Gentle Perseverance Lifts the Veil on Martian Dust

Abstract

AbstractObservations with sensitive photodiode detectors on the Perseverance rover (Hueso et al., 2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007516; Vicente‐Retortillo et al., 2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022je007672) to detect dust devils and track formation, and movies of the Ingenuity helicopter's downwash impingement on the Martian surface (Lemmon et al., 2022a, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022je007605; Lemmon et al., 2022b, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl100126), together with in‐situ meteorological data, give new insights into the important problem of dust‐lifting on Mars, a phenomenon which influenced the lifetime of recent rovers and landers. These results, together with new low‐gravity wind tunnel experiments on parabolic flights and interpretation of the large blast pattern from lander retrorockets, indicate that particle motion and visible darkening on Mars can result from aerodynamic pressures of only 1–5 Pa, considerably less than previously thought.