Martian Dust is Starting to Darken Ingenuity's Solar Panel By Nancy_A
Animation of one of Ingenuity’s flights, using pictures taken by the helicopter. Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech.
“We have always known that Martian winter and dust storm season would present new challenges for Ingenuity, specifically colder sols, an increase in atmospheric dust, and more frequent dust storms,” said Ingenuity Team Lead Teddy Tzanetos,“Every flight and every mile of distance flown beyond our original 30-sol mission has pushed the spacecraft to its limits each and every sol on Mars.”
Ingenuity – the little 1.8 kg helicopter that has flown her way into our spacey hearts — became the first powered aircraft to operate on another world, making its first flight on April 19, 2021. The original mission plan was to make five experimental test flights over a span of 30 Martian days . But Ingenuity has flown 28 times, covering 6.9 kilometers .
Ingenuity’s heaters are key to keeping electronics and other components within operational temperatures. As the FPGA turned off, its internal clock reset. JPL said that when the Sun rose the next morning and the solar array began to charge the batteries, the helicopter’s clock was no longer in sync with the clock aboard the rover. Essentially, when Ingenuity thought it was time to contact Perseverance, the rover’s base station wasn’t listening.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter briefly went dark on MarsDust coated Ingenuity's solar arrays, preventing the Martian helicopter from fully recharging its batteries.
Read more »
New solar boxes could expand clean energy to include the world’s poorest regionsSolar boxes have batteries powered by portable solar panels, and just one of them can supply the majority of a home's energy demands.
Read more »
World's Largest Solar Power Carport LaunchedA 35 MW solar power carport with 90,000 solar panels was launched the first week of May in the Netherlands.
Read more »
California regulators want more information about solar powerThe California Public Utilities Commission is taking the unusual step of asking for more information before the panel rewrites the state’s solar market rules.
Read more »
CPS Energy likely ending rooftop solar rebates as prices have droppedSan Antonio's rank as a top solar city shows the success of CPS Energy's solar rooftop rebates, but with solar prices falling, rebates may end.
Read more »
‘No Mow May’ Helps Bees And Lets You Relax Instead Of Mowing The LawnWaiting to dust off the lawn mower isn't lazy—it's thoughtful!
Read more »