CNN —Robotic explorers investigating Mars are currently out of touch with space agencies on Earth after hitting a giant communications roadblock. Mission controllers at NASA won’t send any commands to its fleet of orbiters and rovers, including Perseverance and Curiosity, for the next 10 days due to the Mars solar conjunction. During the roughly two-week period, the hot, energized gas continually spewed by the sun from its outer atmosphere can interfere with the radio signals that NASA uses to communicate with its Martian robotic explorers. A Mars solar conjunction occurs every two years when the sun moves between Mars and Earth. The Ingenuity helicopter, which has largely served as the Perseverance rover’s aerial scout, will also lie low and won’t conduct any flights during this time.

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Persons: Mars, NASA won’t, ”, Roy Gladden, “, Perseverance, MAVEN Organizations: CNN —, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Mars, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Reconnaissance Locations: Pasadena , California, Gale