Mars rovers get on to five years service

The US space agency’s Mars rovers are celebrating a remarkable five years on the red Planet, Mars. The first robot named, Spirit arrived on the planet on 3rd January 2004 and it was original expected that the machine would only last three months to find vital information about the planet's make-up. So far the rovers’ data has picked up vital information about the existence of water from billions of years ago which could indicate that there was or is life on the planet.

The first machine called, Spirit is exploring a 150km wide bowl shaped depression known as Gusev Crater. It has found an abundance of rocks, dirt and soils bearing increased exposure to h2o. The sister machine to, Spirit, called Opportunity is currently exploring the other side of the planet. There is also data there that shows strange exposure to water. Both of the rovers are now showing serious signs of wear and tear from weather erosion. The Spirit machine has to drive everywhere backwards as it has jammed a wheel and Opportunity’s robotic arm has a glitch in a a shoulder joint because of a faulty electrical wire. There have also been times where both of the machines have been short on solar power as all the dust on the planet has covered their solar panels.

When the two machines eventually do fail, NASA will have to wait quite a while for their next surface mission as they will have to wait for their next launch in 2011 which has in itself been delayed. There is no doubt in my mind that the information that will be uncovered will be grund breaking. The fact that there is already water on the planet Mars is a true sign that there may of been some life on that planet in the past. According to analysts the rovers machines will only last another couple of months so it will be interesting to see what they uncover from now until then.

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