Mars Rovers Set to Crawl Into Next Year
(From the November/December 2004 issue of StarDate magazine)
While NASA’s twin rovers prepared to begin scaled-back operations on Mars, one researcher was building on their earlier accomplishments by discovering evidence of a possible ancient Martian sea that was bigger than all the Great Lakes combined.
The Opportunity rover touched down in a region called Meridiani Planum. Its instruments analyzed layers of exposed bedrock and found that they must have formed in a watery environment.
Using images and other readings from two Mars orbiters, Brian Hynek of the University of Colorado at Boulder found that these outcrops extend many miles from Opportunity’s landing site. From the extent of the outcrops, Hynek estimated that they formed at the bottom of a sea that was a third of a mile (500 meters) deep and covered at least 127,000 square miles (330,000 square km).
Such a large body of water would have required Mars to be a warm, wet world for a long time, Hynek suggested — perhaps long enough for life to take root on the planet.
Hynek reported his results in early September. A couple of weeks later, NASA extended the work of Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, which was operating halfway around Mars, for another six months. The rovers landed in January and were designed to operate for 90 Mars days (about 92 Earth days). But they continued to perform well after almost nine months on Mars. By late September, Spirit had covered more than two miles, and was perched on a ridge at the base of the Columbia Hills. Opportunity continued to putter around inside the large Endurance crater, where it has discovered strong evidence of water in the planet’s distant past.
Through the end of December, science and engineering teams will operate the rovers for five days a week instead of seven. The cutback will reduce mission costs and give the rovers two days a week to recharge their solar batteries. Because of the changing seasons, the rovers receive much less solar energy than when they arrived, so they have less power for driving and operating their scientific instruments. The amount of power should begin to increase by early next year as the Martian days get longer. -- Damond Benningfield
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