NASA’s Perseverance and Curiosity rovers parked themselves for the time being. They’re monitoring changes in surface conditions and studying the weather. Each one is also measuring radiation as they stay in their respective stopped positions. Engineers grounded the Ingenuity helicopter.
Mars rovers often need to power down when they don’t have enough electricity. They can do this by “hunkering down” and hibernating.
Here are some examples of Mars rovers hunkering down:
- Zhurong This rover was deactivated on May 20, 2022 due to approaching sandstorms and Martian winter.
- Opportunity This rover suspended science observations during a storm to conserve its battery.
Mars rovers get their energy from sunlight or the heat of radioisotopes. They travel at a slow pace to be energy-efficient, consuming less than 200 watts.
Mars rovers travel slowly for a few reasons:
- Energy efficiency: The rovers consume less than 200 watts.
- Rocker bogie suspension: The suspension system is designed for slow speeds to reduce damage to the rover when it encounters obstacles.
- Time delay for communications: It takes time to stop on a planet with less gravity. If the rovers move too fast, they could be in an accident by the time they receive a signal.
- Emergency stop: Engineers on Earth need time to issue a stop command in an emergency.
- Rough ground: The ground on Mars is too rough for the rovers to move faster.
We’re currently experiencing a “Mars solar conjunction,” a two-week stretch in which Earth and the Red Planet are situated on opposite sides of the sun. Mars mission teams halt commands during such alignments, which occur roughly every two years, for safety reasons.
NASA’s Mars rovers and orbiters pause their missions during Mars solar conjunction. This happens every two years when the sun moves between Mars and Earth.
During this time, the sun temporarily blocks Earth’s view of Mars. The sun also expels hot, ionized gas from its corona, which could corrupt radio signals sent from Earth to NASA’s Mars spacecraft. This could lead to unexpected behaviors.
The rovers that are parked during Mars solar conjunction include: Perseverance, Curiosity.
These rovers will monitor changes in surface conditions, weather, and radiation.
When the sun blocks the Mars rover signal, it can cause gaps in the data that reaches Earth. This is because charged particles from the sun can interfere with the radio signals sent from Earth to NASA’s Mars spacecraft.
The lost information could potentially endanger the spacecraft. To prevent this, mission controllers plan ahead by sending up simple to-do lists including regular health check-ups
During solar conjunction, communication with spacecraft is severely limited. NASA stops sending new signals to its spacecraft. To avoid radio interference, controllers send two weeks’ worth of messages in advance.
Solar conjunction occurs when the sun passes between Earth and an object. This happens when Mars and Earth are on opposite sides of the sun. The viewing angle between the sun and Mars from Earth’s perspective falls below 3 degrees. This occurs roughly every two Earth years and lasts for about two weeks
In 2023, the solar conjunction for Mars occurred between November 5 and December. The moratorium on commanding Mars spacecraft was scheduled from November 11 to November 25. During this time, Mars was within 2 degrees of the Sun.
Mars was most directly behind the sun on November 18, 2023. This caused a complete communication blackout for about one and a half days
Mars is behind the sun for about two weeks. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, and is about 228 million kilometers away. It takes Mars 687 Earth days to orbit the sun, which is a little less than two Earth years. Mars travels at an average speed of 53,979 miles per hour
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