-
Recent Posts
- Aeolis Serpens, Mars’ longest sinuous ridge, is an ancient riverbed
- Most deltas on Mars created by short, catastrophic floods
- Are brines actually needed to make recurring slope lineae flow?
- ‘Faint young Sun paradox’ a problem for Mars (and Earth, too)
- Gale’s winds sculpted the Mt. Sharp mound as they built it
Tags
atmosphere clay minerals climate climate change CO2 ice craters CRISM CTX Curiosity dunes dust Endeavour Crater Gale Crater groundwater gullies Gusev Crater HiRISE HRSC ice impacts lava flows LPSC 2012 LPSC 2013 magnetic field Mars Exploration Rovers Mars Express Mars Odyssey Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Science Laboratory Medusae Fossae formation MER Meridiani Planum meteorites MSL Opportunity Phobos phyllosilicates polar layered deposits Spirit Tharsis THEMIS Valles Marineris volcanos water windArchives
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
Links
general
mission instruments
- CRISM: Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars
- CTX: Context Camera
- HiRISE: High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
- SHARAD: Shallow Radar
- THEMIS: Thermal Emission Imaging System
missions
- All Mars missions list
- Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN)
- Mars Exploration Rovers (MER)
- Mars Express (MEX)
- Mars Odyssey
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
- Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
news
Tag Archives: craters
Gale Crater’s Lake District
Mars rover Curiosity landed on, or just beyond, the far end of an alluvial fan — rocks, gravel, and sand washed down by the Peace River from the north rim of Gale Crater. The rover has driven for 200 sols … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged alluvial fan, climate change, Crater Lake, craters, Curiosity, Gale Crater, HiRISE, LPSC 2013, MSL, water
Leave a comment
Developing a stratigraphic column for Gale Crater’s floor
After more than 100 sols (Martian days) in Gale Crater, NASA’s Curiosity rover has driven some 500 meters (1,600 feet), traversing several rock units. A sketch of the crater floor’s geological history is emerging. On its half-kilometer drive from its … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged conglomerate, craters, Curiosity, Gale Crater, LPSC 2013, MSL, stratigraphic column, stratigraphy
Leave a comment
Grooving on Phobos
Phobos, the larger moon of Mars, has a surface covered in craters, dust, boulders – and a great many semi-parallel and intersecting grooves. One theory for the grooves’ origin, proposed in 2011, holds that they are impact scars from chains … Continue reading
How old is Meridiani Planum?
The smooth, flat plain where Mars rover Opportunity landed in January 2004 looks spookily empty. Only a few rocks and meteorites, plus foot-high sand dunes and ripples, break the endless vista under a clear tawny sky. How long has the … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged craters, Endeavour Crater, HiRISE, LPSC 2012, Mars Exploration Rovers, Meridiani Planum, Opportunity, wind
Leave a comment
Pitted deposits in Mars craters point to subsurface ice
Studies of pitted deposits in crater floors appear to indicate that subsurface ice has been more widespread on Mars than previously thought. That’s the conclusion of a team of reseachers led by Livio Tornabene (University of Western Ontario), who reported … Continue reading
Water-carved channels on crater debris
Medium-size craters less than 3 billion years old often show water-carved channels in their debris aprons, according to a new study of mid-latitude craters in Arabia Terra. Previous studies had reported that such features on ejecta aprons were rare. Nicolas … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Context Camera, craters, CTX, ejecta, fluvial landforms, High Resolution Stereo Camera, HRSC, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, water
Leave a comment
Mini pedestal craters suggest tropical ice deposits
Craters surrounded by debris aprons that stand above the surrounding surface are known as pedestal craters. Scientists think the slab-like apron of ejecta around such craters covers layers that are rich in water ice. Nearly all pedestal craters found so … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged climate change, craters, Daedalia Planum, HiRISE, ice, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, pedestal craters
Leave a comment
Airblast avalanches
The aerial blast wave from a meteorite impact can trigger dust avalanches in the vicinity, says a new paper published in Icarus. A group of scientists led by Kaylan Burleigh (University of Arizona) reached this conclusion after studying a cluster … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged airblast, craters, dust, dust avalanches, HiRISE, impacts, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Medusae Fossae formation, meteorites, slope streaks
Leave a comment
High ground on Cape York rim segment named Shoemaker Ridge
Scientists with the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity have given the name of Shoemaker Ridge to the highest “spine” of the Cape York segment of Endeavour Crater’s rim. The rover arrived at Cape York in early August and has been exploring … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged craters, Endeavour Crater, Mars Exploration Rovers, MER, Meridiani Planum, Opportunity, Shoemaker Ridge
Comments Off
Down in the deltas
Although NASA passed over Eberswalde Crater to choose Gale Crater as the landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), Eberswalde offers the best known example on Mars of a river delta built from sediment washed into a crater lake. … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged craters, delta, Eberswalde Crater, HiRISE, Holden Crater, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO
Leave a comment