Mars Rovers Still Going

In an article on Space.com, Leonard David discussed the amazing twin Mars rovers that continue to thrive after three and a half years of operation. The rovers are showing no signs of stopping as they continue to relay a wealth of data back to scientists on Earth. NASA announced on October 15 that for the fifth time, it would extend the activities of Spirit and Opportunity, perhaps through 2009. The golf-cart sized dual rovers landed in January 2004 as part of the Mars Exploration Rover project. NASA officials say that they continue to function well, despite the fact that each of the rovers had only an engineering warranty of 90 days. Even though the rovers move at an excruciatingly slow speed (5 cm/sec. on hard flat ground), they continue to reach milestones that NASA scientists could have never expected. The longevity of the rovers is due to several factors. The first is that NASA built really good hardware. The components were selected very carefully and were tested incredibly rigorously. Mars rover operators have also received lucky breaks, like the gusts of wind that have swept away sheens of dusts that collect on rover solar panels. Another reason for the survivability of the rovers has been the ability to drive and park the vehicles on steep terrain, thereby tilting the solar panels significantly toward the Sun. The rovers will continue to return valuable data to Earth and scientists will hopefully continue to receive "lucky breaks".