Abstract
THE aim of the Thermoscan experiment on the Phobos spacecraft is the further study of the thermal properties of the surface of Mars that was begun by the Soviet Mars spacecraft and the Mariner and Viking spacecrafts. These previous investigations obtained data concerning the temperature distribution in different areographic regions, the evaluation of daily and seasonal changes of the planet temperature, and the thermal inertia of the martian surface. Previous data had a spatial resolution of a few tens or a few hundreds kilometres; in particular, the resolution of the data collected by Vikings 1 and 2 is 8–175 km. The Thermoscan experiment provides thermal images of far higher resolution, giving more comprehensive data on the temperature distribution and thermal inertia of the surface of the planet and its relief elements and making it possible to search for small thermal anomalies.
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Selivanov, A., Naraeva, M., Panfilov, A. et al. Thermal imaging of the surface of Mars. Nature 341, 593–595 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/341593a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/341593a0
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