Mars dust storm threatens NASA rover


A massive dust storm blanketing about a quarter of the surface of Mars has threatened NASA’s Opportunity rover, plunging the solar-powered vehicle into what NASA has described as a “dark, perpetual night”

Olympus Mons: Volcano stands 624km in diameter and 25km high Valles Marineris: 4,000km-long canyon system

Acidalia Planitia

Schiaparelli: Impact crater

Gale   Crater

Perseverance Valley

Dust storm covers 35 million square kilometres

Solar panels

Opportunity: Landed in January 2004. Rover relies on energy from solar panels to operate.

Opportunity has entered lowvpower fault mode – state where all subsystems, except its mission clock, are turned off

Curiosity: Landed August 2012.
Powered by RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator), rover is not reliant on sunlight. Images from Curiosity suggest dust storm has reached Gale Crater

Sources: NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Picture: NASA © GRAPHIC NEWS