Spirit Phone Home
EmailIt is spring at Gusev Crater on Mars, which would be good news for NASA’s Spirit Rover–except that Spirit, moving around after a long, hard winter, seems sporadically to have lost its mind. Last Sunday, NASA says, the rover sent a signal confirming it had received its driving instructions for the day from earth, but when it next reported in, it had not moved. That can happen for many reasons — it often has, in fact — but there was more going on. The rover had no recollection, if you will, of what it had been doing; it hadn’t recorded its main functions in its computer memory. Controllers at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California ordered the rover to find the sun with its cameras, figuring it might have stayed in place because it wasn’t sure of its position. On Wednesday the rover reported back that it had successfully found the sun, but not in the proper location. So today they’re going through more data, sending and receiving more signals — a painfully slow process, since they only get to communicate with Spirit or its twin, Opportunity, a couple of times a day, when they can relay signals through orbiting probes. "It’s in control of the ground, it’s healthy, there are just these strange things going on that they’re trying to understand," said JPL’s Guy Webster this afternoon. He promised an update, but said it will take time. So what happened? A stray blast of cosmic radiation? An aging piece of equipment having a short? A transient glitch? The computer memory seems fine now. But Spirit’s solar panels are so encrusted in red dust that they collect a fraction of the power they used to, and one wheel stopped turning years ago. Keep in mind the flip side: Spirit ran into this bit of trouble on its 1,800th day on the Martian surface. NASA, perhaps trying to keep expectations low, had originally said it expected each rover to last for 90. The rovers have sent back beautiful images, some of which we’ve assembled HERE. But it’s lasted four years in a cold, hostile place, very far from home. ========== UPDATE from NASA late Thursday: "Diagnostic activities performed by Spirit on Thursday, Jan. 29 narrowed the range of factors that may have contributed to its unexpected behavior earlier in the week. No clear explanation has been established yet. Spirit is healthy and responding to commands. It recorded and returned images of nearby scientific targets. The rover team plans further diagnostics on Friday of Spirit’s inertial measurement unit — a combined gyroscope-and-accelerometer device that measures rover movements and attitude. Spirit may resume driving over the weekend."
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We can send something to the cold and abyssmal planet of Mars, but we can’t make a car that gets 60 MPG?
Posted by: rayhagermann | January 29, 2009, 2:51 pm 2:51 pm
We can send something to the nether regions of Mars and have it work for 1800 days, but we can’t make a car that gets 60 mpg?
Posted by: rayhagermanniraqvet | January 29, 2009, 2:53 pm 2:53 pm
Well if we look back in time you can see that these things do have a life span and possibly this one will soon near its end, depending on the atmosphere surrounding it. Should a blow of wind not clean off the panels it will remain just where it is, only time shall tell.
Posted by: chembrovich | January 29, 2009, 3:01 pm 3:01 pm
If they have actually been there for 1800 days, that would work out to 4.93 years. This is, in itself, a remarkable accomplishment! The only question I would have for NASA, is why didn’t they design the solar panels with wipers to periodically clear the dust off?
Posted by: Bob | January 29, 2009, 3:02 pm 3:02 pm
lol, making a car with 60mpg is pretty hard…you gotta use light weight material that can greatly improve MPG, but using light weight material has its cost of being ineffective in protecting you when you get into car accidents. Carbon Fiber is strong and light weight but it shatters instead of crumpling thus not absorbing enough impact energy, and more passenger = reduce mpg because of weight, i can go on and keep on listing but hey.
Posted by: ISEEYOU | January 29, 2009, 3:06 pm 3:06 pm
“why didn’t they design the solar panels with wipers to periodically clear the dust off?” The solar panels are actually really delicate, the wipers would leave microscopic scratch reducing its performance each time they use it, and actually reduce its actual lifetime even more.
Posted by: ISEEYOU | January 29, 2009, 3:09 pm 3:09 pm
Ray,
A car that got well over 60 MPG was designed and built over 70 years ago. It was the original Citroen 2CV. The mandates for the car was that it be able to carry a load of eggs over a freshly plowed field, carry four people, and achieve the equivalent of 90 MPG. The prototype managed all of these things. The car didn’t go into production before WWII broke out, and the prototype was hidden from the Nazis. After WWII, Citroen put the car into production, but one of the materials that allowed the car to achieve the stellar fuel economy it did was magnesium (for the body panels). They were forced to use sheet steel, reducing the fuel efficiency to 50 – 60 MPG.
Posted by: Bob | January 29, 2009, 3:09 pm 3:09 pm
The wipers would only have to be used when the efficiency of the panels dropped below a certain threshold (say 50%). Also, you don’t really think that the panels have no protective coating, do you? I think if they had actually planned for the rovers to last much longer than 90 days that they could have devised a way to keep the panels clear.
Posted by: Bob | January 29, 2009, 3:15 pm 3:15 pm
Actually they have been on Mars a hair over 5 years. Thye landed on January 4 and January 25 UTC, 2004!
Posted by: Ken | January 29, 2009, 3:15 pm 3:15 pm
Outstanding job by the folks at JPL and elsewhere. I feel my tax dollars were well spent. Good job to the engineers and scientists.
