Lander and rover histories of dust accumulation on and removal from solar arrays on Mars. (1st November 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Lander and rover histories of dust accumulation on and removal from solar arrays on Mars. (1st November 2021)
- Main Title:
- Lander and rover histories of dust accumulation on and removal from solar arrays on Mars
- Authors:
- Lorenz, Ralph D.
Martínez, German M.
Spiga, Aymeric
Vicente-Retortillo, Alvaro
Newman, Claire E.
Murdoch, Naomi
Forget, Francois
Millour, Ehouarn
Pierron, Thomas - Abstract:
- Abstract: The degradation in electrical output of solar arrays on Mars landers and rovers is reviewed. A loss of 0.2% per Sol is typical, although observed rates of decrease in 'dust factor' vary between 0.05% and 2% per Sol. 0.2%/Sol has been observed throughout the first 800 Sols of the ongoing InSight mission, as well as the shorter Mars Pathfinder and Phoenix missions. This rate was also evident for much of the Spirit and Opportunity missions, but the degradation there was episodically reversed by cleaning events due to dust devils and gusts. The enduring success of those rover missions may have given an impression of the long-term viability of solar power on the Martian surface that is not globally-applicable: the occurrence of cleaning events with an operationally-useful frequency seems contingent upon local meteorological circumstances. The conditions for significant cleaning events have apparently not been realized at the InSight landing site, where, notably, dust devils have not been detected in imaging. Optical obscuration by dust deposition and removal has also been observed by ultraviolet sensors on Curiosity, with a similar (but slightly higher) degradation rate. The observations are compared with global circulation model (GCM) results: these predict a geographically somewhat uniform dust deposition rate, while there is some indication that the locations where cleaning events were more frequent may be associated with weaker background winds and a deeperAbstract: The degradation in electrical output of solar arrays on Mars landers and rovers is reviewed. A loss of 0.2% per Sol is typical, although observed rates of decrease in 'dust factor' vary between 0.05% and 2% per Sol. 0.2%/Sol has been observed throughout the first 800 Sols of the ongoing InSight mission, as well as the shorter Mars Pathfinder and Phoenix missions. This rate was also evident for much of the Spirit and Opportunity missions, but the degradation there was episodically reversed by cleaning events due to dust devils and gusts. The enduring success of those rover missions may have given an impression of the long-term viability of solar power on the Martian surface that is not globally-applicable: the occurrence of cleaning events with an operationally-useful frequency seems contingent upon local meteorological circumstances. The conditions for significant cleaning events have apparently not been realized at the InSight landing site, where, notably, dust devils have not been detected in imaging. Optical obscuration by dust deposition and removal has also been observed by ultraviolet sensors on Curiosity, with a similar (but slightly higher) degradation rate. The observations are compared with global circulation model (GCM) results: these predict a geographically somewhat uniform dust deposition rate, while there is some indication that the locations where cleaning events were more frequent may be associated with weaker background winds and a deeper planetary boundary layer. The conventional Dust Devil Activity metric in GCMs does not effectively predict the different dust histories. Highlights: Presents solar array dust factor evolution for 6 landed missions. Evaluates statistics of solar array output decline, typically 0.2%/Sol but ranging 0.05–2%/Sol. Determines statistics of cleaning events. Compares evolution with meteorological predictions at the different landing sites. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Planetary and space science. Volume 207(2021)
- Journal:
- Planetary and space science
- Issue:
- Volume 207(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 207, Issue 2021 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 207
- Issue:
- 2021
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0207-2021-0000
- Page Start:
- Page End:
- Publication Date:
- 2021-11-01
- Subjects:
- Solar power -- Dust -- Dust devils -- Mars -- Boundary layer meteorology
Space sciences -- Periodicals
Atmosphere, Upper -- Periodicals
Sciences spatiales -- Périodiques
Haute atmosphère -- Périodiques
523 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00320633 ↗
http://www.elsevier.com/journals ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.pss.2021.105337 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0032-0633
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 6508.320000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 19907.xml