Waves in the martian atmosphere: Observations, Theory, and Application

Details Waves in the martian atmosphere: Observations, Theory, and Application Waves in the martian atmosphere: Observations, Theory, and Application

Nov 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001aps..4cf.db003m&link_type=abstract

American Physical Society, Four Corners Annual Meeting November 2 - 3, 2001 New Mexico State University; Las Cruces, New Mexico

Physics

Scientific paper

Ongoing spacecraft exploration and numerical model studies indicate the presence in the martian atmosphere of migrating thermal waves with structures extending from the surface to at least 100 kilometers altitude. High frequency atmospheric waves are both a direct (westward travelling) and indirect (eastward travelling) response to the diurnal variations of solar heating and cooling. The eastward travelling waves are the result of longitudinal asymmetries in the thermal forcing, generated by topography and atmospheric dust on Mars. Quantification of these waves offers both a window into the physical state of the martian atmosphere (dust load, temperature structure, wind field structure) as well as a tool by which the state of the martian thermosphere can be ‘predicted’ for spacecraft aerobraking and aerocapture purposes. We will discuss the current theoretical understanding of these wave phenomena, the observational record of the same, and the ongoing employment of this growing understanding in the current aerobraking activities of the Mars ’01 Odyssey orbiter (due to arrive into orbit about Mars on Oct. 24, 2001). This work is funded by NASA’s Mars Data Analysis Program and by the Mars Exploration Office at JPL.

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