METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON MARTIAN SURFACE - MET-PACKAGES OF MARS-96 SMALL STATIONS AND PENETRATORS

The scientific objectives of a meterological experiment on the Martian surface are defined, and the meteorological equipment of the landing elements of the Mars-96 mission are described with emphasis on the app licability for re-use in forthcoming Mars missions. The general strate gy for atmospheric surface observations is discussed. Meteorological s urface observations are of utmost value in studying the Martian atmosp here. The climatological cycles and atmospheric circulations, as well as the boundary layer phenomena can be understood thoroughly only, if the contribution of in situ surface measurements are amalgamated with the remote observations. The Mars-96 mission had an ambitious goal of deploying four versatile payloads at four Northern hemispheric sites. The observations of pressure, temperature, wind, atmospheric optical t hickness and humidity, as well as pressure and temperature measurement s during the atmospheric descent were included in the meteorology expe riment. Even though the Mars-96 mission was unsuccessful, the objectiv es and implementation of the meteorology experiment are applicable to any forth-coming landing mission to Mars. This applies both to a missi on having a number of observation sites spread all over the surface of Mars, and to a single lander or rover. The main operational objective of this meteorological experiment is to provide a regular time series of the meteorological parameters with accelerated measurement campaig ns during dawn and dusk. Such a data set would substantially improve o ur understanding of the atmospheric structure, dynamics, climatologica l cycles, and the atmosphere-surface interactions. The implementation of the meteorology instrument features advanced sensor technology and flexible system design. The application on the Mars-96 landing element s was, however, severely constrained by the limited power supply. The usefulness of the system can be substantially enhanced by modest addit ional resources and with few or no design modifications. (C) 1998 Else vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.