What are the major factors that will limit the life of the rovers, and how likely are they to exceed those limits just as the Galileo probe and many other missions have done?
One of the major factors that could limit the life of the rovers is dust accumulation on the solar panels — their primary source of energy. The rovers are deigned to operate reliably for at least 90 Martian days (sols) even with dust accumulation. The likelihood of them lasting longer depends on the dust activity at their landing sites. It is likely that they will last longer thatn the minimum mission lifetime.
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