Optimistic about Mars Opportunity rover, says NASA
Washington, Aug 20 : There's reason to be optimistic about Mars Opportunity rover that has been silent since June 10, after getting caught in a massive dust storm on the Red Planet that cut off solar power for the nearly 15-year-old rover, NASA said in a statement.
According to the scientists, the global dust storm is "decaying" -- meaning more dust is falling out of the atmosphere than is being raised back into it. As a result, skies might soon clear enough for the solar-powered rover to recharge and attempt to "phone home."
Studies on the state of batteries and temperatures at the location showed that they were relatively in good health before the storm, and there is not likely to be too much degradation.
Moreover, because dust storms tend to warm the environment -- and the storm happened in summer -- the rover should have stayed warm enough to survive, the US space agency noted.
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California are now looking for signs for recovery efforts.
According to them, Opportunity will need a tau -- the veil of dust blowing around -- of less than 2.0 before the solar-powered rover will be able to recharge its batteries.
The higher the tau, the less sunlight is available; the last tau measured by Opportunity was 10.8 on June 10. To compare, an average tau for its location on Mars is usually 0.5.
Several times a week, the engineers are using NASA's Deep Space Network, which communicates between planetary probes and Earth, to attempt to talk with Opportunity.
The massive DSN antennas ping the rover during scheduled "wake-up" times, and then search for signals sent from Opportunity in response.
In addition, JPL's radio science group uses special equipment on DSN antennas that can detect a wider range of frequencies. Each day, they record any radio signal from Mars over most of the rover's daylight hours, then search the recordings for Opportunity's "voice."
However, even after the first time engineers hear from Opportunity, it would take time to fully recover, NASA said.
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India moving towards becoming global economic powerhouse: Kovind
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Amritsar (PTI): Former president Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said that with digital transformation, economic reforms and a strong focus on the ease of doing business, India is moving towards becoming a global economic powerhouse.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 19th edition of the Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX) in Amritsar.
The former president said that this 19th edition of PITEX is being organised at a time when India is recognised as one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the event organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) the former president, while referring to Punjab, said the state is a living example of courage, sacrifice and enterprise.
"The spiritual light of Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) inspires peace and humanity across the world. The heritage of Punjab is deep and inspiring," Kovind said, according to a statement issued by the PITEX.
The former president congratulated the PHDCCI for hosting the 19th edition of PITEX and suggested that the chamber should expand PITEX outside Punjab.
He proposed that a similar event should also be held in New Delhi.
