On Mars, NASA’s InSight lander took steps to conserve energy during a large dust storm. Teams from the US space agency have put InSight in safe mode.
All space robots sent to Mars must be able to withstand extreme weather conditions of the red planet, including dust storms. Arrived on Mars on November 26, 2018, the InSight lander has for mission to study vital signs of the planet in order to understand the history of its evolution over the past 4.5 billion years.
In 2019, InSight encountered some problems digging into Martian soil and bury his HP3 probe capable of measuring internal temperature of the planet at a depth of five meters. Ultimately, the lander succeeded in digging the Martian surface in 2020. NASA used the robotic arm of its craft to push down on the top of the mole that couldn’t get in.
Martian dust storm may deposit particles on InSight solar panels
NASA has announced that its lander has passed in safe mode January 7 to protect yourself from a dust storm. Concretely, InSight took a break to save its energy since the dust storm reduce sunlight vital for its functioning.
The American space agency has just clarified that ” the mission team reestablished contact with InSight on January 10, finding that its power remained stable and, although not low, it was unlikely to drain the batteries of the lander “. The Martian dust storm threatens to deposit more solar particles on the panels, but it could also help to clean them. ” Whirlpools and gusts of dust storms helped clean up solar panels over time, such as with the Spirit and Opportunity rover missions NASA explained.
However, this storm does not appear to be effective in cleaning the panels. According to NASA, “ while InSight’s weather sensors detected many eddies, none cleared the dust “. This is not the first time that InSight lander encounters some difficulty with Martian dust. Few months ago, InSight has voluntarily covered itself with sand in order to clean its panels in a counter-intuitive way. Finally, NASA hopes its lander can resume his scientific mission next week after the storm had passed.
Source : CNET