Mars Weather

Mars is a very cold, windy, dusty planet. View a video from NOVA about the Weather on Mars.

Very low temperatures can damage the rover's electrical system and motors.

High dust levels in the atmosphere can block out sunlight, and dust collecting on the solar panels will lower their efficiency.

The VSSEC Rover uses LIDAR to detect atmospheric dust and water vapour. Wind Speed and direction are detected by a tell-tale, as part of the onboard meteorological system.