Science

And now for the weather on Mars, courtesy of new NASA lander

19 of February 2019

This Dec. 6, 2018 image 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 center and the solar panels are weather sensors. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is posting the high and low temperatures online, along with wind speed and atmospheric pressure from the InSight lander. (NASA via AP),This Dec. 6, 2018 image 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 center and the solar panels are weather sensors. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is posting the high and low temperatures online, along with wind speed and atmospheric pressure from the InSight lander. (NASA via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — And now for the weather on Mars: NASA’s newest lander is offering daily reports on the red planet’s frigid winter.

Starting Tuesday, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is posting the highs and lows online , along with wind speed and atmospheric pressure from the InSight lander.

On Sunday, InSight recorded a high of 2 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 17 Celsius) and a low of minus 138 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 95 Celsius). Compare that with Sunday’s coldest U.S. temperature: minus 27 degrees (minus 3 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 (550 kilometers) away.