Huge Martian Dust Storm Threatens Rovers

Riding with Robots writes "NASA reports that a severe ongoing dust storm on the Red Planet has blocked 99 percent of the direct sunlight that powers the Opportunity rover. If these conditions persist for too long, it could finally bring an end to the marathon mission of this robot geologist, and perhaps of its partner Spirit as well. 'Before the dust storms began blocking sunlight last month, Opportunity's solar panels had been producing about 700 watt hours of electricity per day, enough to light a 100-watt bulb for seven hours. When dust in the air reduced the panels' daily output to less than 400 watt hours, the rover team suspended driving and most observations, including use of the robotic arm, cameras and spectrometers to study the site where Opportunity is located ... A possible outcome of this storm is that one or both rovers could be damaged permanently or even disabled. Engineers will assess the capability of each rover after the storm clears.'"

Oh no, we're ruined!

[eln (21727)]

Has anyone checked on the Buggalo? This could be another kidnap attempt by the native Martians.

Re:

[Harmonious Botch (921977)]

Natives? No, it's only the immigrants who steal stuff on Mars.

Re:

[UncleTogie (1004853)]

No, it's only the immigrants who steal stuff on Mars.

...ie, all the humans...

Dust Devils

[MathFox (686808)]

When the storm has settled the dust devils will come to clean the rovers... no worry!

Re:Dust Devils

[Rakishi (759894)]

The problem is that without power the heaters don't run, without heaters the components get too cold and stop working permanently..

Re:

[WindBourne (631190)]

Actually, that would be could stop working permanently. The truth is, that nobody knows what will happen. It it probable that it will get cold enough that it will break some solder joints, but that will depend on how good those particular joints were.

Re:

[BytePusher (209961)]

"The worst-case scenario is that enough dust in the sky decreases solar energy to the point that we have to shut down too many things to save power," Lemmon said. "The rovers keep their battery alive by keeping their electronics alive."

http://www.space.com/news/070705_dusty_rovers.html [space.com]

However, the article also mentions the cold breaking solder joints:
John Callas, project manager for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., explained that a dea

Re:

[ArcherB (796902)]

When the storm has settled the dust devils will come to clean the rovers... no worry!

If you don't clean the red dust off, they become Red Rovers

Well, look at the bright side

[Anonymous Crowhead (577505)]

These rovers have lasted something like 15 times their original intended/predicted lifespan.

Re:

[Commander Doofus (776923)]

Yes, that would explain their weird behavior [theonion.com].

Re:

[Ambush (120586)]

Bright side? What 'bright side'? They're in darkness, you insensitive clod!

;-)

Cosmic Coincidence?

[Fedorpheux (912926)]

Is this related to the dust storm in Arizona [wcbd.com]? (photo and video) Maybe the giant face of Mars saw Arizona and decided he could out-dust-storm us.

Re:

[sokoban (142301)]

Maybe the mars rovers were faked by the same people who did the moon landing.

Panel Sweepers

[rez_rat (1618)]

I saw a show on Spirit and Opportunity's trek a few nights back. Pretty amazing couple of machines. I was very impressed. When they brought up the topic of their panels' susceptibility to dust and dust storms, I was wondering why no one had thought to install a couple of panel sweepers or something (like windshield wipers)?

All in all, these two little guys have done pretty well.

S-

Re:

[ForestGrump (644805)]

They opted to not install panel wipers because of the added mechanical complexity, weight, possible damage in transport to mars, and that they didn't know how Martian dust would behave to the wipers.
Grump

Re:Panel Sweepers

[evanbd (210358)]

As I understand it, they were pretty sure they could add useful panel wipers -- not perfect, but useful. Or maybe peel-away disposable covers. Or any of several options. The eventual decision was that there were several viable methods, and they all would take the place of about 1 instrument. And the researchers decided they'd rather have another instrument, even if it meant shorter life. As it turns out, they got very lucky and mostly don't need the wipers.

Would not help

[WindBourne (631190)]

This is not about the build-up on the panels. This is about sand in the air. What the next rover (MSL) would be better with is either full nukes, or having simple nuke heaters onboard combined with solar panels for powering all else.

Re:

[Oktober Sunset (838224)]

They need to find water double quick so they can give the rovers a wash.

Can't they work around this?

[macmurph (622189)]

Why don't they have a high tech windshield wiper for the solar panel? Or a transparent window shade that could prevent dust from hitting the solar panel during the storm? Ultra sonic shaker to shake the dust off? There must be a way.

Do humans really *want* to go to Mars?

[Nutria (679911)]

The more I learn of Mars, the less I think that any manned mission to the Dust Storm Planet would be anything more than stupid. And probably suicidal.

Luna has it's own dust problems, but no months-long hemisphere-wide storms, and that's a Very Good Thing.

Re:Kudzoo

[Macrat (638047)]

Nah. Juse needs a little kudzoo to brighten up the place and hold the soil down.

