Wind Speed Shocker: Dust Devils Show Mars Is Much Stormier | World News

Studying winds on Mars is very difficult. We can easily use weather balloons or satellite instruments on Earth to measure wind directly. But there are few places on Mars for scientists to put devices, and the air on Mars is extremely thin. Therefore, obtaining accurate wind data on Mars becomes a major challenge.

Rovers and landers on Mars can only measure wind speed on location; They cannot control the winds on the entire planet. To better understand Mars, scientists are using images taken from satellites orbiting Mars and using advanced data analysis to study how winds move everywhere, Bgr.com reported.

In a new discovery, Dr. Scientists from the University of Bern, led by Valentin Bickel, used deep learning (AI-based method) to examine more than 50,000 satellite images taken by special cameras on two Mars missions: CaSSIS (Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System), a camera on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, and HRSC (High Resolution Stereo Camera), a camera on the Mars Express spacecraft. These cameras take detailed photos of Mars from above to help scientists better understand wind patterns.

Machine learning system managed to find dust devils on Mars. These are rotating columns of dust and air moving across the surface. They help scientists because they show where the invisible wind is actually going. After finding these dust devils, scientists selected nearly 300 of the best 3D image sets and examined them in detail. From these, they were able to watch how dust devils moved, measure their speed, and infer the direction of winds blowing on Mars.

The results shocked scientists. Previous rover measurements had shown that winds on Mars were generally below 48 km/h and rarely rose to 96 km/h. But with this new global study derived from satellite data, scientists found that near-surface dust devils can reach speeds of approximately 160 km/h. These high wind speeds have been seen not just in a few places, but in many places on Mars. This suggests that such strong winds are more common on Mars than scientists previously believed.

Why is this important? Because strong winds lift more dust from the surface, and this dust controls a large part of Mars’ climate. Therefore, stronger winds change the overall behavior of Mars. Dust on Mars absorbs sunlight and helps warm the atmosphere. This affects temperature, air movement, and even storm formation. Additionally, using deep neural networks (advanced artificial intelligence) combined with satellite imagery, scientists have now created a new way to study and map wind patterns across the entire planet.

Understanding winds on Mars isn’t just about science. It is very useful for future landers, rovers, and even manned missions because knowing wind behavior will help make landings safer and make planning easier. Having a good knowledge of wind conditions on Mars helps mission planners make safer landing plans, design more powerful equipment, and plan better solar power systems that can operate even in dusty conditions.

In the future, scientists should carefully consider winds and blowing dust on Mars when planning manned missions, as these factors can affect safety, equipment, and power systems. Everything on Mars, including living habitats, power systems, machines that extract resources on Mars, and vehicles used for movement, can be affected by surface conditions such as wind and dust. Dust is a big problem for missions on the surface of Mars. It can settle on solar panels and reduce power, block scientific instruments, and damage moving parts in machines over time.

The Opportunity rover experienced this problem during a global dust storm on Mars in 2018. Dust blocked sunlight for days and the rover could not receive enough power, causing the mission to stall. By knowing when and where strong winds and dust devils occur, scientists can predict dust hazards and plan cleanup methods or other ways to reduce problems.

Wind maps created using satellite data can be used in landing site selection and equipment design. BGR.com’s new list of dust-demon tracks and estimated wind direction/speed compiled by the University of Bern team will give future mission planners data-driven information about wind conditions at potential landing sites on Mars.

This information helps engineers predict how wind will affect landings, how dust will move around the landing site, and how often dust might accumulate on solar panels or cameras. Ultimately, this new way of studying Martian winds, using machine learning and dust-devil tracking, will continue to generate more data in the future. This will help scientists create better climate models and improve mission planning tools for Mars.

Wind maps of Mars will become more detailed and clear in the future by taking more focused images of dust devils and using 3D imaging, the research team said. The better we understand how winds behave on Mars, the better we can make accurate models of surface conditions. This is crucial for mission safety, performance and equipment longevity.

(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and Defense, Aerospace and Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)