Researchers from New York University Abu Dhabi used data from the Hope probe to measure surface temperatures on Mars in more detail.
The new study measures the surface temperature of the entire planet, including daily and seasonal changes.
NASA’s orbiters and spacecraft have made such measurements before, but Hope’s unique position in Mars’ orbit – much higher than others – allows it to see different parts of the planet at different times of the day.
Results have been published Monthly Reviews of the Royal Astronomical SocietyOn August 12, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Hope was the first Arab spacecraft to reach Mars.
Built by Emirati engineers in cooperation with three American universities, it has been orbiting the planet since February 9, 2021.
said Dimitra Adri, a research scientist at the New York University Abu Dhabi Space Science Center and lead author of the study. National They used Hope’s Spectroscopy, also known as EMIRS.
“We have, for the first time, measured the surface temperature of the entire planet and its daily and seasonal changes using data from the UAE’s HOPE probe,” he said.
“Because of Hope’s unique orbit, we have been able for the first time to measure temperatures at all local times for most parts of the planet.
“This wasn’t possible before because the other orbits are in very elliptical orbits, and unlike Hope, they only measure a very small portion of the planet at any one time.
“During the analysis, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the data, so we were able to pick any point on the planet and get daily and seasonal variations in temperature.”
The researchers found that the average surface temperature of Mars ranges from 140 K to 280 K or -133 degrees Celsius to 7 degrees Celsius.
Hope’s observations were compared to data from NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance spacecraft, which has been deployed to the surface of the Red Planet.
“Having already worked with these two rovers, I know that Curiosity’s REMS instrument and Perseverance’s MEDA instrument continue to measure Martian surface temperatures at Gale Crater and Jezero Crater, respectively,” said Dr. Adri.
“So I decided to compare the temperatures we measured from orbit with the measurements from the surface.
“Overall, we found excellent agreement across the three missions.”
Cold nights on the red planet
However, Hope’s data shows that Mars is much cooler at night than previously thought.
Dr. Adri and his team are currently conducting additional research to determine if these specific results are accurate or if there are factors interfering with the measurements.
“There are some small inconsistencies that we are trying to resolve that will lead to a better estimate of global temperature data from the Hope Institute,” he said.
Mars has a very thin atmosphere and cannot retain heat. For decades, scientists have been trying to understand how the planet lost its atmosphere, making it impossible for it to host life.
Four sets of data captured by the Hope probe, totaling 118.5 gigabytes, have been released to the public since its arrival on Mars.
The observations helped Dr. Adri create an atlas of the red planet that aims to show how Mars has changed over time.
The atlas is published in both English and Arabic.
In December, the probe tracked a large dust storm on Mars for more than two weeks, helping to show how quickly it might spread across the planet.
A regional dust storm developed rapidly in late December and spanned several thousand kilometres.
Dust storms on Mars cause extremely turbulent weather. It reaches a height of 30 kilometers and covers the entire planet.
Storms can be seen from space, making the planet appear as a red ball.
Through their study, scientists hope that they can gain more insight into how Mars dries up the planet by helping it escape its atmosphere.
Hope used a high-resolution camera and infrared spectroscopy to document the storm’s development and dissipation.
The instruments revealed the temperature of the planet’s surface and lower atmosphere, and provided details of the geographic distribution of dust, water vapor, water and carbon dioxide ice clouds.
Updated: August 20 2022, 7:26 am
