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Tag Archives: clay minerals
HiRISE: Dragon scales of Mars
This intriguing surface texture is the result of rock interacting with water. The rock was then eroded and later exposed to the surface. The pinkish, almost dragon-like scaled texture represents Martian bedrock that has specifically altered into a clay-bearing rock. … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged bedrock, clay minerals, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, phyllosilicates, University of Arizona
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Indonesian sediments may offer clues to Mars paleolake deposits
[Editor note: text from a GSA release here.] In their GSA Bulletin article published online last week, Timothy A. Goudge and colleagues detail the clay mineralogy of sediment from Lake Towuti, Indonesia, using a technique called visible to near-infrared (VNIR) … Continue reading
Gale Crater’s rock-ingredient stew seen as plus for habitability
Editor’s note: Press conference video here. NASA’s Curiosity rover is climbing a layered Martian mountain and finding evidence of how ancient lakes and wet underground environments changed, billions of years ago, creating more diverse chemical environments that affected their favorability … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, boron, calcium sulfates, clay minerals, Curiosity, Gale Crater, hematite, Mars Science Laboratory, mineral veins, Mount Sharp, MSL, mudstones, Murray Formation, NASA, Stimson Formation
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Opportunity: Mini-mesa in the valley
Sol 4415-16, June 25-26, 2016. This little flat-topped feature, a mini-mesa sitting on the floor of Marathon Valley with the profile of a tree-stump, is probably an erosional remnant. The Navcam composite view was taken on Sol 4415 and looks northward … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Cape Tribulation, clay minerals, Endeavour Crater, Hinners Point, Jean-Baptiste La Jeunesse, Marathon Valley, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, NASA, Opportunity, phyllosilicates, the Mesa, the Stump
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Opportunity: York target, post-brushing
Sol 4112, June 22, 2016. Opportunity is currently in the middle of one of the clay mineral areas spotted from orbit by the CRISM spectrometer on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The target area the rover is examining is dubbed York, … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Cape Tribulation, clay minerals, CRISM, Endeavour Crater, Marathon Valley, Mars Exploration Rover, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MER, MRO, NASA, Opportunity, phyllosilicates, York
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Opportunity field report, June 20, 2016
Sol 4410, June 20, 2016; Rover Field Report by Larry Crumpler, MER Science Team & New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science: Opportunity is finishing up its activities here in Marathon Valley on the western rim of the 22 km-diameter … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Cape Tribulation, clay minerals, Endeavour Crater, Marathon Valley, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, NASA, Opportunity, phyllosilicates
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Opportunity: Where we’re at
Sol 4379, May 19, 2016. The rover is slowly exploring the head of Marathon Valley, where the rocks show evidence (detected from orbit by CRISM) of alteration by water, which produced clay minerals. This Navcam view (click to enlarge) looks … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Cape Tribulation, clay minerals, Endeavour Crater, Marathon Valley, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, NASA, Opportunity, phyllosilicates
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Opportunity report by A.J.S. Rayl, The Planetary Society
May 10, 2016: Opportunity Sleuths New Site for Smectites: After capturing a rare image of a dust devil whirling through the interior of Endeavour Crater at the end of March, Opportunity and the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) team pressed on … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Cape Tribulation, clay minerals, Endeavour Crater, Hinners Point, Knudsen Ridge, Marathon Valley, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, NASA, Opportunity, phyllosilicates, smectites
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Opportunity field report, May 5, 2016
Sol 4365, May 5, 2016; Rover Field Report by Larry Crumpler, MER Science Team & New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science: Opportunity arrived at its current location on sol 4345 to begin investigation of an outcrop on the crest … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Cape Tribulation, clay minerals, Endeavour Crater, Hinners Point, Knudsen Ridge, Marathon Valley, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, NASA, Opportunity, smectites
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THEMIS: Nili Fossae – false color
THEMIS Image of the Day, April 27, 2016. Today’s false color image shows part of Nili Fossae. The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, clay minerals, graben, Mars Odyssey, NASA, Nili Fossae, phyllosilicates, THEMIS, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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