A wealth of new information about Martian weather and atmosphere was acquired by the Pathfinder lander on the 27th and 28th days of surface operations in the Ares Vallis outflow channel on Mars.
Atmospheric pressures can also change significantly within a matter of minutes.
Scientists think some of these variations may be caused by small dust devils that can be whipped up by a gust of wind. The flight team has been taking advantage of longer downlink sessions over the last several Martian days to acquire as much weather data as possible. Regular weather measurements will be limited in the days ahead due to the lander's limited battery power. Summer temperatures remain in the same range. Winds were blowing lightly from the south and swinging around from the northwest during the day.