PASADENA, Calif., March 14 (UPI) -- NASA's Spirit rover apparently has received a spring cleaning courtesy of a Martian dust devil, mission controllers said Monday.
Space.com reported that the whirlwind probably swept past the robot's position high in a rock outcropping called the Columbia Hills, in honor of the space shuttle astronauts. The event cleaned off the dust that had accumulated on Spirit's solar panels, allowing them to absorb more solar energy and produce more electric power -- more than 90 percent of peak levels when the rover landed on Mars more than 14 months ago.
A similar event a few months ago cleaned the solar panels on Spirit's twin, Opportunity, which has been performing at nearly peak power ever since and, based on images taken by the rover of itself, "looks like it just came off the showroom floor," according to Steve Squyres, chief scientist for the rover mission.
Both Spirit and Opportunity passed their one-year anniversaries of operations on Mars last January and, barring mechanical failure or unforeseen circumstances, could continue operating for another year with plenty of power.
