Related group photos: Splendors of Mars

    LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Scientists are preparing to replace software in the Mars rover Opportunity in order to save some power being leached by a faulty heater, a NASA official said on Wednesday.

    A switch that operates an onboard heater has been stuck in the "on" position shortly after the rover landed on the Mars surface on Jan. 24, said Richard Cook, project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

    The malfunction has not affected the rover's ability to move ordo science experiments but is a constant drain on the vehicle's solar-powered batteries.

    "The amount of power per day is slowly dropping due to seasonal change and dust collecting on the solar panels," he said.

    Cook said engineers planned to upload to Opportunity in about amonth new software that will shut off a few minor systems that nowstay on during its overnight "sleep" mode.

    The new system will recapture about two-thirds of the energy now lost to the malfunction, he added.

    The new software removes the rover's internal "alarm clock" -- one of the systems for "waking up" the rover to begin a day's operations. The vehicle also is designed to power up when the sun shines on its solar arrays. "It's sort of a belt and suspenders situation and we are removing one of those," Cook said.

    Opportunity is examining an outcrop of finely layered bedrock that scientists believe holds clues to the planet's composition. Enditem

    (Photo: NASA)