This GIF shows the implementation of a part of the MEDA system on the Perseverance Rover on Mars.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
I can imagine the Perseverance rover like a weather reporter, standing in front of a green screen with a map view of the Jezero crater and telling us all about the windy, cold weather that washes over Mars that day. We have to settle on NASA’s statement on Tuesday and give us the first weather report from the red planet.
Persistence is equipped with the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system, which collects data on air and ground temperature, relative humidity, radiation, pressure, and wind speed and direction.
MEDA took its first readings on February 19, not long after the Rover landed on Mars. That first weather report showed that it was about minus 20 degrees Celsius on the surface. The temperature dropped to minus 14 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 25.6 degrees Celsius) over the next 30 minutes.
The system has been collecting data since its first weather report and has recorded temperatures up to minus 117.4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 83 degrees Celsius) with gusts up to 22 mph (10 meters per second).
Weather is especially important as experimental Speed Helicopter approaching its first test flight. The rotorcraft must keeps himself warm through the cold Mars nights and wind is a potential danger once it is in the air.
“Over the next year, MEDA will provide valuable information on temperature cycles, heat flows, dust cycles and how dust particles interact with light, which ultimately affects temperature and weather,” NASA said. The data will help scientists plan future missions for both machines and humans.
Mars fans can compare the weather in Jezero Crater to other spots on the red planet. The Curiosity rover delivers again from the Gale crater and the InSight lander monitors Elysium Planitia (although landing reports are currently interrupted).
However, they all agree: Mars is cold.
Follow CNET’s 2021 space calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.