Optimistic Mars Climate with Solar Radiance Might Pose Challenges for Future Expeditions
In 1971, NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft arrived at Mars, only to discover the planet's surface entirely hidden beneath a veil of dust, caused by a colossal storm that had churned up a cloud of particles. Mars is notorious for its dust storms, which occasionally engulf the entire planet, with tiny particles whirling across the surface at an ear-piercing speed.
These storms pose a threat to missions to Mars, as the dust clings to the surfaces of robotic explorers of the Red Planet, sometimes leading to their untimely demise. A group of planetary scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder might have uncovered the triggers responsible for the majority of these dust storms on Mars. Their findings were presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Washington, and could significantly impact future human missions to Mars.
By analyzing data collected by NASA's Reconnaissance Orbiter, these scientists identified potential weather patterns that may be responsible for around two-thirds of major dust storms on Mars. Their research revealed that warm and sunny weather might initiate these storms.
The Mars Climate Sounder instrument aboard the Reconnaissance Orbiter has been gathering data about the planet's atmosphere and terrain for the past fifteen years. The scientists examined this data to pinpoint periods of unusually high temperatures, when more sunlight penetrates Mars' thin atmosphere and warms the planet's surface. They found that approximately 68% of major storms on Mars were preceded by a sudden surge in surface temperatures.
While it's challenging to establish a direct link between the hot and sunny days on Mars that often lead to dusty conditions a few weeks later, similar conditions can trigger storms on Earth. "When the surface gets heated up, the layer of atmosphere just above it becomes buoyant and can rise, carrying dust with it," Heshani Pieris, a graduate student at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at CU Boulder and the study's lead author, explained in a statement. "It's as if Mars waits for the air to clear enough to develop a major dust storm."
Mars' storms can sometimes be large enough to be observed with telescopes from Earth. Every year, relatively large storms emerge on Mars, encompassing vast areas of the planet and persisting for several weeks. Beyond the annual storms, however, a planet-wide storm arises approximately every three Martian years (equivalent to 5.5 Earth years), according to NASA.
These extensive storms are the ones that cause concern. In June 2018, a monstrous dust storm engulfed Opportunity rover's solar panels, forcing NASA to bid farewell to its Martian machine. As NASA aims to land astronauts on Mars by 2030, the planet's dust storms could pose a danger to human missions. Consequently, scientists are investigating the roots of these dust storms to enhance their forecasting capabilities.
"We need to comprehend what causes smaller or regional storms to grow into global-scale storms," Paul Hayne, an associate professor at the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at CU Boulder and a co-author of the study, stated in a statement. "We're still struggling to understand the fundamental physics behind how dust storms initiate at the planet's surface."
The researchers behind the new study will continue to decipher the weather patterns that encourage the larger dust storms on Mars. "This study is not the final answer to predicting storms on Mars," Pieris said. "But we hope it's a step in the right direction."
The upcoming human missions to Mars, aimed for 2030 by NASA, could be impacted by the dust storms on Mars, as witnessed with the monstrous dust storm that engulfed the Opportunity rover's solar panels in 2018. Advancements in science and technology, such as the findings of the University of Colorado Boulder researchers, could help improve predictions and mitigate the risks of these space-related events in the future.
Furthermore, the discovery of potential weather patterns responsible for around two-thirds of the major dust storms on Mars could have significant implications for future space exploration, as understanding these storms better could lead to safer missions and potential colonization of the Red Planet in the realm of space technology.
