NASA Mars Helicopter Ingenuity illustration.
Video Credit: NASA/JPL via Science Daily
Ever since I began following Mar's Mission, I’ve been continually amazed at how little we really know of the planet’s weather. NASA’s Ingenuity has now surprised us again by showing that Mars winds are not just strong but could one day be used to generate power for landers or bases. They measured winds near the surface in a way no lander could. Recent data show gusts up to 90 km/h (25 m/s), stronger than scientists expected, providing a first dangerous glance into just how active the lower atmosphere of Mars can be and aiding in the planning of future missions of all types.
Mars’ atmosphere is thin, about 1% as dense as Earth’s, which makes wind measurements difficult. Rovers like Perseverance can take measurements of winds at the surface, but for the most part no one knew much about what was blowing a few metres above the ground. Ingenuity, originally designed as a small helicopter to test powered flight, has transformed from a flight testbed to a weather probe of sorts. Scientists used its tilt and rotor movements during flights to estimate wind speeds from about 3 to 24 metres above the surface without using any traditional wind sensor.
The study found that wind directions match Perseverance's readings, but the speeds are actually stronger and more variable than models predicted. All this can help boost rotorcraft flights, landings, dust studies, and wind measurement systems for whatever bases of operation that come to Mars in the future.
Reference
Jackson, B. et al. (2025). Profiling near‑surface winds on Mars using attitude data from Mars 2020 Ingenuity. The Planetary Science Journal https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad8b41 https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.19132
