NASA gives Opportunity rover a deadline to wake up, or be lost forever

A global dust storm on Mars is threatening the planet’s longest-living robot, NASA’s Opportunity rover. The machine has been in hibernation since June to wait out the storm and now NASA have given it a deadline to wake up.

The US space agency has given the rover a 45-day deadline before giving up on the robot, which has been exploring the Red Planet for 14 years. Skies are finally starting to clear over Mars following an epic sandstorm, and mission managers are hopeful that the rover will attempt to make contact soon.

“The sun is breaking through the haze over Perseverance Valley, and soon there will be enough sunlight present that Opportunity should be able to recharge its batteries,” said John Callas, Opportunity project manager at JPL, in NASA’s latest update on the rover.

However, if the robot is silent for 45 days after the storm subsides, the team will be “forced to conclude that the sun-blocking dust and the Martian cold have conspired to cause some type of fault from which the rover will more than likely not recover,” said Callas.

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Wake up Opportunity! There's many more years left in you still.

Last Edited by keybored on 09/01/2018 12:16 PM