Tag Archives: salts

ExoMars: Images of InSight lander and more

Curious surface features, water-formed minerals, 3D stereo views, and even a sighting of the InSight lander showcase the impressive range of imaging capabilities of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. The ESA-Roscosmos Trace Gas Orbiter, or TGO, launched three years ago … Continue reading

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Lake under south polar ice cap requires local heat source

Thermal modeling suggests that active magmatism in the past few hundred thousand years could account for the presence of a large lake previously hypothesized beneath the Red Planet’s southern ice cap. Liquid water appears to be a fundamental requirement for … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Looking at martian salts and clays

This 3D perspective view is a composite of both HiRISE and data from CRISM, another instrument onboard MRO. This view covers a small patch of ancient Martian real estate in Terra Sirenum. CRISM collects spectral data that can be used … Continue reading

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Do salts draw water from atmosphere for RSLs?

Puzzles persist about possible water at seasonally dark streaks on Martian slopes, according to a new study of thousands of such features in the Red Planet’s largest canyon system. The study published today [in the Journal of Gephysical Research] investigated … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Possible chloride salts in Icaria Planum

Possible chloride salts in Icaria Planum. Beautiful Mars series.

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Salt flat: a last vestige of Mars surface water?

Mars turned cold and dry long ago, but researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered evidence of an ancient lake that likely represents some of the last potentially habitable surface water ever to exist on the Red Planet. … Continue reading

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Mars salts must touch ice to make liquid water

In chambers that mimic Mars’ conditions, researchers have shown how small amounts of liquid water could form on the planet despite its below-freezing temperatures. Mars is one of the very few places in the solar system where scientists have seen … Continue reading

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