Normally, you don't want dust getting into your spacecraft. That was certainly true of the InSight mission to Mars until it crashed. But now it's acting as a dust collector and scientists on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) couldn't be happier.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard MRO monitors and photographs the surface. In particular, it has photographed landing sites on Mars to track dust accumulation on the surface. The idea is to see how quickly the landers and their close surroundings become covered. But it's not just focusing on landing sites. It's also checking out places like impact craters to track surface changes in and around those regions. As you can see in the latest image above, taken on April 1, 2024, the InSIGHT lander is becoming increasingly difficult to spot due to ever-increasing dust accumulations.
Monitoring surface changes on Mars
HiRISE has been keeping an eye on the InSIGHT lander since it first touched down on Mars. Early images show the hardware in quite a bit of detail immediately after landing. But over time, as the Martian winds take their toll, it's obvious that the spacecraft is becoming covered in dust. This is also true of other spacecraft that HiRISE photographs from time to time.
The best image from the InSight lander, taken by HiRISE in 2019. HiRISE scientists were looking for dust devil tracks and other surface changes caused by dust. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Why should we care about dust? Although we know a great deal about Mars, there is still much to be explored. Dust deposition by wind is part of the so-called aeolian processes that change the appearance of the Martian surface. They are named after the Greek wind god Aeolus. Dust storms are certainly visible on Mars from Earth, but we can't really “see” their deposits without getting close to (or being on) the planet. Other activities, such as dust devils, also spread dust around the planet. All of this activity creates wind streaks, sand and dust deposits, and covers spacecraft on the surface.
Studying aeolian processes is one of the key science topics of the HiRISE instrument. There is not much water to alter the surface, nor is there volcanic activity on Mars to scar the landscape. Impact craters do tear the surface, but they are not common, leaving aeolian activity a major factor in changes to the Martian surface. Image after image reveals dunes, ripples, wind streaks, dust devil tracks, and other features created by the winds. The HiRISE imaging project provides a “wide-angle view” of aeolian effects on the Red Planet and how its various surface units change over time.
InSight's future on Mars
The InSight lander performed almost flawlessly during its four years of operation on Mars. Although one of its instruments, the “mole,” had some trouble digging, the mission was quite successful overall. The seismograph monitored marsquakes throughout the mission, which provides details about the interior of Mars. It also distinguished between quakes from inside Mars and those caused by impacts. The spacecraft's other instruments studied the remnants of the weak magnetic field and monitored Martian weather.
The InSight lander not only measured seismic movements on Mars, but also studied the atmosphere and listened to its winds. Image courtesy: NASA/JPL.
As InSight's solar panels became covered with increasing dust, mission scientists had to shut down many of its systems. The seismometer was the last to be shut down. The spacecraft was officially considered “dead” after mission controllers did not hear from it after two attempts to communicate. The last time anyone heard from it was on December 15, 2022.
Although its instruments are silent and its solar panels are dead, the spacecraft is passively and rapidly accumulating dust, giving scientists the opportunity to understand how the surface is changing due to aeolian activity.
For more informations
Revisit InSight
Aeolian Topics for HiRISE
Winds of Mars
InSight mission completed
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