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 24 2007, 04:18 PM
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#2
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14433 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Because being flat on the plain you get the maximum indirect illumination of the arrays by the dust. On a slope - that will drop off (which every direction the slope is)
With clear skies and 800 Whrs, it doesn't really matter given that the slope runs down to the East (better power in the morning, but lower power in the evening) but with almost all the power currently coming from the difuse route - you want to be flat as you can. Doug |
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Guest_Edward Schmitz_* |
Jul 24 2007, 11:22 PM
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#3
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Guests |
Because being flat on the plain you get the maximum indirect illumination of the arrays by the dust. On a slope - that will drop off (which every direction the slope is) With clear skies and 800 Whrs, it doesn't really matter given that the slope runs down to the East (better power in the morning, but lower power in the evening) but with almost all the power currently coming from the difuse route - you want to be flat as you can. Doug Does anyone have quantifiable differences? To the best of my understanding, the difference in power would amount to about 3.5% if it were all diffuse. Updated: I didn't read Fredk's post prior to this response. It seems consistant with my estimations. |
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