NASA’s $ 800 million Mars landing is in an energy crisis.
InSight, which landed on a Martian plain called Elysium Planitia in 2018, has detected more than 500 tremors on Mars, felt more than 10,000 dust devils pass by, and has begun measuring the planet’s core.
But in recent months, InSight has been fighting for its life as the unpredictable climate of the red planet threatens to shut down the robot.
Unlike other places where NASA has sent rovers and terrifiers, including the landing site of the new Perseverance rover and its helicopter to Mars, strong gusts of wind have not ravaged the Elysium Planitia.
These winds, called “cleaning events,” are needed to blow the Martian red dust from the solar panels of NASA robots. Without his help, a thick layer of dust has accumulated in InSight and he is struggling to absorb the sunlight.
(NASA / JPL-Caltech)
At the top: The InSight lander camera captured an image of one of its dust-covered solar panels on February 14th.
InSight solar panels produced only 27 percent of their energy capacity in February, when winter came to Elysium Planitia.
Therefore, NASA decided to put the lander in “hibernation mode”, turning off different instruments every day. Soon the robot will close all the functions that are not necessary for its survival.
By pausing its scientific operations, the lander should be able to save enough energy to keep its systems warm during frigid Martian nights, when temperatures can drop to 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
“The amount of energy available over the next few months will be really driven by the weather,” Chuck Scott, InSight’s project manager, said in a statement.
Now, nearly halfway through its expected hibernation period, InSight is still in good condition, but the risk of a life-threatening power outage is always present. If the lander’s batteries die, it may never recover.
“We would be hopeful to be able to bring him back to life, especially if he’s not asleep or dead for a long period of time,” InSight lead researcher Bruce Banerdt told Insider. “But that would be a difficult situation.”
The agency expects to restart full InSight operations after Mars played to the sun in July. If it can survive this Martian winter, the lander could continue to hear earthquakes and track time until 2022.
InSight’s lack of energy contributed to NASA’s decision to abandon the lander’s “mole” in January. That excavation probe was supposed to measure the deep temperature of the Martian crust, crucial data in the study of history and the internal structure of the planet.
Now scientists are missing even more data as the lander turns off his instruments. Its meteorological measurements on Mars have been reduced and, in the next month, it will stop hearing earthquakes.
Banerdt said he fears the lander could lose some major earthquakes, but it’s worth keeping the robot alive. If InSight’s batteries die, he added, “it’s a good zombie spaceship,” meaning it’s scheduled to recharge and start up once the sun rises.
“The problem with this scenario is that, in the meantime, the spacecraft is very, very cold. And that happens during the coldest part of the year for the spacecraft,” Banerdt said. “A lot of electronic components are pretty delicate. And unfortunately, something is likely to be damaged by the cold.”
Banerdt suspects this is what happened to the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. Both ran out of energy on the Martian surface and were unable to re-ignite. However, he hopes InSight doesn’t have to die.
“Right now, our predictions, our projections are that we should be able to get through the low-consumption point and get out on the other side,” Banerdt said.
Still, a strange dust storm over the next four to five months could tip the scales by accumulating more dirt on InSight’s solar panels. This is what happened with Opportunity. But luckily, it’s not a dust storm season.
“We think we’re pretty good, but Mars is unpredictable. We never know exactly what’s going to happen,” Banerdt said.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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