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researchers in NYU Abu Dhabi Mars’ surface temperature has been measured more extensively using data from the Hope rover.
The new study measured surface temperature across the planet, including its daily and seasonal changes.
NASA orbiters and rovers have made such measurements before, but Hope’s unique position in Mars orbit – which is much higher than others – allowing it to see parts of the earth at different times of the day.
The findings were published in Royal Astronomical Society Monthly ReviewPeer-Reviewed Scientific Journal, Aug. 12.
Hope was the first Arab spacecraft to go to Mars.
Built by Emirati engineers in conjunction with three US universities, it has been orbiting the Earth since 9 February 2021.
Dimitra Atri, a research scientist at NYU Space Science Center and lead author of the study, told National They used Hope’s infrared spectrometer, also known as EMIRS, to make the measurements.
“For the first time, we have measured the surface temperature of the entire planet, as well as its daily and seasonal variations, using data from the UAE’s Hope probe,” he said.
“Thanks to Hope’s unique orbit, for the first time, we were able to measure the temperature in all local times over much of the planet.
“This was not possible early on because other orbiters are in a highly elliptical orbit, and unlike Hope, they can only measure a small portion of Earth at a time.
“When doing the analysis, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the data, so much so that we were able to select any point on Earth and get daily and seasonal changes in temperature.”
The researchers found that the average surface temperature of Mars is between 140 Kelvin and 280 Kelvin, or -133°C to 7°C.
The hoped-for observations were compared to data from NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, which are deployed on the surface of the Red Planet.
“Since I’ve worked with both rovers, I know that Curiosity’s REMS instrument and Perseverance’s MEDA instrument are also continuously measuring the surface temperature of Mars in Gale and Jezero craters, respectively,” said Ateli. Dr. said.
“So, I decided to compare the temperature we measured from orbit with the temperature measured from the surface.
“Overall, we found that the agreement between the three tasks was very good.”
colder nights on the red planet
However, Hope’s data suggests that Martian nights may be colder than previously thought.
Dr. Atri and his team are now conducting more research to determine whether these specific findings are accurate, or if there are factors that interfere with the measurements.
“There are some subtle discrepancies that we are working to resolve and will lead to better estimates from hopefully global temperature data,” he said.
Mars’ atmosphere is too thin to retain heat. For decades, scientists have been trying to understand how the planet lost its atmosphere, rendering it incapable of hosting life.
Four sets of data captured by the Hope rover, totaling 118.5 GB, have been released to the public since arriving on Mars.
The observations also helped Dr Ateli create an atlas of the Red Planet designed to show how Mars has changed over time.
The atlas is published in English and Arabic.
In December, the orbiter tracked a massive dust storm on Mars for more than two weeks, helping to show how fast they can travel across the planet.
fast growing area dust storm It has expanded to thousands of kilometers in late December.
sandstorm Mars cause extremely turbulent weather. They can be as high as 30 kilometers and cover the entire planet.
The storm is visible from space, making the planet appear as a bright red ball.
Scientists hope that by studying them, they can learn more about how they dry out the planet by helping Martian water escape Earth’s atmosphere.
Hope used a high-resolution camera and infrared spectrometer to record the storm’s development and dissipation.
These instruments reveal thermal conditions on the planet’s surface and lower atmosphere, detailing the geographic distribution of clouds of dust, water vapor, water and carbon dioxide ice.
Updated: August 20, 2022 7:26 am
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