Re:Nasa’s Mars Rover Opportunity Concludes a 15-Year Mission
by Retric on Wednesday February 13, 2019 @09:58PM
(#19159277)
They designed it for a winter which means at least 687+ earth days days was considered achievable. Dust was expected to be a larger issue and in many ways they lucked out, but more so as a calculated risk than blind luck.
Distance makes little difference past the first day. Doing the same thing on the moon would not be easier becase it’s closer. It’s local conditions that make this hard more so than simply getting to that point.
Re:Nasa’s Mars Rover Opportunity Concludes a 15-Year Mission
by proactivesvcs on Wednesday February 13, 2019 @10:53PM
(#19159486)
I can assure you that the distance took its toll on the rovers, in my understanding. Their wheel surfaces eroded, oil pumps failed, bearings degraded and they ended up dragging dead wheels in the end.
Re:Nasa’s Mars Rover Opportunity Concludes a 15-Year Mission
by jamescostian on Wednesday February 13, 2019 @11:20PM
(#19159585)
Are you talking about the distance the rovers traveled while on mars? Because that's not what Retric is talking about. Retric is talking about the distance from the earth to mars (hence why they compared it to the moon).
Re:Nasa’s Mars Rover Opportunity Concludes a 15-Year Mission
by proactivesvcs on Thursday February 14, 2019 @11:30AM
(#19163153)
Ah, my mistake; I misunderstood their comment.
Re:Nasa’s Mars Rover Opportunity Concludes a 15-Year Mission
by icebraining on Thursday February 14, 2019 @07:56AM
(#19161496)
To me, that they designed it to last that long, and it actually did, just makes it more impressive. Otherwise it would just be blind luck.
A group of engineers put a working robot on a moving object 140 million miles away, and that robot trucked along for fourteen years.
I honestly do not see any aspect of this which is not totally and completely astonishing, marvelous, and awe-inspiring.