Assessment of Mars Pathfinder landing site predictions

Golombek, M. P.; Moore, H. J.; Haldemann, A. F. C.; Parker, T. J.; Schofield, J. T.

doi:10.1029/1998je900015

Cited by 56 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…These values are consistent with values derived from IRTM (Kieffer 1976, Golombek et al 1999, except for Viking Lander 2, where TES values for this region are about 35% lower. Not all of this difference can be accounted for in the uncertainty, and it is unclear why TES values are lower; increased spatial coverage may help resolve this difference.…”

Section: Fig 7 Map Of Units Insupporting

confidence: 91%

High-Resolution Thermal Inertia Mapping from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer

Mellon¹

2000

Icarus

493

546

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Section: Fig 7 Map Of Units Insupporting

confidence: 91%

High-Resolution Thermal Inertia Mapping from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer

Mellon¹

2000

Icarus

493

546

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“…Nevertheless, the range of previously assumed values seems reasonably consistent with the results reported here because the Pathfinder site is believed to be significantly rockier and rougher than most plains units elsewhere on Mars [Golombek et al, 1999a[Golombek et al, , 1999b.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Results of the Imager for Mars Pathfinder windsock experiment

Sullivan¹,

Greeley²,

Kraft³

et al. 2000

J. Geophys. Res.

103

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Abstract. The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) windsock experiment measured wind speeds at three heights within 1.2 m of the Martian surface during Pathfinder landed operations. These wind data allowed direct measurement of near-surface wind profiles on Mars for the first time, including determination of aerodynamic roughness length and wind friction speeds. Winds were light during periods of windsock imaging, but data from the strongest breezes indicate aerodynamic roughness length of 3 cm at the landing site, with wind friction speeds reaching 1 m/s. Maximum wind friction speeds were about half of the threshold-of-motion friction speeds predicted for loose, fine-grained materials on smooth Martian terrain and about one third of the threshold-of-motion friction speeds predicted for the same size particles over terrain with aerodynamic roughness of 3 cm. Consistent with this, and suggesting that low wind speeds prevailed when the windsock array was not imaged and/or no particles were available for aeolian transport, no windrelated changes to the surface during mission operations have been recognized. The aerodynamic roughness length reported here implies that proposed deflation of fine particles around the landing site, or activation of duneforms seen by IMP and Sojourner, would require wind speeds >28 m/s at the Pathfinder top windsock height (or >31 m/s at the equivalent Viking wind sensor height of 1.6 m) and wind speeds >45 m/s above 10 m. These wind speeds would cause rock abrasion if a supply of durable particles were available for saltation. Previous analyses indicate that the Pathfinder landing site probably is rockier and rougher than many other plains units on Mars, so aerodynamic roughness length elsewhere probably is less than the 3-cm value reported for the Pathfinder site.

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“…The landscape observed by the IMP at the MPF landing site largely agreed with pre-landing expectations of a rock-strewn landscape, with drifts of bright eolian dust, linear dunes with darker surfaces and scattered dark soils (Smith et al, 1997b). In its general appearance, the landscape was very similar to floodplains observed at the mouths of terrestrial examples of catastrophic flood channels (Golombek et al, 1999). While many of the rocks displayed surfaces coated with dust and/or indurated coatings, some rock faces and small cobbles appeared to be largely free of such coatings, allowing a more direct assessment of the primary rock mineralogy (e.g., McSween et al, 1999;Murchie et al, 2000;Farrand et al, 2001;Bell et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…Over the course of the MPF mission, 16,661 images were returned from the IMP (Golombek et al, 1999). The types of data products are discussed next.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multispectral imaging from Mars Pathfinder

Farrand¹,

Bell²,

Johnson³

et al. 2008

The Martian Surface

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The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was a mast-mounted instrument on the Mars Pathfinder lander which landed on Mars' Ares Vallis floodplain on July 4, 1997. During the 83 sols of Mars Pathfinders landed operations, the IMP collected over 16,600 images. Multispectral images were collected using twelve narrowband filters at wavelengths between 400 and 1000 nm in the visible and near infrared (VNIR) range. The IMP provided VNIR spectra of the materials surrounding the lander including rocks, bright soils, dark soils, and atmospheric observations. During the primary mission, only a single primary rock spectral class, "Gray Rock", was recognized; since then, "Black Rock", has been identified. The Black Rock spectra have a stronger absorption at longer wavelengths than do Gray Rock spectra. A number of coated rocks have also been described, the Red and Maroon Rock classes, and perhaps indurated soils in the form of the Pink Rock class. A number of different soil types were also recognized with the primary ones being Bright Red Drift, Dark Soil, Brown Soil, and Disturbed Soil. Examination of spectral parameter plots indicated two trends which were interpreted as representing alteration products formed in at least two different environmental epochs of the Ares Vallis area. Subsequent analysis of the data and comparison with terrestrial analogs have supported the interpretation that the rock coatings provide evidence of earlier martian environments. However, the presence of relatively uncoated examples of the Gray and Black rock classes indicate that relatively unweathered materials can persist on the martian surface.

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Assessment of Mars Pathfinder landing site predictions

Cited by 56 publications

References 44 publications

High-Resolution Thermal Inertia Mapping from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer

High-Resolution Thermal Inertia Mapping from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer

Results of the Imager for Mars Pathfinder windsock experiment

Multispectral imaging from Mars Pathfinder

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