The NASA Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, where only designed to operate for 3 months on the Martian surface, but after a five year anniversary, they are still collecting data and exploring the planet.
The rovers are now showing some serious signs of wear and tear.
Spirit has to drive backwards everywhere it goes because of a jammed wheel; and Opportunity’s robotic arm has a glitch in a shoulder joint because of a broken electrical wire.
There have been times also when the vehicles’ have been dangerously short on power because of the dust covering on their solar panels.
[From BBC News]
To celebrate the hundredth anniversary, a new New Years Eve Ball has been reveled for this New Years Eve.
The new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is a 12 foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous Balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds. Covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS, the new Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.
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