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Spry JA, Siegel B, Bakermans C, Beaty DW, Bell MS, Benardini JN, Bonaccorsi R, Castro-Wallace SL, Coil DA, Coustenis A, Doran PT, Fenton L, Fidler DP, Glass B, Hoffman SJ, Karouia F, Levine JS, Lupisella ML, Martin-Torres J, Mogul R, Olsson-Francis K, Ortega-Ugalde S, Patel MR, Pearce DA, Race MS, Regberg AB, Rettberg P, Rummel JD, Sato KY, Schuerger AC, Sefton-Nash E, Sharkey M, Singh NK, Sinibaldi S, Stabekis P, Stoker CR, Venkateswaran KJ, Zimmerman RR, Zorzano-Mier MP. Planetary Protection Knowledge Gap Closure Enabling Crewed Missions to Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:230-274. [PMID: 38507695 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
As focus for exploration of Mars transitions from current robotic explorers to development of crewed missions, it remains important to protect the integrity of scientific investigations at Mars, as well as protect the Earth's biosphere from any potential harmful effects from returned martian material. This is the discipline of planetary protection, and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) maintains the consensus international policy and guidelines on how this is implemented. Based on National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) studies that began in 2001, COSPAR adopted principles and guidelines for human missions to Mars in 2008. At that point, it was clear that to move from those qualitative provisions, a great deal of work and interaction with spacecraft designers would be necessary to generate meaningful quantitative recommendations that could embody the intent of the Outer Space Treaty (Article IX) in the design of such missions. Beginning in 2016, COSPAR then sponsored a multiyear interdisciplinary meeting series to address planetary protection "knowledge gaps" (KGs) with the intent of adapting and extending the current robotic mission-focused Planetary Protection Policy to support the design and implementation of crewed and hybrid exploration missions. This article describes the outcome of the interdisciplinary COSPAR meeting series, to describe and address these KGs, as well as identify potential paths to gap closure. It includes the background scientific basis for each topic area and knowledge updates since the meeting series ended. In particular, credible solutions for KG closure are described for the three topic areas of (1) microbial monitoring of spacecraft and crew health; (2) natural transport (and survival) of terrestrial microbial contamination at Mars, and (3) the technology and operation of spacecraft systems for contamination control. The article includes a KG data table on these topic areas, which is intended to be a point of departure for making future progress in developing an end-to-end planetary protection requirements implementation solution for a crewed mission to Mars. Overall, the workshop series has provided evidence of the feasibility of planetary protection implementation for a crewed Mars mission, given (1) the establishment of needed zoning, emission, transport, and survival parameters for terrestrial biological contamination and (2) the creation of an accepted risk-based compliance approach for adoption by spacefaring actors including national space agencies and commercial/nongovernment organizations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Corien Bakermans
- Department of Biology, Penn. State University (Altoona), Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David W Beaty
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | | | - Rosalba Bonaccorsi
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - David A Coil
- School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | | | - Peter T Doran
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Lori Fenton
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
| | - David P Fidler
- Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Brian Glass
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - Fathi Karouia
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Joel S Levine
- College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Javier Martin-Torres
- School of Geoscience, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR), Armilla, Spain
| | - Rakesh Mogul
- California Polytechnic (Pomona), Pomona, California, USA
| | - Karen Olsson-Francis
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | | | - Manish R Patel
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - David A Pearce
- Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - John D Rummel
- Friday Harbor Associates LLC, Friday Harbor, Washington, USA
| | | | - Andrew C Schuerger
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Merritt Island, Florida, USA
| | | | - Matthew Sharkey
- US Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Nitin K Singh
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | | | - Carol R Stoker
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
