1
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Liu J, Qin X, Ren X, Wang X, Sun Y, Zeng X, Wu H, Chen Z, Chen W, Chen Y, Wang C, Sun Z, Zhang R, Ouyang Z, Guo Z, Head JW, Li C. Martian dunes indicative of wind regime shift in line with end of ice age. Nature 2023; 620:303-309. [PMID: 37407822 PMCID: PMC10412455 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06206-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Orbital observations suggest that Mars underwent a recent 'ice age' (roughly 0.4-2.1 million years ago), during which a latitude-dependent ice-dust mantle (LDM)1,2 was emplaced. A subsequent decrease in obliquity amplitude resulted in the emergence of an 'interglacial period'1,3 during which the lowermost latitude LDM ice4-6 was etched and removed, returning it to the polar cap. These observations are consistent with polar cap stratigraphy1,7, but lower- to mid-latitude in situ surface observations in support of a glacial-interglacial transition that can be reconciled with mesoscale and global atmospheric circulation models8 is lacking. Here we present a suite of measurements obtained by the Zhurong rover during its traverse across the southern LDM region in Utopia Planitia, Mars. We find evidence for a stratigraphic sequence involving initial barchan dune formation, indicative of north-easterly winds, cementation of dune sediments, followed by their erosion by north-westerly winds, eroding the barchan dunes and producing distinctive longitudinal dunes, with the transition in wind regime consistent with the end of the ice age. The results are compatible with the Martian polar stratigraphic record and will help improve our understanding of the ancient climate history of Mars9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianjun Liu
- Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoguang Qin
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Ren
- Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yong Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xingguo Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Haibin Wu
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhaopeng Chen
- Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wangli Chen
- Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Chen
- Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Beijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, China
| | - Zezhou Sun
- Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering, Beijing, China
| | - Rongqiao Zhang
- Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, Beijing, China
| | - Ziyuan Ouyang
- Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, China
| | - Zhengtang Guo
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - James W Head
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
| | - Chunlai Li
- Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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2
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Jiang C, Jiang Y, Li H, Du S. Initial results of the meteorological data from the first 325 sols of the Tianwen-1 mission. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3325. [PMID: 36849722 PMCID: PMC9971204 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30513-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
As the Zhurong rover landed on the surface of Mars in 2021, it began a months-long collection of Mars data. Equipped with highly sensitive sensors, Zhurong is capable of being a meteorological station at the surface of Mars. The Mars Climate Station, one of the onboard sensors with high sensitivity, helps the Tianwen-1 lander to collect meteorological data at the Martian surface, via which the air temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction are measured. In this paper, we present results of surface pressure, air temperature and wind data from the Mars Climate Station at Zhurong's landing site. The data is collected in 176 solar days out of the entire rover's mission time, 325 solar days. We use a trigonometric function to fit the relationship between the solar longitude (Ls) and the pressure, after which we compare the results with those of Viking I. Our analysis of the temperature shows that seasonal evolution is similar to the patterns concluded in previous Mars missions at different landing sites. We discover that wind speed appears the maximum in early summer near Zhurong's landing site, and analyze the occurrence of dust storms by combining the data of wind and temperature. Our results provide some evidence of the seasonal changes in meteorological pattern at Tianwen-1's landing site, south of Utopia Planitia. With the mission ongoing further, more results are expected in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunsheng Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Astronautic Dynamics, Xi’an, China ,Xi’an Satellite Control Center, Xi’an, China
| | - Yu Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Astronautic Dynamics, Xi'an, China. .,Xi'an Satellite Control Center, Xi'an, China.
