| アブストラクト |
The NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity is a pickup-truck-sized rover that landed on the surface of Mars on August 6, 2012, after a remarkable anding procedure (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=979) .
Curiosity is providing an unprecedented in situ observational capability at the Martian surface. While much of the limelight is on the geological explorations, Curiosity is also notable as the 5th “weather station” deployed to the Martian surface, starting with the NASA Viking mission in 1976. Taking advantage of enhanced interest in Mars following this amazing NASA mission, I will present a brief review of the history of Mars atmospheric exploration with a focus on the in situ observations from the previous lander missions, and describe how observations have been explained in terms of theories and models of the Martian dynamical meteorology. A particular focus will be on understanding the remarkable diurnal variations in surface pressure observed on Mars. |
