Rovers Still Explore Mars After 2 Years ( I love posting good news )

[wakeme2008]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/science/AP-Mars-Rovers.html

anuary 1, 2006
Rovers Still Explore Mars After 2 Years
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 1:18 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The warranty expired long ago on NASA's twin robots motoring around Mars. These two golf cart-sized vehicles were only expected to last three months.

In two years, they have traveled a total of seven miles. Not impressed? Try keeping your car running in a climate where the average temperature is 67 below zero and where dust devils can reach 100 mph.

''These rovers are living on borrowed time. We're so past warranty on them,'' says Steven Squyres of Cornell University, the Mars mission's principal researcher. ''You try to push them hard every day because we're living day-to-day.''

..more at link :) ...

[stray cat]

1. Thanks for posting something that is actually working well

I need some good news

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Nice thing is they aren't equipped with machine guns.... nt.

[Book Lover]

3. Now that's NASA engineering!

Go science!

[Frank Cannon]

4. Obviously, these little gadgets were built way within spec

It's rare that you see that good ol' American tradition anymore.

[Surya Gayatri]

5. Would they be running

on Energizer batteries by any chance? SG ;-)

[ovidsen]

6. Here's more on this great story!

It's the jpl's Rover mission website. Lots of fun stuff.

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

[BlueInPhilly]

7. I thought it had something to do with Rove

and his followers (Rovers) finally leaving Earth and settling down in Mars. Oh well... one can dream, eh?

[daleo]

8. Some good videos there

I was watching the one where the Rover is getting out of the "sand trap". It amazes me that the surface would be that soft on Mars, considering that the temperatures are generally well below the freezing point of water.

[Rich Hunt]

9. yeah, exactly

I was just looking at NASA's site yesterday, and was VERY pleasantly surprised to see that the rovers were still going!

I can't believe we had two successful missions to Mars - looking back, the landings of the rovers was one of the
few bright spots from the past couple of years.

The pictures of the rocks are incredible.

[Lisa]

10. certainly giving the American people their money's worth!

So refreshing to see something so interesting and inspiring. The robots are doing more "hard work" than a certain president -- would it be possible to trade him in for another couple of those rovers?

[ny_liberal]

11. NASA rocks!