| | - Hengnian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Astronautic Dynamics, Xi’an, China ,Xi’an Satellite Control Center, Xi’an, China
| | - Sen Du
- grid.6835.80000 0004 1937 028XPolytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
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3
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Sánchez‐Lavega A, del Rio‐Gaztelurrutia T, Hueso R, Juárez MDLT, Martínez GM, Harri A, Genzer M, Hieta M, Polkko J, Rodríguez‐Manfredi JA, Lemmon MT, Pla‐García J, Toledo D, Vicente‐Retortillo A, Viúdez‐Moreiras D, Munguira A, Tamppari LK, Newman C, Gómez‐Elvira J, Guzewich S, Bertrand T, Apéstigue V, Arruego I, Wolff M, Banfield D, Jaakonaho I, Mäkinen T. Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Studies of the Martian Atmosphere Over Jezero From Pressure Measurements. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2023; 128:e2022JE007480. [PMID: 37034458 PMCID: PMC10078360 DOI: 10.1029/2022je007480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The pressure sensors on Mars rover Perseverance measure the pressure field in the Jezero crater on regular hourly basis starting in sol 15 after landing. The present study extends up to sol 460 encompassing the range of solar longitudes from L s ∼ 13°-241° (Martian Year (MY) 36). The data show the changing daily pressure cycle, the sol-to-sol seasonal evolution of the mean pressure field driven by the CO2 sublimation and deposition cycle at the poles, the characterization of up to six components of the atmospheric tides and their relationship to dust content in the atmosphere. They also show the presence of wave disturbances with periods 2-5 sols, exploring their baroclinic nature, short period oscillations (mainly at night-time) in the range 8-24 min that we interpret as internal gravity waves, transient pressure drops with duration ∼1-150 s produced by vortices, and rapid turbulent fluctuations. We also analyze the effects on pressure measurements produced by a regional dust storm over Jezero at L s ∼ 155°.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - A.‐M. Harri
- Finnish Meteorological InstituteHelsinkiFinland
| | - M. Genzer
- Finnish Meteorological InstituteHelsinkiFinland
| | - M. Hieta
- Finnish Meteorological InstituteHelsinkiFinland
| | - J. Polkko
- Finnish Meteorological InstituteHelsinkiFinland
| | | | | | | | - D. Toledo
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA‐CSIC)MadridSpain
| | | | | | | | - L. K. Tamppari
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | | | | | - S. Guzewich
- NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMDUSA
| | | | - V. Apéstigue
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica AeroespacialINTAMadridSpain
| | - I. Arruego
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica AeroespacialINTAMadridSpain
| | - M. Wolff
- Space Science InstituteBrookfieldWIUSA
| | | | | | - T. Mäkinen
- Finnish Meteorological InstituteHelsinkiFinland
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4
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Bell JF, Maki JN, Alwmark S, Ehlmann BL, Fagents SA, Grotzinger JP, Gupta S, Hayes A, Herkenhoff KE, Horgan BHN, Johnson JR, Kinch KB, Lemmon MT, Madsen MB, Núñez JI, Paar G, Rice M, Rice JW, Schmitz N, Sullivan R, Vaughan A, Wolff MJ, Bechtold A, Bosak T, Duflot LE, Fairén AG, Garczynski B, Jaumann R, Merusi M, Million C, Ravanis E, Shuster DL, Simon J, St. Clair M, Tate C, Walter S, Weiss B, Bailey AM, Bertrand T, Beyssac O, Brown AJ, Caballo-Perucha P, Caplinger MA, Caudill CM, Cary F, Cisneros E, Cloutis EA, Cluff N, Corlies P, Crawford K, Curtis S, Deen R, Dixon D, Donaldson C, Barrington M, Ficht M, Fleron S, Hansen M, Harker D, Howson R, Huggett J, Jacob S, Jensen E, Jensen OB, Jodhpurkar M, Joseph J, Juarez C, Kah LC, Kanine O, Kristensen J, Kubacki T, Lapo K, Magee A, Maimone M, Mehall GL, Mehall L, Mollerup J, Viúdez-Moreiras D, Paris K, Powell KE, Preusker F, Proton J, Rojas C, Sallurday D, Saxton K, Scheller E, Seeger CH, Starr M, Stein N, Turenne N, Van Beek J, Winhold AG, Yingling R. Geological, multispectral, and meteorological imaging results from the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover in Jezero crater. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabo4856. [PMID: 36417517 PMCID: PMC9683734 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo4856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Perseverance's Mastcam-Z instrument provides high-resolution stereo and multispectral images with a unique combination of spatial resolution, spatial coverage, and wavelength coverage along the rover's traverse in Jezero crater, Mars. Images reveal rocks consistent with an igneous (including volcanic and/or volcaniclastic) and/or impactite origin and limited aqueous alteration, including polygonally fractured rocks with weathered coatings; massive boulder-forming bedrock consisting of mafic silicates, ferric oxides, and/or iron-bearing alteration minerals; and coarsely layered outcrops dominated by olivine. Pyroxene dominates the iron-bearing mineralogy in the fine-grained regolith, while olivine dominates the coarse-grained regolith. Solar and atmospheric imaging observations show significant intra- and intersol variations in dust optical depth and water ice clouds, as well as unique examples of boundary layer vortex action from both natural (dust devil) and Ingenuity helicopter-induced dust lifting. High-resolution stereo imaging also provides geologic context for rover operations, other instrument observations, and sample selection, characterization, and confirmation.
