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The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) is an instrument on board the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover that will characterize the dust size and morphology, as well as surface weather. Specifically, the information obtained will help address future human exploration objectives, as dust sizes and shapes, daily weather report and information on the radiation and wind patterns on Mars, that are critical for proper design of in situ resource utilization systems. MEDA is a follow-on project from REMS, of the Curiosity rover mission. MEDA has an increased scope, with greater data collection on Mars dust which contributes to overall Mars program objectives and discovery goals.

The instrument suite was developed and provided by the Spanish Astrobiology Center at the Spanish National Research Council in Madrid, Spain. On April 8, 2021, NASA reported the first MEDA weather report on Mars: for April 3–4, 2021, the high was "minus-7.6 degrees, and a low of minus-117.4 degrees ... gusting to ... 22 mph".

Scientific team members

The Principal Investigator is José Antonio Rodríguez Manfredi and the Deputy Principal Investigator is Manuel de la Torre Juarez (JPL-NASA).

List of coinvestigators and their affiliations:

Overview

Dust dominates Mars' weather the way that water dominates Earth's weather. Martian weather cannot be predicted unless dust behavior is studied and understood in the weather context. MEDA is a suite of environmental sensors designed to record dust optical properties and six atmospheric parameters: wind speed/direction, pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, ground temperature, and radiation (UV, visible, and IR ranges of the spectrum).

The technology used on MEDA was inherited from the REMS package operating on the Curiosity rover and the TWINS package on InSight lander. The sensors are located on the rover's mast and on the deck, front and interior of the rover's body. It records data whether the rover is active or not, at both day and night. The instruments will collect data for 5 minutes every 30 minutes.

Meda components

See also

• Martian soil (aka regolith)
• Atmosphere of Mars
• Materials Adherence Experiment (1996 Mars dust experiment on Mars Pathfinder)

References

1. "Mission: Overview". NASA. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
2. ^ The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA): A Suite of Environmental Sensors for the Mars 2020 Rover. Tamppari, L.; Rodriguez-Manfredi, J. A.; de la Torre-Juárez, M.; Bridges, N.; Conrad, P. G.; Genzer, M.; Gomez, F.; Gomez-Elvira, J.; Harri, A. M.; Lemmon, M. T.; Martinez, G.; Navarro, S.; Newman, C. E.; Perez-Hoyos, S.; Prieto, O.; Ramos, M.; Saiz-Lopez, A.; Sanchez-Lavega, A.; Schofield, J. T.; Smith, M. D. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2015, abstract #P11B-2097
3. ^ Mars 2020 - MEDA Specifications. NASA, 2016.
4. ^ "MEDA: An Environmental and Meteorological Package for Mars 2020" (PDF). 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2014). Retrieved November 12, 2022.
5. Cappucci, Matthew (April 8, 2021). "NASA receives first weather reports from Perseverance rover on Mars at Jezero Crater - The weather data is crucial as the first flight of Ingenuity draws near". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
6. Juarez, Manuel de la Torre. "JPL Science: Manuel de la Torre Juarez". science.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
7. ^ "MEDA Team Members - NASA Mars". 2020-07-17. Archived from the original on 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
8. ^ MEDA, THE ENVIRONMENTAL DYNAMICS ANALYZER FOR MARS 2020 (PDF). J. A. Rodriguez-Manfredi, M. de la Torre, J. S. Boland, et al. 3rd International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions (2016).
9. ^ Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA). Mars 2020 Rover, NASA. 2015.

External links

• Mars 2020 Home site

v t e Mars 2020
Timeline of Mars 2020
Payloads	Perseverance rover Ingenuity helicopter (list of flights)
Rover instruments	Hazcam Mastcam-Z MEDA MOXIE Navcam PIXL RIMFAX Rover embedded computers SHERLOC SuperCam
Features	MarsDial Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator Rocker-bogie Sky crane
Proposed landing sites	Selected Jezero crater Finalists Columbia Hills in Gusev crater Jezero crater Syrtis Major Planum Other Eberswalde crater Holden crater Mawrth Vallis Nili Fossae Melas Chasma
Related	Octavia E. Butler Landing Wright Brothers Field Cheyava Falls Exploration of Mars
Category Solar System portal

• Mars 2020 instruments
• Meteorological instrumentation and equipment
• Space science experiments
• INTA spacecraft instruments