https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-rover-detects-electric-sparks-in-mars-dust-devils-storms
Mars
All posts tagged Mars
The InSight mission has operated on the surface of Mars for nearly two Earth years, returning detections of the first marsquakes. The lander also deployed a meteorological instrument package and cameras to monitor local surface activity. These instruments have detected small-scale vortices, some of which may be dust devils. Howver, although our analysis shows that InSight encountered more than 900 vortices and collected more than 1000 images of the Martian surface, no active dust devils were imaged. Surveying the available imagery, we placed upper limits on what fraction of vortices carry dust (i.e., how many are bona fide dust devils) and estimate threshold wind speeds for dust lifting. Comparing vortex encounters and parameters with advective wind speeds, we find evidence that high wind speeds at InSight may have suppressed the formation of dust devils, explaining the lack of imaged dust devils.
Research Publications
- Jackson et al. (2020). “Inferring Vortex and Dust Devil Statistics from InSight.” Planetary Science Journal.
An important and perhaps dominant source of dust in the martian atmosphere, dust devils play a key role in Mars’ climate. Datasets from previous landed missions have revealed dust devil activity, constrained their structures, and elucidated their dust-lifting capacities. However, each landing site and observational season exhibits unique meteorological properties that shape dust devil activity and help illuminate their dependence on ambient conditions.
Data from the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) instrument suite onboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover shows signals of passing vortices and dust devils. Over the mission’s first 180 sols, the rover encountered almost 1000 vortices, perhaps one quarter of which showed signs of dust-lofting. Combining our measurements of their meteorological signals with simple thermodynamic models, we estimates how tall the vortices were, and some reached as high as 2 km into the dusty martian sky.
These kinds of estimates are key for understanding how dust devils help to maintain the perpetual background of atmospheric dust on Mars, which drives martian climate and water loss to space.
Research Publications
- Jackson, B. (2022) “Estimating the Heights of Martian Vortices from Mars 2020 MEDA Data.” in review with Planetary Science Journal.
- Jackson, B. (2022) “Vortices and Dust Devils as Observed by the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer Instruments on Board the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.” Planetary Science Journal.
Press
We used attitude data from the Mars Ingenuity helicopter 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. The work here provides a foundation for exploration of planetary boundary layers using drones and suggests important future avenues for research and development
Research Publications
- Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity – https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ad8b41
Press
- “Now That’s Ingenuity: First Aircraft Measurement of Winds on Another Planet” – https://aasnova.org/2025/01/22/now-thats-ingenuity-first-aircraft-measurement-of-winds-on-another-planet/
- “Boise State professor discovers new Mars weather data” – https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/science-research/2025-01-21/boise-state-professor-mars-weather-data
- “Jackson studies Martian winds with NASA rotorcraft data” – https://www.boisestate.edu/news/2024/12/13/jackson-studies-martian-winds-with-nasa-rotorcraft-data/
- “How windy is it on Mars? These Boise State researchers have the answer” – https://idahobusinessreview.com/2024/12/20/how-windy-is-it-on-mars-these-boise-state-researchers-have-the-answer/
Jackson, B. et al. (2025) “Profiling Near-surface Winds on Mars Using Attitude Data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity” PSJ 6, 21.
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.