How to Use Mars Dust Storm Seasons 3D Explorer - Step by Step
Open the Mars Dust Storm Seasons 3D Explorer, press "Jump to dust season" to land inside the real Ls 180-340 window, then trigger a global dust storm to see the 2018 tau spike that ended Opportunity.
Jump to the dust-storm season
Click "Jump to dust season" to move the day slider inside the tan-highlighted arc of the orbit ellipse - the real Ls 180 to 340 degree window when global dust storms have been observed.
Trigger a global dust storm
Once inside that window, click "Trigger a global dust storm" to raise the scene's atmospheric-opacity (tau) reading to about 10.8 - the real value NASA/JPL recorded near the Opportunity rover during the 2018 storm - and watch the dust shroud thicken around Mars.
Read the power bar
Read the illustrative solar-panel-power bar drop to its lowest level once the storm is triggered - the same kind of power loss that left Opportunity unable to recharge its batteries.
Scrub the full year
Press "Play year" to watch a full 687-day Mars year pass, or drag the day slider by hand to see the areocentric solar longitude (Ls) readout and Sun-distance figure change as Mars moves along its real-eccentricity orbit ellipse.
Orbit and zoom
Drag on the scene to orbit the camera, and scroll or pinch to zoom in on the orbit ellipse, the perihelion/solstice/aphelion markers, or Mars itself.
Key figures on this explorer
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Dust-storm season | Ls about 180 to 340 degrees |
| 2018 storm tau near Opportunity | about 10.8 |
| 2007 storm tau (Opportunity survived) | about 5.5 |
| Curiosity's typical seasonal tau | about 1.0 to 2.0 |
| Global-storm recurrence | about every 3 Mars years (~5.5 Earth years) |
Next: see when to use this explorer or how it compares to the Earth Perihelion and Aphelion explorer.
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