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Mars rover continues sleep as NASA captures new imagery of planet-engulfing dust storm
While the massive dust storm currently enveloping Mars continues to force the 14-year-old Opportunity Rover into silence, NASA’s other Martian missions are watching the spectacle at the Red Planet’s surface unfold from a distance.
NASA’s Opportunity Rover was situated on the slopes of Perseverance Valley when it the dust storm hit last June. As the storm broke out, NASA decided to keep the rover’s arm deployed on its rock target, dubbed as La Joya. As of mid-June, the dust storm covered 15.8 million square miles (41 million square kilometers), and it was so intense that it became impossible for Opportunity to recharge its batteries through its solar panels. The last power reading from Opportunity was recorded on Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018), when the veteran rover collected a measly 22 Wh of solar energy from the Sun. Since then, Opportunity has been silent.
NASA believes that Opportunity has put itself in hibernation, with the rover shutting down all of its systems except its mission clock. In a later statement, Dr. James Rice, co-investigator and geology team leader on NASA projects including Opportunity, noted that the timing of the Martian dust storm could actually work in Opportunity’s favor. The current storm on the Red Planet formed during the Martian Spring, which would likely help keep the rover’s electronics from becoming too cold during nights. Earlier this month, NASA Mars Exploration Program director Jim Watzin stated that the massive dust storm was already peaking. Nevertheless, according to a statement from NASA officials last Wednesday, it could take a long time before the dust in the Red Planet’s air clears properly.
Before and after images of the Mars dust storm (Photo: NASA/JPL)
“Based on the longevity of a 2001 global storm, NASA scientists estimate it may be early September before the haze has cleared enough for Opportunity to power up and call home,” NASA officials wrote.
As Opportunity’s team continues to wait for the dust to settle, other Martian missions are on overdrive studying the remarkable dust storm from a distance. The nuclear-powered Curiosity Rover, for one, is currently analyzing how the dust storm evolves over time from Mars’ surface. Ashwin Vasavada, a scientist from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, who currently works with the Curiosity mission, stated that they are working “double-duty.”
“We’re working double-duty right now. Our newly recommissioned drill is acquiring a fresh rock sample. But we are also using instruments to study how the dust storm evolves,” the scientist said.
From above, NASA’s orbiters are intently studying the storm. Researchers are now utilizing the THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) instrument aboard NASA’s Mars Odyssey to monitor the temperatures on the surface and the atmosphere on the planet. The orbiter is also studying the dust loads in the air. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which was the first orbiter to spot the storm last June, is tracking the evolution of the storm and how it affects the planet’s atmospheric pressures. Furthermore, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution orbiter (MAVEN) is analyzing dust storm particles from higher up, right at the point where Mars’ air meets space. MAVEN’s analysis could potentially provide clues as to how Mars seemingly lost its once-thick atmosphere.
In a way, all the instruments pointed at the dust storm on Mars’ surface today are almost poetic. While Opportunity continues to fight for its survival in the darkness of the storm, its siblings, both on the ground and in orbit, are giving the impression that the 14-year veteran rover is not really alone.
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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant
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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
