Observation-based temperature field simulation at Zhurong landing site, Mars

Modeling the temperature field near the Martian surface is critical for many scientific exploration tasks, such as detecting liquid water and analyzing the existence of saline ice. Meteorological conditions on Mars are highly dramatic, with a daily temperature change of up to 80–100 K. Most previous...

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Main Authors: Lei Zhang, Jinhai Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2022.1059242/full
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author Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
author_facet Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
author_sort Lei Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Modeling the temperature field near the Martian surface is critical for many scientific exploration tasks, such as detecting liquid water and analyzing the existence of saline ice. Meteorological conditions on Mars are highly dramatic, with a daily temperature change of up to 80–100 K. Most previous tasks of surface temperature monitoring on Mars are based on satellite observations, lacking in-situ measured data. Recently, two Martian missions at mid-low latitudes in the northern hemisphere, InSight lander and Zhurong rover, carried out near-surface temperature observations. However, the temperature monitoring of the Zhurong rover obtained data for only some short periods in its working days; thus, the amount of recorded temperature data is inadequate for a whole-day analysis at the landing site. Here we reconstruct the near-surface temperature at the Zhurong landing site by incorporating the continuous temperature data observed at the InSight lander, simultaneously referring to the Martian Climate Database; then, the reconstructed data are used to constrain the numerical simulation of the response of shallow subsurface under the Zhurong landing site. The numerical simulation of heat conduction shows that the daily temperature change under the Zhurong landing site mainly influences the uppermost depth of 0–30 cm, with a daily average temperature of ∼225 K. During the traveling duration of the Zhurong rover (i.e., summer of Mars), the seasonal temperature change within the top 1 m is significant and is related to the thermal properties of possible subsurface media (e.g., soil, ice, and sandstones). Although there might be aqueous activities in Utopia Planitia, our results show that from the perspective of temperature field, there is little possibility of liquid water in the shallow subsurface under the Zhurong landing site. The proposed method in this study provides a new way for the temperature field simulation of the subsurface in areas with insufficient local observations, especially on extraterrestrial objects.
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spelling doaj.art-33a0a2d4335c4b958c29feaf617c31eb2022-12-22T03:41:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences2296-987X2022-11-01910.3389/fspas.2022.10592421059242Observation-based temperature field simulation at Zhurong landing site, MarsLei Zhang0Lei Zhang1Lei Zhang2Lei Zhang3Jinhai Zhang4Jinhai Zhang5Jinhai Zhang6Jinhai Zhang7Engineering Laboratory for Deep Resources Equipment and Technology, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInnovation Academy for Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaCollege of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaEngineering Laboratory for Deep Resources Equipment and Technology, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInnovation Academy for Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaCollege of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaModeling the temperature field near the Martian surface is critical for many scientific exploration tasks, such as detecting liquid water and analyzing the existence of saline ice. Meteorological conditions on Mars are highly dramatic, with a daily temperature change of up to 80–100 K. Most previous tasks of surface temperature monitoring on Mars are based on satellite observations, lacking in-situ measured data. Recently, two Martian missions at mid-low latitudes in the northern hemisphere, InSight lander and Zhurong rover, carried out near-surface temperature observations. However, the temperature monitoring of the Zhurong rover obtained data for only some short periods in its working days; thus, the amount of recorded temperature data is inadequate for a whole-day analysis at the landing site. Here we reconstruct the near-surface temperature at the Zhurong landing site by incorporating the continuous temperature data observed at the InSight lander, simultaneously referring to the Martian Climate Database; then, the reconstructed data are used to constrain the numerical simulation of the response of shallow subsurface under the Zhurong landing site. The numerical simulation of heat conduction shows that the daily temperature change under the Zhurong landing site mainly influences the uppermost depth of 0–30 cm, with a daily average temperature of ∼225 K. During the traveling duration of the Zhurong rover (i.e., summer of Mars), the seasonal temperature change within the top 1 m is significant and is related to the thermal properties of possible subsurface media (e.g., soil, ice, and sandstones). Although there might be aqueous activities in Utopia Planitia, our results show that from the perspective of temperature field, there is little possibility of liquid water in the shallow subsurface under the Zhurong landing site. The proposed method in this study provides a new way for the temperature field simulation of the subsurface in areas with insufficient local observations, especially on extraterrestrial objects.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2022.1059242/fullMarstemperaturesubsurfaceZhurong roverTianwen-1 mission
spellingShingle Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Lei Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Jinhai Zhang
Observation-based temperature field simulation at Zhurong landing site, Mars
Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Mars
temperature
subsurface
Zhurong rover
Tianwen-1 mission
title Observation-based temperature field simulation at Zhurong landing site, Mars
title_full Observation-based temperature field simulation at Zhurong landing site, Mars
title_fullStr Observation-based temperature field simulation at Zhurong landing site, Mars
title_full_unstemmed Observation-based temperature field simulation at Zhurong landing site, Mars
title_short Observation-based temperature field simulation at Zhurong landing site, Mars
title_sort observation based temperature field simulation at zhurong landing site mars
topic Mars
temperature
subsurface
Zhurong rover
Tianwen-1 mission
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2022.1059242/full
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