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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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Viúdez‐Moreiras D, de la Torre M, Gómez‐Elvira J, Lorenz RD, Apéstigue V, Guzewich S, Mischna M, Sullivan R, Herkenhoff K, Toledo D, Lemmon M, Smith M, Newman CE, Sánchez‐Lavega A, Rodríguez‐Manfredi JA, Richardson M, Hueso R, Harri AM, Tamppari L, Arruego I, Bell J. Winds at the Mars 2020 Landing Site. 2. Wind Variability and Turbulence. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2022; 127:e2022JE007523. [PMID: 37033152 PMCID: PMC10078282 DOI: 10.1029/2022je007523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Wind speeds measured by the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover in Jezero crater were fitted as a Weibull distribution. InSight wind data acquired in Elysium Planitia were also used to contextualize observations. Jezero winds were found to be much calmer on average than in previous landing sites, despite the intense aeolian activity observed. However, a great influence of turbulence and wave activity was observed in the wind speed variations, thus driving the probability of reaching the highest wind speeds at Jezero, instead of sustained winds driven by local, regional, or large-scale circulation. The power spectral density of wind speed fluctuations follows a power-law, whose slope deviates depending on the time of day from that predicted considering homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. Daytime wave activity is related to convection cells and smaller eddies in the boundary layer, advected over the crater. The signature of convection cells was also found during dust storm conditions, when prevailing winds were consistent with a tidal drive. Nighttime fluctuations were also intense, suggesting strong mechanical turbulence. Convective vortices were usually involved in rapid wind fluctuations and extreme winds, with variations peaking at 9.2 times the background winds. Transient high wind events by vortex-passages, turbulence, and wave activity could be driving aeolian activity at Jezero. We report the detection of a strong dust cloud of 0.75-1.5 km in length passing over the rover. The observed aeolian activity had major implications for instrumentation, with the wind sensor suffering damage throughout the mission, probably due to flying debris advected by winds.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Viúdez‐Moreiras
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC‐INTA) and National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA)MadridSpain
| | - M. de la Torre
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - J. Gómez‐Elvira
- National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA)MadridSpain
| | | | - V. Apéstigue
- National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA)MadridSpain
| | - S. Guzewich
- NASA Goddard Spaceflight CenterGreenbeltMDUSA
| | - M. Mischna
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | | | | | - D. Toledo
- National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA)MadridSpain
| | - M. Lemmon
- Space Science InstituteCollege StationTXUSA
| | - M. Smith
- NASA Goddard Spaceflight CenterGreenbeltMDUSA
| | | | | | - J. A. Rodríguez‐Manfredi
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC‐INTA) and National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA)MadridSpain
| | | | - R. Hueso
- Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU)BilbaoSpain
| | - A. M. Harri
- Finnish Meteorological InstituteHelsinkiFinland
| | - L. Tamppari
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - I. Arruego
- National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA)MadridSpain
| | - J. Bell
- School of Earth and Space ExplorationArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
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Domínguez-Pumar M, Kowalski L, Jiménez V, Rodríguez I, Soria M, Bermejo S, Pons-Nin J. Analyzing the Performance of a Miniature 3D Wind Sensor for Mars. SENSORS 2020; 20:s20205912. [PMID: 33092016 PMCID: PMC7589199 DOI: 10.3390/s20205912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
This paper analyzes the behavior of a miniature 3D wind sensor designed for Mars atmosphere. The sensor is a spherical structure of 10 mm diameter divided in four sectors. By setting all the sectors to constant temperature, above that of the air, the 3D wind velocity vector can be measured. Two sets of experiments have been performed. First, an experimental campaign made under typical Mars conditions at the Aarhus Wind Tunnel Simulator is presented. The results demonstrate that both wind speed and angle can be efficiently measured, using a simple inverse algorithm. The effect of sudden wind changes is also analyzed and fast response times in the range of 0.7 s are obtained. The second set of experiments is focused on analyzing the performance of the sensor under extreme Martian wind conditions, reaching and going beyond the Dust Devil scale. To this purpose, both high-fidelity numerical simulations of fluid dynamics and heat transfer and experiments with the sensor have been performed. The results of the experiments, made for winds in the Reynolds number 1000–2000 range, which represent 65–130 m/s of wind speed under typical Mars conditions, further confirm the simulation predictions and show that it will be possible to successfully measure wind speed and direction even under these extreme regimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Domínguez-Pumar
- Micro and Nano Technologies Group, Electronic Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; (L.K.); (V.J.); (S.B.); (J.P.-N.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-93-401-5679
| | - Lukasz Kowalski
- Micro and Nano Technologies Group, Electronic Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; (L.K.); (V.J.); (S.B.); (J.P.-N.)
