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Banfield, D.; Spiga, A.; Newman, C.; Lorenz, R.; Forget, F.; Viudez-Moreira, D.; Pla-Garcia, J.; Lemmon, M.; Teanby, N.; Murdoch, N.; Garcia, R.; Lognonne, P.; Kenda, B.; Mimoun, D.; Karatekin, O.; Lewis, S. R.; Pike, W. T.; Mueller, N.; Millour, E.; Navarro, S.; Mora Sotomayor, L.; Torres, J.; Molina, A.; Rodriguez-Manfredi, J.-A.; Smrekar, S.; Banerdt, B. and Insight Science Team, the
(2019).
URL: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2019/pdf/269...
Abstract
NASA’s Mars InSight Spacecraft landed on Nov 26, 2018 (Ls=295°) in Elysium Planitia (~4.5°N, 136°E). InSight’s main scientific purpose is to investigate the interior structure and heat flux from Mars, but it is also equipped with instrumentation that can serve as a very capable meteorological station. To remove unwanted environmental noise from the seis- mic signals, InSight carries a very precise pressure sensor (PS) and the first magnetometer (IFG) to the surface of Mars. Additionally, to aid in removing the atmospheric pressure-induced seismic noise, and to identify periods when wind-induced seismic noise may reduce sensitivity, InSight also carries a pair of Wind and Air temperature sensors (TWINS). These three sensors comprise the Auxiliary Payload Sensor Suite (APSS) [1]. Complementing this are a radiometer in the HP3 suite to measure surface radiance, the seismic measurements of SEIS which can record interesting atmospheric phenomena, and the InSight cameras to image clouds and dust devils and estimate atmospheric opacity from dust or clouds. The Lander also carried accelerometers that can be used to reconstruct the at- mospheric structure during descent. We will discuss results drawn from atmospheric measurements on board InSight from the first months of operation, high- lighting the new perspectives permitted by the novel high-frequency, and continuous nature of the InSight data acquisition. Details on pre-landing scientific perspectives for atmospheric science with InSight are found in [2].