August 10, 2004

How Is a Martian Rover Like a Bear? The New York Times

Posted by tourdemars to Mars Exploration Rovers at August 10, 2004 12:00 AM

Winter is bearing down on the southern hemisphere of Mars, where the days are growing shorter and colder, and the dimming Sun seems to be running out of energy. That means it's time for the two robotic rovers there, Spirit and Opportunity, to be going into a kind of hibernation. Not that any season anywhere on Mars is ever balmy. By the start of winter in the middle of next month, temperatures are forecast to fall as low as minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit and never rise above zero, a range only a few degrees lower than current autumnal levels.
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Comments

Now if it had not left all the other hardware laying all around the landing zone, it could have made use of those items as a barrier to the cold.

Posted by: Harold LaValley at August 10, 2004 04:52 AM

=)
It could have wrapped itself up in its airbags eh?

Posted by: Zach at August 10, 2004 05:03 AM

I guess that would have worked if Nasa would have done some prethinking into the issue of survival for the rover making it though the Martian winter months. It could have been rolled backup like a parachute and stuffed into a pouch for later use.

Posted by: Harold LaValley at August 10, 2004 08:36 AM

good idea, but i don't think that NASA ever thought that the rovers would still be working at this point in time

Posted by: drake sawyer at August 11, 2004 09:56 PM