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Yeah, I really don't understand why they don't include a shaker motor to vibrate the particles off the panels .. I mean I can guess that its just one more part to throw at a very, very expensive BOM already, but it seems to me that there must be some resonant frequency, well known through tests already, that would shake the panels just so that they become functional again ..

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My understanding is that the dust is incredibly sticky. You can't "just" vibrate it off. Even the occasional dust storm only blows some of it off. It's electrostatically attracted to the panels I think

That makes sense .. but I'm guessing they have to solve the problem sooner or later anyway, I don't see how a Mars colony is going to get over this problem unless of course we ship all those useful telephone dusters up there ..

I doubt they would add another part (which takes mass, space, and testing) to solve a problem that is far, far outside the scope of the helicopter's designed mission.

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