United Press International reported today in an article that NASA has determined that the twin Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity have survived some severe dust storms on the surface. These storms delayed Opportunity's planned descent into Mars' Victoria Crater. NASA has stated that the exploration might start this week if everything goes as planned. The rovers are currently 43 months into missions originally planned to last three months. Last Wednesday, Spirit arrived at its long-term destination, "Home Plate". Home Plate is a plateau of bedrock that holds possible clues to a mixture of lava and water. Alan Stern, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate said, "These rovers are tough. They faced dusty winds, power starvation and other challenges -- and survived. Now they are back to doing groundbreaking field work on Mars. These spacecrafts are amazing".
Victoria Crater is an important destination for scientists because it contains an exposed layer of bright rocks that might hold evidence of an interaction between the surface and Martian atmosphere from millions of years ago. The skies have been clearing gradually since early August and scientists predict this will continue.
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