Why the Mars InSight lander is covering itself in dirt
newscatcher
2021-06-05 15:30
Why the Mars InSight lander is covering itself in dirt
To clean a bit of dust from one of its solar panels, NASA's InSight lander trickled sand above the panel. The wind-borne sand grains then picked up some dust on the panel, enabling the lander to gain about 30 watt-hours of energy per sol on May 22, 2021, the 884th Martian day of the mission. NASA/JPL-Caltech It's not easy powering a robot on Mars. NASA rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance use a nuclear power system, but other explorers like the InSight lander rely on solar power. The good news is that the sun provides a constant source of energy.

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