Wouldn't it have helped with those dust storms? 425 million each, throw on some wipers. I am not a rocket scientist. Am I just missing something? Too much power to use?
2007-09-09 13:10:52 · 8 answers · asked by david k 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Maybe swiffer could make a special wiper for N.A.S.A., i mean swiffer works good on most stuff, so why not get them to make some for the solar panels.
2007-09-09 14:42:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would have been an engineering challenge that may have been considered too low-priority for the time and expense.
The solar panels on the rovers collect sunlight and convert it to energy to power the rovers. The dust storms not only blocked the sunlight actually reaching the surface, but the dust also did coat the panels as well.
But the panels aren't flat like a car windshield, so putting wipers on them (which is a great idea in hindsight) would have been difficult to do - considering that the need for wipers was considered low priority (at the time).
2007-09-09 13:17:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Weight would have been an issue, as well as the cost of designing a set of wipers. The rovers were only supposed to last three months, not three years, so the weight and cost penalties were considered too high. Considering the design philosophy of those instruments they have done amazingly well, so criticising NASA for not including a set of wipers for the panels seems a little unfair when they have already surpassed everyone's expectations.
2007-09-10 01:04:18 · answer #3 · answered by Jason T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Uh, no... why would they... the solar panels are too fragile to be wiped down with a windsheid wiper... and the solar panels wouldn't have much power after being in the storm for so long, it would just prove impractical
2007-09-09 13:58:40 · answer #4 · answered by Lexington 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The design specifications for the rovers were that they last for 90 sols (Martian days) and be able to travel 600 meters. No one anticipated that they would still be operating over three years later, and have covered more than 100 times their designed distance. In fact, I've heard rumours that JPL wishes they would fail, so that the budget funds they eat up could be used for other projects.
2007-09-09 17:45:03 · answer #5 · answered by GeoffG 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1
2017-01-30 22:57:15 · answer #6 · answered by Renae 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well i know that i have my self the same question we spend mady 35 million to put it on mars i like the wipers idea but the are not smart enuff and yes i do have several solar panels and no they are not fragel they are much stronger that one things and put a scratch resint coatting on them
2007-09-09 14:38:35 · answer #7 · answered by truble441 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am assuming that wiping the dust would scratch the camera lens.
2007-09-09 13:32:44 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