Originally published January 16 2004
If it's solar powered, why is the Mars Rover only good for 90 days?
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
With the Mars rover now ready to proceed with its investigation of the
Red planet, scientists on planet Earth, are extremely excited about the
potential for scientific knowledge that the rover may offer us. These
articles keep referring to the 90-day lifespan of the rover, however,
and this seems rather confusing. Isn't the Mars rover solar powered?
And if so, can't you just sit in the sun for a couple of days, recharge
its batteries, and then proceed with a few more hours of roving? It
seems that for $800 million, we ought to get more than 90 days out of
his rover, and with the unlimited energy potential of the solar panel,
there seems to be no limit to the lifespan of the rover if it can stay
mechanically sound. Nevertheless, even if the rover stays active for a
mere 90 days, it's going to be an exciting 90 days that will hopefully
return some very good science to planet Earth.
NASAThe Spirit rover made its first foray onto the surface of Mars on
Thursday, covering 10 feet in 78 seconds from its landing platform.
All six metal wheels of the robotic rover Spirit rested on the reddish
surface of Mars early yesterday after the successful drive off its
landing platform.
The 5-foot-long 400-pound rover is a self-contained vehicle with its
own solar-power system, computer and other controls, transmitters and
antennas and a set of advanced cameras and instruments.
It is designed to operate four to five hours a day on detailed
instructions for each day's automated operations fed into its computer
by scientists and engineers at the control center.
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