The U.S., European and Chinese space agencies temporarily lost contact with Mars’ vast fleet of spacecraft. This includes three spacecraft, one helicopter, and seven orbiters.
The cause is what astronomers call the Mars-solar conjunction, in which the red planet is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun. The red planet can also be seen at its furthest point from Earth, about 234 million miles (376 million kilometers) away.
No message will be sent on the exact date of the solar conjunction of Mars, i.e. November 17th or 18th. However, the effect lasts for a week on either side. NASA.
Why is Mars experiencing radio interference?
simple check today’s planetprovides a live view of the solar system and confirms that Mars and Earth are currently on opposite sides of the sun. The two planets are farther apart than ever before, but more importantly, the sun is jamming their radio signals, making communication difficult. Although it is not impossible to send a message, there is a high risk that the message will be corrupted and the spacecraft or probe may behave erratically.
The root cause is the sun’s hotter outer atmosphere, the corona, which extends thousands of miles into space. It consists of a hot ionized gas that interferes with radio signals.
Spacecraft currently on Mars
according to planetary associationthe International Mars Fleet currently includes:
- Perseverance rover and Ingenuity Mars helicopter (NASA)
- Curiosity spacecraft (NASA)
- Zhurong rover (National Space Administration of China)
- Tianwen 1 Orbiter (China National Space Administration)
- ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (European Space Agency/Roscosmos)
- Mars Express Orbiter (European Space Agency)
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA)
- Odyssey Orbiter (NASA)
- MAVEN Orbiter (NASA)
- Hope Orbiter (United Arab Emirates)
Everything operates primarily autonomously during communication failures.
What will the Mars rover do during a power outage?
“Our mission team has spent months preparing a to-do list for every Mars rover,” said manager Roy Gladden. mars relay network NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We’ll continue to hear from them and check on their health over the next few weeks.” This will happen on Nov. 17 and 18, when Mars will be directly behind the sun as seen from Earth. Not applicable.
After the Sun and Mars are at their closest, they will be able to exchange important health check messages. However, by November 25, the effects of the Mars solar conjunction will disappear and direct radio communications will be reestablished.
A breakthrough moment of curiosity
by space agencyNASA’s Curiosity rover recently celebrated its 4,000th Mars Day since landing on Mars on August 5, 2012. Her day on Mars, called a sol, lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds.
There are 668 sols in a Martian year, which is equivalent to 687 Earth days. During that time, the rover traversed nearly 20 miles (32 kilometers) across the surface of Mars, collecting rock samples to learn more about how the planet’s climate evolved.
When Mars next approaches Earth
The next time Mars will reach opposition will be on January 16, 2025, when the Earth is between the Sun and the red planet and the Earth and Mars are closest to each other. On that day, Mars will appear at its biggest, brightest, and best. Occurs only approximately every 687 days.
I wish you clear skies and big eyes.
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