Update on Opprotunity and Spirit

NASA's Opprotunity and Spirit rovers are facing some problems. Opprotunity has lost two of the encoders that allow it to scrape the surface of Mars. The team members have found a way to test the beds without using the encoders, that hopefully will work. In early October Opprotunity was able to complete a seek-scan procedure, where it was able to locate a rock a rock surface by grinding its teeth on the surface. The two encoders that are having problems are the ones that detect stalls of the grinding. Just recently the Opprotunity was to to do this process on the surface of "Smith" in the Victoria Crater without encoders. It was able to take pictures of Cabo Frio, which is the rim of the Crater.

Spirit is losing power because it is acquiring more dust on its solar panels. It has been dropping 320 watt-hours per Martian Day. The dust on the panels has been averaging 0.65 in Tau.