The NASA InSight Mars Lander faced a significant dust storm on the Red Planet which was a massive threat to its existence and operation, but it persevered throughout this and is now back to normal operations. The storm was a massive one, but previous forecasts said that it would not affect the lander much until it came and almost shut down the lander due to lack of power.
The power drop was thought to be the end of the InSight, waiting for the last drop to end its mission, but as soon as the dust cleared, the spacecraft replenished what it lost for several Sols.
NASA InSight Lander is Here to Stay and Continue
(Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech)
According to a report by Interesting Engineering, the NASA InSight Mars Lander faced a massive storm that threatened its existence and operation on the neighboring planet. However, the spacecraft pulled through and is now continuing its operations as it recuperates the power drawn from its solar panels from the Sun.
The continent-sized dust storm blocked out all the possible sources of light for the InSight Lander, and it resulted in a drop from 425 watt-hours per sol, to just 275 watt-hours per sol.
The InSight team saw this as a grave danger for the spacecraft which was thought to be its end, only to survive after the storm's end.
Read Also: NASA's Mars InSight Mission Unveils Interesting Findings About the Red Planet's Crust and Water
InSight Lander Faced a Gigantic Mars Storm
NASA reported a dust storm that veers over the InSight Lander's region, on the Southern hemisphere of the Red Planet last September 21, and it was first thought to bring only little effects on the lander. It was approximately 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers) from the InSight, so the team thought that this would have a small impact only, not expecting it to affect the lander this much.
NASA's InSight Mars Lander
NASA brought the InSight lander to Mars last May 2018, and since then, the spacecraft is continuously doing its job to survey the planet and investigate the region it is in for more information to the agency. It is part of the Mars exploration and studies by NASA to further their knowledge of the Red Planet, something that still needs more to learn about its neighbor.
A previous dust storm earlier this year in January was thought to be InSight's end of days, particularly as it went to safe mode after it dropped in power. Nevertheless, it pulled through after the said storm and continued its operations until this new storm.
The InSight gave humans a lot to know and discover on Mars, particularly with the many showcases it has available for the world to see. One of the most iconic is the Martian sunrise which looks different from the Earth, particularly as it shines through Mars' reddish atmosphere and rocky surface.
In recent events, it also faced a dust storm which was potentially dangerous for InSight as the storm blocked its power source, enough to shut down the device. However, it is not yet the end of the line, as the InSight Lander was able to recover from it once the dust settled, now recuperating power to return to its normal operations.
Related Article: NASA's InSight Continues Marsquake Hunt Despite Losing Power: Is the Mission Ending?
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Written by Isaiah Richard
