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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
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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
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- Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN)
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news
Tag Archives: CRISM
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
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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Salty flows on Mars
The features known as “recurring slope lineae” (RSL) are the best evidence going that liquid water can, and does, flow on present-day Mars. The lineae are small dark streaks that appear mostly on equator-facing slopes, are associated with slope channels, … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged brine, CRISM, lineae, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, recurrent slope lineae, recurring slope lineae, RSL, water
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Changing times in Syrtis Major
Early Mars appears to have been highly unlike today, being warmer and wetter. To find out why and how the environment changed, scientists look for inflection points in Martian history, where one geological regime gives way to another. A report … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clays, CRISM, Isidis Planitia, lava, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, olivine, phyllosilicates, Syrtis Major
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Mars mineral bonanza?
If you could go to only one location on Mars, where would you find the most complete assortment of known Martian minerals? A new report, with lead author Patrick Thollot (Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, CNRS), in the Journal of … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clay minerals, climate change, CRISM, HiRISE, HRSC, hydrated minerals, Noctis Labyrinthus, opal, phyllosilicates, silicates, sulfates, Tharsis
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Ice cap winds spread polar gypsum
The north polar cap of Mars is surrounded by a vast dune field, about as large as Earth’s Kalahari Desert, that contains extensive deposits of gypsum. The gypsum’s origin has been debated since the mineral was discovered in 2005, yet … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged basal unit, climate change, CRISM, dunes, dust, gypsum, ice cap, katabatic winds, north polar ice cap, OMEGA, polar layered deposits, wind
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Water-related minerals in Noctis Labyrinthus
Noctis Labyrinthus, created 2 to 3 billion years ago, is a sprawling network of intersecting valleys and troughs between the Tharsis volcanic highlands and Valles Marineris. Deep within its troughs, canyon walls and floors display beds of layered rocks and … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clay minerals, CRISM, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Noctis Labyrinthus, Tharsis, Valles Marineris
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Cracks in the basement
When geological forces open a crack in bedrock, molten magma can squeeze in and widen it, after which the magma cools and hardens in place. The result is a dike, and such features let geologists delve into an outcrop’s history … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Coprates Chasma, CRISM, dikes, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, olivine, pyroxene, Tharsis, Valles Marineris, volcanic activity
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