 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 by Staff Writers Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 25, 2018
The dust storm on Mars is now a Planet-encircling Dust Event (PEDE). It shows no indication of receding at this time. Since the last contact with the rover on Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018), it is likely that Opportunity has experienced a low-power fault, putting herself to sleep only to wake when the skies eventually clear. If the atmospheric opacity or the solar array dust factor has gotten worse since the last telemetry, Opportunity could also experience a mission clock fault. A clock fault will complicate the recovery, but not prevent it. An analysis of the rover's long-term temperature trends, conservatively assuming no solar array input, indicates that the rover's electronics and batteries will stay above their flight-allowable temperatures. There is a small concern with the health of the batteries if they discharge completely. The batteries might loose some of their capacity if the cell voltages drop to near zero. The project is listening every day for the rover during both the time of low-power fault communication windows and listening over a broader range of times under mission clock fault. Additionally, for the near term, the project is also sending a command to elicit a beep if the rover happens to be awake. The Deep Space Network (DSN) Radio Science Receiver (RSR) team is using the RSR to listen in on any DSN pass pointed at Mars that corresponds to possible wake up times for the rover. The plan is to continue this every day while waiting for the skies to clear. The team does not expect to hear anything from Opportunity until there has been a significant reduction in the storm and the associated atmospheric opacity over the rover site.
Regional dust storm is affecting Opportunity Mars rover Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 13, 2018 Opportunity is halfway down in "Perseverance Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. A nearby, regional dust storm is affecting Opportunity. The first indication of a dust storm 621.37 miles (1000 kilometers) away from Opportunity was received on Friday evening, well after the three-sol plan to operate Opportunity through the weekend was developed. Subsequent weather reports from Mars by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Mars Color Imager (MARCI) team indicated a persisting stor ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
