The Storm, Dust storm of 2007 |
The Storm, Dust storm of 2007 |
Jul 5 2007, 05:57 PM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 710 Joined: 28-September 04 Member No.: 99 |
Oh no...This is getting bad:
The new and potentially bleak outlook is a stark shift from the prognosis earlier this week. The dusty squall has reduced direct sunlight to Mars' surface by nearly 99 percent, an unprecedented threat for the solar-powered robotic explorers. If the storm keeps up and thickens with even more dust, officials fear the rovers' batteries may empty and silence the robotic explorers forever. Opportunity's energy-gathering ability has been slashed to a dangerous 280 watt-hours-enough power to light only three 90-watt light bulbs. "The worst-case scenario is that enough dust in the sky decreases solar energy to the point that we have to shut down too many things to save power," Lemmon said. "The rovers keep their battery alive by keeping their electronics alive." "The reality of the situation is that we're limited as to what we can do from the ground by cutting power use," Callas said. "If it continues to worsen and stay that way, it's a survivability issue for Opportunity. If Mars wants to kill the rovers, it can." http://www.space.com/news/070705_dusty_rovers.html |
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Jul 18 2007, 10:08 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4252 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
There are so many questions I could ask here - eg, if the batteries are receiving little or no charge from the arrays, but are fully charged to begin with, how long will they retain their charge? I'm also curious whether they've had any sort of "action plan" in place for this kind of scenario. More than anything, I'd like to hear the level of confidence that the folks in control are expressing at this time. The last we heard from Squyres a few days ago was pretty confident.
BTW, welcome back James! |
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Jul 19 2007, 01:44 AM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 213 Joined: 21-January 07 From: Wigan, England Member No.: 1638 |
There are so many questions I could ask here - eg, if the batteries are receiving little or no charge from the arrays, but are fully charged to begin with, how long will they retain their charge? The self-discharge rate for the batteries is <5% per month - not something the MER team should be concerned about. |
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