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Affiliation(s)
- James F. Bell
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Justin N. Maki
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - Sanna Alwmark
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Geology, Lund University, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Bethany L. Ehlmann
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - Sarah A. Fagents
- Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | | | - Sanjeev Gupta
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Alexander Hayes
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | | | - Briony H. N. Horgan
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Jeffrey R. Johnson
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - Kjartan B. Kinch
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Morten B. Madsen
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jorge I. Núñez
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - Melissa Rice
- Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - James W. Rice
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | | | - Robert Sullivan
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Alicia Vaughan
- USGS Astrogeology Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
| | | | - Andreas Bechtold
- Department of Lithospheric Research, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1010, Austria
| | - Tanja Bosak
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Alberto G. Fairén
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
- Astrobiology Center (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Brad Garczynski
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Ralf Jaumann
- Institute for Geological Sciences, Freie Universitaet Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Marco Merusi
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Eleni Ravanis
- Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - David L. Shuster
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Justin Simon
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | | | - Christian Tate
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Sebastian Walter
- Institute for Geological Sciences, Freie Universitaet Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Benjamin Weiss
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Alyssa M. Bailey
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | | | - Olivier Beyssac
- Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne University, Paris 75005, France
| | | | | | | | | | - Francesca Cary
- Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Ernest Cisneros
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | | | - Nathan Cluff
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Paul Corlies
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Kelsie Crawford
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Sabrina Curtis
- Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Robert Deen
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - Darian Dixon
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | | | - Megan Barrington
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Michelle Ficht
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | | | | | - David Harker
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Rachel Howson
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Joshua Huggett
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Samantha Jacob
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Elsa Jensen
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Ole B. Jensen
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mohini Jodhpurkar
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Jonathan Joseph
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | | | - Linda C. Kah
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37916, USA
| | - Oak Kanine
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | | | - Tex Kubacki
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Kristiana Lapo
- Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Angela Magee
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | | | - Greg L. Mehall
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Laura Mehall
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Jess Mollerup
- Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras
- Astrobiology Center (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- National Institute for Aerospace Technology, Madrid, Spain
| | - Kristen Paris
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Kathryn E. Powell
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | | | | | - Corrine Rojas
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | | | - Kim Saxton
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - Eva Scheller
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | | | - Mason Starr
- Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Nathan Stein
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | | | - Jason Van Beek
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - Andrew G. Winhold
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
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5
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Love R, Jackson DWT, Michaels T, Smyth TAG, Avouac JP, Cooper A. From Macro- to Microscale: A combined modelling approach for near-surface wind flow on Mars at sub-dune length-scales. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276547. [PMCID: PMC9635718 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The processes that initiate and sustain sediment transport which contribute to the modification of aeolian deposits in Mars’ low-density atmosphere are still not fully understood despite recent atmospheric modelling. However, detailed microscale wind flow modelling, using Computational Fluid Dynamics at a resolution of <2 m, provides insights into the near-surface processes that cannot be modeled using larger-scale atmospheric modeling. Such Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations cannot by themselves account for regional-scale atmospheric circulations or flow modifications induced by regional km-scale topography, although realistic fine-scale mesoscale atmospheric modeling can. Using the output parameters from mesoscale simulations to inform the input conditions for the Computational Fluid Dynamics microscale simulations provides a practical approach to simulate near-surface wind flow and its relationship to very small-scale topographic features on Mars, particularly in areas which lack in situ rover data. This paper sets out a series of integrated techniques to enable a multi-scale modelling approach for surface airflow to derive surface airflow dynamics at a (dune) landform scale using High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment derived topographic data. The work therefore provides a more informed and realistic Computational Fluid Dynamics microscale modelling method, which will provide more detailed insight into the surface wind forcing of aeolian transport patterns on martian surfaces such as dunes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Love
