NASA’s Mars probe “InSight” is in danger of survival. Severity of “dust” covering solar panels | WIRED.jp

NASAMars probe “InSight”However, it made a big discovery on May 4th (US time). It recorded a magnitude 5 earthquake, which is the largest extraterrestrial tremor in observation history.

However, this greatest achievement could be the last activity for Insight. Only two weeks later, it became clear that the spacecraft’s solar panels were covered with dust.

These dusts have gradually accumulated since Insight arrived on Mars. A decrease in the output of the solar panel will probably mean the end of the mission.

Will the activity end this summer?

InsightMarsWhen we arrived at, the solar panels were generating 5,000 Wh per sol (a day on Mars). When it’s now down to nearly a tenth,NASAKatya Zamora Garcia, Deputy Project Manager for Insights at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), explained at an online press conference on the 17th (US time).

Scientists will run Insight’s seismographs and robotic arm cameras full-time for a few more weeks, after which they will run every other sol for half a day. Still, scientists expect Insight’s scientific work to end this summer, perhaps in July.

“We are reaching a level where we believe we will have to shut down the equipment in the coming months, and perhaps a few months later, the spacecraft itself will have enough power to stay active and communicate with the Earth. It will be gone, “said Bruce Banerdt, senior researcher for Insights at JPL, the day before the press conference.

Insight has been flat since 2018, the Elysium Planitia near the equator of MarsStay in the collision craterInside the planet with a seismograph provided by a team of scientists at the French National Space Research CenterI’ve been exploring

The highly sensitive seismograph detects seismic waves from faint movements in the ground and measures the magnitude of ground shaking. Last year, scientists helped measure the size and density of Martian cores and the thickness of the crust. Insight also collects meteorological data.

Perhaps the most notable discovery so far was the detection of the big quake earlier this month. The strength of this quake is nearly 10 times that of the previous record of the quake measured in August last year.

On Earth, plate movement, formation, and collisions cause earthquakes and volcanic explosions. Mars does not have such an active structural system (although it could have existed with a molten core billions of years ago).

Nevertheless, scientists believe that Mars still has some crustal activity. The crust of Mars is not flowing, but it is fragile and has crevices and weak spots. This is because it contracts slightly as Mars cools gradually. Knowing more about the crust and what’s happening beneath it was a major goal of Insight’s mission.

Weakness of dust

Initially, it was planned to have a lifespan of about two years, but Insight is nearly twice as active. This convertible-sized Mars rover can withstand swirling sandstorms and clear Martian weather while installed just below the equator, and while functioning during inactive periods of crustal activity. Most of the missions have been completed stoicly.

Insight has already achieved all of its goals, except for the insertion of a thermal probe into the ground, Banard explains. Developed and assembled by the German Aerospace Center, the device is designed to measure the internal temperature of Mars and provide detailed information about underground geology.

Insight was unable to insert this probe, also known as the “mole,” deep enough into the rugged Martian soil. The soil on Mars is also a hindrance when NASA’s Perseverance rover first attempts to collect rock samples.

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