This image from December made available by NASA shows the InSight lander. The scene was assembled from 11 photos taken using its robotic arm. The two white stalks between the centre and the solar panels are weather sensors. Starting this week, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is posting the high and low temperatures online, along with wind speed and atmospheric pressure from the InSight lander. Photo: NASA/AP
(AP) And now for the weather on Mars: NASA’s newest lander is offering daily reports on the red planet’s frigid winter.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory began posting the highs and lows online yesterday, along with wind speed and atmospheric pressure from the InSight lander.
On Sunday, InSight recorded a high of two degrees Fahrenheit (minus 17 Celsius) and a low of minus 138 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 95 Celsius). Compare that with Sunday’s coldest US temperature: minus 27 degrees (minus three Celsius) in Taylor Park, Colorado.
Scientists need to know the local Mars weather to determine if InSight’s seismometer is registering real marsquakes or simply wind or pressure changes.
InSight landed near the Mars equator in November. NASA’s Curiosity rover also gives weather updates, while roaming around Mars about 340 miles away.
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