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this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2024
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NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover
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On the plains of Jezero, the secrets of Mars' past await us! Follow for the latest news, updates, pretty pics, and community discussion on NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's most ambitious mission to Mars!
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I don't want to be pedantic here in saying this: Mars experiences dust storms, rather than sand storms. That is a significant difference, because dust is light enough to stay aloft for much longer than sand, which has noticeable effects on climate. Today's Martian atmosphere cannot loft sand very far. Keep in mind that sand storms would be much more effective at eroding rocks like the one Percy is investigating now - and doing damage to things like rovers and solar panels.
Imagery from today (sol 1084) shows that visibility is not great - parts of the Jezero rim are hazy or invisible - but it's far from the worst we've seen on the planet (I'm thinking of what Opportunity saw in the great storm of '07). I would actually expect Ingenuity to survive this.
Agreed, visibility is improving again, as you stated the latest images show that the shadows from the rover are once again becoming sharper. Agreed far less sever than earlier storms recorded on Mars, but Ingenuity has a tiny solar panel. It has survived many nights without a fully charged battery to power it's heaters overnight (during the last winter). Staying in one place and particularly after this dust lifting event will mean that some of that dust will be deposited on the solar array as it falls back to the surface. Dust on the array will reduce the charge to the battery. I'd agree that Ingenuity could survive this short dust lifting event, hopefully it will remain in contact with the rover until Perseverance leaves the crater.