
Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) is a weather station on
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...
for
Curiosity rover
''Curiosity'' is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Gale crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. ''Curiosity'' was launched from Cape Canaveral (CCAFS) on November 26, 2011, at 15:02:00 UTC and ...
contributed by
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
and
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...
.
[Spain Supplies Weather Station for Next Mars Rover - Marsdaily]
/ref>[ REMS measures ]humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity dep ...
, pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country a ...
, temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied on ...
, wind speed
In meteorology, wind speed, or wind flow speed, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer.
Wind spee ...
s, and ultraviolet radiation
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
on Mars. This Spanish project is led by the Spanish Astrobiology Center and includes the Finnish Meteorological Institute
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI; fi, Ilmatieteen laitos; sv, Meteorologiska institutet) is the government agency responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Finland. It is a part of the Ministry of Transport ...
as a partner, contributing pressure and humidity sensors.
Overview
All sensors are located around three elements: two booms attached to the rover ''Remote Sensing Mast'' (RSM), the ''Ultraviolet Sensor'' (UVS) assembly located on the rover top deck, and the ''Instrument Control Unit'' (ICU) inside the rover. Goals include understanding Martian general circulation, microscale weather systems, local hydrological cycle, destructive potential of UV radiation, and subsurface habitability based on ground-atmosphere interaction.
By August 18, 2012, REMS was turned on and its data was being returned to Earth.[W. Harwood - Curiosity's Mars travel plans tentatively mapped - CBS]
/ref> The temperature at that time: 37 degrees Fahrenheit (2.8 degrees Celsius).[ On August 21, 2012, one of two anemometers returned data with errors. After testing it was concluded that it was broken, probably hit by a rock on descent.][Materia - ''El sensor de viento español de 'Curiosity' se estropea'' (Google Translate)]
/ref> Martian winds can still be detected with the other sensor.[
Reports are posted on the Center for Astrobiology website and Twitter daily.
Parts of REMS
*Instrument Control Unit
*]Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiati ...
Sensor
*Boom 1 with:
**Air Temperature Sensor
**Wind Sensor
**Ground Temperature Sensor
*Boom 2 with:
**Air Temperature Sensor
**Wind Sensor
**Humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity dep ...
Sensor
The pressure sensor can detect pressures from 1 to 1150 Pa ( Pascal) (0.000145038 PSI to 0.1667934 PSI). For comparison, 1 atmosphere is 101,325 Pascals or 14.7 PSI.
The air temperature, wind speed and direction sensor for InSight Mars lander (planned for 2018 launch) is based on REMS, also contributed by Spain.[http://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/ssbsite/documents/webpage/ssb_086912.pdf ]
Results
See also
* Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports (Spain)
* Temperature and Winds for InSight (TWINS, for InSight
Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings:
*a piece of information
*the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intu ...
lander)
References
External links
CAB - REMS
NASA/JPL – REMSNASA Science Corner - REMS
TemperaturePressure
Materia - ''El sensor de viento español de 'Curiosity' se estropea''
Mars Weather – Twitter
{{Mars
Mars Science Laboratory instruments
Space program of Finland
Meteorological instrumentation and equipment
Space science experiments
INTA spacecraft instruments