
Perseverance Valley descends the inboard slope of the western rim of Endeavour Crater.
Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Alternative Mars rover stays silent – a causality of a mega-dust storm that encircled the planet that was first detected Could 30 and result in a halt of the rover’s operations at Perseverance Valley.
“Nonetheless holding onto a sliver of hope that an virtually 15 yr previous rover dwelling beneath excessive circumstances for a really very long time will get up and speak to us,” stated Ray Arvidson, Alternative Deputy Principal Investigator of Washington College in St. Louis.
“We’ll proceed to actively attempt to talk with Alternative not less than by January,” Arvidson advised Inside Outer Area.

Textured rows on the bottom on this portion of “Perseverance Valley” have been beneath investigation by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Alternative, which used its Navigation Digicam to take the part photos of this downhill-looking scene.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Prolonged mission
Within the meantime, Arvidson has began drafting an Prolonged Mission-12 proposal on what Alternative would do if the rover did get again into operations. The plan is because of NASA in mid-February.
“We don’t need to be caught off guard with no proposal and a revitalized rover coming again on line, say in late January,” Arvidson stated. “The windy season is simply starting so it could occur.”
Winds may improve within the subsequent few months at Alternative’s location on Mars, leading to mud being blown off the rover’s photo voltaic panels.
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