-
Recent Posts
Tags
Aeolis Mons Arizona State University ASU atmosphere Beautiful Mars Cape Tribulation clouds craters Curiosity dunes dust Endeavour Crater ESA European Space Agency Gale Crater High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment HiRISE Malin Space Science Systems Marathon Valley MARCI Mars Color Imager Mars Exploration Rover Mars Odyssey Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Science Laboratory mass wasting MER Mount Sharp MRO MSL MSSS Murray Formation NASA Opportunity sand dunes Stimson Formation storms THEMIS THEMIS Image of the Day Thermal Emission Imaging System University of Arizona Vera Rubin Ridge volcanics weather windArchives
Links
general
mission instruments
- CRISM: Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars
- CTX: Context Camera
- HiRISE: High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
- MARSIS: Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding
- SHARAD: Shallow Radar
- THEMIS: Thermal Emission Imaging System
missions
- All Mars missions list
- Curiosity rover
- ExoMars
- Hope (al-Amal) orbiter
- InSight
- Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN)
- Mars Exploration Rovers (MER)
- Mars Express (MEX)
- Mars Odyssey
- Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) / Mangalyaan
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
- Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
- Perseverance Rover
- Tianwen-1 orbiter/rover
news
Tag Archives: methane
Can methanogens survive on Mars?
Researchers at the University of Arkansas recently took a step toward answering a question for the ages: Is there life on Mars? Answer: they can’t rule it out. Two recent publications suggest that life, in the form of ancient, simple … Continue reading
Did bursts of methane warm early Mars?
The presence of water on ancient Mars is a paradox. There’s plenty of geographical evidence that rivers periodically flowed across the planet’s surface. Yet in the time period when these waters are supposed to have run — three to four … Continue reading
Curiosity ends second Mars year at Gale Crater
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover today completes its second Martian year since landing inside Gale Crater nearly four Earth years ago, which means it has recorded environmental patterns through two full cycles of Martian seasons. The repetition helps distinguish seasonal effects … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, atmosphere, atmospheric pressure, Curiosity, Gale Crater, humidity, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, Mount Sharp, MSL, NASA, temperature, water vapor
Comments Off
Curiosity update: ‘Drilling at Greenhorn’
Sol 1136-1138, October 16, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Unfortunately the Sol 1135 bundles were not uplinked due to a DSN issue, so the activities that we planned yesterday never made it onboard. However, that meant that Curiosity … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Big Sky, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Greenhorn, Hawk Creek, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Nisku, Opeche, Skull Creek, Stimson Formation
Comments Off
Curiosity update: ‘Sniffing the Martian air’
Sol 1135, October 15, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: The Sol 1134 mini-start hole on “Pilgrim” went well, as seen in the MAHLI image [at right]. Side note: if that doesn’t look like a hole to you, try rotating … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Pilgrim, Stimson Formation
Comments Off
Evidence of methane found in Mars meteorites
An international team of researchers has discovered traces of methane in Martian meteorites, a possible clue in the search for life on the Red Planet. The researchers examined samples from six meteorites of volcanic rock that originated on Mars. The … Continue reading
Methanogens can survive low pressures on Mars
New research at the University of Arkansas suggests that methanogens – among the simplest and oldest organisms on Earth – could survive on Mars. Methanogens, microorganisms in the domain Archaea, use hydrogen as their energy source and carbon dioxide as … Continue reading
Curiosity finds active & ancient organic chemistry
NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory’s drill. “This temporary increase in methane — … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Cumberland, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, Mount Sharp, MSL, NASA, organic molecules
Comments Off
Methane in a flash
Martian methane is a hot topic because of its potential origin in biological, as well as geological processes. Observations (Earth-based and from Mars orbit) have found only a small quantity of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere of Mars — … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, carbon dioxide, dust devils, electrical discharges, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, methane, sand storms, water
Comments Off
UV light makes methane from meteorites
Methane gas, which can arise from both biological and geological sources, was detected in the Martian atmosphere by observations from Earth-based telescopes in 2003 and from the Mars Express orbiter (2004). As methane breaks down relatively quickly under Martian conditions, … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, Mars Express, meteorites, methane, Murchison, ultraviolet light, UV light
Comments Off