- School of Geography & Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Derek W. T. Jackson
- School of Geography & Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
- Geological Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Timothy Michaels
- Carl Sagan Center (at the SETI Institute), Mountain View, California, United States of America
| | - Thomas A. G. Smyth
- Department of Biological and Geographical Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, England, United Kingdom
| | - Jean-Philippe Avouac
- School of Geography & Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, CalTech, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Andrew Cooper
- School of Geography & Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
- Geological Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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6
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Hoffman JA, Hecht MH, Rapp D, Hartvigsen JJ, SooHoo JG, Aboobaker AM, McClean JB, Liu AM, Hinterman ED, Nasr M, Hariharan S, Horn KJ, Meyen FE, Okkels H, Steen P, Elangovan S, Graves CR, Khopkar P, Madsen MB, Voecks GE, Smith PH, Skafte TL, Araghi KR, Eisenman DJ. Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)-Preparing for human Mars exploration. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabp8636. [PMID: 36044563 PMCID: PMC9432831 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abp8636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
MOXIE [Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Experiment] is the first demonstration of ISRU on another planet, producing oxygen by solid oxide electrolysis of carbon dioxide in the martian atmosphere. A scaled-up MOXIE would contribute to sustainable human exploration of Mars by producing on-site the tens of tons of oxygen required for a rocket to transport astronauts off the surface of Mars, instead of having to launch hundreds of tons of material from Earth's surface to transport the required oxygen to Mars. MOXIE has produced oxygen seven times between landing in February 2021 and the end of 2021 and will continue to demonstrate oxygen production during night and day throughout all martian seasons. This paper reviews what MOXIE has accomplished and the implications for larger-scale oxygen-producing systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A. Hoffman
- MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | | | | | | | | | - Asad M. Aboobaker
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | | | - Andrew M. Liu
- MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Eric D. Hinterman
- MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Maya Nasr
- MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Shravan Hariharan
- MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Kyle J. Horn
- MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Harald Okkels
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark
| | - Parker Steen
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | | | | | | | - Morten B. Madsen
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | - David J. Eisenman
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
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7
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Newman CE, Hueso R, Lemmon MT, Munguira A, Vicente-Retortillo Á, Apestigue V, Martínez GM, Toledo D, Sullivan R, Herkenhoff KE, de la Torre Juárez M, Richardson MI, Stott AE, Murdoch N, Sanchez-Lavega A, Wolff MJ, Arruego I, Sebastián E, Navarro S, Gómez-Elvira J, Tamppari L, Viúdez-Moreiras D, Harri AM, Genzer M, Hieta M, Lorenz RD, Conrad P, Gómez F, McConnochie TH, Mimoun D, Tate C, Bertrand T, Bell JF, Maki JN, Rodriguez-Manfredi JA, Wiens RC, Chide B, Maurice S, Zorzano MP, Mora L, Baker MM, Banfield D, Pla-Garcia J, Beyssac O, Brown A, Clark B, Lepinette A, Montmessin F, Fischer E, Patel P, del Río-Gaztelurrutia T, Fouchet T, Francis R, Guzewich SD. The dynamic atmospheric and aeolian environment of Jezero crater, Mars. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn3783. [PMID: 35613267 PMCID: PMC9132482 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn3783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Despite the importance of sand and dust to Mars geomorphology, weather, and exploration, the processes that move sand and that raise dust to maintain Mars' ubiquitous dust haze and to produce dust storms have not been well quantified in situ, with missions lacking either the necessary sensors or a sufficiently active aeolian environment. Perseverance rover's novel environmental sensors and Jezero crater's dusty environment remedy this. In Perseverance's first 216 sols, four convective vortices raised dust locally, while, on average, four passed the rover daily, over 25% of which were significantly dusty ("dust devils"). More rarely, dust lifting by nonvortex wind gusts was produced by daytime convection cells advected over the crater by strong regional daytime upslope winds, which also control aeolian surface features. One such event covered 10 times more area than the largest dust devil, suggesting that dust devils and wind gusts could raise equal amounts of dust under nonstorm conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Germán M. Martínez
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, Houston, TX, USA
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Naomi Murdoch
- ISAE-SUPAERO, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Leslie Tamppari
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory–California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Maria Genzer
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Maria Hieta
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Pan Conrad
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | | | - David Mimoun
- ISAE-SUPAERO, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | | | | | | | - Justin N. Maki
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory–California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Roger C. Wiens
