Winter Homes for Rovers

Martian winter is coming and the Spriti rover is looking towards another chilly winter. In order to endure this winter the crew is trying to find a spot to stick it out in. This winter will last from March 2008 till October 2008. Unlike the earth Mars seasons last longer because the planet takes twice as long to circle the sun; around 697 Earth days.

When the sun gets low in the sky the solar powered robots take a hit towards energy to move about the planet. And there are also fewer gust of wind to move the dust that settle ontop of the solar planels.

The place to put these robots are on a broad, north-facing slope so that they can gather sunlight.

If the robot gets stuck the crew is able to do some science that they are not normally able ot do do because they are in a rush everywhere else.

When they got stuck this last winter they were able to study a palm sized area of Martian soil. Probably the best soil ever studied in the enitre solar system