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Abstract:

Venus has no seasons, slow rotation and a very massive atmosphere, which is mainly carbon dioxide with clouds primarily of sulphuric acid droplets. Infrared observations by previous missions to Venus revealed a bright 'dipole' feature surrounded by a cold 'collar' at its north pole. The polar dipole is a 'double-eye' feature at the centre of a vast vortex that rotates around the pole, and is possibly associated with rapid downwelling. The polar cold collar is a wide, shallow river of cold air that circulates around the polar vortex. One outstanding question has been whether the global circulation was symmetric, such that a dipole feature existed at the south pole. Here we report observations of Venus' south-polar region, where we have seen clouds with morphology much like those around the north pole, but rotating somewhat faster than the northern dipole. The vortex may extend down to the lower cloud layers that lie at about 50 km height and perhaps deeper. The spectroscopic properties of the clouds around the south pole are compatible with a sulphuric acid composition. ©2007 Nature Publishing Group.

Abstract:

The Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board the ESA/Venus Express mission has technical specifications well suited for many science objectives of Venus exploration. VIRTIS will both comprehensively explore a plethora of atmospheric properties and processes and map optical properties of the surface through its three channels, VIRTIS-M-vis (imaging spectrometer in the 0.3-1 μm range), VIRTIS-M-IR (imaging spectrometer in the 1-5 μm range) and VIRTIS-H (aperture high-resolution spectrometer in the 2-5 μm range). The atmospheric composition below the clouds will be repeatedly measured in the night side infrared windows over a wide range of latitudes and longitudes, thereby providing information on Venus's chemical cycles. In particular, CO, H2O, OCS and SO2 can be studied. The cloud structure will be repeatedly mapped from the brightness contrasts in the near-infrared night side windows, providing new insights into Venusian meteorology. The global circulation and local dynamics of Venus will be extensively studied from infrared and visible spectral images. The thermal structure above the clouds will be retrieved in the night side using the 4.3 μm fundamental band of CO2. The surface of Venus is detectable in the short-wave infrared windows on the night side at 1.01, 1.10 and 1.18 μm, providing constraints on surface properties and the extent of active volcanism. Many more tentative studies are also possible, such as lightning detection, the composition of volcanic emissions, and mesospheric wave propagation. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

A suite of instruments on the Beagle 2 Mars lander was designed and built in order to investigate the environmental conditions at the landing site. The sensor suite was capable of measuring air temperature at two heights, surface level pressure, wind speed and direction, saltated particle momentum, UV flux (diffuse and direct at five wavelengths), the total accumulated radiation dose and investigating the nature of the oxidising environment. The scientific goals of the instruments are discussed within the context of current understanding of the environmental conditions on Mars, and the instruments themselves are described in detail. Beagle 2 landed on Mars in late 2003, as part of the ESA Mars Express mission. The expected lifetime of the lander on the surface was 180 sols, with a landing site in Isidis Planitia, but has not responded to attempts to contact it, and has now been declared lost. The Environmental Sensor Suite (ESS) was intended to monitor and characterise the current local meteorological parameters, investigating specific areas of scientific interest raised from previous missions, most notably dust transport and transient phenomena, and additionally to add context to the conditions that any possible martian micro-organisms would have to face. The design of the instrument suite was strongly influenced by mass limitations, with eight sensor subsystems having a total mass of approximately 100g. Although Beagle 2 has been now declared lost, the scientific goals of an Environmental Sensors Suite still remain a valid target for any future astrobiology orientated missions. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

The Martian atmosphere is of great scientific interest, both because of its similarity to Earth’s atmosphere, and because of its relevance to exploration of Mars. Although satellite instruments have provided a wealth of atmospheric data, they have provided little information about the atmospheric boundary layer. Conditions in the lowest few metres of the Martian atmosphere are perhaps the most directly interesting to humans, as this is the portion of our own atmosphere with which we have the most contact. In this thesis is described the design, calibration and operations planning for a new wind sensor for use on Mars. This sensor is lighter and smaller than previous Mars wind sensors. At the time of writing, the wind sensor is on its way to Mars as part of the science payload of Beagle 2, a small exobiology lander due to arrive in December 2003. The Beagle 2 wind sensor (B2WS) is a hot-film anemometer. Three platinum films are equally spaced around the surface of a vertical cylinder. A known current is dissipated in each film, heating the film 40-80°C above the ambient gas temperature. The film temperature is obtained by measuring its resistance. An effective heat transfer coefficient is then calculated for each film. A novel scheme has been developed which allows calculation of a wind vector from the differences between these heat transfer coefficients, rather than from their average. This makes the measured wind vector less prone to common-mode errors such as uncertainties in air temperature or sky temperature. The sensor was calibrated in a low density wind tunnel, optimised to provide stable winds of air or carbon dioxide at Martian pressures (5 – 10 mbar) and speeds (0.5 – 30 m/s). The flow field in the test section was calculated using analytical and finite element modelling techniques, and validated experimentally using a pitot probe. This facility’s stability and accuracy represent a significant improvement over previous calibration facilities. An analytical model of heat flow in the sensor has been developed in order to permit correction for conditions which may be encountered on Mars, but were not tested for in the wind tunnel. The wind sensor’s performance in a real Martian atmosphere is simulated using wind and temperature data from a previous Mars lander. The position of the wind sensor position at the end of Beagle 2’s motorised arm allows several new possibilities for wind measurement on Mars that were unavailable in previous missions. The height of the wind and air temperature sensors can be adjusted to any height between 20 and 95 cm above the ground. The temperature sensor can be scanned horizontally and vertically above the lander to study convective updrafts above the heated lander. Planned operations sequences on Mars are discussed.