NASA's Mars rover Spirit, which just a week or so ago, as reported in this blog, seemed to have some kind of robotic senior moment, failing to record what it did for an entire day, now has some extra energy, thanks to a strong Martian wind.
Spirit gets the energy it needs to operate by collecting solar energy through wings of solar cells. Mars has a dusty atmosphere, however, and dust settling on the solar panels degrades their ability to collect energy, thereby cutting the amount of power available to the rover. Recently, however, strong winds have scoured the solar panels, blowing away some of the dust, thus increasing the energy available to the rover. Now, instead of driving 50 minutes a day, Spirit might be able to travel for as long as 90 minutes.
This is the second time strong winds have blown dust off Spirit, extending its life. Mars taketh away, but it can also giveth.
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