-
Recent Posts
Tags
Aeolis Mons Arizona State University ASU atmosphere Beautiful Mars Cape Tribulation clouds craters Curiosity dunes dust Endeavour Crater ESA European Space Agency Gale Crater High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment HiRISE Malin Space Science Systems Marathon Valley MARCI Mars Color Imager Mars Exploration Rover Mars Odyssey Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Science Laboratory mass wasting MER Mount Sharp MRO MSL MSSS Murray Formation NASA Opportunity sand dunes Stimson Formation storms THEMIS THEMIS Image of the Day Thermal Emission Imaging System University of Arizona Vera Rubin Ridge volcanics weather windArchives
Links
general
mission instruments
- CRISM: Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars
- CTX: Context Camera
- HiRISE: High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
- MARSIS: Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding
- SHARAD: Shallow Radar
- THEMIS: Thermal Emission Imaging System
missions
- All Mars missions list
- Curiosity rover
- ExoMars
- Hope (al-Amal) orbiter
- InSight
- Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN)
- Mars Exploration Rovers (MER)
- Mars Express (MEX)
- Mars Odyssey
- Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) / Mangalyaan
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
- Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
- Perseverance Rover
- Tianwen-1 orbiter/rover
news
Author Archives: rburnham
Islands of ice on Mars (and Pluto)
[Editor’s note: From a paper by Michael Sori and three co-authors recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] Islands of ice on Mars and Pluto • Deposits in 31 craters in the south polar region of Mars likely represent … Continue reading
THEMIS: Elysium Fossae
THEMIS Image of the Day, September 3, 2019. This VIS image is located west of Elysium Mons in the region called Elysium Fossae. The fossae are comprised of both linear and sinuous channels, usually interpreted to have both fluid and … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, channels, Elysium Fossae, Elysium Mons, Mars Odyssey, NASA, tectonics, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System, volcanics
Comments Off
HiRISE: Avalanche season
Every spring the sun shines on the side of the stack of layers at the North Pole of Mars known as the north polar layered deposits. The warmth destabilizes the ice and blocks break loose. When they reach the bottom … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged avalanches, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, north polar ice cap, north polar layered deposits, University of Arizona
Comments Off
THEMIS: Wind-blown debris in channel
THEMIS Image of the Day, September 2, 2019. Several named and unnamed channels are located south of the Medusae Fossae Formation on the margin with Terra Sirenum. One of the unnamed channels is visible in the lower half of this … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, channels, Mars Odyssey, Medusae Fossae Formation, NASA, Terra Sirenum, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System, wind erosion, yardangs
Comments Off
HiRISE: Raindrops of sand in Copernicus Crater
Raindrops of sand in Copernicus Crater. The dark features here look like raindrops, but are actually sand dunes rich in the mineral olivine. These types of dunes are rare on Earth as olivine rapidly weathers to clays in a wet … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Copernicus Crater, eolian processes, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiPOD, HiRISE, HiRISE Picture of the Day, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, olivine, sand, sand dunes, University of Arizona
Comments Off
Latest weather at Gale Crater and Elysium Planitia
Daily Elysium charts and data (temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure) here.
Posted in Reports
Tagged Curiosity, dust storms, Elysium Planitia, Gale Crater, global dust storms, InSight, Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL, NASA, temperature, Temperature and Wind for InSight, TWINS, weather
Comments Off
HiRISE: Stairway to Danielson
Stairway to Danielson. Previous images showed possible recurring slope lineae here in Danielson Crater. Additional images are needed to confirm their existence, but it’s the stair-stepped layers that also capture our attention for their stark beauty. HiRISE Picture of the … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Danielson Crater, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiPOD, HiRISE, HiRISE Picture of the Day, layered deposits, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, recurring slope lineae, RSL, University of Arizona
Comments Off
New clues to source of Mars methane
[Ed. note: Partial report on this research appeared earlier here] A team of researchers led by scientists at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering has created a model of how methane changes on Mars throughout the day by using data … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Curiosity, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, MSL, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
Comments Off
THEMIS: Cerberus Fossae graben
THEMIS Image of the Day, August 30, 2019. The linear depressions at the top of the VIS image are some of the graben that comprise Cerberus Fossae. Graben form where extensional tectonic forces allows blocks of material to subside between … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, Cerberus Fossae, Elysium Planitia, graben, Mars Odyssey, NASA, tectonics, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System, volcanics
Comments Off
Small amounts of CO2 can get Mars gullies flowing
[Editor’s note: From a paper by Tjalling de Haas and six co-authors recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] Initiation and Flow Conditions of Contemporary Flows in Martian Gullies • We use RAMMS to back calculate initial and flow … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged CO2, debris flows, gullies, Hale Crater, mass wasting, particle flows
Comments Off