NASA's lander on Mars is no longer in danger of being obscured by a big dust storm as it starts to dissipate.
Claire Newman, an atmospheric scientist at Aeolis Research who studies weather data from Mars surface spacecraft, recently informed Space.com that the lander had passed the full wrath of the storm, and dust is starting to fall from the sky.
Massive Dust Storms on Mars
At the end of September, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter sent a warning to other spacecraft researching the Red Planet, indicating that a dust storm was on the verge of developing. Since a storm that encircled the whole planet in 2018 terminated the mission of the solar-powered Opportunity rover, such storms have a terrible reputation among surface missions.
With the arrival of the InSight lander, NASA now has another solar-powered robot operating on the surface. However, by early October, the dust had begun to obscure the sky above InSight, and crew members fretted that their mission might be cut short.
Understanding the Red Planet's Weather
Newman stated that scientists are still trying to figure out the intricacies of Mars' weather and its dust storms in particular.
While smaller local dust storms are possible at any time of the year, bigger storms are more common as the summer concludes in the southern hemisphere. Thus, a storm like the one that endangered InSight is not unusual.
Newman said they expected the massive storm as it was the time of year when they often see this kind of incident.
Due to thermal inequalities that force them to carry dust from the surface and into the thin Martian atmosphere, storms occur on a monthly basis. That is when the circle of bad luck begins. Newman explained that as dust is stirred up, it absorbs heat and the resulting drop in temperature gradients causes greater winds in the area, which in turn stir up even more dust.
Because the dust makes the regular daily cycle of air pressure on Mars more intense, missions on the surface are able to recognize storms, even distant ones, in photos and temperature data. In the early stages of the storm, for instance, when there was no dust in the air over Jezero Crater, the Perseverance rover recorded these pressure fluctuations.
That is different from a global storm, which sends dust into the air from east to west around the whole planet. Because the feedback loop triggered by dust in the atmosphere is difficult to halt on Mars, these storms may erupt every few years.
Warnings Before the Storm
As a solar-powered rover, InSight is especially susceptible to dust storms, but nuclear-powered Curiosity and Perseverance may still benefit from advanced warning of an impending storm.
According to Space.com, researchers may get a head start on tasks that are simpler to do before a storm hits while postponing others that might be riskier in strong winds. Of course, they may also plan ahead to make more storm-related observations. Newman emphasized the need to be prepared for weather monitoring, even if dust was not an issue.
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Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
