时间:2025-07-19 06:45:31 来源:网络整理编辑:綜合
On Mars, dust storm season has commenced.NASA's distant satellite, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,
On Mars, dust storm season has commenced.
NASA's distant satellite, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, recently captured a sizable regional dust storm on the Red Planet, encompassing the area where the space agency's Perseverance rover is investigating the Martian surface. This area, a former river delta called Jezero Crater, is shown by the white circle in the image below.
The hazy storm also obscured Syrtis Major, a dark volcanic area hundreds of miles long.
Dusty conditions put a hitch in NASA's plans to once again fly its expectation-exceeding Ingenuity helicopter (part of the Perseverance mission). The air became too dense, and insufficient sunlight would have reached the little experimental chopper's solar panels for a safe flight. (Flight 19 is now scheduled for no earlier than Jan. 23.)
"The presence of this storm came quite early – even before the dusty season traditionally starts!" NASA wrote. "In fact, we have never seen a storm of this strength so early in the Mars year before."
Elsewhere on Mars, thousands of miles away, another dust storm forced NASA's solar-powered InSight lander to power down into "safe mode" on Jan. 7. "In safe mode, a spacecraft suspends all but its essential functions," explained NASA. When dust storms completely drain a Martian robot's batteries, engineers might not be able to restart the machine. A mighty dust storm ended the legendary Opportunity rover's mission in 2018.
Fortunately, InSight, which is recording earthquakes on Mars among other geologic investigations, exited safe mode as the skies began to clear.
SEE ALSO:How a mighty volcanic eruption sent enormous pressure waves all around EarthMartian dust storms can be huge, but they're also normal. "Every year there are some moderately big dust storms that pop up on Mars and they cover continent-sized areas and last for weeks at a time," explained Michael Smith, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Sometimes, these regional dust storms graduate to planet-encompassing monsters. Those great storms occur around every five-and-a-half years. It's an intense extraterrestrial event, and NASA's Mars satellite will watch the stormy scene from space.
Fiji wins first2025-07-19 06:41
Quincy Jones got real about Ivanka Trump, U2, and so much more2025-07-19 06:30
Joe Biden signed a Joe Biden meme because he's Joe freakin' Biden2025-07-19 06:25
Amazing Amazon review details the horrors of giant inflatable beach balls2025-07-19 06:16
Researchers create temporary tattoos you can use to control your devices2025-07-19 05:40
'Beast from the East' to plunge Europe into historic deep freeze2025-07-19 05:13
Rise of the Black Panther writer Evan Narcisse shares his reading list2025-07-19 04:38
Very good dog stars in very own trailer for a faux action movie2025-07-19 04:32
Felix the cat just raised £5000 for charity because she's the hero we all need2025-07-19 04:24
Chrissy Teigen trolls her friends on Instagram with news of her dog passing away2025-07-19 04:09
Tributes flow after death of former Singapore president S.R. Nathan2025-07-19 06:30
Cryptocurrency scams thrive with Twitter verification. Here's why.2025-07-19 06:27
Women are taking charge in Senegal's growing tech industry2025-07-19 05:58
Ajit Pai's love of 'The Big Lebowski' comes with a new ironic wrinkle2025-07-19 05:55
Tyler, the Creator helped Frank Ocean celebrate 'Blonde' release in a delicious way2025-07-19 05:40
The polar vortex just split in two. Get ready for some wild weather2025-07-19 04:52
Gorillas find love using a dating app matching algorithm, too2025-07-19 04:48
Harvey Weinstein's lawyer says 'no criminality' in producer's behavior2025-07-19 04:41
Richard Branson 'thought he was going to die' in bike accident2025-07-19 04:37
Harvey Weinstein's lawyer says 'no criminality' in producer's behavior2025-07-19 04:21