Saturday, April 10, 2021 at 10:54 AM – The first weather report of Perseverance from Xero Crater reveals awe-inspiring weather with extreme temperatures.
A day after landing on Mars, the Perseverance rover had already given the first glimpse of the weather in crater Xerox. Thus, for the first time, on February 19, Perseverance powered the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer to its integrated weather station called Meda, which is small. Within 30 minutes of the system being active, the air temperature in the station dropped from -20 C to -25 to C. This is not so severe compared to the activity of our own mercury in cold weather.
However, from April 3-4, the rover Zero was treated to the normal spring temperatures of the crater, as the Martian helicopter ingenuity Martin endured the night itself.
Photo credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Freezing temperatures
That day, the highest temperature ever measured by Meda was -22 ° C. Although it was definitely very cold, it was nothing compared to the ingenuity to deal with a freezing night of -83 ° C!
In comparison, one would have to travel to the South Pole to find such temperatures on our planet as ingeniously enduring from April 3-4. 38 years ago, on July 23, 1983, Vostok station hit a record -89.2. Registered as C. This is the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth.
However, perseverance seems to have not yet experienced the coldest temperatures on Mars. NASA has predicted that nighttime temperatures in the Xerox Crater will drop below -90 as C. According to data from the Curiosity rover deployed on Mars in 2012, a few thousand kilometers into the Gale crater, it will be even colder. In winter, the Curiosity REMS device recorded night depths below -120 below C.
Other Martian weather phenomena
Perseverance and ingenuity are one of the most recognizable features of the Martian atmosphere. True, a month after the perseverance landed, Rover’s cameras recorded a tornado moving dust in the background.
Before it landed, the rover’s cameras were even able to catch a whirlwind of dust! On Soul 0 on February 18, just minutes after Martin entered the atmosphere, Perseverance was busy taking photos of the surface to find a safe place to land. In the process, a vortex of dust appeared as it climbed to the top of the Delta River, west of where the rover eventually landed.
Perseverance was NASA’s first surface mission to Mars with a camera dedicated to examining clouds. It’s called the Skycam and it’s on the rover’s deck.
So far, according to NASA, Perseverance has observed very clear skies, as confirmed by its daily photos.
Flight forecast
From perseverance meteorological data are of great interest to scientists. Over the next 30 days, they will be used for ingenuity test flights.
The helicopter’s first test flight is currently scheduled for Sunday, April 11. NASA is expected to release the results of this historic test on Monday morning.
See also: Visualized: Where do animals go when the seasons change?
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