Submitted by marketrent t3_yfa5pz in space
notrewoh t1_iu44cby wrote
Reply to comment by smolDreee in NASA spacecraft records epic ‘marsquakes’ as it prepares to die by marketrent
The answer is the same as it always is on threads about this lander: it takes more money and adds risk, and most importantly it already surpassed its design life by 2x so the solar panels already did their job. If they didn’t want it to lose charging power via dust they would’ve powered it via nuclear (like curiosity and perseverance). NASA knows solar panels will get dusty and less to slow death (Spirit, Opportunity rovers).
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