The 2018 Mars global dust storm was a massive and planet-wide dust storm that affected the surface of Mars between May and July 2018. It became one of the most intense, discussed and widespread storms in the history of Mars observations, with its impact felt across the entire planet. The storm was notable for its rapid development and extreme size, eventually enveloping the planet entirely and lasting for several weeks. [1]
The storm initially started as a smaller regional dust storm in the planet's northern hemisphere in late May 2018, being first detected on May 31. [2] By mid-June, it had escalated, covering most of the planet's surface. It was fueled by atmospheric conditions, due to the strong thermal contrast between regolith and ice-covered surfaces. [1]
The dust storm reached its peak intensity by June 2018, when it expanded to cover the entire planet. The storm caused a high decrease in visibility, with the dust layer reducing the amount of sunlight and reaching practically the entire Martian surface. The dust optical depth reached up to τ=5, with local values reaching τ=10 or even higher. By the end of July 2018, the dust storm began to dissipate, and sunlight gradually began to penetrate the atmosphere again. [1]
One of the most significant impacts of the 2018 dust storm was on NASA’s Opportunity rover, which had been operational on Mars since 2004. The rover was severely affected by the storm's extreme dust and the resulting drop in sunlight. With solar panels unable to recharge the rover's batteries due to the dust blocking sunlight, Opportunity entered a low-power hibernation mode to conserve energy. [3] [4] Attempts to re-establish contact with the rover were unsuccessful, and Opportunity was declared lost in February 2019 after months of silence. [5]
Other Mars missions, such as NASA's Curiosity rover and the InSight lander, were not directly impacted by the storm. These missions continued to operate, although they experienced some atmospheric effects such as reduced solar power generation. Curiosity, for instance, had to rely on its nuclear-powered battery more heavily during the storm period. [6]
The Mars 2 was an uncrewed space probe of the Mars program, a series of uncrewed Mars landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union beginning 19 May 1971.
Mars 3 was a robotic space probe of the Soviet Mars program, launched May 28, 1971, nine days after its twin spacecraft Mars 2. The probes were identical robotic spacecraft launched by Proton-K rockets with a Blok D upper stage, each consisting of an orbiter and an attached lander.
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through the atmosphere to the surface. As part of the larger Mars Exploration Program, Mars Global Surveyor performed atmospheric monitoring for sister orbiters during aerobraking, and helped Mars rovers and lander missions by identifying potential landing sites and relaying surface telemetry.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rovers to explore the Martian surface and geology; both landed on Mars at separate locations in January 2004. Both rovers far outlived their planned missions of 90 Martian solar days: MER-A Spirit was active until March 22, 2010, while MER-B Opportunity was active until June 10, 2018.
Spirit, also known as MER-A or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. Spirit was operational on Mars for 2208 sols or 3.3 Martian years. It was one of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover got stuck in a "sand trap" in late 2009 at an angle that hampered recharging of its batteries; its last communication with Earth was on March 22, 2010.
Opportunity, also known as MER-B or MER-1, and nicknamed Oppy, is a robotic rover that was active on Mars from 2004 until 2018. Opportunity was operational on Mars for 5111 sols. Launched on July 7, 2003, as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover program, it landed in Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, three weeks after its twin, Spirit (MER-A), touched down on the other side of the planet. With a planned 90-sol duration of activity, Spirit functioned until it got stuck in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010, while Opportunity was able to stay operational for 5111 sols after landing, maintaining its power and key systems through continual recharging of its batteries using solar power, and hibernating during events such as dust storms to save power. This careful operation allowed Opportunity to operate for 57 times its designed lifespan, exceeding the initial plan by 14 years, 47 days. By June 10, 2018, when it last contacted NASA, the rover had traveled a distance of 45.16 kilometers.
A Mars rover is a remote-controlled motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter months, and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle control. They serve a different purpose than orbital spacecraft like Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A more recent development is the Mars helicopter.
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The climate of Mars has been a topic of scientific curiosity for centuries, in part because it is the only terrestrial planet whose surface can be easily directly observed in detail from the Earth with help from a telescope.
A Mars landing is a landing of a spacecraft on the surface of Mars. Of multiple attempted Mars landings by robotic, uncrewed spacecraft, ten have had successful soft landings. There have also been studies for a possible human mission to Mars including a landing, but none have been attempted.
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MAVEN is a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars to study the loss of that planet's atmospheric gases to space, providing insight into the history of the planet's climate and water. The name is an acronym for "Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution" while the word maven also denotes "a person who has special knowledge or experience; an expert". MAVEN was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on 18 November 2013 UTC and went into orbit around Mars on 22 September 2014 UTC. The mission is the first by NASA to study the Mars atmosphere. The probe is analyzing the planet's upper atmosphere and ionosphere to examine how and at what rate the solar wind is stripping away volatile compounds.
Martian regolith is the fine blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering the surface of Mars. The term Martian soil typically refers to the finer fraction of regolith. So far, no samples have been returned to Earth, the goal of a Mars sample-return mission, but the soil has been studied remotely with the use of Mars rovers and Mars orbiters. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil, including its toxicity due to the presence of perchlorates.
The Materials Adherence Experiment (MAE) was a material science experiment conducted between July 4, 1997 and August 12, 1997 during NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission. This was a joint experiment between NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology that consisted of a small module mounted to Pathfinder's rover Sojourner that examined the effects of Martian surface dust on solar cells.
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Mars 2020 is a NASA mission that includes the rover Perseverance, the now-retired small robotic helicopter Ingenuity, and associated delivery systems, as part of the Mars Exploration Program. Mars 2020 was launched on an Atlas V rocket at 11:50:01 UTC on July 30, 2020, and landed in the Martian crater Jezero on February 18, 2021, with confirmation received at 20:55 UTC. On March 5, 2021, NASA named the landing site Octavia E. Butler Landing. As of 13 November 2024, Perseverance has been on Mars for 1328 sols. Ingenuity operated on Mars for 1042 sols before sustaining serious damage to its rotor blades, possibly all four, causing NASA to retire the craft on January 25, 2024.
A Mars habitat is a hypothetical place where humans could live on Mars. Mars habitats would have to contend with surface conditions that include almost no oxygen in the air, extreme cold, low pressure, and high radiation. Alternatively, the habitat might be placed underground, which helps solve some problems but creates new difficulties.
Opportunity is a robotic rover that was active on the planet Mars from 2004 to 2018. Launched on July 7, 2003, Opportunity landed on Mars' Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, at 05:05 Ground UTC, three weeks after its twin Spirit (MER-A), also part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission, touched down on the other side of the planet. While Spirit became immobile in 2009, and ceased communications in 2010, Opportunity exceeded its planned 90 sol duration of activity by 14 years 46 days. Opportunity continued to move, gather scientific observations, and report back to Earth until 2018. What follows is a summary of events during its continuing mission.
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Spirit is a robotic rover that was active on the planet Mars from 2004 to 2010. Launched on June 10, 2003, Spirit landed on Mars' Meridiani Planum on January 4, 2004, three weeks after its twin Opportunity (MER-B), also part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission, touched down on the other side of the planet. Spirit became immobile in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010. NASA ended efforts to free the rover and eventually ended the mission on May 25, 2011.