Related papers: Will the Mars Helicopter Induce Local Martian Atmo…
In this work we present laboratory measurements on the reduction of the threshold friction velocity necessary for lifting dust if the dust bed is illuminated. Insolation of a porous soil establishes a temperature gradient. At low ambient…
Future missions to Mars and Venus will make use of aerobraking and aerocapture in order to gain mass through the saving of fuel at planetary arrival. So far only aerobraking has been demonstrated, if the Mars Premier project has paved the…
Emission of dust up to a few micrometer in size by impacts of sand grains during saltation is thought to be one source of dust within the Martian atmosphere. To study this dust fraction, we carried out laboratory impact experiments. Small…
The InSight mission, featuring continuous high-frequency high-sensitivity pressure measurements, is in ideal position to study the active atmospheric turbulence of Mars. Data acquired during 1.25 Martian year allows us to study the seasonal…
Tactful coordination on earth between hundreds of operators from diverse disciplines and backgrounds is needed to ensure that Martian rovers have a high likelihood of achieving their science goals while enduring the harsh environment of the…
Small convective vortices occur ubiquitously on Mars, frequently as dust devils, and they produce detectable signals in meteorological data -- in pressure, temperature, and wind speed and direction. In addition to being important…
Much of the surface of Mars is covered by dunes, ripples, and other features formed by the blowing of sand by wind, known as saltation. In addition, saltation loads the atmosphere with dust aerosols, which dominate the Martian climate. We…
Martian planet-encircling dust storms or global dust storms (GDS), resulting from the combined influence of local and regional storms, are uncommon aperiodic phenomena: with an average frequency of approximately one every 3-4 MY, they…
We investigate the global seasonal variations of near-surface relative humidity and relevant attributes, like temperature and water vapor volume mixing ratio on Mars using calculations from modelled and measurement data. We focus on 2 am…
Atmospheric dust plays an important role on the terrestrial climate, regulating the amount of solar radiation coming to the surface, affecting the development and the life time of the clouds and providing fundamental nutrients to the growth…
A review of non-local, deep transport mechanisms in the atmosphere of Earth provides a good foundation for examining whether similar mechanisms are operating in the atmospheres of Mars and Titan. On Earth, deep convective clouds in the…
We study some of the effects that magnetic turbulent fluctuations have on the dynamics of pickup O+ ions in the magnetic polar regions of the Mars ionosheath. In particular we study their effect on the bulk velocity profiles of ions as a…
Mapping and exploration of a Martian terrain with an aerial vehicle has become an emerging research direction, since the successful flight demonstration of the Mars helicopter Ingenuity. Although the autonomy and navigation capability of…
A recent study by Ramirez et al. (2014) demonstrated that an atmosphere with 1.3-4 bar of CO2 and H2O, in addition to 5-20% H2, could have raised the mean annual and global surface temperature of early Mars above the freezing point of…
This work investigates a hybrid photovoltaic-wind-battery power system designed to sustain a Mars base under varying seasonal and climatic conditions. The Mars Climate Database was utilized to simulate the effects of seasonal changes,…
Collisional charging is one potential initial step in generating lightning. In this work, we study the charging of colliding monodisperse, spherical basalt grains depending on ambient pressure. We used grains of 1.0 to 1.2 mm in one set and…
Mars is believed to have had a substantial atmosphere in the past. Atmospheric loss led to depressurization and cooling, and is thought to be the primary driving force responsible for the loss of liquid water from its surface. Recently,…
Planet-encircling dust storms fundamentally reshape Martian weather and the near-surface electrostatic environment. We investigate the generation and evolution of electric fields during global dust storms using bimodal dust size…
This study compares aerodynamic performance of the CLF5605 rotor airfoil -- which flew on Ingenuity from 2021 to 2024 -- with that of a new optimized roamx-0201 airfoil designed for Martian conditions at NASA Ames. Specifically, performance…
In the distant future, humans will surely fly to Mars. Even today, probes and vehicles are carrying out measurements on the surface of Mars. However, most landings on Mars cannot be carried out with parachutes alone. Instead, landing…