Meteorological observations on Martian surface: met-packages of Mars-96 Small Stations and Penetrators

Abstract

The scientific objectives of a meterological experiment on the Martian surface are defined, and the meteorological equipment of the landing elements of the Mars-96 mission are described with emphasis on the applicability for re-use in forthcoming Mars missions. The general strategy for atmospheric surface observations is discussed. Meteorological surface observations are of utmost value in studying the Martian atmosphere. The climatological cycles and atmospheric circulations, as well as the boundary layer phenomena can be understood thoroughly only, if the contribution of in situ surface measurements are amalgamated with the remote observations. The Mars-96 mission had an ambitious goal of deploying four versatile payloads at four Northern hemispheric sites. The observations of pressure, temperature, wind, atmospheric optical thickness and humidity, as well as pressure and temperature measurements during the atmospheric descent were included in the meteorology experiment. Even though the Mars-96 mission was unsuccessful, the objectives and implementation of the meteorology experiment are applicable to any forthcoming landing mission to Mars. This applies both to a mission having a number of observation sites spread all over the surface of Mars, and to a single lander or rover. The main operational objective of this meteorological experiment is to provide a regular time series of the meteorological parameters with accelerated measurement campaigns during dawn and dusk. Such a data set would substantially improve our understanding of the atmospheric structure, dynamics, climatological cycles, and the atmosphere-surface interactions. The implementation of the meteorology instrument features advanced sensor technology and flexible system design. The application on the Mars-96 landing elements was, however, severely constrained by the limited power supply. The usefulness of the system can be substantially enhanced by modest additional resources and with few or no design modifications.