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | | | | | | | - Luis Mora
- Centro de Astrobiologia, INTA, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariah M. Baker
- Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Don Banfield
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- NASA Ames, Mountain View, CA, USA
| | - Jorge Pla-Garcia
- Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
- Centro de Astrobiologia, INTA, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Ben Clark
- Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | | | | | - Priyaben Patel
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory–California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- UCL, London, UK
| | | | | | - Raymond Francis
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory–California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
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8
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The shallow structure of Mars at the InSight landing site from inversion of ambient vibrations. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6756. [PMID: 34815402 PMCID: PMC8611082 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26957-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Orbital and surface observations can shed light on the internal structure of Mars. NASA’s InSight mission allows mapping the shallow subsurface of Elysium Planitia using seismic data. In this work, we apply a classical seismological technique of inverting Rayleigh wave ellipticity curves extracted from ambient seismic vibrations to resolve, for the first time on Mars, the shallow subsurface to around 200 m depth. While our seismic velocity model is largely consistent with the expected layered subsurface consisting of a thin regolith layer above stacks of lava flows, we find a seismic low-velocity zone at about 30 to 75 m depth that we interpret as a sedimentary layer sandwiched somewhere within the underlying Hesperian and Amazonian aged basalt layers. A prominent amplitude peak observed in the seismic data at 2.4 Hz is interpreted as an Airy phase related to surface wave energy trapped in this local low-velocity channel. We invert Rayleigh wave ellipticity curves extracted from ambient seismic vibrations at the InSight landing site to resolve, for the first time on Mars, the shallow subsurface to around 200 m depth. While our seismic velocity model is largely consistent with the expected stacks of lava flows, we find a seismic low velocity zone at about 30 to 75 m depth that we interpret as a sedimentary layer sandwiched between layers of basalt flows.
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9
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Rodriguez-Manfredi JA, de la Torre Juárez M, Alonso A, Apéstigue V, Arruego I, Atienza T, Banfield D, Boland J, Carrera MA, Castañer L, Ceballos J, Chen-Chen H, Cobos A, Conrad PG, Cordoba E, del Río-Gaztelurrutia T, de Vicente-Retortillo A, Domínguez-Pumar M, Espejo S, Fairen AG, Fernández-Palma A, Ferrándiz R, Ferri F, Fischer E, García-Manchado A, García-Villadangos M, Genzer M, Giménez S, Gómez-Elvira J, Gómez F, Guzewich SD, Harri AM, Hernández CD, Hieta M, Hueso R, Jaakonaho I, Jiménez JJ, Jiménez V, Larman A, Leiter R, Lepinette A, Lemmon MT, López G, Madsen SN, Mäkinen T, Marín M, Martín-Soler J, Martínez G, Molina A, Mora-Sotomayor L, Moreno-Álvarez JF, Navarro S, Newman CE, Ortega C, Parrondo MC, Peinado V, Peña A, Pérez-Grande I, Pérez-Hoyos S, Pla-García J, Polkko J, Postigo M, Prieto-Ballesteros O, Rafkin SCR, Ramos M, Richardson MI, Romeral J, Romero C, Runyon KD, Saiz-Lopez A, Sánchez-Lavega A, Sard I, Schofield JT, Sebastian E, Smith MD, Sullivan RJ, Tamppari LK, Thompson AD, Toledo D, Torrero F, Torres J, Urquí R, Velasco T, Viúdez-Moreiras D, Zurita S. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, MEDA. A Suite of Environmental Sensors for the Mars 2020 Mission. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2021; 217:48. [PMID: 34776548 PMCID: PMC8550605 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-021-00816-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
NASA's Mars 2020 (M2020) rover mission includes a suite of sensors to monitor current environmental conditions near the surface of Mars and to constrain bulk aerosol properties from changes in atmospheric radiation at the surface. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) consists of a set of meteorological sensors including wind sensor, a barometer, a relative humidity sensor, a set of 5 thermocouples to measure atmospheric temperature at ∼1.5 m and ∼0.5 m above the surface, a set of thermopiles to characterize the thermal IR brightness temperatures of the surface and the lower atmosphere. MEDA adds a radiation and dust sensor to monitor the optical atmospheric properties that can be used to infer bulk aerosol physical properties such as particle size distribution, non-sphericity, and concentration. The MEDA package and its scientific purpose are described in this document as well as how it responded to the calibration tests and how it helps prepare for the human exploration of Mars. A comparison is also presented to previous environmental monitoring payloads landed on Mars on the Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, MSL, and InSight spacecraft.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - V. Apéstigue
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - I. Arruego
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - T. Atienza
- Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
| | - D. Banfield
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - J. Boland
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | | | - L. Castañer
- Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J. Ceballos
- Instituto de Microelectrónica de Sevilla (US-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - H. Chen-Chen
- Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - A. Cobos
- CRISA-Airbus, Tres Cantos, Spain
| | | | - E. Cordoba
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | | | | | | | - S. Espejo
- Instituto de Microelectrónica de Sevilla (US-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - A. G. Fairen
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - R. Ferrándiz
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - F. Ferri
- Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - E. Fischer
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA
| | | | | | - M. Genzer
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - S. Giménez
