Washington - The Martian rover Opportunity is fighting for survival as a powerful dust storm on the Red Planet denies the small solar-powered robot of the sunlight it needs to operate, reports said Saturday. Without power, the instruments and computer on board the Opportunity could freeze and terminate the robot's exploration of Mars.
The Washington Post cited NASA experts as saying they had reduced the functioning of the Opportunity to a minimum to conserve power.
Having lasted more than 1,180 days on the surface of Mars searching for signs that life existed on the planet at some point in time, Opportunity has more than earned its spurs: it was originally only expected to last 90 days.
Opportunity's twin robot Spirit has been equally productive: both rovers landed on Mars shortly after each other to investigate the planet's opposing polar regions.
NASA says that the dust storm began one month ago, just as Opportunity was preparing to make for the Victoria Crater, the steepest part of the exploration so far.
Scientists were looking forward to Opportunity's exploration of the walls of the massive crater, whose rock formations were expected to yield important information about the history of Mars.
