Author Archives: rburnham

Red Planet Report is on hiatus

While the Red Planet Report is on hiatus, these links will help readers stay abreast of developments in Mars exploration. (NB: Some links are updated daily, others at longer intervals.) • NASA Mars news • Jet Propulsion Laboratory news (all … Continue reading

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How much atmosphere has Mars lost?

A key tracer used to estimate how much atmosphere Mars lost can change depending on the time of day and the surface temperature on the Red Planet, according to new observations by NASA-funded scientists. Previous measurements of this tracer – … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Layers in Danielson Crater

This image shows sedimentary rock and sand within Danielson Crater, an impact crater 67 kilometers in diameter, located in the southwest Arabia Terra region of Mars. The rock was formed millions or billions of years ago when loose sediments settled … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Chryse Chaos

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 6, 2019. This VIS image shows part of Chryse Chaos near the terminal end of the huge outflow channels draining from Valles Marineris into the Chyrse Basin. Chaos terrain is typified by regions of … Continue reading

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MARCI weather report, August 26-27, 2019

Weather patterns were fairly typical last week for this time of Mars year. In the north, local-scale dust storms were spotted along seasonal north polar cap edge. Diffuse water-ice clouds associated with the aphelion cloud-belt continued to be more dominant … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Frost highlights in springtime

This image of a crater rim strikingly shows what appear to be bright white flows coming from gullies in the crater wall. However, HiRISE has been watching these gullies for some time (going all the way back to our first … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Chaos in Morava Valles

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 5, 2019. Located in Margaritifer Terra, Morava Valles is one of several channels that empty northward towards Chryse Planitia. Chaos terrain is typified by regions of blocky, often steep sided, mesas interspersed with deep … Continue reading

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MARCI weather report, August 19-25, 2019

Afternoon weather conditions were again very seasonal this past week. Local dust storms were observed along the seasonal receding north polar cap edge and at southern low-to-mid latitudes. The developing aphelion cloud belt continued to be prominent at equatorial latitudes. … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Bedrock riddles of Nili Fossae

This image of the Nili Fossae region, to the west of the great Isidis basin, shows layered bedrock with many impact craters. Nili Fossae is one of the most mineralogically important sites on Mars. Remote observations by the infrared spectrometer … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Patterns on patterns in Olympia Undae

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 4, 2019. Today’s VIS image shows part of Olympia Undae, the largest of several dune fields that encircle the north polar cap. (It is also known as the north polar sand sea.) This image … Continue reading

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