Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Stephen Fogg Istvan Szunyogh, an associate professor in the atmospheric sciences department is carrying out a NASA grant researching weather patterns on Mars. [Click to enlarge]

In preparation for the day when humans will travel to the planet Mars, Istvan Szunyogh is heading up the challenge of being able to predict weather on Mars.

Szunyogh was awarded a grant from NASA to analyze Mars weather patterns. Szunyogh, an associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, said he is interested in using past weather patterns to predict future patterns.

"What we are trying to do is see whether it would be possible to make forecasts for Mars," Szunyogh said. "It would help with predicting when we would send robotic probes and one day possibly humans."

The project started at the University of Maryland and when Szunyogh left to work at A&M the grant and half of the project went with him.

Szunyogh focuses on computer models and simulation to determine the predictability of Mars weather through observations and data collected from satellites orbiting the planet. The main goal is to learn how far in advance it is possible to make accurate predictions of Mars weather.

Weather on Mars varies drastically from weather on Earth; scientists who study with weather on Earth deal with humidity from the water whereas scientists studying the atmosphere on Mars look for dust storms.

Szunyogh is working with data collected from observations from the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter using an instrument called the thermal emission spectrometer, which uses a form of infrared energy to determine conditions and temperatures at spots of the Mars surface.

Ross Hoffman, vice president of the research and development division for Atmospheric and Environmental Research Inc., describes himself as being an adviser to both parts of the project in Maryland and College Station.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools