WillyBWright
Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2003
- Messages
- 8,200
I was unaware that the Mars Global Surveyor had apparently failed last November. It is basically a weather satellite that was modified and sent to the red planet and provided many years of ground breaking scientific data that astounded and facsinated everyone. One theory is that a solar panel positioning jam started its demise. A software upgrade was sent last June to position the satellite to allow the panels to absorb enough sunlight to keep functioning, but the repositioning put the battery into the path of the heat from the sun and it eventually failed. Still, the Surveyor was active and functional for about a decade which has to be considered a major success by any standard. And any battery that lasted a decade would make even the Eveready Bunny one proud papa.
Although the satellite's loss must be a huge disappointment, it was not alone. Other orbiting craft are there sending back plenty of data and Mars exploration continues on with landers Spirit and Opportunity which have survived many many months beyond their designed lifetimes.
ttp://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20070111/sc_space/faultysoftwaremayhavedoomedmarsorbiter
ttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_on_sc/mars_pathfinder_2
(copy/paste with h in front)
Although the satellite's loss must be a huge disappointment, it was not alone. Other orbiting craft are there sending back plenty of data and Mars exploration continues on with landers Spirit and Opportunity which have survived many many months beyond their designed lifetimes.
ttp://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20070111/sc_space/faultysoftwaremayhavedoomedmarsorbiter
ttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_on_sc/mars_pathfinder_2
(copy/paste with h in front)
