Sensors & transducers
Mars is dusty and cold, with a very thin atmosphere. The average temperature is about −63 °C, but daytime surface temperature highs of +35 °C have been recorded. From a research perspective Mars offers an opportunity to better understand the ways in which Earth has evolved and how it may change in the future. For example, if Mars and Earth were both wet and warm a few billion years ago, why did they subsequently take different paths? The Curiosity rover is mobile, which means that it is acting as a weather station in multiple locations. In addition, NASA’s latest Mars rover, Perseverance is also now travelling across the surface of Mars, taking measurements with similar Vaisala technologies. Operating about 2,000 km apart, the two rovers are laying the foundations for an atmospheric observation network, which is needed to better understand and predict the Martian weather.
SENSOR PERFORMANCE THAT IS OUT OF THIS WORLD
It is difficult to imagine more challenging conditions than those experienced by the sensors onboard NASA’s rovers, both during the flight and whilst exploring the planet’s surface. In addition to enormous variations in temperature and pressure, the sensors must also be capable of tolerating thick dust and very high levels of vibration. The Vaisala measurement technologies deployed on Curiosity and Perseverance are essentially the same as those that are in everyday use in almost every industry on Earth, although Vaisala made a slight modification to the pressure sensor in order to accommodate the very low ranges that are experienced on Mars. Vaisala’s determination to constantly innovate and develop world-leading measurement technologies is underpinned by ongoing investment in product development and research. Driven by scientific curiosity and supported by inhouse expertise and experience, it has been possible to deliver sensor performance that is quite literally out of this world!
Vaisala
www.vaisala.com
Instrumentation Monthly February 2023
Continue to page 30 to find out about designing sensors for Mars... 29
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