Les travaux menés dans cette thèse se partagent entre la Lune et Mars, cibles privilégiées pour les missions d'exploration spatiales. La première partie porte sur l'instrument Interference Imaging Spectrometer (IIM) qui était à bord du satellite lunaire chinois Chang’e-1. Une méthode inédite utilisant l'angle spectrale et le concept de distance Euclidienne, et visant à supprimer les mauvais pixels de IIM, est proposée. Une nouvelle procédure de calibration est utilisée, et l'inter-étalonnage des données IIM avec des données télescopiques est amélioré. Ce nouveau jeu de données permet, après inversion, d'estimer l'abondance de FeO dans le sol lunaire. Les valeurs trouvées sont comparables aux observations du satellite américain Clementine et fournissent une nouvelle référence pour les études lunaires à venir. La seconde partie est consacrée à la modélisation du phénomène de tempêtes de poussière-fusée ("rocket dust storms") générées par des mouvements convectifs meso-echelle liés au chauffage solaire des poussières. L'objectif est de reproduire numériquement les couches de poussières détachées découvertes par l'instrument Mars Climate Sounder (NASA) dans le Modèle de Climat Global (GCM) du LMD. Les simulations montrent que, durant la saison des tempêtes de poussières (printemps et été austral), ce phénomène permet d'expliquer les couches détachées, et de reproduire les observations. Cependant, durant l'autre partie de l'année où il y a très peu de tempêtes de poussières, il semble nécessaire d'inclure dans le GCM un autre processus impliquant les vents de pente, capable de réinjecter les poussières en altitude pour maintenir les couches détachées. / Moon and Mars have been the important targets for deep space missions. The studies in this thesis include two parts. The first part is concerning Chang’e-1 Interference Imaging Spectrometer (IIM) data preprocessing and global lunar FeO inversion. In order to better preprocess the IIM data, a new method using spectral angle and Euclidean distance for removing bad pixels has been proposed. A new in-flight calibration has been conducted. And cross calibration of IIM data by using the telescopic data is improved. The processed IIM data have also been used to inverse lunar FeO abundance. The IIM-derived FeO is comparable to Clementine FeO results, and can be an alternative dataset for Moon studies. The second part is concerning parameterizing rocket dust storms and daytime slope winds in LMD (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique) Mars GCM (Global Climate Model) to reproduce the detached dust layers (DDLs) observed by Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) on Mars. The simulations by the GCM including rocket dust storm parameterization show that, during the Martian dusty seasons, the rocket dust storms are the key factors to explain the observed DDLs. The formation and evolution of GCM simulated DDLs are in agreement with those of MCS observation. Meanwhile, the simulation also suggests that the large variation of the DDLs’ altitudes in dusty season are contributed by the deep convection induced by rocket dust storms. The simulations by the GCM including daytime slope winds parameterization show that with the help of daytime slope winds, the GCM can reproduce the detached dust layers in Martian clear seasons, which cannot be simulated by the rocket dust storm process.

The observation of less chaoticity and enhanced interannual periodicity of transient waves in the Martian atmosphere in comparison with that of the Earth suggests the hypothesis of a low-dimensional underlying atmospheric attractor. Grounded on this hypothesis, two questions can be asked: is there a small set of atmospheric modes, measured and classified by a suitable norm, capable of describing the atmosphere of Mars? If this set exists, are those atmospheric modes able to reproduce the dynamical behaviour of the atmosphere of Mars? The answer to these questions, constituting the central focus of this thesis, has led to the first application of POD-Galerkin methods to a state-of-the-art Mars general circulation model. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) as a method for extracting coherent structures, called empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), provided a means to answer the first question in the positive. An important amount of atmospheric total energy (TE) was found to be concentrated in a few EOFs (e.g., 90% TE in 20 EOFs). The most energetic EOFs were identified with atmospheric motions such as thermal tides and transient waves. The Galerkin projection of the hydrostatic primitive equations onto the span of the EOFs provided a systematic method to establish physically plausible interactions between the most energetic EOFs. These interactions were complemented with closure schemes representing interactions with unresolved modes. This requirement proved to be essential in order to obtain bounded behaviour. In the diagnostic analysis, represented by the POD alone, increasing the number of EOFs directly leads to a better approximation of the atmospheric state. In contrast, the dynamic reconstruction of the atmospheric evolution does not depend only on the number of included EOFs. Other important factors to obtain realistic evolution are the inclusion of every mode involved in the description of a particular kind of motion (diurnal tide, semidiurnal tide or transients) and the retention of higher order modes that may interact strongly with the modes of interest. Once these conditions are satisfied the behaviour of the reduced models is greatly improved. Implications of these findings for future work are discussed.

There is a need for wind sensors with high accuracy and measurement frequency for deployment on the surface of Mars. The wind data obtained to date have been adversely affected by thermal contamination and calibration issues. Improved data would not only help to constrain and validate theoretical models, but also increase safety and longevity of lander operations. The mechanical and thermal wind sensing techniques used on previous missions, whilst sufficient for basic meteorology, are wholly inadequate for measuring fundamental phenomena such as dust and volatile transport. Two promising technologies, optical and acoustic anemometry, could permit precise and high-frequency measurement of three-dimensional wind speeds on the Martian surface. Ultrasonic acoustic anemometry, which relies on time-of-flight measurements, was ultimately chosen for its lower processing requirements and ability to measure the speed of sound; and therefore temperature. Capacitive transducers were selected for their low impedance and high sensitivity, to maximise signal transmission through the rarefied Martian atmosphere. These transducers, which consist of a metallised polymer film oscillating on top of a contoured metal backplane, were evaluated for their suitability as anemometers on the Martian surface. A theoretical framework was assembled to model transducer performance and determine which factors are the most important in determining received signal amplitude. A pair of transducers were designed and manufactured to allow for testing of a wide range of parameters including thickness of the oscillating membrane and diameter. Tests were carried out on the assembled transducers to investigate the dependence on these parameters, and their behaviour was generally found to fit the assembled theoretical framework well. Transducer performance was highly dependent on roughness depth of the backplanes, as expected. The frequency response of the transducers was dominated by the backplane roughness at atmospheric pressure but by film thickness at low pressures. Cross-correlation of the sent and received signals was confirmed as the most reliable signal detection method at low signal amplitudes. The transducers were tested under simulated Martian conditions (a low-pressure carbon dioxide atmosphere with airborne dust), and found to be capable of accurately and reliably measuring the incident wind speed. The cumulative deposition of airborne dust noticeably reduced received signal amplitude, but further testing is required to determine the effect of significant amounts of dust on transducer performance. The impact of the transducer heads impeding the incident fluid flow was found to be very significant in wind tunnel testing. Preliminary computational models were found to accurately predict these effects, but a more comprehensive modelling campaign and experimental validation would be required to ensure accurate instrument calibration.