Background Information

There have been numerous reasons stated for explaining our seemingly insatiable desire to travel to the planet Mars. First and foremost has been the recent infatuation with our desire to seek out other life forms, or to at least learn whether or not other life forms, however primitive, once lived on the planet Mars.

The first travelers to visit Mars will be faced with an extremely hostile environment. The temperature is typically minus 60 degrees Celsius (-60°C), the air so thin that survival without a space suit would be impossible, and the surface winds breed dust storms and tornados.

If we are to survive such a mission it will be imperative that we fully understand the conditions that we are likely to encounter when we take our first steps on the alien planet.

Can we grow food in Martian greenhouses? Can we forecast dust storms? How cold does it get in the Martian night? Is there enough sunlight to grow simple crops? Can we extract water vapour from the thin Martian air?

To address these questions, and more, Martian weather will need to be studied in great detail. Canadian scientists will be at the forefront of this exciting research when the Phoenix Lander touches down on the surface of Mars in May 2008. Canada's contribution to Phoenix is a meteorological station that will record the daily weather of the Martian northern plains using temperature, wind and pressure sensors, as well as a light detection and ranging (lidar) instrument. For more information about the Phoenix Mission visit the Canadian Space Agency web site.

The Phoenix Lander on the Martian surface with its solar panels deployed

Figure 1: The Phoenix Lander on the Martian surface with its solar panels deployed.

Notes

The focus of this activity is on the weather instruments on the Phoenix Lander, a remote-sensing laboratory designed to explore the Martian atmosphere and to dig into the Martian soil.

A major portion of the Phoenix Lander consists of several Canadian designed and Canadian built instruments for observing and recording the weather in the Martian atmosphere.

To get a better understanding of these instruments and how they will be used, this project lets students construct some basic instruments to explore the Earth's atmosphere, to make their own observations, and to look for patterns in the scientific data that they collect.

One of the essential items required in this activity is an individual student journal (or alternatively, a class journal) in which to record daily observations.

Phoenix meteorological mast

Figure 2: Close up of the Phoenix meteorological mast with its three temperature sensors and the LIDAR instrument for determining cloud height as well as providing clues as to the composition of the clouds.

On Mars the Phoenix meteorological instruments will collect the following information. The data will be relayed to scientists on Earth who will analyze it for patterns and connections which can be used to predict the Martian weather and to help understand the physics of Martian climate and weather.

Data

  1. Temperature: Numerous measurements of the temperature of the Martian atmosphere will be taken a throughout the Martian day and night.
  2. Wind Speed and Direction: The wind on Mars plays a major role in the transport of heat across the planet. It can raise huge dust storms during the Martian summer.
  3. Barometric Pressure: A continual record of the atmospheric pressure will be kept by the Lander and the data (along with all other data) will be sent back to Earth for analysis.
  4. Cloud height and density: The Lander LIDAR system is an optical "radar" that uses laser beams to probe high into the upper atmosphere of Mars.