How’s the Weather on Mars? (NASA Mars Report) (November 15, 2021)

Seasons change even on Mars and NASA’s fleet of explorers are helping scientists learn more about the effects on the Red Planet. NASA’s Perseverance and Curiosity rovers provide daily weather reports by measuring conditions such as humidity, temperature, and wind speed on the surface. Orbiters including Odyssey, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN), and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) survey the scope and scale of storms from above. Changing weather conditions can be challenging for the spacecraft. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recently increased its rotor speed from 2,537 rpm to 2,700 rpm to fly in a thinner summer atmosphere. Meanwhile, NASA’s InSight lander, which is studying Mars’ interior, recently measured one of the biggest, longest-lasting marsquakes the mission has ever detected.

For more information on NASA’s Mars missions, visit mars.nasa.gov.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/ASU/MSSS