The Preliminary Study of Dust Devil Tracks in Southern Utopia Planitia, Landing Area of Tianwen-1 Mission

Abstract

China’s first Mars exploration mission (Tianwen-1) landed on the southern part of Mars’ Utopia Planitia on 15 May 2021. The Zhurong rover will focus on high-resolution and in situ observations of key areas on the surface of Mars. Dust devils (DDs) are heat-driven vortices that lift material from the surface and inject it into the atmosphere. The dark or bright surface lineaments left by DDs are called dust devil tracks (DDTs). Dust devils can clear dust from solar panels deposited by gusts and dust storms. Therefore, it is of importance to study the encounter rates of dust devils at the Tianwen-1 landing site for achieving the rover’s long-term scientific goals. Based on High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and Context Camera (CTX) images, 248 newly formed DDTs in 12 image pairs were firstly identified, and their lengths, widths, and direction in the study area were measured. The distribution of their width frequency follows a −2 differential power law. Secondly, DDT formation rates were computed and analyzed with the range of 0.00006 to 0.1275 ddt km−2 sol−1, mainly affected by factors such as seasons and dust storm occurrence. Thirdly, the solar panel clearing recurrence interval derived from the orbital data in our study area was calculated from ~980 to 166,700 sols. The dust storm occurrence probability at the Tianwen-1 landing area is less than 3%, and there is a special anti-dust coating on board the Zhurong rover. Thus, the Zhurong rover can be considered competent for scientific exploration.

Dust Devil Frequency of Occurrence and Radiative Effects at Jezero Crater, Mars, as Measured by MEDA Radiation and Dust Sensor (RDS)

“…Several cameras and imaging system onboard orbiters have provided DD images from which the size of the DD can be estimated (e.g., Cantor et al., 2006; Cushing et al., 2005; L. Fenton et al., 2016; Fisher et al., 2005; Reiss, Hoekzema, & Stenzel, 2014; Reiss, Spiga, & Erkeling, 2014; Stanzel et al., 2008; Thomas & Gierasch, 1985; Towner, 2009). Orbiters also provide images of the tracks produced by the DDs on the Martian surface (e.g., Cantor et al., 2006; Reiss et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2021; Whelley & Greeley, 2008), allowing the occurrence of these phenomena during a given time period and in specific regions of the planet to be estimated. These measurements, covering large geographic areas, have demonstrated that DDs can be found at a wide range of latitudes (from 0 to about 70° in both hemispheres) and at any longitudes on Mars.…”

Gentle Perseverance Lifts the Veil on Martian Dust

“…Background wind has a double role, then—low winds allow larger vortices to form, and give them longer to act on a surface. It seems likely that Global Circulation Models may allow the prediction of these factors, but remote sensing of dust devil tracks gives a first‐order prediction of dust lifting: the Chinese Zhurong rover appears to have also succumbed to the Martian environment, likely as a result of dust deposition on its solar arrays, and it is notable that the dust devil tracks at its Utopia landing site are narrow and straight ( S ∼ 1.01, e.g., Wang et al., 2021), just like at Elysium, suggesting a priori that cleaning events would be infrequent at best. Beware pinstripes!…”

Evaluation and Analysis of Dust Storm Activity in Tianwen-1 Landing Area Based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Camera Observations and Mars Daily Global Maps

“…In addition, the temporal and spatial probabilities of dust storm activity in southern Utopia Planitia ranges from 0% to 14.13% and 0% to 11.87%, respectively, during the EDL season of the Tianwen-1 mission [20,21]. Dust devil track (DDT) formation rates in the Tianwen-1 landing area were computed and analyzed within the range of 0.00006 to 0.1275 ddt km −2 sol −1 , mainly affected by factors such as the season and dust storm occurrence [22]. The spatial aggregation of three Martian surface temperature indicators, including sol average temperature, sol temperature range, and sol-to-sol temperature change, were quantitatively evaluated using clustering analysis at the global scale and in the Tianwen-1 landing area [23,24].…”