I'm not sure if the density plays into this too much. Gravity would probably play a bigger role as the gravity is only 38% of Earth's so it would need less wind to move
Wind forces in the 17 mbar tests (mentioned in the article) are roughly twice as strong as those on Mars, but still about 60x weaker than on Earth at full atmospheric pressure (1013 hPa (= 1013 mbar)).
The lower gravity might compensate for the pressure in the test being about twice as high.
The force caused by the wind acting on the rovers are 50% of Mars, if you are correct, so I'd expect twice the "sail" force pushing the CG of the rover versus its current contact "point" on Mars as in the experiment. 2/0.38 = 2.5x the moving force. When the CG is pushed forward, the whole thing rotates, and the rover advances to a new contact point.
Of course, we're talking about things like wind velocity and surface texture as "constants" here, but yeah: the thing should move.
wumms|4 months ago
The lower gravity might compensate for the pressure in the test being about twice as high.
IAmBroom|4 months ago
The force caused by the wind acting on the rovers are 50% of Mars, if you are correct, so I'd expect twice the "sail" force pushing the CG of the rover versus its current contact "point" on Mars as in the experiment. 2/0.38 = 2.5x the moving force. When the CG is pushed forward, the whole thing rotates, and the rover advances to a new contact point.
Of course, we're talking about things like wind velocity and surface texture as "constants" here, but yeah: the thing should move.
foobarbecue|4 months ago