Mars had an interesting few month . Since June , the totality of the Red Planet has been enveloped in a gigantic worldwide debris tempest , fatheaded enough to put the solar - poweredOpportunity roverin sleep modality ( which it has yet to wake up from ) as well as touch surgical process from artificial satellite studying the planet .
The dust storm is now subsiding and there are some newfangled prototype that reveal the challenging local outcome that the storm has had . In photos collected by the European - Russian mission ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter , it is potential to spot dark streak across the Martian terrain . The team suggests that they might have been get by rubble devil , whirlwinds stirring up wanton materials from the control surface .
The squad mistrust dust heller are the best potential explanation because they think the cause of these streaks is most likely link to the debris violent storm . The ExoMars photo , taken on September 2 by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System orCaSSISaboard the satellite , were equate with look-alike of the same regions taken by NASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in March and there was small grounds of streaks then .
While the dust storm clearly slow up down some performance for ExoMars , it also offered an opportunity for some unremarkable improvements of CaSSIS to be carry out .
“ The rubble - mist observations are actually quite good for calibration , ” CaSSiS Principal Investigator , Nicolas Thomas from the University of Bern , said in astatement . “ The camera has a small amount of straylight [ unintended light ] and we have been using the detritus storm images to find the seed of the straylight and begin to derive algorithms to take away it . ”
ExoMars is accept center degree at theEuropean Planetary Science Congressin Berlin this week . The first scientific results from the artificial satellite will be annunciate at the congress . The missionary work is contemplate methane and other trace gas that could argue biologic activities on the Red Planet .
“ We are very excited to be discussing some of the first scientific result from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter at EPSC this week , as well as the advancement of the upcoming open military mission , ” says Håkan Svedhem , ESA ’s Trace Gas Orbiter project scientist .
“ While our instrument team are working hard dissect the inside information of the atmospheric gas inventory and gear up these results for publishing , we are certainly pleased to already be able to contribute to topical discussions on the dust storm and on proceeds that are essential for next crew missions to Mars . ”
