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Spotlight On Mars - Image |
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Midwinter Energy Diet |
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June 24, 2008 |
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Imagine having only enough energy to run a microwave oven for seven minutes each day. Think of it as your energy diet -- it's all you have to survive. Basically, that's what NASA's Mars rover, Spirit, experienced in June 2008.
Last summer's dust storms left a sun-blocking haze in the atmosphere and a thick sunscreen of particles on Spirit's solar panels. The nights grew longer and the days colder with the onset of winter. The dusty coating got thicker as more dust fell from the sky.
To save energy, rover planners cut back on communications and rover awake time. They made heating a top priority to keep Spirit's battery and a mineral-detection instrument alive.
It paid off. Now that Spirit has survived the June 25 winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, winter will give way to spring. Spirit will have fewer dietary restrictions as energy levels improve.
Images courtesy of:
Panoramic camera/Microscopic imager
Solar panel image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell
Microscopic image credit (closeup of dust and wiring): NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/USGS
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