NASA has shared the first weather report on the Jezero crater on Mars – and the once ancient lake appears to be experiencing cold temperatures.
The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system aboard the Perseverance rover captured ambient temperatures for 30 minutes on February 19 around 22:25 ET.
The data show that it was just below -4F at the surface when MEDA started, but dropped to -14F 30 minutes later.
MEDA is designed with a suite of environmental sensors to record dust levels and six atmospheric conditions, along with the ability to measure the movement of radiation near the surface, which will help prepare the first people to explore Mars.
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The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system aboard the Perseverance rover captured ambient temperatures for 30 minutes on February 19 at around 22:25 ET (pictured)
Jose Antonio Rodriguez Manfredi, MEDA principal investigator at the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) at the National Institute of Aerospace Technology in Madrid, said: be confirmed that our instrument has landed safely.
“There were moments of great intensity and emotion. Finally, after years of work and planning, I received the first data report from MEDA.
“Our system was alive and sending its first weather data and images from SkyCam.”
MEDA is tied to the Perseverance mast by an extendable arm that is periodically released to check the weather.
Data show that it was just below -4F on the surface of Jezero Crater (pictured) when MEDA started, but dropped to -14F 30 minutes later.
MEDA is tied to the Perseverance mast by an extendable arm that is periodically released to check the weather. It weighs about 12 kilograms and is able to capture wind (both speed and direction), pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, soil temperature and radiation from both the Sun and space.
It weighs about 12 kilograms and is able to capture wind (both speed and direction), pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, soil temperature and radiation (both from the Sun and from space).
The system wakes up every hour and, after recording and storing data, goes to sleep independently of the rover’s operations.
And MEDA can work even if Perseverance is asleep.
When NASA received the first weather report, they quickly went to work to share it.
It weighs about 12 kilograms and is able to capture wind, pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, soil temperature and radiation
MEDA’s radiation and dust sensor showed that Jezero was experiencing a cleaner atmosphere than Gale Crater at the same time, about 2,300 miles away, according to reports from the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) aboard the Curiosity rover parked inside Gale.
MEDA pressure sensors also told engineers that the pressure on Mars was 718 Pascals, well in the range of 705-735 Pascals predicted by their models for that time on Mars.
The system will collect, store and transmit particles interacting with light, eventually affecting both temperature and weather.
Although these data points help NASA better prepare for Perseverance, the measurements are also vital for future heroes and hobbits who will one day travel to Mars.
Manuel de la Torre Juárez, deputy chief investigator for MEDA at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said: “We are very pleased to see MEDA working well.
As the ingenuity reached the pre-flight stages, a MEDA report from the 43rd and 44th Martian days, or messengers, of the mission (April 3-4 on Earth) showed a high temperature of -7.6F and decreased by -117.4 F in Jezero crater. MEDA also measured wind gusts at about 22 mph
“MEDA reports will provide a better picture of the environment near the surface. Data from MEDA and other instrument experiments will reveal several pieces of the puzzles on Mars and help prepare for human exploration. We hope that his data will contribute to the consolidation of our projects and the security of our missions. ‘
MEDA can record temperature at three atmospheric heights: 2.76 feet, 4.76 feet and 98.43 feet, in addition to surface temperature.
The system uses sensors on the rover’s body and mast and an infrared sensor capable of measuring the temperature at almost 100 feet above the rover, which is crucial for the moment when the ingenious helicopter takes flight.
As the ingenuity reached the pre-flight stages, a MEDA report from the 43rd and 44th Martian days, or messengers, of the mission (April 3-4 on Earth) showed a high temperature of -7.6F and decreased by -117.4 F in Jezero crater. MEDA also measured wind gusts at about 22 mph.
Perseverance, along with his travel companion, Ingeniousness, reached Mars on February 18 with the mission of looking for signs of ancient life in Jezero Crater, in an attempt to help scientists better understand how life on Earth evolved. .
NASA MARCH 2020: MISSION WILL SEE ROVER PERSEVERANCE AND HELICOPTER NEGOTIATION SEARCH FOR LIFE
NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will look for signs of ancient life on the red planet in an attempt to help scientists better understand how life on Earth has evolved.
Called Perseverance, the main car-sized rover will explore an ancient delta of the Jezero Crater River, which was once filled with a 1,600-meter-deep lake.
The region is thought to have hosted microbial life about 3.5 to 3.9 billion years ago, and the rover will examine soil samples to hunt for evidence of life.
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover (artist’s impression) will look for signs of ancient life on Mars, in an attempt to help scientists better understand how life has evolved on our own planet
The $ 2.5 billion (£ 1.95 billion) Mars 2020 spacecraft was launched on July 30 with the rover and helicopter inside – and successfully landed on February 18, 2021.
Perseverance has landed inside the crater and will collect evidence that will eventually be returned to Earth for further analysis.
A second mission will fly to the planet and return the samples, probably by the end of 2020 in partnership with the European Space Agency.
This conceptual art shows the Mars 2020 rover landing on the red planet through NASA’s “sky-crane” system