Our Robot Has Stopped Working! --- Random Post 1
Our Robot Has Stopped Working!
Is this Insight's opportunity to shine?
https://spacenews.com/nasa-declares-opportunity-mars-rover-mission-over/
By Dan Heinrich |
February 19, 2019
Summary
- Opportunity Rover
- Insight Lander
In 1970, the USSR landed the first rover on the moon. The Lunokhod had a useful life of one year. In 1972 they followed up with another rover, Lunokhod 2. In 1971 and 1972, the United States landed the first Lunar Rovers allowing astronauts to drive on the moon. Since the Apollo missions, the U.S. and USSR/Russia have set their sights on a slightly larger taget, the red planet, Mars. Since 1971, The USSR and United States have sent six rovers to the surface of Mars. In addition to rovers, the United States has sent 3 orbitors (Odyssey, MRO, Maven) to Mars as well. I will only be focusing on two robots in this post but here is the complete list of rovers:
- Mars 2
- Mars 3
- Sojourner
- Spirit
- Oppportunity
- Curiosity
Opportunity Rover
- Landed: January 25, 2004
- Last communicated: June 2018
The robot that stopped working. On February 12, 2019 the
Opportunity Rover was pronounced dead by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory after
they, "made their last attempt to revive Opportunity Tuesday, to no
avail" (NASA). The rover lasted 14 Earth years -- But it was only designed
to last 90 Martian days. For reference, 1 Earth year is equal to 365 Earth
days. Whereas on Mars, 1 Martian year is equal to 687 Martian days. Opportunity covered 28 miles of distance while on the surface and provided information as to wether water existed in liquid form on the surface of Mars. It was found that, "While there is no liquid water on the surface of Mars today, the record of past water activity on Mars can be found in the rocks, minerals, and geologic landforms, particularly in those that can only form in the presence of water" (NASA). It is believed that the cause
of death was likely a large dust storm which blocked out the skies and stopped
the Opportunity rover from being able to charge its batteries.
Insight Lander
- Robotic lander (not a rover)
- Landed: November 26, 2018
- Mission Length: 728 days
Out with the old and in with the new. NASA just landed the Insight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat) lander on the surface of Mars last November. Insight has been on the planet Mars now for 83 Sols. 1 Sol is 3% shorter than a day on Earth. We need seismic data from Mars, and that is what Insight will give us. Scientists use this Data to map the interior of the planet and study the evolution of the planet over time. The lander will also use a seismometer and heat probe to measure internal heat below the surface.
https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/spacecraft/instruments/summary/
Looking ahead
NASA plans to launch a new rover to Mars on July 2020.
NASA plans to launch a new rover to Mars on July 2020.
- Mars 2020 Rover objectives include:
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/overview/
I'm SO curious as to why out of everything you could write you chose to write about this topic! Do you like astronomy? I hated it lol. But I enjoyed reading this! You did a good job making it interesting. You should take a class with Vahe Peremian (i think that's his name). He's an amazing astronomy professor at usc!
ReplyDelete-Olivia O
I guess after reading the book that Prof. Hansen suggested called How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming I was reminded how interesting it is just thinking about the universe and our planet. Also Trump just announced the creation of the Space Defense Force. Thanks for writing!
DeleteWhy do you think of all the robots that have been sent to Mars, NASA still needs to send more? When do you think researchers and scientists will have collected enough data?
ReplyDeleteI suppose that more we know about the planet, the more we can prepare for human exploration. I don't know about the last question. The cost of creating the robots is substantial though -- funding might be a deciding factor as to how much more data can be collected. I'm sure the professionals at NASA are eager to work so I don't really see those jobs dissapearing, especially after the Space Defense Force thing I mentioned in Olivia's comment. Thanks for writing and asking questions!
DeleteHey Dan,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post about the martian rovers and landers. I specifically liked the NASA JPL quote pronouncing the rover "dead", and the future Martian rovers to launch in the next few years. Great summary on a unique random blog post!
- Garrett
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting read! I heard about the Opportunity rover dying, but never read the cause of death. I wonder how this recharging issue could be prevented for future rovers.
-Scott
What a great read! I've heard so much about the rover's death in recent days and seen many a memes online, yet my grasp of the full story was lacking until reading this piece. You did an excellent job of covering the full scope of the matter, starting with general info and ending with what NASA's looking ahead for. Thanks for filling me in!
ReplyDelete-Grant Nunley
Hello Daniel,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. A few days ago, I remember, getting a CNN alert about the death of the Opportinity Rover. While I didn’t get to read more about the article then, your post has brought me upto speed. It’s exciting to see the strides that we humans are making towards our space exploration agendas. I remember in one of my Marshall classes last year, where a manager from JPL was guest lecturing, he was telling us about the various initiatives they are undertaking along with NASA.
Thanks again.
Best,
Angad Singh
Thanks for sharing! This was definitely a unique and "random" blog post! It was really interesting reading this post. I feel like so many people are convinced we are nearing being able to do something like colonize Mars. After reading this, it shows how far away from it we really are.
ReplyDeleteDavis