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - J. Gómez-Elvira
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - F. Gómez
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - A.-M. Harri
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - C. D. Hernández
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - M. Hieta
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - R. Hueso
- Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - I. Jaakonaho
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - J. J. Jiménez
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - V. Jiménez
- Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A. Larman
- Added-Value-Solutions, Elgoibar, Spain
| | - R. Leiter
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - A. Lepinette
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - G. López
- Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
| | - S. N. Madsen
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - T. Mäkinen
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - M. Marín
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - G. Martínez
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX USA
| | - A. Molina
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - S. Navarro
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - C. Ortega
- Added-Value-Solutions, Elgoibar, Spain
| | - M. C. Parrondo
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - V. Peinado
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - A. Peña
- CRISA-Airbus, Tres Cantos, Spain
| | | | | | | | - J. Polkko
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - M. Postigo
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - M. Ramos
- Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | | | - J. Romeral
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - C. Romero
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - A. Saiz-Lopez
- Dept. of Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate, Institute of Physical Chemistry Rocasolano, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - I. Sard
- Added-Value-Solutions, Elgoibar, Spain
| | - J. T. Schofield
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - E. Sebastian
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - M. D. Smith
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA
| | - R. J. Sullivan
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - L. K. Tamppari
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - A. D. Thompson
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - D. Toledo
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - J. Torres
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - R. Urquí
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - S. Zurita
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - The MEDA team
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
- CRISA-Airbus, Tres Cantos, Spain
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
- Added-Value-Solutions, Elgoibar, Spain
- Instituto de Microelectrónica de Sevilla (US-CSIC), Seville, Spain
- Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
- Carnegie Institution, Washington, DC USA
- Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO USA
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX USA
- Aeolis Corporation, Sierra Madre, CA USA
- Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO USA
- Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- John Hopkins APL, Laurel, MD USA
- Dept. of Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate, Institute of Physical Chemistry Rocasolano, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA
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10
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Pla-García J, Rafkin SCR, Martinez GM, Vicente-Retortillo Á, Newman CE, Savijärvi H, de la Torre M, Rodriguez-Manfredi JA, Gómez F, Molina A, Viúdez-Moreiras D, Harri AM. Meteorological Predictions for Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing Site at Jezero Crater. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2020; 216:148. [PMID: 33536691 PMCID: PMC7116669 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-020-00763-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The Mars Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (MRAMS) and a nested simulation of the Mars Weather Research and Forecasting model (MarsWRF) are used to predict the local meteorological conditions at the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site inside Jezero crater (Mars). These predictions are complemented with the COmplutense and MIchigan MArs Radiative Transfer model (COMIMART) and with the local Single Column Model (SCM) to further refine predictions of radiative forcing and the water cycle respectively. The primary objective is to facilitate interpretation of the meteorological measurements to be obtained by the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) aboard the rover, but also to provide predictions of the meteorological phenomena and seasonal changes that might impact operations, from both a risk perspective and from the perspective of being better prepared to make certain measurements. A full diurnal cycle at four different seasons (Ls 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°) is investigated. Air and ground temperatures, pressure, wind speed and direction, surface radiative fluxes and moisture data are modeled. The good agreement between observations and modeling in prior works [Pla-Garcia et al. in Icarus 280:103-113, 2016; Newman et al. in Icarus 291:203-231, 2017; Vicente-Retortillo et al. in Sci. Rep. 8(1):1-8, 2018; Savijarvi et al. in Icarus, 2020] provides confidence in utilizing these models results to predict the meteorological environment at Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site inside Jezero crater. The data returned by MEDA will determine the extent to which this confidence was justified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Pla-García
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | - G M Martinez
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, USA
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Á Vicente-Retortillo
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | - H Savijärvi
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - M de la Torre
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/CalTech, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - F Gómez
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - A Molina
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
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