NASA Will Attempt to Revive the Opportunity Rover One Last Time

Last week was the 15th anniversary of NASA’s Opportunity rover on the Martian surface. However, the little rover remains silent after a massive dust storm took place on the red planet last year. NASA is celebrating this milestone by attempting to reconnect with Opportunity one previous time. If it is unsuccessful, the robot will most likely be considered a loss.

In January 2004, Opportunity landed on Mars only a few weeks after its twin rover Spirit touched down. NASA engineered the rovers with a planned lifespan of 90 days, but they both far surpassed expectations. Spirit was functional for 20 times longer than called for by the original mission. However, it eventually fell victim to the harsh Martian winter when it got stuck in the sand. Opportunity continued to defy expectations until June 2018 when a massive dust storm overtook the planet.

The Curiosity rover, which was newer, survived that storm due to its radioactive power source (known as an RTG). But, Opportunity depends on solar panels to keep its batteries charged. NASA put the rover into hibernation mode when the global dust storm blocked sunlight from reaching the rover, but the storm lasted weeks. The rover stopped sending routine signals early on, suggesting it didn’t even have enough power to keep its heaters operational. Without heat, the batteries may never function again.

Last week, NASA said that they would try a last ditch effort to make contact with the rover. The new approach is known as “beep and sweep.” Rather than merely listening for Opportunity to send back pings, NASA will beam a signal to the rover telling it to answer with a beep. This method is planned to address several possible but unlikely situations. Opportunity’s primary X-band radio has failed and so has it’s primary and secondary X-band radios. Lastly, its internal clock may be offset. None of these is likely, as there are multiple safeguards in place to prevent them.

Thus, the signals beamed to Opportunity will tell it to recalibrate its clock and turn on its backup radios. If the probe is functional and can hear NASA’s commands, it could answer with a beep. The hope is that the increased winds on Mars during the “dust clearing season” might have blown dust off of the rover’s solar panels. However, that period is coming to an end, which could be NASA’s last best chance to make it work.

If Opportunity does reply to NASA, it would be a minor miracle. At that point, engineers could try a recovery. If not, the project team will consult NASA administration, which will likely consider Opportunity lost.

Picture credit: NASA

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