Spring is in the air. Spirit has been missing since 22 Mar. Hopefully attitude has sufficiently improved that it will talk again in a few weeks - sometime in November.

It’s been a half Martian year. And still nothing from Spirit. Only thing left is for an official word announcing the loss of Spirit. Of course, Opportunity continues to explore without the so many problems that plaqued Spirit. Whoever in Nasa upgraded the Rover program to two vehicles deserved a big bonus - if not praise. Opportunity existed only because of that decision.

Mars is so harsh that even machines have difficulty surviving. Solar cells - the best we can make - still create only a few hundred watts at best. Sometimes only enough power to light a bulb for a few hours. So cold that (suspected) even electronics fail.

Next year, the rover Curiosity should be launched. Because Mars is so inhospitable to man and machine, Curiosity will not use solar cells. Even the best cells do not make it on Mars. Curiosity will be using radioactive batteries.

radioactive batteries are good, but why not wind power? certainly no shortage of that on Mars, especially in winter. Install a vertical turbine that can retract if the storm is too powerful, and you're good to go.

What a great idea. It's almost as if any old drongo could work for nasa!

...He never calls, he never writes...

Once heard on a TV show called the Rover Brothers:
Mama liked Opportunity best.

Spirit's big brother is coming soon. Next week, the day after Thanksgiving, Curiosity is scheduled to launch for Mars. It's about twice the size of Spirit and has MORE POWER. Ten pounds of high grade plutonium, baby. Don't have to worry about dusty solar cells on this one. Let's hope it doesn't blow up on launch.

heh, I just remembered this:

With the world's best solar cells, a rover would only have maybe 100+ watts of electricity. Solar cell technology at its best is that inefficient. So Curiosity has nuclear batteries to increase power to hundreds of watts. Rovers live on that little power.

If power is that minimal for robots, then how will men (who need tens or hundreds of kilowatts) survive for a few months on Mars? They won't. Just another number that says why this world's best science is done by robots.

Unfortunately a replacement for Hubble (Webb) is in trouble. It should have already been launched in 2010. But may not launch until 2015 or 2018 due to technical problems. That assumes a Republican congress does not (after multiple attempts) successfully cut off all funds so as to protect tax cuts for the rich.

Oppurtunity is still alive and kicking up Martian dirt. The Rovers were a classic story of a good and evil twins. Everything that would go wrong happened to Spirit.