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Mars' cloudy sky as seen by Perseverance rover in 2023, sol 738.. The climate of Mars has been a topic of scientific curiosity for centuries, in part because it is the only terrestrial planet whose surface can be easily directly observed in detail from Earth with help from a telescope.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname "the Red Planet". [22] [23] Mars is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky, and its high-contrast albedo features have made it a common subject for telescope viewing.
Temperatures on Mars from REMS on the Curiosity Rover (August 16/17, 2012). Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) is a weather station on Mars for Curiosity rover contributed by Spain and Finland. [1] [2] REMS measures humidity, pressure, temperature, wind speeds, and ultraviolet radiation on Mars. [3]
While Mars and Earth have similar 12 C / 13 C and 16 O / 18 O ratios, 14 N is much more depleted in the Martian atmosphere. It is thought that the photochemical escape processes are responsible for the isotopic fractionation and has caused a significant loss of nitrogen on geological timescales. [4]
Mars has only about 0.7% of the atmospheric pressure of Earth. Mars' atmosphere is about 6.5 millibar, Earth's atmosphere is 1013 millibar. Surface of Mars is like Earth at 100,000 feet (30 kilometres) in the stratosphere. [19] [20] Mars' atmosphere's humidity is 0.03%, Earth's average humidity is about 50% (lowest 0.36%, high 100%).
On March 2, 2004, NASA announced that "Opportunity has landed in an area of Mars where liquid water once drenched the surface". Associate administrator Ed Weiler told reporters that the area "would have been good habitable environment", although no traces of life have been found. Larger grains suggest the presence of fluid.
A first attempt at a Mars general circulation model was created by Leovy and Mintz who used an Earth model and adapted it to Martian conditions. This preliminary model had the capability to predict atmospheric condensation of carbon dioxide and the presence of transient baroclinic waves in the winter mod-latitudes. [ 4 ]
The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) is an instrument on board the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover that will characterize the dust size and morphology, as well as surface weather.