Once the rovers batteries are used, what operations are still possible using only the rovers solar arrays?
The rover can perform all planned operations (e.g., driving, communicating, imaging) under solar panel power alone. In this condition (without batteries) some care must be taken to schedule rover operations at times of the day where solar panel production exceeds planned utilization to allow adequate margins to avoid ‘brown-outs’. In addition, terrain which creates the potential for array shading must be treated as hazards for the vehicle. Of course, night time wakeups will no longer be possible once batteries are depleted. Measurements from our science instrument (the APXS) must be scheduled during the day (rather than at night). This would mean some rover days dedicated to APXS measurements which can take up to 10 hours to gather. Back to the top of the page.
