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Questions tagged [weather]

Questions regarding effects of weather on space exploration and how it can be forecasted and managed on Earth and on other bodies with atmospheres.

35 votes
2 answers
7k views

What would it feel like to be in a Martian dust storm?

In a recent question, 'Could an EVA Suit meant for Mars be used for EVA on another celestial, or vice-versa?', there was some discussion in the comments about the effects of a dust storm on Mars ...
Hobbes's user avatar
  • 128k
1 vote
0 answers
246 views

Was the telltale on the Mars Phoenix Lander used for meteorology? Why not a hot wire anemometer instead?

Reading about ping pong ball anemometers I discovered that the Mars Phoenix Lander had an anemometer of this design, and there are images and GIFs of it moving. When imaged from one or two different ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
12 votes
2 answers
573 views

Around Venus in 8 days by Balloon?

The question Would a human colony on Venus be possible? received an answer showing how inhospitable the surface is. But combined with comments to the answer implies that a station in the upper ...
James Jenkins's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
590 views

How quickly might a Titan rover or drone get covered in oil and dirt? Will it need windshield-wipers?

These questions and their answers address some potential aspects of a rover on Saturn's moon Titan. Titan rover survival challenges What are the technical challenges in building a Titan rover that ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
7 votes
2 answers
679 views

How does InSight measure wind speed?

According to this answer to How can I find a daily record of the temperature on Mars? the weather at the InSight lander can now be seen online at https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/ This includes ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
17 votes
1 answer
2k views

Are launch windows to Mars avoided if they result in landings during dust storm season?

This comment suggests that orbit before descent to Mars' surface allows a mission to delay the landing if the weather conditions are bad. I think that Tianwen-1 will be the first to put a lander rover ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
11 votes
1 answer
486 views

Perseverance individual sample collection post-mission; what stops them from blowing away or getting covered and hidden by dust?

I have been seeing videos that the plan after Perseverance is done collecting samples to distribute them in 'strategic' locations around Mars for another rover to drive around and pick up later. Why ...
necroncryptek's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
641 views

How were video tape recorders adapted to work in orbit in 1962?

Livescience's Satellite spies gigantic 'fuzzball' clouds spreading near Australia coast says: Actinoform clouds were first captured by NASA’s Television Infrared Observation Satellite V in 1962, but ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
22 votes
2 answers
12k views

Can a rocket be launched while it rains?

All videos of rocket launches I ever saw were performed in clear weather conditions. I also read many reports about launches which were delayed because of bad weather conditions. What are the ...
Philipp's user avatar
  • 9,356
21 votes
4 answers
11k views

How can Mars have dust storms with such a thin atmosphere?

Mars, as I understand, has a very thin atmosphere. However, it still has weather like this: What causes the thin atmosphere to move fast enough to cause such a monster wave of dust?
user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
421 views

Do smaller rockets require better weather at launch than larger ones?

The Spaceflight Now article Rocket Lab test launch halted by ship traffic, deteriorating weather mentions that the recent planned launch of the Electron rocket was cancelled due to a combination of ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

Has an astronaut ever seen pixies, ELVEs, sprites or blue jets (without a camera)?

The NASA Science video ScienceCasts: A Display of Lights Above the Storm shows several examples of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) (Upper Atmospheric Lightning) being filmed by high-sensitivity ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
70 votes
4 answers
11k views

Why did it take so long to notice that the ozone layer had holes in it? Which satellite provided the data?

Wikipedia says: The discovery of the annual depletion of ozone above the Antarctic was first announced by Joe Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jonathan Shanklin, in a paper which appeared in Nature on May ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
12 votes
1 answer
598 views

Does Venus have doldrums or horse latitudes (latitudes with lower winds)?

Because of all the heat fueling convection cells, Venus has some brisk winds especially in the upper atmosphere (up to 370 km/h). I realize the winds are quite slow at the surface, but are there any ...
King-Ink's user avatar
  • 381
7 votes
3 answers
442 views

Fast spinning solar cells to clear Martian dust possible?

I've seen a fast spinning glass wheel used in front of a camera to clear away water, dust or ice. Could Solar panels be made circular and spin to clear dust off of them in the same way may? As ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1

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