| | - Vicente Jiménez
- Micro and Nano Technologies Group, Electronic Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; (L.K.); (V.J.); (S.B.); (J.P.-N.)
| | - Ivette Rodríguez
- Turbulence and Aerodynamics in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Research Group, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08222 Terrassa, Spain; (I.R.); (M.S.)
| | - Manel Soria
- Turbulence and Aerodynamics in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Research Group, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08222 Terrassa, Spain; (I.R.); (M.S.)
| | - Sandra Bermejo
- Micro and Nano Technologies Group, Electronic Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; (L.K.); (V.J.); (S.B.); (J.P.-N.)
| | - Joan Pons-Nin
- Micro and Nano Technologies Group, Electronic Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; (L.K.); (V.J.); (S.B.); (J.P.-N.)
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Fischer E, Martínez GM, Rennó NO, Tamppari LK, Zent AP. Relative Humidity on Mars: New Results From the Phoenix TECP Sensor. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2019; 124:2780-2792. [PMID: 32025455 PMCID: PMC6988475 DOI: 10.1029/2019je006080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Revised: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
In situ measurements of relative humidity (RH) on Mars have only been performed by the Phoenix (PHX) and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) missions. Here we present results of our recalibration of the PHX thermal and electrical conductivity probe (TECP) RH sensor. This recalibration was conducted using a TECP engineering model subjected to the full range of environmental conditions at the PHX landing site in the Michigan Mars Environmental Chamber. The experiments focused on the warmest and driest conditions (daytime) because they were not covered in the original calibration (Zent et al., 2010, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JE003420) and previous recalibration (Zent et al., 2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JE004933). In nighttime conditions, our results are in excellent agreement with the previous 2016 recalibration, while in daytime conditions, our results show larger water vapor pressure values. We obtain vapor pressure values in the range ~0.005-1.4 Pa, while Zent et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JE004933) obtain values in the range ~0.004-0.4 Pa. Our higher daytime values are in better agreement with independent estimates from the ground by the PHX Surface Stereo Imager instrument and from orbit by Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars. Our results imply larger day-to-night ratios of water vapor pressure at PHX compared to MSL, suggesting a stronger atmosphere-regolith interchange in the Martian arctic than at lower latitudes. Further, they indicate that brine formation at the PHX landing site via deliquescence can be achieved only temporarily between midnight and 6 a.m. on a few sols. The results from our recalibration are important because they shed light on the near-surface humidity environment on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. Fischer
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and EngineeringUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - G. M. Martínez
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and EngineeringUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
- Lunar and Planetary InstituteUniversities Space Research AssociationHoustonTXUSA
| | - N. O. Rennó
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and EngineeringUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - L. K. Tamppari
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - A. P. Zent
- NASA Ames Research CenterMountain ViewCAUSA
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6
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Pähtz T, Kok JF, Parteli EJR, Herrmann HJ. Flux saturation length of sediment transport. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2013; 111:218002. [PMID: 24313529 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.111.218002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2012] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Sediment transport along the surface drives geophysical phenomena as diverse as wind erosion and dune formation. The main length scale controlling the dynamics of sediment erosion and deposition is the saturation length Ls, which characterizes the flux response to a change in transport conditions. Here we derive, for the first time, an expression predicting Ls as a function of the average sediment velocity under different physical environments. Our expression accounts for both the characteristics of sediment entrainment and the saturation of particle and fluid velocities, and has only two physical parameters which can be estimated directly from independent experiments. We show that our expression is consistent with measurements of Ls in both aeolian and subaqueous transport regimes over at least 5 orders of magnitude in the ratio of fluid and particle density, including on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Pähtz
- Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310058 Hangzhou, China and State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, 310012 Hangzhou, China
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Tamppari LK, Bass D, Cantor B, Daubar I, Dickinson C, Fisher D, Fujii K, Gunnlauggson HP, Hudson TL, Kass D, Kleinböhl A, Komguem L, Lemmon MT, Mellon M, Moores J, Pankine A, Pathak J, Searls M, Seelos F, Smith MD, Smrekar S, Taylor P, Holstein-Rathlou C, Weng W, Whiteway J, Wolff M. Phoenix and MRO coordinated atmospheric measurements. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009je003415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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