MRO observes dormant InSight lander; collects data on Martian dust movements

Date:
Sun, 05 Jan 2025 21:02:26 +0000

Description:
NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) recently imaged NASAs Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and The post MRO observes dormant InSight lander; collects data on Martian dust movements appeared
first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) recently imaged NASAs Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) lander, which has been dormant on the Martian surface for two
years. The new imagery highlights movements in Martian surface dust around InSight, providing planetary scientists with more information on Marss
climate and atmospheric qualities.

On Nov. 26, 2018, InSight landed on Mars in the Elysium Planitia region after a seven-month journey through the solar system. Upon landing, its mission began, with the landers main goals being to measure Martian seismic activity, provide accurate models of Mars internal heat transfer, and accurately model the interior of Mars. After four years of measurements and ground-breaking discoveries, InSight had accumulated too much dust on its solar panels, resulting in low power levels and, ultimately, the end of the mission.



Given the stationary nature of InSights design, the blowing winds of Marss atmosphere often resulted in small dust storms that coated InSight and its surrounding area. During its mission, InSights cameras and MROs HiRISE
camera, which captured the recent imagery of the dormant lander, were used by InSights team on Earth to estimate the amount of dust on the landers solar panels.

With InSights mission now over, teams cant use the landers cameras to
estimate the dust on its solar panels. However, MRO is still operational in Martian orbit and has continued to image the lander so that scientists can estimate the amount of dust on it and understand the movement of dust around it. An InSight of Changes on Mars

We caught a glimpse of the retired InSight lander to document the
accumulation of dust on the spacecrafts solar panels that have acquired the same reddish-brown hue as the rest of the planet. https://t.co/FRO6WjiIPM NASA/JPL/University of Arizona pic.twitter.com/LSajcm4VCH

HiRISE: Beautiful Mars (NASA) (@HiRISE) December 18, 2024



Even though were no longer hearing from InSight, its still teaching us about Mars. By monitoring how much dust collects on the surface and how much gets vacuumed away by wind and dust devils we learn more about the wind, dust cycle, and other processes that shape the planet, said InSight team member Ingrid Daubar of Brown University in Rhode Island. See Also InSight updates Space science coverage NSF store Click here to join L2

Dust devils are quite common on Mars and have been known to sweep over
landers and rovers, often blowing away the dust that coats their hulls and solar panels. Planetary scientists have been studying the whirlwinds for decades to better understand Marss atmosphere and prepare engineers and scientists for future missions to the Red Planet, given that Martian dust can find its way into sensitive mechanical parts on spacecraft.

MROs imagery of InSight shows many dust devil tracks in its immediate vicinity. When InSight was still active, scientists would identify dust devil tracks in MRO imagery and search for the whirlwinds in InSights camera data. Their observations revealed that dust devils are most common during the Martian summer but almost completely disappear in the winter.

MROs continued imagery of InSight has also allowed planetary scientists to understand meteoroid impacts on Mars. MRO imagery has revealed that regions with more craters are the oldest Martian regions. However, this same
principle cant be applied to planets like Earth, as Earths constantly
shifting and changing tectonic plates lead to the planets surface being recycled, erasing the craters. MROs view of InSight just weeks after its landing on Mars. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

Interestingly, Marss craters will sometimes disappear as dust accumulates within and around their rims. Understanding the speed at which dust makes craters disappear allows scientists to determine the age of a crater or when meteoroid impacts occurred within a region.

Scientists have also used the small craters created by InSights landing retrorocket thrusters to study crater disappearance on Mars. Following landing, the craters were dark brown but have since returned to the surrounding terrains red-brown rust color as dust moved underneath the
lander.

It feels a little bittersweet to look at InSight now. It was a successful mission that produced lots of great science. Of course, it would have been nice if it kept going forever, but we knew that wouldnt happen, Daubar said.

As mentioned, dust devils will often sweep over spacecraft and clean their surfaces of the Martian dust that coats them. As such, engineers have continued to listen for radio signals from InSight in the rare case that a dust devil cleans the landers solar panels, allowing its batteries to recharge. InSight during its mission as seen by MRO. Note the disappearance
of the landers landing crater. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

Unfortunately, no new signals have been detected from the lander in the two years following its mission, and NASA recently announced that teams will stop listening for new signals from InSight at the end of 2024. InSights team requested the recent MRO HiRISE imagery as a final farewell to the lander, which will stand on Marss surface as a monument to Martian geology for
decades to come.

(Lead image: NASAs retired InSight lander as seen on Mars by MROs HiRISE camera. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

The post MRO observes dormant InSight lander; collects data on Martian dust movements appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/01/mro-insight-2024/


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