Martian dust

[PB666]

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/the-fact-and-fiction-of-martian-dust-storms

[Motokid600]

Not much for words are you?

Cool article though. I understand Andy Weir had to fudge the windspeeds for the sake of the story. But did he exaggerate the speed or the density? Iirc the wind blew to 175kph in the book. Almost twice the max recorded speed stated in the article. Is it then the wind could become dangerous?

[PB666]

Not much for words are you?

Cool article though. I understand Andy Weir had to fudge the windspeeds for the sake of the story. But did he exaggerate the speed or the density? Iirc the wind blew to 175kph in the book. Almost twice the max recorded speed stated in the article. Is it then the wind could become dangerous?

I don't think the martian air carry but the smallest grains of dust. what units are the using, typically its indicated air speed when considering a pressure at low speed. if you unit is kph then it is IAS= (175^2 /100)^1/2 =17.5 kph relative to the way the wind would feel on earth. However the dust praticles traveling at that speed would easily burn an exposed ankle for anyone warking around bare foot. Note: calculation base on 1/100 martian/earth basal atm pressures.

[lajoswinkler]

There is no "kph". Proper way is km*h^-1, but for the sake of writing, km/h is allowed, too.

No, the only thing dangerous in a typical Martian storm is the grinding effect of the dust particles on softer surfaces... unless you're trying to carry something very lightweight with a large surface area. That could be a problem.

[Nibb31]

One of the big challenges when designing equipment for the surface of Mars, is dust. The wind isn't very strong, but it's enough for the dust to get in everywhere. It's abrasive, so you have to design your equipment with seals and filters to prevent ingestion and clogging. It's also toxic, so you don't want to get it inside the vehicle. This is why NASA is looking into suitports rather than airlocks for most EVA activity.