LIDAR for Investigation of the Martian Atmosphere from the Surface

Abstract

The lidar device as part of the meteorological complex of the ExoMars-2022 landing platform is designed to study Martian aerosol, the planetary boundary layer, and small-scale atmospheric turbulence. A miniature lidar based on a pulsed semiconductor laser and an avalanche photodiode in the photon counting mode will make it possible to obtain aerosol backscattering profiles along a vertical path from 10 to 1500 m during the day and from 15 to 10 000 m at night. In the passive mode, the sky brightness is measured in a narrow spectral range and in a narrow solid angle with a frequency of up to hundreds of hertz. The measured fluctuations can provide information about the turbulence of the daytime atmosphere and its relation to dust activity. In the paper we considered the scientific tasks of the experiment, the program of measurements on the surface of Mars and described in detail the components of the equipment and the features of their work.

Scientific Instrumentation Complex for the ExoMars-2022 Landing Platform

“…A prototype of the lidar unit was a device developed in the IKI RAS for the unsuccessful NASA Mars Polar Lander project (Arumov et al, 1998). Pointed upward, the lidar was supposed to reconstruct the aerosol profile in the Martian atmosphere to an altitude of ~5 km (Lipatov et al, 2023c), complementing aerosol measurements with passive optical sensors ODS and SIS. Finally, the MTK included a microphone for recording the sounds of Mars and the activity of the LP and rover, which was developed by TsNIIMash and manufactured by IKI RAS.…”