.m. EST)
T-minus 3 minutes and counting. The Common Booster Core propellant topping is being secured. And pressurization of the tanks has started.
2146 GMT (4:46 p.m. EST)
T-minus 4 minutes and counting. Vehicle ordnance is being armed.
2145 GMT (4:45 p.m. EST)
T-minus 4 minutes, 30 seconds. The systems of the Common Booster Cores and upper stage of the Delta 4-Heavy rocket have switched from ground-fed power to internal batteries for launch.
2149 GMT (4:49 p.m. EST)
T-minus 1 minute and counting. The ignition parameters for the RS-68 main engine are met.
2150 GMT (4:50 p.m. EST)
T+plus 30 seconds. All three Rocketdyne RS-68 main engines are firing at full throttle, gulping three tons of propellant per second to produce 1.9 million pounds of thrust.
2151 GMT (4:51 p.m. EST)
T+plus 60 seconds. The Delta 4-Heavy is an absolutely breath-taking sight as it slowly and thunderously rises away from Earth. The three distinct red-hot flames trailing three main engines are 20 stories long, backdropped against the crystal-clear blue sky.
The RS-68 is considered the world's largest hydrogen-fueled rocket engine. Can we shoehorn one of these into my SUV? Go hydrogen!
2154 GMT (4:54 p.m. EST)
T+plus 4 minutes, 45 seconds. Everyone associated with the Delta 4-Heavy must be breathing a bit easier at this point in the flight. Although there are many hours remaining in the trek to geosynchronous orbit, the rocket is currently flying in a configuration similar to the single-core Delta 4-Medium vehicle that has successfully launched three times.
2154 GMT (4:54 p.m. EST)
T+plus 4 minutes, 19 seconds. The center Common Booster Core's RS-68 engine has revved up to full throttle for the Delta 4-Heavy rocket's on-going journey to space. The booster is identical to the outer strap-on stages, carrying the same propellant supply and engine package, but it employed a more conservative fuel consumption strategy over the past three minutes. That has left enough cryogenic fuel to fire nearly 90 seconds longer.
2154 GMT (4:54 p.m. EST)
T+plus 4 minutes, 12 seconds. The 15-story tall starboard and port Common Booster Cores that provided the vast majority of thrust during the first four minutes of flight have expended their fuel and peeled away from the center stage. Tiny solid-fueled motors on the discarded boosters gave helpful nudges to ensure a clean separation. The boosters will tumble into the Atlantic Ocean below.
. . . On Jan. 14, our view of Titan should change forever, as the Cassini spacecraft's piggybacked Huygens probe parachutes through the smog and lands -- or splashes -- on the surface. Cassini will release the probe Dec. 25. . . .
This PV installation represents the first of many gas stations in the Western US that BP-Amoco-Arco plans on installing grid-tied solar electric systems.
I smell a conspiracy here. :)
Martian Squeegie guys! Hey,prove me wrong......
,,, solar panels are big on Mars Muttly! You have no idea! I wore a three piece one to a formal dinner three nights ago. An eel in a three piece solar outfit feels right at home here.
"An eel in a three piece solar outfit feels right at home here."
I bet...but I don't want to think about it. Gives me the crawlies...(momentarily stops eating...shivers...continues eating....).........
,,, in space, nobody can hear you scream.
ROTFLMAO! That was funny. Thank you.
Static would make it stick to the rover.
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