Re:Do humans really *want* to go to Mars?

[WindBourne (631190)]

I volunteer. I am willing to bet that you would find more than 10K just in America who would go. This is the ULTIMATE adventure. Hell, if you are worried about dieing, that can happen in ALL sorts of ways here on earth.

Re:

[R2.0 (532027)]

Larry Niven tells a story about a NASA panel he was on in the 80's regarding future exploration. It was obvious that the NASA administrator was a bureaucratic hack, and Niven got irritated and started pushing him.

Niven asked him what the future plans for colonizing the Moon was, and the man replied, incredulously, "Why would anyone want to live on the moon?"

Niven turned to the assembled reporters and said "Why don't we ask? Let's have a show of hands: How many of you would want to live on the Moon" About

Re:

[agengr (1098271)]

Martian dust particles have been "smoothed" by millions of years of weathering. Lunar dust is jagged and more like a sea of glass shards, and the Moon lacks wind to provide any erosion.

If we can get a handle on lunar dust, Martian dust really shouldn't be a big problem.

Poor little guy!

[The Media Mechanic (1084283)]

Aw, poor little Rover needs a little snack or some munchies to give him a little pick-me-up! Rover is a very loyal and obedient friend... I think we need to blast a rocket off with a nice care package: send him some chew-toys and other treats.

Captain Obvious

[isomeme (177414)]

700 watt hours of electricity per day, enough to light a 100-watt bulb for seven hours

But it would light a nanowatt bulb for seven hundred billion hours -- that's nearly eighty million years! Isn't science amazing?

Re:

[Dunbal (464142)]

ahh, but how long would it light up the Library of Congress for?

And for human settlement?

[WindBourne (631190)]

This should tell ppl that if we are going to continue sending new robots AND humans, then we are going to need a real power source. One possibility is geothermal, but that has to be ascertained. About the only real choice is nukes. Afterall, I know that I do not mind risking my life on something like this, but I would want the best chance possible. I would assume that anybody who goes to Mars will want the same.

Wonderful writing by submitter

[Dun Malg (230075)]

Opportunity's solar panels had been producing about 700 watt hours of electricity per day, enough to light a 100-watt bulb for seven hours.

Gee, thanks "Riding with Robots", that in-depth analysis really added a lot. How many Statues-of-Liberty-on-its-side long is that? How many Libraries of Congress? Did you know that if you laid a man's digestive tract out long a straight line, he would die?

Really, it's not fair to blame mediocre writers for writing badly. Ideally, it is the job of the editor to keep crap off the front page. Of course, the quality of the editors/janitors at slashdot needs no more elaboration...

Re:

[geekoid (135745)]

While not the best writing, his example is perfectly good.
It's one thing when someone uses a vague thing for a measurement, it's another when the example PERFECTLY FITS.

Re:

[sighted (851500)]

Interestingly enough, it was the editors, not I, who added the part about the watt hours, which in turn comes from the NASA press release I was referencing. Not to heap any more crap on the editors -- I think they do a reasonably good job considering they have people like you to contend with.

Its not over till the BBW sings...

[PinkyGigglebrain (730753)]

Considering their history it would be premature to write them off so soon.

When the storm ends and the dust settles and no signal is received from Spirit and Opportunity then, and only then, will I raise a glass in memory of those two incredible machines and the end of their mission.


On a side note has anyone every thought of using Tesla's energy transmitter or other "beamed" energy delivery system (microwave?) to power a planetary probe? Use a big nuke power module, keep it in geostat orbit, or land it with the transmiter, and then drop the rovers down. years of power for the rovers and it could be used by later missions as well.

Hard to Believe

[Nom du Keyboard (633989)]

It's hard to believe that air so thin can hold up so much dust.

Re:

[QuickFox (311231)]

Indeed we're being duped into repeating the same discussion.

Re:

[MillionthMonkey (240664)]

I was going to try a joke like "I don't think anyone could have predicted that the rovers would fail", but that wouldn't have worked if this is a dupe. It would just be an open invitation to all those smartasses who berate you for missing articles that slither down the front page at some point when you were off having a life. Personally, I usually have my Slashdot RSS feed uploaded to my cellphone but I was vacationing on Mars recently (my wife and I especially like the Tharsis region near Nix Olympica- les

Re:

[Megane (129182)]

Go into Firehose, find the article (it'll be a dark green bar), click on "-", then click on "dupe".

Re:

[Cervantes (612861)]

Go into Firehose, find the article (it'll be a dark green bar), click on "-", then click on "dupe".

That's right folks... "The Firehose: Because the Editors just don't care anymore"

Re:

[Loadmaster (720754)]

Maybe electric companies convert to a usable measurement like Library of Congress' or width of human hair. I know mine comes as a percent of how many dollars it would take to circle the earth.

