NASA said the Martian dust storm had ravaged the rover Opportunity

To prepare, the Opportunity Mission team developed a two-step plan to provide the highest probability of communicating with the mobile and bringing it back online. (Reuters)

A global dust storm that has surrounded Mars – shutdown operations for NASA's Rover Opportunity – continues to dwindle, sparking scientists hope to hear about the 15-year-old solar-powered probe. Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the United States believe that the vehicle will soon receive enough sunlight to automatically initiate recovery procedures if it is not damaged.

To prepare, the Opportunity Mission team developed a two-step plan to provide the highest probability of communicating with the mobile and bringing it back online. "The sun is going through the mist over Perseverance Valley, and soon enough there will be enough sun for Opportunity to recharge its batteries," said John Callas, Opportunity Project Manager at JPL.

When the tau level – a measure of the amount of particulate matter in the Martian sky – falls below 1.5, researchers will attempt to communicate with the mobile by sending commands through the antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network. . "Assuming we receive news from Opportunity, we will begin to discern its status and put it back online," Callas said.

The dust storm on Mars was detected for the first time on May 30th and the last communication of the rover with the Earth was received on June 10th. Opportunity engineers rely on the expertise of Mars scientists to analyze Mars Color Imager's data to estimate the tau near the mobile's position.

"The haze of dust generated by Martian's global dust storm in 2018 is one of the largest ever recorded, but all indications are that it will finally end," said Rich Zurek, JPL's MRO Project Scientist. "The MARCI images from the Opportunity site did not show any active dust storm for some time within a 3,000 kilometer radius of the mobile site," Zurek said.

With the skies clear, mission managers hope the rover will try to call home, but they are also prepared for a long period of silence. "If we do not hear back after 45 days, the team will be forced to conclude that the dust blocking the sun and the Martian could have conspired to cause a type of fault that the rover probably could not to recover, "said Callas. .

At this point, the team will report to NASA headquarters to determine whether to continue the strategy or adjust it. Even if the team receives news from Opportunity during both phases, there is no guarantee that the mobile will be operational.

The impact of this latest storm on Opportunity systems is unknown, but could result in reduced power generation, decreased battery performance, or other unforeseen damage that could make the return online difficult for the mobile.