NASA scientists are struggling to find a Mars exploration robot that is feared to have been killed during a huge dust storm.
But scientists now think they know where the weapon of crime comes from – a gigantic volcanic deposit identified as the source of most of the fine particles that cover the red planet.
The NASA Opportunity Rover was designed solely to survive for 90 days on the surface of Mars but continued to roll for 15 years. ] The dust that killed & # 39; NASA Opportunity Rover comes from mysterious exotic volcanoes "clbad =" img-align-none size-full wp-image-7757433 "data-rewritten =" true "/>
The source of a fine powder found everywhere on the red planet has been a mystery until now (Photo: Nasa)
Unfortunately, the brave machine now has been lost and it is fears death after being beaten by one of the most intense dust storms ever observed on the surface of Mars.
This sad fate would never have occurred without the presence of large amounts of dust on Mars.
Powder floats in the atmosphere and is composed of sulfur and chlorine
On Earth, dust is separated from soft rocks by natural processes such as wind or water erosion, blowouts volcanic or even asteroid impacts. Image of NASA on a Mars Rover. The Mars Launcher Opportunity & # 39; NASA managed to climb and exit the crater that he explored for nearly two months on Monday, March 22, 2004, overcoming a slippery slope that left the vehicle spinning its wheels during a previous attempt . The short ride today through the sandy interior edge of Eagle Crater has placed the rover outside the shallow depression for the first time since landing on Jan. 24. See PA Story US Mars. PA Photo: NASA. "clbad =" img-align-none wp-image-7627330 "data-rewritten =" true "/>
Illustration of NASA Mars Rover's Opportunity & # 39; (Photo: Nasa)
One can see the dust storm in the background Curiosity, the other Mars Rover NASA operational (NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / Doran Seán)
"How does Mars do so much dust, because none of these processes is active on Mars? ", Lujendra questions. Ojha, co-author of a study that traces "the largest source of dust on Mars."
He traced the dust up to a volcanic deposit called the Medusae Fossae Formation that is near the Martian Equator and about half the continental United States
It is believed that it was produced by volcanic eruptions that took place over an interval of 500 million years.
Greece looks like hell on earth while search for burned people continues. The h ad zone has a chemical composition very similar to dust in the atmosphere of Mars, suggesting that it has been eroded over billions of years and is the source of tiny particles.
"Mars would not be so dusty if it was not for this huge deposit that gradually erodes over time and pollutes the planet, essentially," said Kevin Lewis, professor Assistant of Earth Sciences and Planets at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of the research article
Part of the Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars showing the effect of billions of years of erosion (Photo: Nasa)
Unfortunately, this information will not help the Opportunity Rover, which was running on solar energy and could not sustain itself when a dust storm enveloped the entire planet.
The last time Nasa heard Opportunity on June 18th. it could come back to life once the dust settles and start falling from its solar panels, but it depends on the powerful storm.
In The Martian, a dust storm sets off a series of nightmarish events that leave Matt Damon Mars.
Hopefully the story of Opportunity ends in the same happy way.
