Dust Activities of the Utopia Planitia

As a core component of the Martian climate system, dust activity not only profoundly shapes the Martian surface morphology but also influences key processes such as atmospheric mass exchange on Mars. Due to the low atmospheric pressure on Mars, sand and dust on its surface are easily lifted by wind, forming dust events of varying scales. Remote sensing observations of Mars before and after dust activity reveal that some surface areas become covered by fine-grained dust, weakening surface textures or leaving traces of wind-driven dust transport. Long-term dynamic monitoring of Martian remote sensing images helps characterize the Martian dust activity.

On July 23, 2020, China's Tianwen-1 Mars probe was successfully launched. It performed a Mars orbit insertion maneuver on February 10, 2021, and successfully landed in the southern part of the Utopia Planitia in the northern hemisphere of Mars on May 15 of the same year. After landing, the area was affected by the retropropulsion rocket, exposing dark rocks buried under the surface dust. The multi-temporal remote sensing image dataset provides valuable materials for analyzing the fresh surface of the Utopia Planitia region, facilitating a deeper understanding of the dust activity characteristics in this area.

This presentation will elaborate on the latest advancements derived from remote sensing observations and delve into the distinctive features of dust activity in the Utopia Planitia region.