NASA Optimistic About Opportunity Rover But Admits it Could be Lost Forever

NASA scientists say they're trying to stay optimistic about the Mars Opportunity Rover - which they haven't heard from since June 10. In a blog post this week, the team admitted that the $400 million craft on Mars might be lost forever after it got caught up in a planetwide dust storm.

Scientists say skies are finally clearing as the dust storm begins to 'decay' - meaning more dust is falling out of the atmosphere than is being raised into it. Once the atmosphere is clear enough, the solar-powered rover will attempt to recharge and "phone home." 

"Even if engineers hear back from Opportunity, there's a real possibility the rover won't be the same," Good wrote in an Aug. 16 blog post. "The rover's batteries could have discharged so much power - and stayed inactive so long - that their capacity is reduced. If those batteries can't hold as much charge, it could affect the rover's continued operations."

Good says the team performed several studies on the state of the batteries before the storm, and believe they should have been hardy enough to make it through the Martian weather.

"Because the batteries were in relatively good health before the storm, there's not likely to be too much degradation," Good wrote. "And because dust storms tend to warm the environment - and the 2018 storm happened as Opportunity's location on Mars entered summer - the rover should have stayed warm enough to survive."

While the team is remaining cautiously optimistic that the rover survived, they are prepared for the worst. Good says no one knows how well Opportunity is functioning until it "speaks" with the team back on Earth, and even then, getting things back to normal operations might take time. 

"After the first time engineers hear from Opportunity, there could be a lag of several weeks before a second time," Good wrote. "It's like a patient coming out of a coma: It takes time to fully recover. It may take several communication sessions before engineers have enough information to take action."

The Opportunity Rover, which was originally designed for a 90-day mission, landed on the Martian surface on January 25, 2004 and has made several groundbreaking discoveries throughout its now 15-year mission, including discovering signs of water and exploring the insides of two craters.

The dust storm on Mars began on June 10 and eventually enveloped the entire planet according to Space.com. 

Photo: Getty Images


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