Meteorological Predictions for Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing Site at Jezero Crater

Abstract

The Mars Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (MRAMS) and a nested simulation of the Mars Weather Research and Forecasting model (MarsWRF) are used to predict the local meteorological conditions at the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site inside Jezero crater (Mars). These predictions are complemented with the COmplutense and MIchigan MArs Radiative Transfer model (COMIMART) and with the local Single Column Model (SCM) to further refine predictions of radiative forcing and the water cycle respectively. The primary objective is to facilitate interpretation of the meteorological measurements to be obtained by the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) aboard the rover, but also to provide predictions of the meteorological phenomena and seasonal changes that might impact operations, from both a risk perspective and from the perspective of being better prepared to make certain measurements. A full diurnal cycle at four different seasons ($\text{L}_{\mathrm{s}}$ L s $0^{\circ}$ 0 ∘ , $90^{\circ}$ 90 ∘ , $180^{\circ}$ 180 ∘ , and $270^{\circ}$ 270 ∘ ) is investigated. Air and ground temperatures, pressure, wind speed and direction, surface radiative fluxes and moisture data are modeled. The good agreement between observations and modeling in prior works [Pla-Garcia et al. in Icarus 280:103–113, 2016; Newman et al. in Icarus 291:203–231, 2017; Vicente-Retortillo et al. in Sci. Rep. 8(1):1–8, 2018; Savijärvi et al. in Icarus, 2020] provides confidence in utilizing these models results to predict the meteorological environment at Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site inside Jezero crater. The data returned by MEDA will determine the extent to which this confidence was justified.

Vortices and Dust Devils as Observed by the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer Instruments on Board the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

“…where t is the time, t 0 is the time of closest approach, ΔP 0 is the excursion amplitude, and Γ is the observed profile. The PS pressure a variety of variations on timescales of hours to days, related to meteorological phenomena other than vortices (see Pla-García et al 2020;Newman et al 2021). These other signals obscure the short-lived vortex signals, and so we applied a high-pass boxcar filter to the raw-pressure data with a window size of 500 s to suppress the long-term variability.…”

Seasonal Variability of the Daytime and Nighttime Atmospheric Turbulence Experienced by InSight on Mars

“…Conversely, nighttime conditions in Mars' PBL are highly stable because of strong radiative cooling efficiently inhibiting convection. Nevertheless, in the night, shear‐driven weak turbulence may exist on Mars (e.g., Pla‐García et al., 2020; Savijärvi, 1999) and, intriguingly, vortex‐induced pressure drops have been observed in Gale Crater by Curiosity (Ordonez‐Etxeberria et al., 2018, 2020).…”

Evaluation and Analysis of Dust Storm Activity in Tianwen-1 Landing Area Based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Camera Observations and Mars Daily Global Maps

“…(3) According to previous research the Mars Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (MRAMS) and a nested simulation of the Mars Weather Research and Forecasting model (MarsWRF) were used to predict the local meteorological conditions at the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site inside Jezero crater [34]. Tianwen-1 is China's first Mars exploration mission.…”