NASA’s Mars probe “Insight” is threatened with survival. The intensity of the “dust” covering the solar panels | WIRED.jp

NASAMars probe “Insight”However, it made a major discovery on May 4th (US time). It recorded a magnitude 5 earthquake, the largest extraterrestrial earthquake in the history of observation.

However, this greatest achievement may be Insight’s latest activity. Only two weeks later, it became clear that the spacecraft’s solar panels were covered in dust.

This dust has gradually accumulated since Insight’s arrival on Mars. The reduced production of solar panels will likely mean the end of the job.

Will the activity end this summer?

insightMarsWhen we arrived, the solar panels were generating 5,000 watts per hour for every Mars day (a day on Mars). When it is now reduced to nearly a tenth,NASAKatia Zamora Garcia, deputy project manager for Insights at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), explained in an online press conference on the 17th (US time).

The scientists will run Insight’s robotic arm seismographs and cameras full time for a few more weeks, after which they will work every other day for half a day. However, scientists expect Insight’s science work to end this summer, possibly in July.

“We’ve reached a level where we think we’ll have to shut down the equipment in the coming months, and maybe after a few months, the spacecraft itself will have enough energy to stay active and communicate with Earth. It’ll be gone,” said Bruce Banerdt, Insights senior researcher at JPL, today. Prior to the press conference.

Insight has been flat since 2018, Glycium Planetia near the equator of MarsStay in the impact craterInside the planet using a seismograph presented by a team of scientists at the French National Center for Space ResearchExplored。

A highly sensitive seismograph detects seismic waves from faint motions in the ground and measures the magnitude of the ground shaking. Last year, scientists helped measure the size and density of Mars’ core and the thickness of the crust. Insight also collects meteorological data.

Perhaps the most notable discovery to date was the discovery of the Great Earthquake earlier this month. The strength of this earthquake is nearly 10 times that of the previous earthquake record which was measured in August of last year.

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

However, scientists believe that Mars still has some crustal activity. Mars’ crust is not flowy, but it is fragile and has cracks and weaknesses. This is because it shrinks slightly as Mars gradually cools down. Learning more about the crust and what happens beneath it was a major goal of Insight’s mission.

Dust double

Initially, it was planned to be about two years old, but Insight is almost twice as active. This convertible-size Mars rover can withstand swirling sandstorms and clear Martian weather while anchored just below the equator, and as it operates during idle periods of crustal activity. Most of the missions have been completed quietly.

Banard explains that Insight has already achieved all of its goals, with the exception of inserting a heat probe into the ground. Developed and assembled by the German Aerospace Center, the instrument is designed to measure the internal temperature of Mars and provide detailed information about subterranean geology.

Insight was unable to insert this probe, also known as the “Mole,” deep enough into the rugged Martian soil. Soil on Mars was also a hindrance when NASA’s persistent rover first attempted to collect rock samples.