This article is from WeChat official account:Science University (ID: kexuedayuan) , author: Zhang blue (moon and deep space exploration in general the Ministry of national space Science Center Chinese Academy of sciences), head Figure from: “Mars rescue”
Tomorrow is the Ching Ming holiday. People who are going to go outing naturally have to check the weather forecast first, and arrange their clothes and travel accordingly. Having said that, Did you know that Mars also has a weather forecast?
According to the data returned by the Mars rover, NASA will release the Mars weather forecast from February 2019! The information released includes Martian weather conditions, temperature, pressure, and sunrise and sunset times. Those who are going to Mars, remember to check the Mars weather forecast before going out next time.
Concept picture Seeing an astronaut standing on Mars from the probe window (picture source: NASA)
The Martian weather forecast can also allow scientists to better understand the changing laws of the Martian climate, and help various exploration missions to understand the weather conditions on Mars in time, so that the probe can avoid the harsh conditions on Mars when landing or working. Weather condition.
There are also sunny and cloudy days on Mars, as well as strong winds and dust, but it does not rain. Let’s take a look at a few weather conditions that are very characteristic of Mars.
Sandstorm on Mars
Maybe everyone has seen Mars from the movie “The Martian”How terrible the sandstorm is. Dust storms of various sizes on Mars will erupt hundreds of times a year, and large-scale dust storms will even spread from a local area to the entire planet, lasting for several months. This overwhelming dust may cover the solar panels on the probe, block it from absorbing sunlight, and put the probe into trouble in the desert of Mars.
The American “Opportunity” Mars rover suffered a power supply system failure during a dust storm in June 2018, lost contact with the earth, and ended its glorious mission.
The sandstorm near Gale Crater in June 2018 taken by the American “Curiosity” Mars rover (Source: NASA)
The video below shows the appearance and color changes of this red planet during the global dust storm on Mars in 2018.
(Video source: NASA)
Like the dust storms on Earth, the Martian dust storms also originated from the dry climate, deserted land and strong windssweeping. Mars is extremely dry, greatly increasing the scale and power of dust storms. On the earth, sand dust will fall down when it encounters rain erosion after being lifted, and will no longer be lifted; while on Mars, there is no rain to make sand dust fall. After sand dust is lifted into the atmosphere, it will fall down.Stay in the air until the dust particles slowly fall down by themselves, and then be lifted up again in the wind.
Wind on Mars
As the “engine” of sandstorms, the wind on Mars “cannot be ignored.” Because the atmosphere on Mars is extremely thin, the density is less than 1% of the earth’s atmosphere, and there is almost no heat preservation effect. The temperature difference between day and night on Mars is extremely large, resulting in a huge pressure difference, and storms on Mars are produced in this way. Although the dust storm blown by the Martian wind can cover the detector with dust, it can sometimes be lucky to blow the dust away, so that the power generation of the solar panels can be restored and become a “dust removal wind.”
The weather data of a day on Mars in autumn published on NASA’s official website shows a temperature difference of 64℃ between day and night (picture source: NASA)
As the season changes, the temperature difference between day and night decreases, the wind slowly decreases, and the sandy weather gradually calms down.
“Snowflakes” on Mars
According to the data detected by the US “Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter”, US researchers have confirmed that “snowflakes” have floated on the surface of Mars. Unlike snowflakes on Earth, snowflakes on Mars are “dry ice snowflakes” formed from carbon dioxide. This is a unique weather phenomenon in the solar system. It can make carbon dioxide form snowflakes, which also means that the local temperature of Mars is as low as -125°C. These “snowflakes” have no chance to fall on the surface of Mars, and evaporate into the thin Martian atmosphere while still in the air.
Don’t look at how cold and dry Mars is now. Scientists have discovered that there are various signs that Mars was once a warm and humid planet, and there may have been life. So why did the climate and environment of the once prosperous Mars change drastically? Understanding the past and present of Mars can also help us betterTaking care of the earth we live in now may also help us create a new future on Mars.
This article is from WeChat official account:Science University (ID: kexuedayuan) , author: Zhang blue (moon and overall part of the national space Science Center Chinese Academy of sciences deep space exploration)