NASA’s Mars 2020 (M2020) rover mission includes a suite of sensors to monitor current environmental conditions near the surface of Mars and to constrain bulk aerosol properties from changes in atmospheric radiation at the surface. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) consists of a set of meteorological sensors including wind sensor, a barometer, a relative humidity sensor, a set of 5 thermocouples to measure atmospheric temperature at ∼1.5 m and ∼0.5 m above the surface, a set of thermopiles to characterize the thermal IR brightness temperatures of the surface and the lower atmosphere. MEDA adds a radiation and dust sensor to monitor the optical atmospheric properties that can be used to infer bulk aerosol physical properties such as particle size distribution, non-sphericity, and concentration. The MEDA package and its scientific purpose are described in this document as well as how it responded to the calibration tests and how it helps prepare for the human exploration of Mars. A comparison is also presented to previous environmental monitoring payloads landed on Mars on the Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, MSL, and InSight spacecraft.

The case of ac transport at in-phase alternating applied magnetic fields for a superconducting rectangular strip with finite thickness has been investigated. The applied magnetic field is considered perpendicular to the current flow. We present numerical calculations assuming the critical state model of the current distribution and ac loss for various values of aspect ratio, transport current and applied field amplitude. A rich phenomenology is obtained due to the metastable nature of the critical state. We perform a detailed comparison with the analytical limits and we discuss their applicability for the actual geometry of superconducting conductors. We also define a loss factor which allow a more detailed analysis of the ac behavior than the ac loss. Finally, we compare the calculations with experiments, showing a significant qualitative and quantitative agreement without any fitting parameter.

Recent progress in the development of methods used to predict AC loss in superconducting conductors is summarized. It is underlined that the loss is just one of the electromagnetic characteristics controlled by the time evolution of magnetic field and current distribution inside the conductor. Powerful methods for the simulation of magnetic flux penetration, like Brandt's method and the method of minimal magnetic energy variation, allow us to model the interaction of the conductor with an external magnetic field or a transport current, or with both of them. The case of a coincident action of AC field and AC transport current is of prime importance for practical applications. Numerical simulation methods allow us to expand the prediction range from simplified shapes like a (infinitely high) slab or (infinitely thin) strip to more realistic forms like strips with finite rectangular or elliptic cross-section. Another substantial feature of these methods is that the real composite structure containing an array of superconducting filaments can be taken into account. Also, the case of a ferromagnetic matrix can be considered, with the simulations showing a dramatic impact on the local field. In all these circumstances, it is possible to indicate how the AC loss can be reduced by a proper architecture of the composite. On the other hand, the multifilamentary arrangement brings about a presence of coupling currents and coupling loss. Simulation of this phenomenon requires 3D formulation with corresponding growth of the problem complexity and computation time.

Investigation of ac loss under the simultaneous action of the transport ac current and the external ac magnetic field is of prime importance for the reliable prediction of dissipation in electric power devices such as motors/generators, transformers and transmission cables. An experimental rig allowing us to perform ac loss measurements in such conditions, on short (10 cm) tape samples of high-temperature superconductor Bi-2223/Ag, was designed and tested. Both the electromagnetic and thermal methods were incorporated, allowing us to combine the better sensitivity of the former and the higher reliability of the latter. Our main aim was to see how the ac loss depends on the phase shift between the transport current and the external magnetic field. Such a shift could have different values in various applications. While in a transformer winding, the maximum phase shift at full load will probably not exceed a few degrees, in a three phase transmission cable in tri-axial configuration it is around 120 • . Therefore, we explored the whole range of phase shifts from 0 to 360 • . Surprisingly, the maxima of dissipation did not coincide with zero shift as expected from qualitative considerations.

NASA’s Perseverance rover’s Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer is collecting data at Jezero crater, characterizing the physical processes in the lowest layer of the Martian atmosphere. Here we present measurements from the instrument’s first 250 sols of operation, revealing a spatially and temporally variable meteorology at Jezero. We find that temperature measurements at four heights capture the response of the atmospheric surface layer to multiple phenomena. We observe the transition from a stable night-time thermal inversion to a daytime, highly turbulent convective regime, with large vertical thermal gradients. Measurement of multiple daily optical depths suggests aerosol concentrations are higher in the morning than in the afternoon. Measured wind patterns are driven mainly by local topography, with a small contribution from regional winds. Daily and seasonal variability of relative humidity shows a complex hydrologic cycle. These observations suggest that changes in some local surface properties, such as surface albedo and thermal inertia, play an influential role. On a larger scale, surface pressure measurements show typical signatures of gravity waves and baroclinic eddies in a part of the seasonal cycle previously characterized as low wave activity. These observations, both combined and simultaneous, unveil the diversity of processes driving change on today’s Martian surface at Jezero crater.

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Climate change is one of the challenges our society has to deal with nowadays. Photovoltaic is one of the main renewable energies and it is gaining ground all around the world. The prediction of solar radiation is crucial for this kind of energy. The aim of this work is to produce a solar potential map of rooftops the city of Cáceres (Spain) providing an overview of the employed methodology. The estimation of global radiation is based on LiDAR data of high density. Historical radiation records have been also employed to define the calculation parameters. The representation of the estimated global radiation on each building provides a wide range of new possibilities in the use of renewable energies and changes the conception of rooftops to a potential source of photovoltaic energy.