Tag Archives: dust storms

Opportunity special report by A.J.S. Rayl, The Planetary Society

June 15, 2018: Opportunity Pummelled by Massive Dust Storm, Hunkers Down to Sleep: Entrenched in the west rim of Endeavour Crater, veteran robot field geologist Opportunity is hunkered down in Perseverance Valley in a kind of hibernation mode. The rover … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: New MAHLI selfie

Sol 2082, June 14, 2018, update by MSL scientist Ken Herkenhoff: The investigation of the Duluth drill hole is going well, and is expected to continue on Sol 2082. First, MAHLI will take a picture of the drill tailings to … Continue reading

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Four NASA spacecraft tackle dust-storm science

One of the thickest dust storms ever observed on Mars has been spreading for the past week and a half. The storm has caused NASA’s Opportunity rover to suspend science operations, but also offers a window for four other spacecraft … Continue reading

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Opportunity: Dust storm going global, rover likely in deep-sleep for weeks until skies clear

[Ed. note: Video replay of the briefing here, and a new NASA web page, Mars Storm Watch, here.] NASA scientists reported today that dust in the skies over Opportunity is thicker than ever seen before from the surface, and the … Continue reading

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Opportunity dust storm update, June 12

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Status Report Updated at 6:30 p.m. PDT on June 12, 2018 NASA engineers attempted to contact the Opportunity rover today but did not hear back from the nearly 15-year old rover. The team is now operating … Continue reading

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NASA briefing on dust storm, Opportunity rover, June 13

NASA will host a media teleconference at 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT) Wednesday, June 13, to discuss a massive Martian dust storm affecting operations of the agency’s Opportunity rover and what scientists can learn from the various missions studying … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Quick change artist

Sol 2079, June 11, 2018, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: Over the weekend, an error cropped up during a regular test of the high gain antenna actuators, leaving the antenna unavailable for uplink of today’s plan, but otherwise healthy. … Continue reading

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MAVEN observations on dust storms

The Opportunity rover has proven hardier than expected by operating for nearly 15 years, despite being designed for a 90-day mission. The rover regularly deals with intense dust storms at the surface of the Red Planet and occasionally has to … Continue reading

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Opportunity: Update on dust storm

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Status Report, updated at 4:30 p.m. PDT on June 10, 2018 NASA engineers received a transmission from Opportunity on Sunday morning – a positive sign despite the worsening dust storm. Data from the transmission let engineers … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Dust on the horizon

Sol 2076-78, June 8, 2018, update by MSL scientist Rachel Kronyak: Today we planned a weekend’s worth of activities for Curiosity. For our weekend plan, we have two main priorities: perform another analysis with CheMin on our Duluth drill sample … Continue reading

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