NASA ’s Opportunity Mars rover is face up atesting time , as it tease out a huge dust tempest that ’s twice as big as one it receive in 2007 , describe as a “ morose , perpetual dark ” by NASA .
The rover is currently enclose up in a tempest that cross more than 18 million square kilometers ( 7 million square miles ) , bigger than North America . Part of the storm has smothered Opportunity ’s current location , Perseverance Valley .
Dust ramp on Mars arenot particularly violentin terms of wind , as the atmospheric pressing on Mars is so low . But they have an issuance in that they blot out sunlight , like a smoggy day on Earth . This makes the rover ’s solar gore , which it needs to survive , less effective .
technologist were first alerted to the storm on Friday , June 1 , which was notice by NASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter . On Wednesday , June 6 , force levels on the rover had dropped significantly , hale the squad to abandon all science performance and switch to minimal power .
In anupdate yesterday , NASA said that had received a transmission from the rover , “ a positive sign despite the aggravate storm . ” They enjoin that the storm was now much worse than a previous onein 2007 , with this one consume an opaqueness stage , or tau , of 10.8 , compared to 5.5 in 2007 .
“ This former data transmission showed the rover ’s temperature to be about -20 ° F ( -29 ° C ) , ” NASA said . “ One saving grace of dust storms is that they can actually limit the utmost temperature swings experience on the Martian surface . The same swirling debris that blocks out sunlight also absorbs passion , raising the ambient temperature surrounding Opportunity . ”
Over the coming week the squad will keep a close eye on the rover ’s power levels , to ensure it survives . It needs to keep its electric battery charged while also make out with the extremely stale temperatures , using its smoke when it can to keep it animated . They ’ve also requested more time from NASA’sDeep Space Networkon Earth to stay in touch with the wanderer .
chance has far outmatch its original lifetime of 90 day , lastingalmost 15 yearson the Martian open . But it was ultimately the Martian cold that was the destruction of Opportunity ’s twinned roverSpirit in 2010 , which became stuck on the surface and could not get enough power from sun .
finger cover the same fate will not betide Opportunity , and it ’ll be able to cod out this storm and remain its surgical process on Mars .
