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Monthly Archives: January 2013
Hardened arteries in Nili and Nilo
Water seeping through conduits and cracks in the deep subsurface rocks of Nilosyrtis and Nili Fossae left behind minerals, like hard-water deposits that collect in the plumbing of your house. (Or cholesterol in your arteries.) Then as the softer rocks … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clay minerals, cracks, CTX, Curiosity, fractures, Gale Crater, groundwater, gypsum, HiRISE, Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MSL, Nili Fossae, Nilosyrtis, Opportunity, phyllosilicates, water
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Ancient Mars biosphere: deep underground?
Something like half of Earth’s entire biomass lies underground in the form of microorganisms living off geothermal heat and chemicals in the crustal rocks. Could the same hold true for Mars, now or in bygone times? If so, it’s hard … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged biosphere, carbonate minerals, clay minerals, CRISM, groundwater, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, McLaughlin Crater, MGS, microorganisms, TES, THEMIS, Thermal Emission Spectrometer
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Mars’ ancient climate had a “wet-pass” filter
Volcanic eruptions — and the rocks they produce — dominate the surface of the Red Planet. Mars also shows evidence for activity by liquid water — sediments, channels, and valley networks — through much of its history. While volcanos can … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, atmosphere, climate, climate change, Curiosity, Gale Crater, ice, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, snowmelt, water
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Explosive eruptions in dense ancient atmospheres
Explosive volcanic eruptions on an earlier Mars with a thicker atmosphere would have scattered fine ash (pyroclastic debris) mainly east or west of the volcano, a new study finds. Also, a denser ancient atmosphere supports the addition of Arsia and … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Apollinaris Mons, Arsia Mons, atmosphere, Medusae Fossae Formation, Pavonis Mons, pyroclastic eruptions, volcanic ash, volcanos
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“Black Beauty” Mars meteorite unique
It’s young, it has been shattered and naturally recemented, and it’s about ten times richer in water than any other Mars meteorite. And if the scientists who studied it are right, it’s the also first meteorite to come from the … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Black Beauty, breccia, Chassigny, Mars meteorites, meteorites, Nakhla, Northwest Africa 7034, NWA 7034, Shergotty, SNC meteorites
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Lava flows resurfaced crater lakes after water was gone
Fire and water didn’t mix when it came to resurfacing basins that lie along Martian fluvial valley networks. A study of some 30 open-basin lakes (paleolakes) with floors covered by lava flows has concluded that at least these basins were … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged CRISM, CTX, Gusev Crater, HiRISE, HRSC, lava flows, Mars Exploration Rovers, OMEGA, open-basin lakes, paleolakes, Spirit, TES, THEMIS
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