Mars Rover Dust On Solar Panels

While nasa also used solar panels in past mars missions the agency found problems with it.

Mars rover dust on solar panels.

The dust on mars isn t the same as dust on your windshield more like volcanic ash than flaked off animal skin. Ap nasa s opportunity the mars rover that was built to operate for just three months but kept going and going rolling across the rocky red soil was pronounced dead. Dust on the solar panels reduces the amount of electrical power the rover can generate from sunlight each sol. Nasa jpl caltech full image and caption related image.

A windy period on mars known to opportunity s team as dust clearing season occurs in the november to january time frame and has helped clean the rover s panels in the past. A self portrait of nasa s mars exploration rover opportunity taken in late march 2014 right shows that much of the dust on the rover s solar arrays has been removed since a similar portrait from. Dusty solar panel mars exploration rover mission status report a small but important uptick in electrical output from the solar panels on nasa s mars exploration rover spirit this month indicates a beneficial martian wind has blown away some of the dust that has accumulated on. China s mars rover is solar powered with four wing like solar panels on the top of the vehicle.

Run a rover on. Ordinary dust on earth will scratch optics imagine what the dust on mars fine sharp pieces of rock wiping them off will damage the solar pannels. The team remains hopeful that some dust clearing may result in hearing from the rover in this period. They do use nuclear power in the curiosity rover.

Generally supposing that martian winds have blown dust clear off the probes on mars including the solar panels which power them increasing their energy output. Nasa via ap cape canaveral fla. There was so much dust in the martian atmosphere that sunlight could not reach opportunity s solar panels for power generation. Both were taken by opportunity s panoramic camera pancam.

But opportunity is a mascot for the weaknesses of solar energy at mars since the rover s end came when a massive global dust storm blocked it from tapping into the sun s light.