Strykker2 t1_irj5vpb wrote on October 8, 2022 at 4:54 PM

Reply to comment by JimiWanShinobi in Continent-Size Dust Storm on Mars Threatens to Shorten NASA InSight Lander's Last Days by Sariel007

And where are you going to get all the power that compressor needs?

A compressor alone would draw more power than the entire probe uses currently.

bluewaveassociation t1_irk5fk3 wrote on October 8, 2022 at 9:36 PM

Just tape a can of compressed air to the rover

JimiWanShinobi t1_irj8nra wrote on October 8, 2022 at 5:16 PM

Not necessarily, a small weak one like I have in my trunk could be allowed to build up enough pressure in a storage tank over time until it's needed. Another option could be pre-loaded air cartridges, might mean a limited number of uses but it could extend the life of the system...

Blackpaw8825 t1_irjdyet wrote on October 8, 2022 at 5:57 PM

Does the one in your trunk work at 180,000 feet? We're talking under 0.1psi, your shitbox compressor isn't even going to hold a gradient at these pressures. Each bite the compressor takes contains so little air.

Couple that with lots of vibration, additional wear surfaces, a lot of extra weight, huge power demands, and the fact that same dust is going to clog the compressor or erode it away...

This simple fix just adds a lot of complexity and failure modes.