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The atmosphere of Mars from Mariner 9 radio occultation measurements.Mariner-9 S-band radio occultation measurements conducted during November and December 1971 are described in terms of new information that was obtained about the shape and atmosphere of Mars. The arrival of the spacecraft coincided with a severely obscuring global dust storm, and the effect of the dust in the atmosphere was reflected in the reduced temperature gradients that were measured in the daytime near-equatorial atmosphere, indicating (1) heating of the atmosphere by solar radiation absorbed by dust and (2) simultaneous cooling of the surface. In general, surface atmospheric pressures measured in the equatorial regions are in very good agreement with previous radio-occultation and earth-based measurements. A global disparity in pressures strongly suggests that the physical shape of Mars is more oblate than the shape of its gravitational equipotential surface.
Document ID
19730032685
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Kliore, A. J.
Cain, D. L.
Fjeldbo, G.
Seidel, B. L.
Sykes, M. J.
(California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena Calif., United States)
Rasool, S. I.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Date Acquired
August 7, 2013
Publication Date
October 1, 1972
Subject Category
Space Sciences
Accession Number
73A17487
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS7-100
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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