NASA Robot Fights Dust Storm the Size of North America on Mars

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity went into a reduced-activity mode as it was enveloped by a dust storm that blocked out the Sun.New AtlasThe storm was much stronger than initially predicted, preventing the solar panels from fully charging the rover’s batteries, but mission control said NASA engineers picked up a signal from Opportunity on the morning of June 10.

One of the more unusual features of Mars is its tendency to form dust storms of incredible size. When NASA’s Mariner 9 orbiter reached Mars in 1971, the dust storm that raged there was so large that it covered the entire planet and blocked out sunlight for two months.

Unlike the nuclear-powered Curiosity rover, Opportunity relies on solar panels to keep its batteries charged. If the panels don’t get enough sunlight, the batteries will run out and the rover won’t be able to run its heating equipment. Because Martian nights can get as cold as -143°C, Opportunity’s systems will freeze and never be able to restart. Something similar likely happened to Spirit in 2010.

The current storm was detected by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on June 1, according to NASA. The dust storm covers an area of ​​18 million square kilometers, an area roughly the size of North America, including where Opportunity is parked in Perseverance Valley. Mission control is concerned that the dust storm in the atmosphere could increase the opacity to the point where the rover's solar panels cannot receive enough light. Therefore, the rover was ordered to suspend all science activities and focus battery power on operating its heater and telemetry.

However, the storm turned out to be more intense than expected. The similar storm Opportunity encountered in 2007 had an opacity of 5.5 tau, while the current storm is rated at 10.8 tau. Still, mission control was able to establish contact using the Deep Space Network (DSN) on the morning of June 10, indicating that the rover was still operating.

One benefit of the dust storm is its insulating role, keeping the atmosphere cool, thereby limiting fluctuations in extreme temperatures on the Martian surface. Onboard instruments indicate that the rover’s temperature is -29° C according to the most recent data transmitted, reducing battery drain while the system generates its own heat to keep the rover warm.

Opportunity was launched into space on July 7, 2003, aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA. The 185-kilogram (400-pound) Boeing-built Mars Exploration Rover-B (MER-B) landed in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars on January 25, 2004, three weeks after Spirit (MER-A). Although designed for only 90 days of operation, Opportunity continued to explore the red planet for more than 15 years.