Mars is dusty. It's really dusty. That dust could suffocate NASA's InSight mission.InSight is a satellite that sits on Mars' surface and measures marsquakes. It also observes the weather. InSight uses a pair solar arrays to absorb energy from the sun. InSight has been in operation since November 2018 and has accumulated more than 920 sols (Mars day), which is roughly 940 Earth days.This is seven months more than the planned two-year mission. InSights principal investigator Bruce Banerdt explained that dust has covered around 80 percent the arrays over the past seven months. He made this presentation on June 21.Although InSight will continue to run through the summer, the dust is building up and it won't be able keep going.InSight was not his only work. Banerdt also worked as a project scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover Project. This program launched the solar-powered Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity in 2003. For years, he has been working with Martian dust.He stated that dust is definitely a major design challenge. Even with my black piano, dust is not a common problem on Earth as it is on Mars.My black piano aside, Earth doesn't really have much dust compared to Mars.There is erosion where there are rocks. Dust is found where there is erosion. Earth's surface comprises 71% water. Dust sticks to water and eventually settles on the ocean floor. Mars is quite dry so dust blowing about just keeps on blowing, sometimes even creating dust storms across the planet.Opportunity was caught in a severe storm just before InSight arrived. This blocked the sun for many sols. Opportunity's solar panels were damaged by the storm after 14 years of running on the red planet. Just a few days after the storm, the last contact was made with Opportunity's solar panels on June 10, 2018.This series of images simulates a darkening Martian Sky, which blocks out the Sun. It was taken from NASA's Opportunity rovers view during the 2018 global storm. Credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/TAMUBoth Spirit and Opportunity were both plagued by dust during their journeys. However, the rovers managed to catch breaks that InSight can't match: cleaning events. Martian winds can blow dust from technology, giving it much-needed power boosts.Banerdt said that "we think this is due to dust devils or more specifically 'atmospheric Vortices' that actually passed above the spacecraft," referring to the rovers cleaning events. "We hoped that InSight would be able to experience the same thing."It seems like there aren't nearly as many dust devils around InSight's landing spot as there were around Spirit or Opportunity. It is possible that InSight will continue to operate if a cleaning event occurs.Learn from the dustScientists can come up with new strategies for dealing with dust problems in the future as we spend more time on Mars.Banerdt stated that "[InSight] was the first mission actually designed to last for a long period of time." "We didn’t have much information or data."Solar arrays and particles bouncing around on Mars's radiation tend to have an electric charge. This means that solar arrays attract dust even more.Future missions may use special coatings to make arrays less adhesive or a grid of wires above arrays that a spacecraft can run a charge through and clean dust off. Banerdt stated. A second option is double-sided arrays that are mounted on a revolving joint and can flip every few years.InSight has discovered a way to remove dust from the arrays by pouring sand onto them. InSight used a scoop to grab some sand and drop it upwind from a solar array. InSight received a noticeable power boost as the grains began to blow over. It doesn't always work.InSight can be seen lifting the scoop above the solar array, just before it drops sand. Credit: nasa/jpl caltechBanerdt stated that people often ask why we don’t just use wipers to clean their hands. We don't do this because it is too heavy and complicated. It is not an easy task to put something up with motors. Rubber doesn't work well in a vacuum with an oxygenizing environment.Future astronauts could sweep the solar arrays of rovers every now and again. Future rovers could rely solely on nuclear power like NASA's Perseverance and Curiosity.However, nuclear power can be expensive. NASA spent $75 million on a plutonium-based power supply. NASA's persistence cost them $75 million. Solar arrays are cheaper.There are also environmental risks associated with nuclear power. Radiation could also cause damage to future missions and contaminate Mars if something goes wrong."People always ask us why we don’t just use wipers to clean them off."Dust could pose a serious health risk to astronauts who make it to Mars.Banerdt stated that the dust could be toxic. "Mars is an extremely oxidizing environment and the ultraviolet radiation hitting ground is not filtered by the atmosphere. The dust could be reactive and not very poisonous but can be irritating to the lungs, mucous membranes, and other things.Dust can cause damage to a rover's other parts and even lead to corroding wheels over long periods. Spirit lost two wheels and Curiosity suffered some wheel damage. NASA chemist James Gaier blamed the problem on Martian dust in Medium article.Martian dust will be a challenge for the foreseeable future, but it's part of the joy of exploring new places.