Posted by: Huh | January 29, 2009, 3:16 pm 3:16 pm
Note from Ned Potter–
Hello, Bob. Wipers would seem like a great idea, and I once asked about them, or something similar to keep the solar panels clean. The answer, from Steve Squyres, the Principal Investigator, was twofold:
1) They really didn’t expect the rovers to go this long.
2) “We were throwing so much stuff overboard anyhow to save weight” that a lot of ideas–more experiments, a microphone, extra cameras–never made it.
Posted by: Ned Potter | January 29, 2009, 3:17 pm 3:17 pm
Rover and Spirit are magnificant, Just like my gasoline truck. Both get tremendous mileage. Oh my truck cost new $40K, then I sent it to a speed shop and 25K later in modifications it gets 25 to 28mph on the highway, up from 19mpg. I’m not kidding. Mileage varies alot even because of changing weather. No I haven’t gotten my money out of it. But I learned something. You want good mileage from a car. Spend alot of money, stupid vet. I’ve told this story many times because its true. I might add, the oil changes cost about $100 each, because of the high grade synthetic oil.
Posted by: Heavenislikethis | January 29, 2009, 3:20 pm 3:20 pm
I just went to Pep boys and got some wipers o put on the mars rover. Pep Boys said they’ll put them on for free!
Posted by: North Park | January 29, 2009, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
I believe the original mission length was just a few months. I can’t remember for sure but I believe they hoped for 4 months out of these rovers and we have gotten 1800 months. Incredible achievement.
Posted by: OneMoreTime | January 29, 2009, 4:54 pm 4:54 pm
Everything you add brings more weight and more complexity. Wipers, OK, how about something to keep them lubricated? What if the wipers get jammed up with sand? What if the wipers get caught and rip off the solar panel?
This has exceeded its design life twenty times over. Even without wipers I consider that a stellar achievement.
Posted by: lakefxdan | January 29, 2009, 5:23 pm 5:23 pm
Wipers…that’s crazy…blowers would be the only safe way to clean off the SP. But then again, do we really want these to last forever. I would much rather these guys burn out and put the pressure on to get some new and better equipment to big red.
Posted by: Todd | January 29, 2009, 5:24 pm 5:24 pm
Its very easy to make a car that will get 60 mpg. What is difficult is making one that will carry passengers, pass safety standards, and be affordable.
Posted by: Sam J | January 29, 2009, 5:25 pm 5:25 pm
Teams at the Shell Challenge have produced combustion car vehicles that get over 1000 mpg. Pretty small though.
Posted by: Huh | January 29, 2009, 5:59 pm 5:59 pm
man, the martians are #$%^ing with our rover again!!!
Posted by: raknyc | January 29, 2009, 6:08 pm 6:08 pm
COOL
Posted by: ANDREA FIGUEROA | January 29, 2009, 6:22 pm 6:22 pm
No wipers needed. Just need to put a charge across the surface of the solar cells to repel the sand. Kinda like your ionic purifier in reverse…. Nothing to wear out and light weight.
Posted by: PM | January 29, 2009, 9:03 pm 9:03 pm
We can build a car that gets 60 mpg, but Americans wouldn’t buy it. Most of them don’t even want the cars that can get 35 mpg. Fuel prices drop, and guess what they’re buying again? Yep, trucks and SUVS. Doomed, period.
Posted by: Brant | January 30, 2009, 8:47 am 8:47 am
Yes, there is a new camera feature, dust reduction, where the lens vibrates ever so slightly to remove dust and small dirt particles off of the lens. This would have worked. Would have to be a little stronger though. But hey, I’m impressed so far. Incredible!
Posted by: sausalito88 | January 30, 2009, 10:27 am 10:27 am
It’s a good job that spirit and opportunity have gone this far. We know for the fact that their reason for their mission is to check if mars would be another planet to live in. We still need to remember that God is really amazing giving us this opportunity to discover His creation. Thats’ how amazing He is far beyond that we know of…
Posted by: angelscent | January 30, 2009, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm
Another point in favor of manned exploration. Let the robots do the initial surveys, then send the humans to do the detail work. At the present time, we’re examining the Universe through a soda straw. Sooner or later, we have to get out there and get dirty.
Posted by: andyr | January 30, 2009, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
The next rover they send should know how to shiver; like cats and dogs to to shake off water and dirt. That may help with shedding the dust from the solar panels and sensory instruments.
Posted by: MBell_TX | January 31, 2009, 9:15 pm 9:15 pm
Spirit and Opportunity like the tiny Sojourner rover have been tremendous
successes. I think we should have sent about 10 more just like the origionals. But “engineers love to change things”..bones mccoy. We have learned more about Mars with these missions than we have ever known.
Mars had and still has water. Much less now than in the past. What happened and why. The quest for knowledge MUST continue.
Posted by: blackie | February 2, 2009, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm
OneMoreTime:
That’s 1800 DAYS, not months. The roughly five years they’ve been there is an astonishing achievement, but 1800 MONTHS would be mind-boggling! That would mean they have been there for 150 years!
Growing up in Illinois I was immersed in the many achievements of Abraham Lincoln, but I’m pretty sure sending two Rovers to Mars wasn’t one of them!
Posted by: Walker Evans | February 12, 2009, 2:56 pm 2:56 pm
You could find a way to tip the solar panels so the dust slides right off. You could use the same motors used to unfold the panels and just write a new program for them to dump the dust.
Posted by: Person | March 12, 2009, 10:05 pm 10:05 pm