Tag Archives: global dust storms

Opportunity: Martian skies clearing over rover

[Editor's note: The above images were taken on July 7, 2017.] A planet-encircling dust storm on Mars, which was first detected May 30 and halted operations for the Opportunity rover, continues to abate. With clearing skies over Opportunity’s resting spot … Continue reading

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MARCI weather report, August 20-26, 2018

Afternoon skies became less dusty as dust continued to settle out of the atmosphere this past week. In the middle of the week, local dust storm activity returned to Noachis Terra. During that time, a dust storm pushed southward over … Continue reading

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Weather update from Gale Crater

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Opportunity: No word yet as skies begin to clear

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Status Report, August 23, 2018: No signal from Opportunity has been heard. The dust storm on Mars continues to decay. There has been no new storm activity within ~1,864 miles (3,000 kilometers) of the rover site. … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Look on the sunny side

Sol 2154, August 28, 2018, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: If all had gone according to plan over the weekend, we would see a nice pile of drill fines in the above image. Alas, a slight hiccup in the … Continue reading

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Weather update from Gale Crater

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MARCI weather report, August 13-19, 2018

The decay phase of the planet-encircling dust event continued this past week, as dust lofted by the event continued to settle out of the thin martian atmosphere. At southern high-latitudes, small dust storms kicked up along the receding seasonal south … Continue reading

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Weather update from Gale Crater

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Opportunity: Science team continues to listen as storm diminishes

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Status Report, August 14, 2018: The planet-encircling dust storm on Mars continues to decay, although in fits and starts. Atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site was estimated down near 2.1, but then popped up to … Continue reading

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Opportunity recovery efforts: Six things

NASA’s Opportunity rover has been silent since June 10, when a planet-encircling dust storm cut off solar power for the nearly-15-year-old rover. Now that scientists think the global dust storm is “decaying” — meaning more dust is falling out of … Continue reading

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