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Piqueux S, Müller N, Grott M, Siegler M, Millour E, Forget F, Lemmon M, Golombek M, Williams N, Grant J, Warner N, Ansan V, Daubar I, Knollenberg J, Maki J, Spiga A, Banfield D, Spohn T, Smrekar S, Banerdt B. Soil Thermophysical Properties Near the InSight Lander Derived From 50 Sols of Radiometer Measurements. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2021; 126:e2021JE006859. [PMID: 35845552 PMCID: PMC9285084 DOI: 10.1029/2021je006859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Measurements from the InSight lander radiometer acquired after landing are used to characterize the thermophysical properties of the Martian soil in Homestead hollow. This data set is unique as it stems from a high measurement cadence fixed platform studying a simple well-characterized surface, and it benefits from the environmental characterization provided by other instruments. We focus on observations acquired before the arrival of a regional dust storm (near Sol 50), on the furthest observed patch of soil (i.e., ∼3.5 m away from the edge of the lander deck) where temperatures are least impacted by the presence of the lander and where the soil has been least disrupted during landing. Diurnal temperature cycles are fit using a homogenous soil configuration with a thermal inertia of 183 ± 25 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2 and an albedo of 0.16, corresponding to very fine to fine sand with the vast majority of particles smaller than 140 μm. A pre-landing assessment leveraging orbital thermal infrared data is consistent with these results, but our analysis of the full diurnal temperature cycle acquired from the ground further indicates that near surface layers with different thermophysical properties must be thin (i.e., typically within the top few mm) and deep layering with different thermophysical properties must be at least below ∼4 cm. The low thermal inertia value indicates limited soil cementation within the upper one or two skin depths (i.e., ∼4-8 cm and more), with cement volumes <<1%, which is challenging to reconcile with visible images of overhangs in pits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Piqueux
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Nils Müller
- DLR Institute for Planetary ResearchBerlinGermany
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Matthew Golombek
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Nathan Williams
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - John Grant
- National Air and Space MuseumSmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonDCUSA
| | | | | | | | | | - Justin Maki
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | | | | | - Tilman Spohn
- DLR Institute for Planetary ResearchBerlinGermany
- International Space Science Institute ISSIBernSwitzerland
| | - Susan Smrekar
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Bruce Banerdt
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
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3
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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
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5
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Rivera-Valentín EG, Gough RV, Chevrier VF, Primm KM, Martínez GM, Tolbert M. Constraining the Potential Liquid Water Environment at Gale Crater, Mars. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2018; 123:1156-1167. [PMID: 33294305 PMCID: PMC7720553 DOI: 10.1002/2018je005558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) has now made continuous in situ meteorological measurements for several Martian years at Gale crater, Mars. Of importance in the search for liquid formation are REMS' measurements of ground temperature and in-air measurements of temperature and relative humidity, which is with respect to ice. Such data can constrain the surface and subsurface stability of brines. Here we use updated calibrations to REMS data and consistent relative humidity comparisons (i.e., with respect to liquid versus with respect to ice) to investigate the potential formation of surface and subsurface liquids throughout MSL's traverse. We specifically study the potential for the deliquescence of calcium perchlorate. Our data analysis suggests that surface brine formation is not favored within the first 1648 sols as there are only two times (sols 1232 and 1311) when humidity-temperature conditions were within error consistent with a liquid phase. On the other hand, modeling of the subsurface environment would support brine production in the shallow subsurface. Indeed, we find that the shallow subsurface for terrains with low thermal inertia (Γ ≲ 300 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2) may be occasionally favorable to brine formation through deliquescence. Terrains with Γ ≲ 175 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2 and albedos of ≳0.25 are the most apt to subsurface brine formation. Should brines form, they would occur around Ls 100°. Their predicted properties would not meet the Special nor Uncertain Region requirements, as such they would not be potential habitable environments to life as we know it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edgard G Rivera-Valentín
- Arecibo Observatory, Universities Space Research Association, Arecibo, PR, USA
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Raina V Gough
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Vincent F Chevrier
- Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Katherine M Primm
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - German M Martínez
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Margaret Tolbert
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
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6
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Martínez GM, Rennó N, Fischer E, Borlina CS, Hallet B, de la Torre Juárez M, Vasavada AR, Ramos M, Hamilton V, Gomez-Elvira J, Haberle RM. Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2014; 119:1822-1838. [PMID: 26213666 PMCID: PMC4508907 DOI: 10.1002/2014je004618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 07/12/2014] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The analysis of the surface energy budget (SEB) yields insights into soil-atmosphere interactions and local climates, while the analysis of the thermal inertia (I) of shallow subsurfaces provides context for evaluating geological features. Mars orbital data have been used to determine thermal inertias at horizontal scales of ∼104 m2 to ∼107 m2. Here we use measurements of ground temperature and atmospheric variables by Curiosity to calculate thermal inertias at Gale Crater at horizontal scales of ∼102 m2. We analyze three sols representing distinct environmental conditions and soil properties, sol 82 at Rocknest (RCK), sol 112 at Point Lake (PL), and sol 139 at Yellowknife Bay (YKB). Our results indicate that the largest thermal inertia I = 452 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2 (SI units used throughout this article) is found at YKB followed by PL with I = 306 and RCK with I = 295. These values are consistent with the expected thermal inertias for the types of terrain imaged by Mastcam and with previous satellite estimations at Gale Crater. We also calculate the SEB using data from measurements by Curiosity's Rover Environmental Monitoring Station and dust opacity values derived from measurements by Mastcam. The knowledge of the SEB and thermal inertia has the potential to enhance our understanding of the climate, the geology, and the habitability of Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- G M Martínez
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - N Rennó
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - E Fischer
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - C S Borlina
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - B Hallet
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of WashingtonSeattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - A R Vasavada
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryPasadena, California, USA
| | - M Ramos
- Departamento de Física, Universidad de Alcalá de HenaresMadrid, Spain
| | - V Hamilton
- Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research InstituteBoulder, Colorado, USA
| | | | - R M Haberle
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research CenterMoffett Field, California, USA
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