THEMIS Image of the Day, August 22, 2019. A section of Granicus Valles crosses the center of this VIS image. Granicus Valles is a complex channel system located west of Elyisum Mons.
The channel system is about 750km long. It is likely that both water and lava played a part in creating the channel.
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Afternoon weather conditions were very seasonal this past week. Local dust storms were observed along the seasonal receding north polar cap edge (north of Acidalia) and at southern low-latitudes (Margaritifer and Solis) and mid-latitudes (from Aonia to Cimmeria). Condensate clouds casting distinct shadows over Meridiani were observed during the first half of the week… [More at link, including video]
Southeast Hale Crater ejecta. This image can help us determine whether there are one or multiple ejecta lobes in this region. Hale Crater is often imaged by HiRISE for the presence of recurring slope lineae, or flows that may or may not be briny liquid.
HiRISE Picture of the Day archive. [More at links]
Sols 2502-03, August 20, 2019, update by MSL scientist Ryan Anderson: The Sol 2502-2503 plan starts with a couple of ChemCam observations on the bedrock targets “Papigoe” and “Princes Street,” followed by a Mastcam stereo mosaic of “Stone Row.” Then in the afternoon of Sol 2502, Curiosity will portion out all the sample material from the “Glen Etive” drill hole that remains in the drill stem, in an activity called “portion to exhaustion,” taking plenty of Mastcam images to document the process. Sol 2502 will end with an overnight APXS atmospheric observation.
On Sol 2503, ChemCam has some more activities, starting with an analysis of the bedrock target “Macbeth’s Cairn.” This will be followed by an autonomously targeted observation of some of the bright veins in the bedrock target “Lamlash.” ChemCam will finish up with… [More at link]
THEMIS Image of the Day, August 21, 2019. Today’s VIS image shows Biblis Patera, the summit caldera of the volcano Biblis Tholus. This volcano is located west of Pavonis Mons and is just one of the numerous volcanoes found in the Tharsis region.
Note the swirls on the caldera floor caused by the floor’s collapse, and the rampart of fallen rubble at the foot of the caldera slope (image bottom).
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The full suite of scientific instruments, including cameras that will give us our eyes on Mars, the drill that will retrieve pristine soil samples from below the surface, and the onboard laboratory that will seek out signs of life are all installed on the ExoMars rover.
The rover, named after the pioneering scientist Rosalind Franklin, is part of the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars programme, and is nearing completion at Airbus Defence and Space, Stevenage, UK. The rover is now seen with its recently added PanCam, which sits on top of a mast that rises 2 m above the ground. PanCam will be fundamental in the day-to-day scientific operations of the rover to assist with scientific decisions on where to drive and drill… [More at link]
Sols 2499-2501, August 16, 2019, update by MSL scientist Abigail Fraeman: Conjunction is the few-weeks period when Mars goes behind the sun and we stop communicating with our spacecraft that are there. Our last planning day before conjunction will be next Friday, and thinking about that fast approaching day feels very similar to thinking about getting ready to leave for vacation. The Curiosity science team has many things we want to wrap up before conjunction, so we’re trying to work extra hard to do as much as we can before setting up Curiosity’s (figurative) auto-reply “I’m behind the sun” email.
This weekend’s plan is all about running additional SAM analyses on the Glen Etive drill sample. We are planning to deliver a portion of the drill sample to SAM on lucky sol 2500, and SAM will analyze its composition using the gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer (GC-MS) on sol 2501. This SAM activity is preceded by an activity to clean the GC column on sol 2499, and the… [More at link]
Pits on a crater floor. These pits are also showing some great exposure of bedrock on the floor of this massive, ancient crater, located northwest of the Hellas impact basin.
HiRISE Picture of the Day archive. [More at links]
During the past week on Mars, transient dust storms were observed along the edge of the south polar hood in Sirenum and Aonia. While in the northern hemisphere, storms developed along the seasonal cap edge, with one arcuate-shaped storm propagating southeastward along the Acidalia storm-track. At equatorial latitudes, water-ice clouds, associated with the developing aphelion cloud belt… [More at link, including video]
THEMIS Image of the Day, August 20, 2019. The lava flows and other volcanic features in this VIS image (such as pit crater and pit chains) are part of Ascraeus Mons.
Ascraeus Mons is the middle volcano in the aligned Tharsis Montes.
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