Dust in the
martian atmosphere has settled slightly, allowing more sunlight to reach the
solar panels of NASA's
power-starved rovers
Spirit and Opportunity on the red planet's
surface.
Energy
production for the Spirit increased almost 12 percent, from 261 to 295 watt hours
per martian day, or "sol," and from 128 to 243 watt hours for
Opportunity, a boost of nearly 53 percent. One hundred watt hours is what it
takes to run a 100-watt light bulb for one hour. Before power production was
impaired by the dust storms, the
rovers were averaging about 700 watt hours per sol.
Opportunity
has managed to fully charge its batteries and Spirit is bringing its batteries
to nearly full charge. Also, the temperature of the core electronics module on
Opportunity has risen from a dangerously low minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus
37 Celsius) last week to minus 28.1 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 33.4 Celsius).
Mission
controllers responded to the good news by gradually increasing the rovers'
science observations. They have commanded Spirit to move
its arm for the first time in nearly three weeks. The robotic geologist
will position its arm's microscopic imager to take a series of photographs of
two soil targets and one rock target.
Opportunity,
currently perched on the rim of Victoria
Crater where it was supposed to descend before the storms struck, will make
scientific observations of the martian atmosphere.
John
Callas, rover project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
California, cautioned that the rovers are not fully in the clear yet.
"Conditions
are still dangerous for both rovers and could get worse before things get
better," Callas said. "We will continue our cautious approach to the
weather and configure the rovers to maintain a high state of charge on the
batteries. Communication sessions with both rovers will remain limited until
the skies clear further."
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