Last week, NASA said that both of their rovers were in the midst of a dangerous sand storm and there was a chance that the rovers would become disabled. Today NASA updated the situation, by revealing that because they canceled communication sessions with Opportunity, (which is facing the brute of the storm) the amount of power (input and and usage) is better.
Image Credit: NASA
Spirit, on the other side of the planet, has reported that the weather has bettered there. Opportunity, which is in a low-power mode is currently instructed to communicate with NASA only once every three days to conserve energy. Today NASA received a signal from Opportunity confirming it is still active, and the next communication date is Thursday, but NASA might try to communicate with it tomorrow.
NASA is saying that there is only one factor that will decide if both rovers continue to service, or become nonfunctional. They are saying if the weather worsens, then there will be larger difficulties in the future, but if the weather says the same as it is now or eases , then the rovers will be okay.
Original Article: JPL News Release
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