The rich meteorology of Jezero crater over the first 250 sols of Perseverance on Mars

Rodriguez-Manfredi, J. A.; Juárez, Manuel de la Torre; Sánchez‐Lavega, Agustín; Hueso, R.; Martínez, G.; Lemmon, M. T.; Newman, Claire; Munguira, Asier; Hieta, Maria; Tamppari, L. K.; Polkko, J.; Toledo, Daniel; Sebastián, Eduardo; Smith, M. D.; Jaakonaho, Iina; Genzer, M.; Vicente‐Retortillo, Á.; Viúdez‐Moreiras, Daniel; Ramos, Miguel; Saiz‐Lopez, Alfonso; Lépinette, Alain; Wolff, Michael; Sullivan, Robert; Gómez‐Elvira, Javier; Apéstigue, Víctor; Conrad, Pamela G.; Río‐Gaztelurrutia, T. del; Murdoch, Naomi; Arruego, Ignacio; Banfield, D.; Boland, Justin; Brown, A. J.; Ceballos, J.; Domínguez-Pumar, Manuel; Espejo, S.; Fairén, Alberto González; Ferrándiz, Ricardo; Fischer, Erik; García‐Villadangos, Miriam; Gimenez, Silvia; Gomez-Gomez, Felipe; Guzewich, Scott D.; Harri, Ari‐Matti; Jiménez, Juan J.; Jiménez, Vicente G.; Mäkinen, T.; Marin-Jimenez, Mercedes; Martin-Rubio, Carolina; Martín-Soler, Javier; Molina, A.; Mora-Sotomayor, Luis; Navarro, Sara; Peinado, V.; Pérez-Grande, Isabel; Pla‐García, Jorge; Postigo, Marina; Prieto-Ballesteros, O.; Rafkin, Scot; Richardson, M. I.; Romeral, J.; Romero, Catalina; Savijärvi, Hannu; Schofield, John; Torres, J.; Urquí, R.; Zurita, Sofia; team, MEDA

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1634885/v1

Cited by 3 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Pre-landing mesoscale simulations using nine different models showed control by regional and local slope flows (Newman et al, 2021), which is consistent with Mars 2020 observations (Newman et al, 2022;Rodríguez-Manfredi et al, 2022;. Chojnacki et al (2018) (ii) a nighttime regime with a period of westerly and northwesterly downslope winds followed by a relatively calm period until sunrise.…”

Section: Ventifact Orientation Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

Comparison of Ventifact Orientations and Recent Wind Direction Indicators on the Floor of Jezero Crater, Mars

Herkenhoff

Sullivan

Newman

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Wind-abraded rocks and aeolian bedforms have been observed at the Mars 2020 Perseverance landing site, providing evidence for both recent and older wind directions. This study reports orientations of aeolian features measured in Perseverance images to infer formative wind directions, and compares these measurements with orbital observations, climate model predictions, and wind data acquired by the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer. Three-dimensional orientations of flute textures on rocks, regolith wind tails extending from behind obstacles, and other aeolian features were measured using Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) derived from Mastcam-Z and navigation camera (Navcam) stereo images. Orientations of rock flutes measured in images acquired through Sol (martian day) 400 yielded a mean azimuth of 94°± 7°(wind from the west). However, similar measurements of regolith wind tails indicate that recent sand-driving winds have been blowing from the east-southeast, nearly the opposite direction (mean azimuth = 285°± 15°). Atmospheric modeling generally predicts net annual sand transport from the east-southeast at present, consistent with Perseverance regolith wind tail and orbital observations. The orientation of ventifact flutes thus suggests that they were formed under a different climate regime. Differences in orientations of recent and paleo-wind indicators have been noted at other Mars landing sites and may result from major orbital/axial changes that can cause significant changes in atmospheric circulation. Orientation differences between modern and older wind direction indicators at Jezero are useful clues to the climate history of the region.

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Section: Ventifact Orientation Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

Comparison of Ventifact Orientations and Recent Wind Direction Indicators on the Floor of Jezero Crater, Mars

Herkenhoff

Sullivan

Newman

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…The recording of SuperCam laser-induced acoustic signals provides a unique opportunity to measure directly and repetitively the local sound speed, using the propagation time of the laser-induced acoustic wave as it travels from the ground up to the microphone, on top of Perseverance (Figure 1). Given the strong vertical temperature gradient in the atmosphere during the daytime (up to 35 K/m, Rodríguez-Manfredi et al, 2022), the sound speed decreases along the acoustic propagation path. Considering a bulk approximation of the temperature evolution with height using a log-profile within the surface layer (Figure 1a), the sound speed measured corresponds to a height of 0.77 m above the ground (see Text S4 in Supporting Information S1).…”

Section: Methods: First Use Of the Sonic Thermometry On Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustics Reveals Short‐Term Air Temperature Fluctuations Near Mars' Surface

