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Description
The scoop at the front end of InSight's robotic arm has again dropped sand near a solar panel.

This innovative method is designed to help the wind remove some of the dust from the solar panel.

In this operation, which was used in May 2021 and again in June 2021, the wind blows the sand over the solar panel after it is dropped, where the dust sticks to the sand grains, causing them to detach from the panel.

The time-lapse movie is based on 12 frames taken by the IDC (Instrument Deployment Camera) on Sol 1061 (May 21, 2021) over a period of about 47 minutes.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Henning Tritschler

Description
The scoop at the front end of InSight's robotic arm has again dropped sand near a solar panel.

This innovative method is designed to help the wind remove some of the dust from the solar panel.

In this operation, which was used in May 2021 and again in June 2021, the wind blows the sand over the solar panel after it is dropped, where the dust sticks to the sand grains, causing them to detach from the panel.

The time-lapse movie is based on 12 frames taken by the IDC (Instrument Deployment Camera) on Sol 1061 (May 21, 2021) over a period of about 47 minutes.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Henning Tritschler