Tag Archives: Opportunity

Not all water is fit to drink

Posted on February 17, 2008 | Comments Off on Not all water is fit to drink

Nor all water suitable for microbial life. So seems to be the early conclusions of Spirit and Opportunity’s explorations on Mars. But they’re not definitive, and more work by more rovers is yet to come. The great thing is that it’s all been done by robots, and relatively inexpensively. Someday, when humans do set foot on the Red Planet, they’ll land at spots that have been thoroughly investigated and found to be the best candidates for habitation.

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Dusty dark

Posted on July 20, 2007 | Comments Off on Dusty dark

For a while it seemed that nothing could stop those unstoppable Mars rovers, Opportunity and Spirit. Something finally has, and threatens to do it permanently. A huge dust storm is blocking what little sunlight Mars gets, the very ultraviolet that the rovers need to keep their juice flowing.

UPDATE By Monday, the 23rd, "…skies might be clearing a little."

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Rover over

Posted on June 29, 2007 | Comments Off on Rover over

The Opportunity robot rover on Mars is set to begin a treacherous journey into a deep meteor crater:

"Opportunity already has been exploring layered rocks in cliffs around Victoria Crater. The team has planned the descent carefully to enable an eventual exit, but Opportunity could become trapped inside the crater or lose some capabilities. The rover has operated more than 12 times longer than its originally intended 90 days."

I’m sure most people have forgotten the rover is still out there. This could help them remember. 

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