Chide

Bertrand

Hueso

et al. 2022

Geophysical Research Letters

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The Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) includes the lower atmospheric layers directly in contact with the surface (Petrosyan et al., 2011). On Mars, it plays a critical role, strongly impacting the climate system, as it controls the dust lifting, the volatile fluxes and the exchange of heat and momentum between the surface and the atmosphere Abstract Acoustics is new on Mars: it allows the characterization of turbulence at smaller scales than previously possible within the lowest part of the Planetary Boundary Layer. Sound speed measurements, by the SuperCam instrument and its microphone onboard the NASA Perseverance rover, allow the retrieval of atmospheric temperatures at 0.77 m above the ground, at 3 Hz, with a ∼10 ms response time that is 20-100 times shorter than for typical thermocouple sensors used on Mars. Here we report on the first measurements of the sound speed-derived temperature and its fluctuations near the surface. Data highlight large and rapid fluctuations up to ±7 K/s, whose amplitude over such a timescale has never been reported, nor predicted by atmospheric models. These fluctuations follow the daytime pattern of the turbulence and highlight occasional high amplitude events that are likely due to the conjunction of low thermal inertia and strong winds. Plain Language SummaryThe atmospheric surface layer of Mars, is prone to various interactions between the surface and the atmosphere, which control most of the climate and the weather of the red planet. There, large temperature gradients generate an intense turbulence during the daytime. Hence, the measurement of the air temperature variations close to the surface is important to understand the spatial and temporal scales of this turbulence. The SuperCam instrument onboard the NASA Perseverance rover enables the retrieval of the near-surface atmospheric temperatures, and their fluctuations, at an unprecedented short timescale. Sound speed-derived temperatures, also call sonic temperatures, collected over the Northern spring and summer of Martian Year 36 reveal large and rapid thermal fluctuations up to ±7 K/s, whose amplitude over such a timescale is not reported by any weather station sensors, nor predicted by models that simulate small-scale eddies. These fluctuations follow the daytime pattern of the turbulence with a maximum amplitude early afternoon. Some occasional high temperature fluctuation events are observed, suggesting a complex effect of ground properties and local meteorological conditions on the turbulence. Overall, acoustics is a new and promising technique that records a unique view of atmospheric temperature variations near the surface of Mars.

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“…The Viking 1 and 2 landers [2], the Pathfinder lander [52], the Spirit and Opportunity rovers [53] [54], and the Phoenix lander made the first measurements of ground and local air temperature measurements from the surface-based, more directly, at diverse Mars locations giving out an idea of PBL in its region near the ground, the ASL [4]. Nowadays, the Curiosity rover [55], the InSight lander, and the Perseverance rover [8] [56] continue extensive monitoring of these variables with high resolution, thanks to the REMS, TWINS, and MEDA environmental instruments onboard each, respectively. This way, the ASL characterization continues advanced and sophisticated technology extending its notion and adding new information.…”

Section: Ground and Local Air Temperatures At Pblmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, during the autumn of 1st year (sol 350 to 550), the maximum local air temperature was lower than the ground temperature. Therefore, the local air temperature difference between maximum and minimum per sol ranged from 45 K to 75 K. In most sols, nocturnal thermal stability declined as the night progressed, and unstable conditions often developed from 02:00 LTST onward [8]. First, it has low-latitude spots with powerful solar illumination, ideal for using solar panels.…”

Section: Spirit and Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermal analysis of space systems in Martian conditions

Romero Guzmán

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Thermal analysis systems are crucial in advancing space exploration, particularly for Mars. The precise results obtained through thermal analysis allow studying the Red Planet's surface in great detail. Moreover, given the limited information about Mars, the thermal analysis gives accurate results quickly and cost-effectively for the design of space systems.Once these space systems land on Mars, it is required to investigate how they will impact the local environment through thermal analysis, which provides valuable insights into the disturbing thermal effects, which significantly affect temperature measurements. Therefore, it is necessary to take all precautions to ensure the Mars measurement of temperatures is conducted optimally, identifying these possible altering of the space systems in the local environment. VII AGRADECIMIENTOSEn primer lugar, quiero inmensamente agradecer a Dios porque nunca hubiera encontrado la manera correcta de terminar mi carrera doctoral sin su amor, misericordia, voluntad, sus dones de fortaleza, sabiduría, entendimiento, comprensión y consejo.Agradezco a mi supervisor, el Dr. José Antonio Rodríguez Manfredi, jefe del Departamento de Instrumentación y Exploración Espacial del Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), España, e investigador principal de MEDA y TWINS Instruments para las misiones NASA Mars2020 e InSight, por permitirme participar en estos proyectos. También quiero expresar mi sincero agradecimiento a mi directora la Dra.

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The rich meteorology of Jezero crater over the first 250 sols of Perseverance on Mars

Cited by 3 publications

References 32 publications

Comparison of Ventifact Orientations and Recent Wind Direction Indicators on the Floor of Jezero Crater, Mars

Comparison of Ventifact Orientations and Recent Wind Direction Indicators on the Floor of Jezero Crater, Mars

Acoustics Reveals Short‐Term Air Temperature Fluctuations Near Mars' Surface

Thermal analysis of space systems in Martian conditions

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