Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity
We used attitude data from the Mars Ingenuity helicopter with a simple steady-state model to estimate wind speeds and directions at altitudes between 3 and 24 m, the first time winds at such altitudes have been probed on Mars. We compared our estimates to wind data from the meteorology package MEDA...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad8b41 |
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| author | Brian Jackson Lori Fenton Travis Brown Asier Munguira German Martinez Claire Newman Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras Matthew Golombek Ralph Lorenz Mark D. Paton Dylan Conway |
| author_facet | Brian Jackson Lori Fenton Travis Brown Asier Munguira German Martinez Claire Newman Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras Matthew Golombek Ralph Lorenz Mark D. Paton Dylan Conway |
| author_sort | Brian Jackson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We used attitude data from the Mars Ingenuity helicopter with a simple steady-state model to estimate wind speeds and directions at altitudes between 3 and 24 m, the first time winds at such altitudes have been probed on Mars. We compared our estimates to wind data from the meteorology package MEDA on board the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and to predictions from meteorological models. Wind directions inferred from Ingenuity data agreed with the directions measured by MEDA, when the latter were available, but deviated from model-predicted directions by as much as 180° in some cases. The inferred wind speeds are often much higher than expected. For example, meteorological predictions suggest that Ingenuity should not have seen wind speeds above about 15 m s ^−1 during its 59th flight, but we inferred speeds reaching nearly 25 m s ^−1 . For flights during which we have MEDA data to compare to, inferred wind speeds imply friction velocities >1 m s ^−1 and roughness lengths >10 cm, which seem implausibly large. These results suggest that Ingenuity was probing winds sensitive to aerodynamic conditions hundreds of meters upwind instead of the conditions very near Mars 2020, but they may also reflect a need for updated boundary layer wind models. An improved model for Ingenuity’s aerodynamic response that includes the effects of transient winds may also modify our results. In any case, the work here provides a foundation for exploration of planetary boundary layers using drones and suggests important future avenues for research and development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-822ac5354ba1408f83f2b7221252d7f6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-822ac5354ba1408f83f2b7221252d7f62025-01-23T09:54:44ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382025-01-01612110.3847/PSJ/ad8b41Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 IngenuityBrian Jackson0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9495-9700Lori Fenton1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8116-4901Travis Brown2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4846-8468Asier Munguira3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1677-6327German Martinez4Claire Newman5Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8442-3788Matthew Golombek7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1928-2293Ralph Lorenz8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8528-4644Mark D. Paton9Dylan Conway10Department of Physics, Boise State University , 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83725-1570, USA; Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute , Mountain View, CA, USACarl Sagan Center, SETI Institute , Mountain View, CA, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USAUniversidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU , Bilbao, SpainLunar and Planetary Institute , 3600 Bay Area Boulevard, Office 2029, Houston, TX 77058, USA; Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB, CSIC-INTA) and National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) , Madrid, SpainAeolis Research , Tucson, AZ, USACentro de Astrobiologia (CAB, CSIC-INTA) and National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) , Madrid, SpainJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USAJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 1100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, USAFinnish Meteorological Institute , PO Box 503, FIN-00101 Helsinki, FinlandJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USAWe used attitude data from the Mars Ingenuity helicopter with a simple steady-state model to estimate wind speeds and directions at altitudes between 3 and 24 m, the first time winds at such altitudes have been probed on Mars. We compared our estimates to wind data from the meteorology package MEDA on board the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and to predictions from meteorological models. Wind directions inferred from Ingenuity data agreed with the directions measured by MEDA, when the latter were available, but deviated from model-predicted directions by as much as 180° in some cases. The inferred wind speeds are often much higher than expected. For example, meteorological predictions suggest that Ingenuity should not have seen wind speeds above about 15 m s ^−1 during its 59th flight, but we inferred speeds reaching nearly 25 m s ^−1 . For flights during which we have MEDA data to compare to, inferred wind speeds imply friction velocities >1 m s ^−1 and roughness lengths >10 cm, which seem implausibly large. These results suggest that Ingenuity was probing winds sensitive to aerodynamic conditions hundreds of meters upwind instead of the conditions very near Mars 2020, but they may also reflect a need for updated boundary layer wind models. An improved model for Ingenuity’s aerodynamic response that includes the effects of transient winds may also modify our results. In any case, the work here provides a foundation for exploration of planetary boundary layers using drones and suggests important future avenues for research and development.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad8b41Planetary atmospheresMars |
| spellingShingle | Brian Jackson Lori Fenton Travis Brown Asier Munguira German Martinez Claire Newman Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras Matthew Golombek Ralph Lorenz Mark D. Paton Dylan Conway Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity The Planetary Science Journal Planetary atmospheres Mars |
| title | Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity |
| title_full | Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity |
| title_fullStr | Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity |
| title_short | Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity |
| title_sort | profiling near surface winds on mars using attitude data from mars 2020 ingenuity |
| topic | Planetary atmospheres Mars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad8b41 |
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