Mars has a notoriously inhospitable environment, with temperatures that fluctuate dramatically over the course of a Martian day and average minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mars has a notoriously inhospitable environment, with temperatures that fluctuate dramatically over the course of a Martian day and average minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Its surface is mostly covered in red dust, with terrain typified by craters, canyons, and volcanoes. And its atmosphere is extremely thin, comprising only about 1% of the density of Earth’s.
Needless to say, measuring wind speeds on the red planet is challenging. Martian landers have been able capture measurements — some gauging the cooling rate of heated materials when winds blow over them, others using cameras to image “tell-tales” that blow in the wind. Both anemometric methods have yielded valuable insight into the planet’s climate and atmosphere.
But there’s still room for improvement in the astronomical toolshed, especially as plans to send astronauts to Mars unfold in the coming years.
Read more at American Institute of Physics
Image: Authors Robert White (left), Ian Neeson (center) and Don Banfield (right) in the Mars Simulation Wind Tunnel at the University of Aarhus, Denmark in 2019, preparing to test early prototypes of the Mars sonic anemometer, visible in the center. The two prototypes were fabricated by Tufts University (left) and VN Instruments (right). Credit: White, Neeson, and Banfield
