[meteorite-list] Mars Dust Storm Update - July 23, 2007

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 15:01:20 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <200707232201.PAA12049_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2007-080

NASA Mars Rovers Braving Severe Dust Storms
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Updated July 23, 2007

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity sent signals Monday morning,
July 23, indicating its power situation improved slightly during the
days when it obeyed commands to refrain from communicating with Earth in
order to conserve power.

Dust storms on Mars in recent weeks have darkened skies over both
Opportunity and its twin, Spirit. The rovers rely on electricity that
their solar panels generate from sunlight. By last week, output from
Opportunity's solar panels had dropped by about 80 percent from a month
earlier.

Rover controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.,
commanded Opportunity last week to go into a very low-power state and to
communicate only once every three days. The rover transmitted a small
amount of information today. Next scheduled transmission will be
Thursday, July 26, though controllers may command Opportunity to send
information on Tuesday, July 24.

Meanwhile, communications from Spirit over the weekend indicated that
the sky had cleared slightly at Spirit's location on the other side of
Mars from Opportunity.

"The outlook for both Opportunity and Spirit depends on the weather,
which makes it unpredictable," said JPL's John Callas, project manager
for both rovers. "If the weather holds where it is now or gets better,
the rovers will be OK. If it gets worse, the situation becomes more
complex.
Received on Mon 23 Jul 2007 06:01:20 PM PDT