NASA\u2019s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) recently imaged NASA\u2019s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) lander, which has been dormant on the Martian surface for two years. The new imagery highlights movements in Martian surface dust around InSight, providing planetary scientists with more information on Mars\u2019s climate and atmospheric qualities.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 26, 2018, InSight landed on Mars in the Elysium Planitia region after a seven-month journey through the solar system. Upon landing, its mission began, with the lander\u2019s main goals being to measure Martian seismic activity, provide accurate models of Mars\u2019 internal heat transfer, and accurately model the interior of Mars. After four years of measurements and ground-breaking discoveries, InSight had accumulated too much dust on its solar panels, resulting in low power levels and, ultimately, the end of the mission.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Given the stationary nature of InSight\u2019s design, the blowing winds of Mars\u2019s atmosphere often resulted in small dust storms that coated InSight and its surrounding area. During its mission, InSight\u2019s cameras and MRO\u2019s HiRISE camera, which captured the recent imagery of the dormant lander, were used by InSight\u2019s team on Earth to estimate the amount of dust on the lander\u2019s solar panels.<\/p>\n
With InSight\u2019s mission now over, teams can\u2019t use the lander\u2019s cameras to estimate the dust on its solar panels. However, MRO is still operational in Martian orbit and has continued to image the lander so that scientists can estimate the amount of dust on it and understand the movement of dust around it.<\/p>\n