Tag Archives: Mars Climate Sounder

Mars CO2 ice cap throughout the martian year

This animation shows a side-by-side comparison of CO2 ice at the north (left) and south (right) Martian poles over the course of a typical year (two Earth years). This simulation isn’t based on photos; instead, the data used to create … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Opportunity: Dust storm going global, rover likely in deep-sleep for weeks until skies clear

[Ed. note: Video replay of the briefing here, and a new NASA web page, Mars Storm Watch, here.] NASA scientists reported today that dust in the skies over Opportunity is thicker than ever seen before from the surface, and the … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter preps aging hardware, instruments for extended operation

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has begun extra stargazing to help the space agency accomplish advances in Mars exploration over the next decade. The spacecraft already has worked more than double its planned mission life since launch in 2005. NASA … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Hydrogen escape from atmosphere linked to global dust storms

Some Mars experts are eager and optimistic for a dust storm this year to grow so grand it darkens skies around the entire Red Planet. This biggest type of phenomenon in the environment of modern Mars could be examined as … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Mars orbiters reveal seasonal dust storm pattern

After decades of research to discern seasonal patterns in Martian dust storms from images showing the dust, but the clearest pattern appears to be captured by measuring the temperature of the Red Planet’s atmosphere. For six recent Martian years, temperature … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off