Another dust storm could kill the fighting lander once and for all.
Battery saving
NASA’s InSight lander is in trouble.
InSight, which has been conducting major research on the surface of Mars since it landed in 2018, is covered in so much dust that its solar panels cannot harness enough energy to remain operational, Insider reports. NASA has gradually shut down InSight instruments and put the lander in hibernation mode to save energy, and the agency seems optimistic that it will pass. But the weather on Mars is unpredictable and another dust storm could be enough to kill the rover for good.
Planet Vs. Zombies
NASA usually relies on strong wind gusts to clean the solar panels on its platforms and rovers on Mars. But there was no breeze in Elysium Planitia, InSight’s landing site, so dangerous amounts of dust gathered.
Next month, Insider reports, NASA scientists will likely put InSight in full hibernation mode, so they can conserve their batteries and focus entirely on staying operational until the start of the Martian summer. Even the InSight batteries die, InSight’s lead investigator Bruce Banerdt expects to eventually return as a “zombie spaceship” as the planet moves closer to the Sun.
“We hope we can bring him back to life, especially if he’s not asleep or dead for a long time,” Banerdt said. Insider. “But that would be a difficult situation.”
Cryogenic sleep
But without energy or heat, many of the InSight tools and components that Banerdt talked about Insider they are “quite delicate”, they could be irreparably affected or destroyed by the harsh colds of the Martian winter.
NASA believes endangered lander will survive winter in one form or another, Banerdt said Insider. But if a single dust storm hits InSight in the next few months before summer begins, it may all be over. Unfortunately, there is not much to do but wait to see what happens.
READ MORE: NASA’s InSight Mars lander is in emergency hibernation. If he can’t save his batteries, he could die. [Insider]
More about InSight: Mars Lander detects mysterious “earthquakes”
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