ilan
06-15-2018, 12:27 PM
A giant dust storm is raging on Mars
Deborah Byrd in SPACE | June 14, 2018
One of the thickest dust storms ever seen on Mars has been spreading since early June. The Opportunity rover – 1 of 2 active rovers on Mars – has suspended science operations.
https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/06/13/105271415-pia18079-sols3611-3613-vert-L456-ATC_cr.530x298.jpg
Astronomers expected dust storms to kick up on the planet Mars sometime this year. That’s because such storms typically occur in years when Mars is near its perihelion, or closest point to the sun, an event that happens every 687 Earth-days as Mars orbits the sun. The next Mars perihelion will be September 16, 2018. Then Mars – whose orbit is much more elliptical than that of Earth – will be receiving 40% more sunlight than when the planet is farthest from the sun. But already a dust storm is raging on Mars. Scientists who’ve been tracking it since at least early June said in a statement that it’s:
… one of the thickest dust storms ever observed on Mars … The storm has caused NASA’s Opportunity rover to suspend science operations.The dust storm is raging above and around Opportunity, which is solar powered, and NASA has not heard from the rover since Tuesday. The dust won’t topple the rover, but it has hidden the sun, creating what Mars Exploration Rover project manager John Callas said at a Wednesday media telecon was a “spacecraft emergency.” Callas said his team was assuming the charge in Opportunity’s batteries has dipped below 24 volts. If so, the rover has entered a low-power fault mode, when all subsystems except the mission clock are turned off.
So Opportunity’s fate is unknown at this time, although there’s some possibility the rover might be able to wait it out.
Deborah Byrd in SPACE | June 14, 2018
One of the thickest dust storms ever seen on Mars has been spreading since early June. The Opportunity rover – 1 of 2 active rovers on Mars – has suspended science operations.
https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/06/13/105271415-pia18079-sols3611-3613-vert-L456-ATC_cr.530x298.jpg
Astronomers expected dust storms to kick up on the planet Mars sometime this year. That’s because such storms typically occur in years when Mars is near its perihelion, or closest point to the sun, an event that happens every 687 Earth-days as Mars orbits the sun. The next Mars perihelion will be September 16, 2018. Then Mars – whose orbit is much more elliptical than that of Earth – will be receiving 40% more sunlight than when the planet is farthest from the sun. But already a dust storm is raging on Mars. Scientists who’ve been tracking it since at least early June said in a statement that it’s:
… one of the thickest dust storms ever observed on Mars … The storm has caused NASA’s Opportunity rover to suspend science operations.The dust storm is raging above and around Opportunity, which is solar powered, and NASA has not heard from the rover since Tuesday. The dust won’t topple the rover, but it has hidden the sun, creating what Mars Exploration Rover project manager John Callas said at a Wednesday media telecon was a “spacecraft emergency.” Callas said his team was assuming the charge in Opportunity’s batteries has dipped below 24 volts. If so, the rover has entered a low-power fault mode, when all subsystems except the mission clock are turned off.
So Opportunity’s fate is unknown at this time, although there’s some possibility the rover might be able to wait it out.
