The “Hope Probe” monitors Martian dust storms

Unique observations made by the Hope Probe, which show a rapid development of dust storms.

From the source

The Emirates Mars Exploration Project has recorded unique observations of Martian dust storms, providing deep and unprecedented information about the way these storms develop and spread over vast areas of the planet.

The “Hope Probe”, which reached Mars orbit in February 2021, is an excellent tool for monitoring the details of the structure and diversity of the red planet’s atmosphere, and the coordinated observations recorded by the “EXI” camera and the infrared spectrometer “EMIRS” diagnose the thermal state of the surface and the atmosphere. The lower atmosphere, providing details of the geographic distribution of dust, water vapor, and water and carbonaceous ice clouds over a variety of time scales, from minutes to whole days.

The EXI camera system collects images at three visible wavelengths and two ultraviolet wavelengths, providing a multispectral view of Martian weather, similar to that provided by satellites.

The color combinations shown here are aggregated from images taken with blue, green and red EXI filters (centered at 437, 546 and 635 nm).

Images have been calibrated by removing many deceptive shadows introduced by the camera system, and they also provide geospatial information to allow mapping, and contrast levels have been adjusted to improve visibility of surface and aerial features.

"EMIRS" is characterized as a thermal infrared spectrometer (in the wavelength range 6-40 microns), which complements the "EXI" device in observing and identifying the lower atmosphere of Mars.

EMIRS measurements are used to determine the distribution of components of the lower atmosphere, such as dust, water ice, and water vapor. Mars surface temperatures and atmospheric temperature are measured up to 50 km from the surface.

As of late December 2021, both "EXI" and "EMIRS" detected a rapidly developing regional dust storm, which expanded to a size of more than several thousand kilometers.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news