3:00 PM - 3:15 PM
[PPS04-06] Solar Arrays on Mars : Performance and InSights into the Environment
★Invited Papers
Keywords:Mars, Solar Arrays, Dust, Transits
A loss of 0.2% per Sol appears typical for the output of solar arrays on landers and rovers on Mars, although observed rates of decrease in ‘dust factor’ can vary between 0.05% and 2% per Sol at different times and locations. 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.
As well as the progressive accumulation of dust on the arrays, the measurements of solar array currents by InSight have also allowed the detection of transients associated with clouds, short-term atmospheric dust fluctuations, and shadows of the Martian moons.
As well as the progressive accumulation of dust on the arrays, the measurements of solar array currents by InSight have also allowed the detection of transients associated with clouds, short-term atmospheric dust fluctuations, and shadows of the Martian moons.