A Three-Year Journey at .00037 mph

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2088306,00.html

by wallflower • 15 years ago

40 6 15 years ago

Groxx• 15 years ago

I don't see Mars-rover races being a spectator sport any time soon. That must require a lot of patience - not sure I care to have that much.

rprospero• 15 years ago

The three year average might be low, but the average speed of the Opportunity rover over the past eight years is over 2700 mph.

invisiblefunnel• 15 years ago

"NASA engineers were counting on it to function for just three months" and it is still functioning 8 years later? What an impressive accomplishment.

seanalltogether• 15 years ago

If I recall, they assumed the solar panels would end up fully covered in dust after 3 months, but the wind just keeps clearing them off.

GeneTraylor• 15 years ago

I remember watching Spirit and Opportunity land on mars, sitting next to my uncle,the day he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and I still remember the prediction that the rovers would die in 3 months due to buildup of dust. I couldn't help but wonder that my uncle was, at least, going to outlive them. I was wrong.

rorrr• 15 years ago

.00037 mph = 0.0065 inches/sec = 0.165 mm/sec

A Three-Year Journey at .00037 mph

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