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June 10, 2018 – last communication with the rover
A windy period on Mars – known by the Opportunity team as the "dusting season" – is between November and January and has already cleared the vehicle's panels. The team is hopeful that the cleaning of the dust could result in a loss of rover hearing during this period. (Image of NASA)
Updated at 14:15 PDT on 11 October 2018
(NASA) – A month later, engineers have not heard of NASA's Mobile Opportunity yet.
NASA has not set a deadline for the mission, but will be informed later this month of the progress and prospects of the recovery campaign conducted by the agency's reaction propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, California .
JPL engineers use a combination of listening and control methods in case Opportunity is still operational. It is possible that a layer of dust deposited on the solar panels of the rover during the recent dust storm blocks the sunlight that could recharge its batteries. Nobody can say how much dust has been deposited on his panels.
A windy period on Mars – known by the Opportunity team as the "dusting season" – occurs from November to January and has already cleared the vehicle panels. The team is hopeful that the cleaning of the dust could result in a loss of rover hearing during this period.
Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam) took the component images of this view from a position outside the Endeavor Crater during the period of June 7 to 19, 2017. To the right side of this scene, a large cut in the ridge of the western edge of crater. (Image of NASA)
The opportunities have exceeded several times the expected life. Opportunity and her twin, Spirit, were designed to last only 90 days on the Martian surface, hoping that the extreme winters and dust storms of the planet could shorten their mission. The rover lasted nearly 15 years: it last communicated on June 10 before being hibernated by the dust storm.
Updated at 14:45 TDP on 11 September 2018
Scientists examining data from the Mars color imager (MARCI) aboard NASA's Mars reconnaissance probe (MRO) have determined that the tau estimate (a measure of the amount of haze in Martian atmosphere) in the heavens above the rover Opportunity was less than 1.5 for two consecutive measurements.
With more solar light reaching the rover's solar panels, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Opportunity team in Pasadena, California, increases the frequency of orders passed to the over 14-year-old rover via Deep Network Antennas NASA's Space Network from three times a week to several times a day.
The Radio Science group of the JPL Group will also continue to passively listen to Opportunity. It records radio signals from Mars with a very sensitive broadband receiver.
Scientists examining data from the Mars color imager (MARCI) aboard NASA's Mars reconnaissance probe (MRO) have determined that the tau estimate (a measure of the amount of haze in Martian atmosphere) in the heavens above the rover Opportunity was less than 1.5 for two consecutive measurements. (Image of NASA)
The original story was updated in paragraph six to reflect NASA's review at each stage of the recovery process. Updates on the 2018 dust storm and tau are available here.
A dust storm surrounding the planet on Mars, which was detected for the first time on May 30 and interrupted operations for the rover Opportunity, continues to fade.
NASA's reaction propulsion laboratory engineers in Pasadena, California, estimate that the solar rover, almost 15 years old, will soon receive enough sunlight to automatically trigger recovery procedures – if the rover is able to do it.
To prepare, the Opportunity Mission Team has come up with a two-step plan to provide the highest probability of communicating with the rover and bringing it back online.
"The sun is going through the mist over the Perseverance Valley and soon, there will be enough sunlight for Opportunity to recharge," said John Callas, Opportunity Project Manager at JPL.
"When the level of tau [a measure of the amount of particulate matter in the Martian sky] Below 1.5, we will begin a period of attempts to communicate with the mobile by sending commands through NASA's Deep Space network antennas. Assuming we receive news from Opportunity, we will begin the process of discerning its status and bringing it back online. "
The last communication of the rover with the Earth was received on June 10th and the current health of Opportunity is unknown. Opportunity engineers rely on the expertise of Mars scientists to analyze Mars (MARCI) color imager data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) probe to estimate close to the position of the vehicle.
"The dust fog generated by the 2018 Global Martian dust storm is one of the largest ever recorded, but all indications are that this crisis is nearing its end," said Rich Zurek, JPL Project MRO Scientist. . «MARCI images from the Opportunity site show no active dust storm for some 3,000 kilometers [about 1,900 miles] from the rover site. "
With the sky clear, the mission leaders hope the rover will try to call home, but they are also ready for a long period of silence. "If we do not receive an answer after 45 days, the team will be forced to conclude that the dust blocking the sun and the cold Martian conspired to cause a type of failure whose mobile will probably not be recovered," said Callas. . At this point, the team will report to NASA headquarters to determine whether to pursue the strategy or adjust it. Callas added: "In the likely probability that a large amount of dust on the solar panels will block the Sun's energy, we will continue our passive listening efforts for several months."
The few additional months of passive listening suggest that a devil of the red planet could literally dust off the solar panels Opportunity. Such "clean-up events" were first discovered by Martian rover crews in 2004 when, on several occasions, the Spirit and Opportunity's battery charge levels increased by several percent over of a single night Martian, while it was logical that they continue to decline.
Dust accumulation is unlikely to be the cause of Opportunity's lack of communication. Nevertheless, each day of the passive phase, JPL's Radio Science group will explore the recordings of signals recorded by a radio-sensitive receiver emitted by Mars, looking for the sign that the mobile is trying to reach out.
Even if the team had news of Opportunity during both phases, there is no guarantee that the mobile will be operational. The impact of this latest storm on Opportunity systems is not known, but could have resulted in reduced power generation, battery performance, or other unforeseen damage that could make return difficult. complete mobile online.
While the situation at Perseverance Valley is critical, the rover team is cautiously optimistic, knowing that Opportunity overcame significant challenges over its more than 14 years on Mars. The rover lost the use of its leadership before, the left one in June 2017 and the right one in 2005. Its 256 megabyte flash memory no longer works. The team also knows that everything about the rover goes well beyond its warranty period: Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, were built for 90-day missions (Spirit lasted 20 times longer and Opportunity was has been multiplied by 60). The rovers were designed to travel about 1,000 meters and Opportunity has traveled more than 28 miles. The team saw his soldier rover cross the wrecks. Now, Opportunity engineers and scientists anticipate and hope that this latest dilemma is just another shock on their Martian road.
"In a situation like this, you hope everything will be fine, but plan for all eventualities," Callas said. "We are asking our tenacious rover to withdraw once more from the fire. And if she does, we'll be there to hear her.
Updates on the dust storm and tau are available here.
JPL, a Caltech division in Pasadena, created Opportunity and manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
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