DeepSpaceNetworkClock

NASA / JPL (DSN) Deep Space Clock, currently focus on the fate of the Opportunity rover, great for space lover.

Deep Space Network Clock

At the beginning of June, due the great dust storm contact with Rover Opportunity was lost.

The rover uses solar panels to provide power and to recharge its batteries and the dust storm is blocking the sunlight .

It is expected that Opportunity has experienced a low-power fault, and go into hibernation.

The storm was one of several that stirred up enough dust to enshroud most of the Red Planet, and began to dissipate the end of August, since then the NASA antennas point to the Rover several times a day waiting for an Opportunity's answer.

Are you worried about the rover Opportunity fate?

Would you like to be the first to know that Rover Opportunity is operational?

If so, this project will surely interest you :)

With an ESP32 microcontroller we connect in realtime to the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN), checking if they are trying to establish a communication with the Rover Opportunity.

The clock shows the current time, the time left for NASA to finish the mission, and the information about the probes that are received at that moment.

If any of the DSN antennas are pointing to the rover, the following animation, with reverse sinusoidal scroll will be displayed:

When there are no antennas actively listening the Oppy rover, photos of the mission will be displayed.

If we receive signal from Oppy an alarm will be activated, to announce the good news, and will play and MP3 stored on the SDCARD.

Pictures Credit : NASA /JPL and Oppy render Sean Doran