Launched in 2020, NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover is on a mission to search for signs of life and gather relogith and rock samples. Now, as the Perseverance Rover delves into the Jezero crater of the Red Planet, specialists are in a special position to catch a glimpse of the clouds from this particular area.
How Do Martian Clouds Form?
According to SciTechDaily, the clouds of the red planet largely mirror the cirrus clouds of earth. However, what makes the former distinct is that it is thinner compared to cirrus clouds.
Clouds on earth are capable of holding liquid water. However, because of the low pressure and temperature levels across Mars, only clouds made of water ice and carbon dioxide ice form. The clouds of water ice are visually thin due to the minimal water levels that can be found across the planet's atmosphere.
If the planet's water supply gathered on its surface, the layer would be thinner than a hair strand.
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Why Study Martian Clouds?
Knowing more about clouds enables a deeper understanding of the atmosphere and water cycle. They reveal insight regarding processes, such as how water levels and temperatures differ depending on height and how water vapor gets transported through atmospheric calculations.
NASA reports that, by looking into cloud movement, specialists can also know more about the direction and speed of wind across the higher atmosphere. This could not be measured in any other way.
Even if such clouds are thin, they still affect the heat and coolness levels of the current atmosphere. Previously, clouds could have played a more vital role when it came to maintaining an atmosphere that was warmer and that enabled the flow of liquid water across the Martian surface.
NASA Perseverance Mars Rover Explores Jezero Crater
According to SciTechDaily, Martian clouds also have seasonal patterns. During the north summer solstice, for a couple of months, the orbiting spacecraft detected heavy cloud activity from 30° north and 10° south latitude.
Because the rover is now looking into the red planet's Jezero crater, situated around 18° north, specialists are in a good position to look into such clouds from this specific area. Currently, a month has yet to pass before the cloudy season nominally commences. Despite this, more levels of cloud activity have already been observed through the Navcam (Navigation Camera) of the Perseverance.
SciTechDaily reports that specialists consistently capture shots through the Navcam in order to look into the morphology, motion, and timing of the clouds in this area. When several clouds gather together, the specialists also capture Mastcam-Z shots, which are filled with higher degrees of spectral data, in order to know more about cloud composition, including the typical size of particles.
Scientists also use MEDA (Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer) sensors to track the clouds. The RDS (Radiation and Dust Sensor) of the MEDA gauges solar radiation at varying lengths. It can also pick up if clouds disburse or block sunlight. The TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor) of the MEDA also gauges sky thermal radiation. From the surface area, it can also provide data regarding the clouds. The Skycam of the MEDA, which points upward, also captures cloud shots daily.
The specialists are expecting things to get cloudier, especially as the cloudy season starts. Hence, they will be looking out for intriguing activity throughout the observations.
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