Mariner 1969 Infrared Radiometer Results: Temperatures and Thermal Properties of the Martian Surface

Abstract

The reduced data of the Mariner 6 and 7 Infrared Radiometer Experiments are presented, along with a discussion of the reduction and calibration procedures. Evidence is presented showing that the surface of Mars is strongly nonhomogeneous in its thermal properties, on scales ranging from those of the classical light and dark areas to the limit of resolution of the radiometers. On the sunlit side, the mean thermal inertia, for admissible bolometric albedos, is 0.006 (cal cm^(-2) sec^(-1/2) °K^(-1)). The dark areas Syrtis Major and Mare Tyrrhenum, observed at night, require thermal inertias as high as 0.010. The temperatures measured over the circular basin Hellas require a bolometric albedo of 0.40 and also a high thermal inertia. The temperature measured over the south polar cap, 148° K, provides evidence that the major constituent of the frost deposit is CO_2.