MEDUSA: Observation of atmospheric dust and water vapor close to the surface of Mars

@inproceedings{Esposito2011MEDUSAOO,
  title={MEDUSA: Observation of atmospheric dust and water vapor close to the surface of Mars},
  author={F. Esposito and L. Colangeli and Vincenzo Della Corte and Cesare Molfese and Pasquale Palumbo and Sergio Ventura and Jonathan P. Merrison},
  year={2011}
}
Background: The study of airborne dust and water vapor properties at the Martian surface level is an important task for the achievement of some of the primary scientific goals of Mars exploration: to study the water cycle and present / past habitability, climate history and hazardous conditions. Method: The MEDUSA instrument has been designed for the direct in situ measurement of dust and water vapor properties, such as dust size distribution, number density, deposition rate and electrification… 
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18 Citations
Background Citations
2
Methods Citations
6

18 Citations

Preliminary design of the inlet duct of a dust analyzer for Mars
Airborne dust characterization is very important in planetary climatology, especially on Mars, where dust is always present and its concentration varies with seasons. This work deals with the design…
Optimization of the Fluid Dynamic Design of the Dust Suite-MicroMED Sensor for the ExoMars 2020 Mission
Airborne dust characterization is a critical aspect in space missions to Mars. Dust is always present in the Martian atmosphere, with different concentration depending on the season, and its…
Field Measurements of Terrestrial and Martian Dust Devils
Surface-based measurements of terrestrial and martian dust devils/convective vortices provided from mobile and stationary platforms are discussed. Imaging of terrestrial dust devils has quantified…
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“MicroMED” Optical Particle Counter: From Design to Flight Model †
TLDR
This work summarizes the thermo-mechanical design of the instrument, the manufacturing of the flight model and its successful qualification in expected thermal and mechanical environments.
The Small Mars System
Small Mars satellite : a low-cost system for Mars exploration
The Small Mars Satellite (SMS) is a low-cost mission to Mars, currently under feasibility study funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission, whose estimated cost is within 120 MEuro, aims…
Thermal and microstructural properties of fine-grained material at the Viking Lander 1 site
Low power proximity electronics for dust analysers based on light scattering
The present paper focuses on the development of an optimized version of the Proximity Electronics (PE) for dust analysers based on static light scattering. This kind of instruments, aimed to the…
Design and CFD Analysis of the Fluid Dynamic Sampling System of the “MicroMED” Optical Particle Counter †
TLDR
The present work describes how the design criticalities were solved by means of a CFD simulation campaign and the updated design was then implemented to MicroMED’s Flight Model.
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