Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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With the best air pressure sensor ever on Mars, scientists find a mystery
This feature is repetitive and "slightly strange."
2/20/2019
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/02/some-weird-things-are-happening-with-air-pressure-on-mars/
Other spacecraft have brought comparable temperature and wind sensors to Mars before, but none have carried such a precise air pressure sensor. The new sensor is 10 times more sensitive than any previous instrument because InSight needs to detect slight movements in the Martian ground, and from such movements infer details about the red planet's interior. For this, weather matters.
The Martian atmosphere may be very thin—typically it varies between 700 and 740 pascals at the surface, less than one percent of Earth's surface pressure—but it nonetheless can induce slight tilts in the Martian surface. The air pressure sensor will therefore help scientists calibrate the lander's seismometer so that any tilting due to higher or lower air pressure can be filtered out of the data. It's actually pretty amazing that even so thin an atmosphere can have a slight effect on the Martian surface and that InSight's seismometer is sensitive enough to detect it.
Since InSight landed in November of last year, Banfield and other scientists have been eagerly studying data from the air pressure sensor, and they've made a few discoveries. Some were expected, such as gravity waves in the Martian atmosphere. The instrument has measured these repetitive oscillations in the atmosphere most evenings. Such gravity waves are also observed in Earth's atmosphere, particularly when a uniform air mass is perturbed by a mountain or island.
But scientists have also found something of a mystery in the pressure data on the surface of Mars. Twice a Martian day, at around local 7am and 7pm, there are hiccups in what otherwise should be a smooth rise and fall in surface pressures. Initially, the scientists believed this effect must be caused by something on the lander, but eventually they were able to rule out a cause due to an instrument anomaly or heating source on InSight.
Mars weather from Insight page:
https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/
This feature is repetitive and "slightly strange."
2/20/2019
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/02/some-weird-things-are-happening-with-air-pressure-on-mars/
Other spacecraft have brought comparable temperature and wind sensors to Mars before, but none have carried such a precise air pressure sensor. The new sensor is 10 times more sensitive than any previous instrument because InSight needs to detect slight movements in the Martian ground, and from such movements infer details about the red planet's interior. For this, weather matters.
The Martian atmosphere may be very thin—typically it varies between 700 and 740 pascals at the surface, less than one percent of Earth's surface pressure—but it nonetheless can induce slight tilts in the Martian surface. The air pressure sensor will therefore help scientists calibrate the lander's seismometer so that any tilting due to higher or lower air pressure can be filtered out of the data. It's actually pretty amazing that even so thin an atmosphere can have a slight effect on the Martian surface and that InSight's seismometer is sensitive enough to detect it.
Since InSight landed in November of last year, Banfield and other scientists have been eagerly studying data from the air pressure sensor, and they've made a few discoveries. Some were expected, such as gravity waves in the Martian atmosphere. The instrument has measured these repetitive oscillations in the atmosphere most evenings. Such gravity waves are also observed in Earth's atmosphere, particularly when a uniform air mass is perturbed by a mountain or island.
But scientists have also found something of a mystery in the pressure data on the surface of Mars. Twice a Martian day, at around local 7am and 7pm, there are hiccups in what otherwise should be a smooth rise and fall in surface pressures. Initially, the scientists believed this effect must be caused by something on the lander, but eventually they were able to rule out a cause due to an instrument anomaly or heating source on InSight.
Mars weather from Insight page:
https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/
