NASA plans to restore communication with its Mars rover

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US space agency NASA is planning to start its effort to restore communication with the Mars rover Opportunity.

In a recent statement, NASA said it would begin a 45-day campaign of active efforts to restore communications with Opportunity once skies above the rover cleared to a sufficient level.

The rover has been out of contact since early June, when a major dust storm deprived the rover of solar power.

About 11 months before the dust storm enveloped the rover, Opportunity took five images that were turned into a mosaic showing a view from inside the upper end of "Perseverance Valley" on the inner slope of Endeavour Crater's western rim. /NASA Photo

"The dust haze produced by the Martian global dust storm of 2018 is one of the most extensive on record, but all indications are it is finally coming to a close," said Rich Zurek, project scientist for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Zurek said in the statement that there had been no signs of dust storms within 3,000 kilometers of Opportunity "for some time."

John Callas, Opportunity project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement that "assuming that we hear back from Opportunity, we will begin the process of discerning its status and bringing it back online."

Callas said that if Opportunity did not respond to communications attempts after that 45-day campaign, it likely meant the spacecraft had suffered a mission-ending malfunction.

Opportunity is going on 60 times its planned mission life, has traveled 45 kilometers and found evidence of water on Mars and conditions that may have been suitable for sustaining microbial life.

And even though it is hobbled, having lost the use of its front steering and 256-megabyte flash memory, not everyone is ready to give up so fast.

The hashtags #WakeUpOppy and #SaveOppy have gained popularity on Twitter. /Screenshot of Twitter

The hashtags #SaveOppy and #WakeUpOppy have gained popularity on Twitter, with appeals to keep trying to contact the rover led by a former flight director and Earth-based rover driver for Opportunity, Mike Siebert.

Screenshot of Twitter

"We will keep trying to get our Martian friend back online. We will not give up on #Oppy even after the 45 days of plan we have put in place!" tweeted Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science.

Opportunity's twin, Spirit, got stuck in soft Martian dirt in 2009, and NASA eventually gave up trying to free it. Both rovers were designed to operate for just 90 days, however, they exceeded expectations. They were launched separately in 2003 and landed on Mars in 2004.

NASA's younger Curiosity rover was unaffected by the dust storm; it relies on nuclear, versus solar or power.

A photo released on June 7, 2018 shows a low-angle self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover vehicle at the site from which it reached down to drill into a rock target called "Buckskin" on lower Mount Sharp. /VCG Photo

Another NASA spacecraft, meanwhile, is on its way to Mars and should land in November. Named InSight, this robotic explorer has solar panels.

(Top image: The handout photo released on July 29, 2014 shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AP ,AFP ,Xinhua News Agency