(ORDO NEWS) — On the Perseverance rover, among other equipment, the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) weather station is installed, which includes two wind sensors to measure the speed and direction of air mass flows, as well as humidity, radiation and temperature sensors.
Recently, one of the sensors was damaged because a piece of Martian rock hit it, which was brought by a strong gust of wind.
However, the sensor is not completely disabled, it is still able to track the wind in the rover’s landing area in the Lake Crater, albeit with reduced sensitivity.
“Currently, the sensor’s capabilities are limited, but it still provides speed and direction measurements,” said Rodriguez Manfredi, a MEDA researcher at the Spanish Center for Astrobiology in Madrid.
All of the equipment installed on Perseverance, including the wind sensors, was designed to take into account the harsh environment of Mars, but there is also a limit to their durability. Ironically, the sensor was damaged precisely because of the object of its observation.
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