allforspace
allforspace t1_irrx715 wrote
Reply to comment by the_grungydan in NASA’s InSight Waits Out Dust Storm. InSight’s team is taking steps to help the solar-powered lander continue operating for as long as possible. by EricFromOuterSpace
I'm not an expert either, but adding any kind of cleaning equipment to the solar panels would likely add multiple points of failure and a bigger source of power. Also, blowing any kind of dust particle on the solar panels could damage them and shorten their life expectancy.
NASA has certainly been looking at a solution for this problem and I wouldn't be surprised if they found out the best solution to be what is currently being done, which is let the martian wind clean up the panels.
allforspace OP t1_j813qys wrote
Reply to SpaceX on Twitter: Super Heavy Booster 7 completed a full duration static fire test of 31 Raptor engines, producing 7.9 million lbf of thrust (~3,600 metric tons) – less than half of the booster’s capability by allforspace
If that was only half of the booster's thrust, imagine what full thrust will look like!