NASA's Mars Fleet Will Continue Science During Communication Hiatus

NASA's Mars fleet will continue to gather scientific data during a two-week period when the agency will not send commands to its spacecraft. The communications pause, scheduled from November 11 to 25, is due to Mars solar conjunction, a phenomenon that occurs every two years when Earth and Mars are on opposite sides of the Sun. During this time, solar activity could interfere with radio signals, prompting the pause.

Despite the pause, NASA's Perseverance and Curiosity rovers will monitor surface conditions, weather, and radiation. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will use its camera to study sand movement, a challenge for Mars missions. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Odyssey orbiter will continue to image the Martian surface, while MAVEN will collect data on solar and atmospheric interactions.

NASA typically receives health updates from its Mars missions during solar conjunction, but there will be two days when communication will be lost as Mars passes directly behind the Sun. After the pause, orbiters will transmit all collected data to Earth, and spacecraft will resume receiving commands.

Roy Gladden, manager of the Mars Relay Network at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said mission teams have prepared detailed plans for all Mars spacecraft. “We’ll still be able to hear from them and check their states of health over the next few weeks,” he said.