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Normally you don\u2019t want dust to get into your spacecraft. That was certainly true for the InSight mission to Mars, until it died. Now, however, it\u2019s acting as a dust collector, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) scientists couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) onboard MRO monitors and images the surface. In particular, it has been imaging landing sites on Mars to track dust accumulation on the surface. The idea is to see how quickly the landers and their nearby environments get covered. It doesn\u2019t just focus on landing sites, though. It also checks places like impact craters to track surface changes in and around those regions. As you can see from its latest image above, taken on April 1st, 2024, it\u2019s getting tough to spot the InSIGHT lander thanks to ever-growing accumulations of dust.<\/p>\n HiRISE has been checking in on the InSIGHT lander ever since it first deployed on Mars. Early images show the hardware in fairly good detail right after landing. Then, over time, as Martian winds take their toll, it\u2019s obvious the spacecraft is getting coated in dust. That\u2019s also true of other spacecraft that HiRISE images from time to time.<\/p>\n Why care about dust? Although we know a great deal about Mars, there\u2019s still a lot to figure out. Wind deposition of dust is part of the so-called aeolian processes that alter the Martian surface appearance. They\u2019re named after the Greek wind god Aeolus. Dust storms are certainly visible on Mars from Earth, but we can\u2019t really \u201csee\u201d their deposits easily without getting close to (or on) the planet. Other activities, such as dust devils, also redistribute dust around the planet. All this activity creates wind streaks, sand, and dust deposits, and covers up spacecraft on the surface.<\/p>\n The study of the aeolian process is one of the HiRISE instrument\u2019s major science themes. There\u2019s not much water action to change the surface. Nor is there any Martian volcanic activity to muck up the landscape. Impact craters do tear up the surface, but they aren\u2019t frequent. That leaves aeolian activity as a major player in Mars surface changes. Image after image shows dunes, ripples, wind streaks, dust devil tracks, and other features created by the winds. The HiRISE imaging project gives a \u201cwide-angle\u201d view of aeolian effects on the Red Planet and how its various surface units change over time.<\/p>\n The InSight lander performed almost flawlessly during its four years in operation on Mars. Although one of its instruments, the \u201cmole\u201d had some difficulties performing its digging action, the mission as a whole was quite successful. The seismograph monitored Marsquakes throughout the mission, which gives details about the Martian interior. It also differentiated between quakes from Mars\u2019s interior and those caused by impacts. The spacecraft other instruments sampled the remnants of the weak magnetic field and monitored the Martian weather.<\/p>\n \nMonitoring Surface Changes on Mars<\/h3>\n
InSight\u2019s Future on Mars<\/h3>\n