Surface Energy Budget, Albedo, and Thermal Inertia at Jezero Crater, Mars, as Observed From the Mars 2020 MEDA Instrument

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) on board Perseverance includes first-of-its-kind sensors measuring the incident and reflected solar flux, downwelling atmospheric IR upwelling flux emitted by surface. We use these measurements for first 350 sols of 2020 mission (Ls ∼ 6°–174° in Martian Year 36) to determine surface radiative budget calculate broadband albedo (0.3–3 μm) as a function illumination viewing geometry. Together with MEDA ground temperature, we thermal inertia homogeneous terrains without need numerical models. found that (a) observed is significantly lower than model predictions. This likely caused strong diurnal variation aerosol opacity measured MEDA, which not accounted (b) presents marked non-Lambertian behavior, lowest values near noon highest corresponding low phase angles (i.e., Sun behind observer). (c) Thermal ranged between 180 (sand dune) 605 (bedrock-dominated material) SI units. (d) Averages (spatial resolution ∼3–4 m2) along Perseverance's traverse are very good agreement collocated retrievals from Emission Imaging System 100 m per pixel) bolometric 0.25–2.9 μm range ∼300 km2). results presented here important validate predictions provide ground-truth orbital measurements.