spacetoday.net: Dust storm could provide challenge to Mars landers

Posted: Mon, Dec 15, 2003, 2:29 PM ET (1929 GMT)
Beagle 2 lander illustration (Beagle 2)

A new dust storm covering a large part of Mars may make the upcoming landing of three missions more hazardous, planetary scientists report. The new dust storm was first seen late last week and now covers much of the northern hemisphere of the planet, the Rocky Mountain News reported Monday. The storm, if it persists and expands to become a global dust storm, could hamper the landings of one British and two American spacecraft. Britain's Beagle 2 is scheduled to land early December 25, while NASA;s twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity will land on January 3 and 24, respectively. Even if the storm does not affect the landings, the dust kicked up by the storms could coat the solar panels on the landers, reducing their ability to generate power. Such dust storms usually "appear and die out in a few days to a week, or they expand into global storms," University of Colorado planetary scientist Bruce Jakosky told the newspaper. "We don't know what's going to happen with this one."