loading page

Twilight mesospheric clouds in Jezero as observed by MEDA Radiation and Dust Sensor (RDS)
  • +16
  • Daniel Toledo,
  • Laura Gómez-Martín,
  • Víctor Apéstigue,
  • Ignacio Arruego,
  • Michael D. Smith,
  • Asier Munguira,
  • German Martinez,
  • Priyaben Patel,
  • Agustín Sánchez-Lavega,
  • Mark T Lemmon,
  • Leslie Tamppari,
  • Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras,
  • Ricardo Hueso,
  • Alvaro Vicente-Retortillo,
  • Claire Newman,
  • Ralph D. Lorenz,
  • Margarita Yela,
  • Manuel de la Torre Juárez,
  • José A Rodriguez-Manfredi
Daniel Toledo
Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain.

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Laura Gómez-Martín
Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain.
Author Profile
Víctor Apéstigue
National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA)
Author Profile
Ignacio Arruego
INTA
Author Profile
Michael D. Smith
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Author Profile
Asier Munguira
UPV/EHU
Author Profile
German Martinez
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Author Profile
Priyaben Patel
University College London
Author Profile
Agustín Sánchez-Lavega
Universidad del Pais Vasco UPV/EHU
Author Profile
Mark T Lemmon
Space Science Institute
Author Profile
Leslie Tamppari
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Author Profile
Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras
Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC)
Author Profile
Ricardo Hueso
UPV/EHU
Author Profile
Alvaro Vicente-Retortillo
Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA)
Author Profile
Claire Newman
Aeolis Research
Author Profile
Ralph D. Lorenz
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
Author Profile
Margarita Yela
INTA
Author Profile
Manuel de la Torre Juárez
Jet Propulsion Laboratory- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Author Profile
José A Rodriguez-Manfredi
Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA)
Author Profile

Abstract

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) instrument, on board the NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, includes a number of sensors to characterize the Martian atmosphere. One of this sensors is the Radiation and Dust Sensor (RDS) that measures the solar irradiance at different wavelengths and geometries. We analyzed the RDS observations made during twilight for the period between sol 71 and 492 of the mission (Ls 39◦-262◦) to characterize the clouds over the Perseverance rover site. Using the ratio between the irradiance at zenith at 450 and 750 nm, we inferred that the main constituent of the detected high-altitude aerosol layers was ice from Ls= 39◦ to 150◦ (cloudy period), an dust from Ls 150◦-262◦. A total of 161 twilights were analyzed in the cloudy period using a radiative transfer code and we found: i) signatures of clouds/hazes in the signals in the 58 % of the twilights; ii) most of the clouds had altitudes between 40-50 km, suggesting water ice composition, and had particle sizes between 0.6 and 2 μm; iii) the cloud activity at sunrise is slightly higher that at sunset, likely due to the differences in temperature; iv) the time period with more cloud detections and with the greatest cloud opacities is during Ls 120◦-150◦; and v) a notable decrease in the cloud activity around the aphelion, along with lower cloud altitudes and opacities. This decrease in cloud activity indicates lower concentrations of water vapor or cloud condensation nuclei (dust) around this period in the Martian mesosphere.
16 Mar 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
26 Mar 2023Published in ESS Open Archive