Duststorm on Mars Could Cause Trouble

[senorpepr]

A series of dust storms could threaten the success of three space probes heading for Mars, astronomers warn.
The scientists say some small storms are combining to obscure a large part of the planet's northern hemisphere.
If they build into a global storm, which can happen, it could interfere with the solar panels the probes use to generate power for their instruments.

On 25 December, Europe's Beagle 2 will land, followed by two US rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, on 3 and 24 January.
Dust storms are not unusual on Mars. Two years ago one of the largest dust storms seen in several decades raged on the planet for many weeks, making it impossible to see surface features.

Observers noted the current storms starting to churn on Mars in the first week of December.
Since then, they have grown in size, and have been joined by smaller storms on their fringes.
Bruce Jakosky, of the University of Colorado, helped choose the US probes' landing sites. He said that it was too early to know if this storm pattern was something to worry about.

"We don't know what is going to happen to this one," he said.