The Mars Pathfinder atmospheric structure investigation/meteorology (ASI/MET) experiment.

Dust devils as observed by Mars Pathfinder

[1] Dust devils are localized meteorological phenomena frequently observed in terrestrial dry lands and desert landscapes as well as on Mars. They are low-pressure, warm core vortices that form at the bottom of convective plumes and loft dust from the surface. They move with the speed of the ambient wind and are tilted by wind shears. The Mars Pathfinder detected dust devils as dust plumes in t...

Review of the Trajectory and Atmospheric Structure Reconstruction for Mars Pathfinder

Mars Pathfinder Microrover - Implementing a Low Cost Planetary Mission Experiment Iaa-l-0510

The Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) is a NASA Office of Space Access and Technology (OSAT) flight experiment which has been delivered and integrated with the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) lander and spacecraft system. The total cost of the MFEX mission, including all subsystem design and development, test, integration with the MPF lander and operations on Mars has been capped at $25...

Atmospheric Predictability of the Martian Atmosphere: from Low-dimensional Dynamics to Operational Forecasting?

Since the work of Barnes (1980, 1981), it has been evident that Martian mid-latitude meteorology is commonly dominated by large-scale baroclinically unstable transient waves. Viking Lander data showed that such waves are strongly modulated by the seasonal cycle, apparently disappearing altogether during northern summer. During seasons around northern winter, however, they are typically very act...

Development of software for analysing entry accelerometer data in preparation for the Beagle 2 mission to Mars: Towards a publicly available toolkit

s Abstract: We have tested techniques for turning Beagle 2’s entry accelerometer data into a T(z) profile. We reproduced the PDS results for Pathfinder. The PDS trajectory for Pathfinder appears inconsistent with its entry state. Our code is available online. Introduction: Spacecraft designed to pass through a planetary atmosphere are routinely equipped with an accelerometer. The accelerometer’...