Mars Rovers Will Endure Red Planet Longer Than Expected

Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena (CA) say they now expect both Mars rovers -- Spirit and Opportunity -- will last almost twice as long as had originally been projected. They were built to keep going for three months.

"Spirit is kind of post-retirement here and getting ready for her longest drive yet," said Spirit Mission Manager Jennifer Trosper. Using the same analogy, she said Opportunity has reached middle age. "Neither rover is showing their age and we believe they will both last 200 plus sols." A sol is one Martian day, which is 24 hours and 37 minutes long.

That's likely very good news for the rovers' earth-bound drivers. Spirit has now traveled to the lip of a crater that JPL wags call "Bonneville."

"If you tried to drive your car up this slope you'd probably get a flat tire and a busted oil pan," explained Chris Leger, Spirit's driver. "So it was really a tricky drive." Add to that, of course, the lag time involved in a drive of any distance.

But don't let Leger fool you. He's having the time of his life. "I still can't believe they're paying me to do this," he said.

The trip to Bonneville turned out to be for naught, however. Scientists had hoped the deep impact crater would reveal some tantalizing new details about the composition of the Red Planet -- and the possibility that there was once water in them thar hills. No such luck. The crater's floor appears to be composed of the same material Spirit found at the crater in which it landed.

Unlike its twin, Opportunity, Spirit doesn't have any fascinating rock outcroppings to study, at least, not yet. But on the horizon, Spirit has spotted what scientists are calling the "East Hills," about 1.5 miles from its current location.

FMI: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home