Swi

Re:

[corsec67 (627446)]

Easy. The electric bill says "Pay $ammount", so they pay $ammount.

Now, checking to see if that is the correct ammmount, on the other hand...

Extra tidbit of knowledge

[benhocking (724439)]

What you might not realize, however, is that it's also enough to power a 70-watt bulb for ten hours!

Re:

[Cervantes (612861)]

700 watt hours of electricity per day, enough to light a 100-watt bulb for seven hours.

Are people really so stupid that they need this explained to them? And if so, how on earth do they ever make sense of their electric bill?

You presume people make sense of their electric bills, instead of just paying it like blind obedient sheep.
Your comments are at odds with your low UID. It confuses me.

Re:

[crabpeople (720852)]

"And if so, how on earth do they ever make sense of their electric bill?"

Let me guess. You have a watt metre and have measured and labeled every light fixture and outlet in the house. You then calculate the time of use and multiply that by the rate of electricity. If it doesnt match your bill you bitch and scream at the electric company about them "stealing ur powers".

Meanwhile us hoopleheads just pay the damn thing and let the elecric company handle the monitoring. What fools we are!

Re:

[dave562 (969951)]

I for one am so stupid that I need it explained to me. I'm sure that if I had been interested in the subject before now that I could have researched it and quickly found the answer. Yet up until now, all I really cared about is that a 100-watt bulb is brighter than a 60-watt bulb and will cost me more per month to turn on.

Re:

[geekoid (135745)]

How about people who happen to be ignorant of what the watt measurement means?
I would think there are a lot of people not even out of high school that read slashdot.

I would wager that there was a time in hyour life when you didn't know that the watt rating was a rating over time.

Re:Turbines

[Cervantes (612861)]

It's too bad these rovers don't have some sort of wind turbines to be utilized for energy. They could have extended an already impressive run.

That would be nice, but don't forget Mars has something like 99% less atmosphere than us. So little air pressure that if you jumped out of a plane on Mars and popped a parachute, you'd be the next crater Spirit went to study. I just can't see it being practical, at least on the scale of the rovers.

Re:

[Fallen Kell (165468)]

Space, weight, and environmental limitations make this impractical. Before this mission, we bairly understood the make-up of the dust and how much there may be, let alone being able to create a turbine shaft with seals to keep the dust out of the mechanism (to keep it from causing the prop from binding). The space limitations are another issue. It is not easy to package up a turbo prop into a smaller form-factor for initial launch and travel, unlike the ability to fold up a solar array. At best, what this t

Re:Turbines

[mollymoo (202721)]

At best, what this teaches us is to include a "wiper" system for at least part of the panels so that we can maintain at least a minimal section of solar panel to generate energy for the essential gear and would give us the ability to keep the rover alive long enough to let the wind that exists on the plant to "clean" the other panels in the time after a storm.

The problem is that the dust storms are blocking the light before it hits the panels, not just covering the panels with dust. I doubt they'll know how much dust has accumulated on the panels as a result of this storm till it's over.

Re:Turbines

[Surt (22457)]

You're confusing the possibility that a dust storm can lift enough dust into the atmosphere to block sunlight with the possibility that the wind intensity is sufficiently high to drive a wind turbine. Mars has a very thin atmosphere, and this wind isn't nearly enough to drive a turbine that would produce enough power for the rovers. Lifting dust is a lot easier than pushing the blades of a fan.

Also, whatever turbine you added would go into the weight of the rover, which then affects the parachute/airbag requirements for landing, and during drive around time you're carrying that extra weight uselessly most of the time.

This setup:
http://store.motorwavegroup.com/8-micro-turbines-w ith-generato.html [motorwavegroup.com]

generates about twice as much power as the article suggests is needed, on earth (presumably 1atm pressure) at 10m/s wind speed.

http://www.nap.edu/openbook/0309084261/html/22.htm l [nap.edu]
claims that martian windspeeds peak at 50m/s, but that the dynamic pressure is only 1/9th of that due to the lower atmospheric pressure.
That gives you an equivalent of only 6m/s equivalent speed (at peak intensity!).

So ... even at peak windspeed it's going to be hard to generate enough power with turbines that the rover could reasonably carry, and that would all be deadweight for the solar panels during non wind times.

Re:WHY was there no brush included?

[dastrike (458983)]

A) The dust is charged (static electricity). Brushing would just shove it around and scratch the solar panels. So some other means of cleaning them would be required, e.g. charging the solar panels so it repels the charged dust?

B) What good are clean solar panels when the sky is opaque with dust? Needs more nuclear power, which is what the upcoming rover will have.

Re:

[ucblockhead (63650)]

1. A ten dollar brush would almost have certainly broken in flight. (Mechanical components not specifically designed for vacuum often seize up permanently. Not to mention that the landers underwent fairly large g-forces in the flight.)
   
2. The size and weight of a brush (ten dollars or otherwise) would required removing scientific instruments.