NASA’s Mars robots, including the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, are about to experience a temporary communication blackout due to a cosmic event – the solar conjunction. This celestial occurrence, where the sun comes between Earth and Mars, is a regular phenomenon that takes place every few years. As a result, communication between Earth and Mars will be disrupted for a few weeks, affecting the command flow from the mission team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
The orbits of Earth and Mars will bring the two planets back into alignment by November 25, ending the communication blackout and allowing NASA’s mission team to resume normal operations. Until then, the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, along with the three orbiters – Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and MAVEN – will be in a temporary state of radio silence.
Even though the robots won’t be able to send data back to Earth during this period, they will continue their operations on Mars. For instance, the Perseverance rover will monitor weather and radiation changes on the Martian surface. The hiatus in communication provides an opportunity for the team at JPL to catch up on other tasks or even take a well-deserved vacation.
It’s worth noting that during the last solar conjunction in 2021, NASA released an informative animation explaining the challenges posed by attempting to communicate with the robots during this celestial alignment. The animation highlighted the potential corruption of signals by charged particles from the sun, emphasizing the need for precautionary measures to avoid any damage to the rovers.
As the sun temporarily interrupts the interplanetary communication, NASA’s Mars robots continue their silent work on the Red Planet, patiently waiting for the skies to clear for the resumption of their Earthly conversations.
