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(NASA/JPL-Caltech) |
The $800 million Mars lander is experiencing an energy
shortage.
Insight, which landed in the Elysium Planitia plain on Mars
in 2018, has observed over 500 Mars quakes, seen over 10,000 dust devils fly
by, and begun measuring the planet's center.
However, Insight has been struggling for its life for the
past few months, as the red planet's erratic weather has threatened to
extinguish the robot.
Unlike other places where NASA has sent rovers and landers,
such as the landing site for the current Perseverance rover and its Mars
helicopter, Elysium Planitia has been spared from strong winds.
These winds, known as "cleaning events," are
needed to clear red Martian dust from NASA's robots' solar panels. A dense
layer of dust has collected on Insight without their assistance, and it is
struggling to absorb sunlight.
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| On February 14, the camera on the InSight lander captured an image of one of its solar panels coated in dust. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) |
In February, when winter arrived in Elysium Planitia,
Insight's solar panels were generating just 27% of their energy capacity.
As a result, NASA agreed to bring the lander into
"hibernation mode," turning off various instruments each day. The
robot will soon switch off all functions that aren't important to its survival.
The lander should be able to conserve enough power to keep
its systems warm during the frigid Martian nights, when temperatures will drop
to negative 130 degrees Fahrenheit, by pausing its scientific operations.
The amount of power available in the coming months will
largely be determined by the weather, according to Chuck Scott, Insight's
project manager.
Insight is still in good shape almost halfway through its
planned hibernation cycle, but the threat of a potentially fatal power outage
is still present. It's possible that the lander will never recover if its
batteries die.
Bruce Banerdt, insight's principal investigator, told
Insider, "We'd be optimistic that we'd be able to bring it back to life,
particularly if it's not asleep or dead for a long period of time."
"However, it would be a dangerous situation."
After Mars swings back toward the sun in July, the
department plans to resume full operations. If the lander survives the Martian
winter, it will be able to continue listening for earthquakes and monitoring
weather until 2022.
NASA's decision to abandon Insight's "mole" in
January was influenced by the lander's power shortage. The temperature deep in
the Martian crust was expected to be measured by that burrowing probe – vital
data in the analysis of the planet's origin and internal structure.
As the lander's instruments are turned off, scientists are
losing even more data. Its Mars weather measurements have become sparse, and it
will stop listening for quakes in the next month or so.
Banerdt is concerned that the lander will miss any major
quakes, but he believes it is worth it to keep the robot alive. "It's a
nice zombie spaceship," he said, referring to Insight's ability to refresh
and start up again once the sun comes out.
The problem with that example is that the spacecraft is very
cold in the meantime. And it's happening when the spacecraft is at its coldest,
according to Banerdt. A lot of the electronics are very fragile. And, sadly,
there's a good chance that anything will be harmed by the cold.
That's what Banerdt thinks happened to the Spirit and
Opportunity rovers. On the Martian surface, both of them ran out of energy and
were unable to refuel. He is optimistic, however, that Insight will not have to
die.
Our current forecasts and estimates indicate that we should
be able to get through the lowest-power point and emerge on the other side,
according to Banerdt.
A rare dust storm in the next four or five months, however,
could tip the scales by piling more dirt onto Insight's solar panels. That is
precisely what occurred in the case of Opportunity. Fortunately, it isn't
dust-storm season.
We believe we've done a good job, but Mars is unpredictable.
We never know what will happen, according to Banerdt.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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