Roving the Red Planet
June 19 2018
Seventy-six million kilometres away on the planet Mars, two robotic rovers have been toiling for years in the name of science. This month has brought success for one them and trouble for the other.
For the older rover, Opportunity, it's bad news. Over the past few weeks a huge dust storm has spread to cover a quarter of the entire planet. Opportunity is solar-powered and is no longer receiving enough sunlight to function, so almost all its systems have been shut down to conserve energy. Hopefully this will enable it to ride out the storm but Martian dust clouds can last for months, making survival very difficult.
A silver lining is that NASA's other rover, along with several space probes orbiting Mars, are well-placed to study this storm and learn a lot about extreme weather on other planets.
If Opportunity does succumb to the storm it will be the end of a spectacularly successful mission. This rover was only designed to last three months on Mars but has been working almost flawlessly for over fiften years.
The other rover, Curiosity, is not affected by the storm and is having a much better time. In one of its most significant discoveries since landing there in 2012, Curiosity has found clear evidence of organic molecules on Mars. This doesn't necessarily indicate life but organics are important building blocks of life as we know it. This discovery will keep scientists excited and busy for a long time.
Mars is currently in a good position to be seen from New Zealand in the evening. A striking deep red colour, it rises in the east at about 8:30 pm and will rise a little earlier each night in the coming weeks.
Speaking of Jupiter, last month we talked about the possible termination of the Juno mission. NASA has since announced that Juno is safe and the mission has been extended for three years.
Let's hope for similar good news from Mars and our stoic robo-friend Opportunity.
Mwezi wa Jua unaelekea kwenye sayari ya Mars, Jumanne, Juni 19, 2018 - Karibu kilomita milioni 76 mbali na sayari hiyo, roboti mbili za kivita zimekuwa zikijitahidi kwa miaka mingi kwa jina la sayansi. Mwezi huu umeleta mafanikio kwa mmoja wao na matatizo kwa mwingine. Kwa rover ya zamani, Opportunity, ni habari mbaya. Katika wiki chache zilizopita, dhoruba kubwa ya vumbi imeenea kufunika robo ya sayari nzima. Opportunity inaendeshwa na nishati ya jua na haipati mwangaza wa kutosha wa jua kufanya kazi, kwa hivyo karibu mifumo yake yote imefungwa ili kuokoa nishati. Kwa matumaini hii itawezesha kuendesha nje ya dhoruba lakini mawingu ya vumbi ya Mars inaweza kudumu kwa miezi, na kufanya kuishi vigumu sana. Kwa upande mwingine, rover nyingine ya NASA, pamoja na vipimo kadhaa vya anga vinavyozunguka sayari ya Mars, viko mahali pazuri pa kuchunguza dhoruba hii na kujifunza mengi juu ya hali ya hewa kali kwenye sayari nyingine. Ikiwa Opportunity itaangamia kwa dhoruba hiyo itakuwa mwisho wa utume uliofanikiwa sana. Rover hii ilitengenezwa tu kudumu miezi mitatu kwenye Mihiri lakini imekuwa ikifanya kazi karibu bila kasoro kwa zaidi ya miaka kumi na tano. Rover nyingine, Curiosity, haijaathiriwa na dhoruba na ina wakati bora zaidi. Katika uchunguzi wake wa kwanza tangu kutua mnamo 2012, Curiosity ilipata ushahidi wa molekuli za kikaboni kwenye sayari ya Mars. Hii haimaanishi kwamba kuna uhai, lakini vitu vilivyo na viumbe hai ni vitu muhimu vinavyojenga uhai kama tunavyojua. Ugunduzi huo utawafanya wanasayansi wawe na shughuli nyingi kwa muda mrefu. Kwa sasa sayari ya Mars iko katika hali nzuri ya kuonekana kutoka New Zealand jioni. Jua la rangi nyekundu kali linatokea mashariki karibu saa 8:30 jioni na litatokea mapema kila usiku katika wiki zijazo. Kwa kuongea na Jupita, mwezi uliopita tulizungumza juu ya uwezekano wa kukomesha utume wa Juno. NASA imesema kuwa Juno ni salama na imepanua muda wa safari hiyo kwa miaka mitatu. Hebu tutegemee habari nzuri kama hizo kutoka Mars na rafiki yetu wa roboti Opportunity.