Tech: The Spirit is willing, but time it running short

[dracodraconis]

The Mars rover Spirit is making a mad dash toward a sunny slope before taking a break for the Martian winter. The solar cells are so dust covered that they now operate at only 42 percent capacity, and could fall as low as 30 percent by the time it reaches it's resting spot. Scientists are crossing their fingers that they can get another year of service out of the plucky robot.

Comments

[ztrooper.livejournal.com]

why didn't anyone think to put a windsheild wiper on the solar panels?

[dracodraconis.livejournal.com]

Because they never expected it to survive long enough to warrant them. Also wiper blades would have a hard time in the thermal extremes and scouring grit of the Martian climate. Still, there must be something that could be designed as the function equivalent of windshield wipers. One solution might be high-pressure air to blast dust off the panels.

[lyanna-beth.livejournal.com]

Considering that the thing was only supposed to last from "months to a year", I think that everything since has been 'gravy' - but the windshield wiper idea is a good one. Sometimes it's the simple solutions that work!

[dracodraconis.livejournal.com]

They've already renewed it's mission five times since it was deployed. That's five times it has exceeded expectations.

[joyeuse60.livejournal.com]

This little robot has done so much for science and the exploration of Mars, that even though he may be reduced to 30%, he has still far exceeded any and all expectations for performance. We need to keep his design.. make a few improvements for the dust issue but this design has been a masterpiece of enigneering

[dracodraconis.livejournal.com]

If I recall correctly, some of the designs for the "next generation" Rover build on this technology with just some technological improvements, like the ability to test for the presence of chemical signatures that might indicate life.