re: #18 O say, does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave..

The temperature comment is because low temperatures are murder on batteries and lubricants, two of the key pieces to the drone being able to actually fly over multiple days on Mars. If it can successfully power up multiple days in a row on its own, with just solar power, there’s a good chance it can fulfill its 5-day mission duration.

NASA seems to have the battery thing worked out, as probes like New Horizons did fine (also an argument against Gov. Abbot’s brain-dead comments on solar energy and low sun angle during winter, since the damn probe worked out at Pluto and is expected to work when it reaches its next target in the Scattered Disk).