Hearnig a designer of the spectrometer used on Mars now (it was two days
before landing) I learned that the expected life of the instrument is
about two or three weeks. But this conflicts with what was said yesterday
over the TV (several years because only solar energy powers the unit).
An intersting detail (from the designer) was that two neon bulbs from
Radio Shack are used to calibrate the wavelength of the Michelson
interferometer. Frequent calibrations are important and would not be
possible if both bulbs die prematurely. The cost of designing a special
light bulb too high for this "very inexpensive" mission.
I am responding to a question from D. Souder - how long will it last?
Ludwik Kowalski