Tag Archives: Shallow Radar

North polar layered deposits vary strongly in dust and composition

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Daniel Lalich and two co-authors recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] Radar Reflectivity as a Proxy for the Dust Content of Individual Layers in the Martian North Polar Layered Deposits • Radar … Continue reading

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Multiple former ice caps lie under the northern cap

Scientists have discovered remnants of ancient ice sheets buried in sand a mile beneath Mars’s north pole, they report in a new study. The findings show conclusive evidence of the waxing and waning of polar ice on the red planet … Continue reading

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South polar layers deposited regionally

Shallow Radar correlation of discrete units in one of the Red Planet’s largest ice reservoirs suggests that its material was emplaced as a single, regional deposit. One of Mars’s largest water ice reservoirs, the south polar layered deposits, consists of … Continue reading

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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

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Radar gives new info on Mars climate change, polar cap ages

Three-dimensional (3-D) subsurface radar volumes generated from thousands of 2-D radar profiles are revealing new information about the polar regions of Mars, including more accurate mapping of CO2 and water ices, the discovery of buried impact craters, and new elevation … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Textures in Deuteronilus Mensae

This enhanced color image shows the surface of a lobate debris apron in the Deuteronilus Mensae region of Mars, on the boundary between the Northern plains and Southern lowlands. These lobe-shaped formations commonly emanate from mesas in this region and … Continue reading

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3D images reveal Mars polar ice cap features

Three-dimensional subsurface images are revealing structures within the Martian polar ice caps, including previously obscured layering, a larger volume of frozen carbon dioxide contained in the south polar cap, and bowl-shaped features that may be buried impact craters within both … Continue reading

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SHARAD finds ice deposit in Utopia Planitia with as much water as Lake Superior

Frozen beneath a region of cracked and pitted plains on Mars lies about as much water as what’s in Lake Superior, largest of the Great Lakes, researchers using NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have determined. Scientists examined part of Mars’ Utopia … Continue reading

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Radar finds ice-age record in Mars polar cap

Using radar data collected by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a Southwest Research Institute-led team found evidence of an ice age recorded in the polar deposits of Mars. Ice ages on Mars are driven by processes similar to those responsible for … Continue reading

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Terraced craters point to subsurface ice sheets

Just beneath the planet’s dirt surface, University of Arizona researchers found an enormous slab of water ice, measuring 130 feet thick and covering an area equivalent to that of California and Texas combined. It was a “crazy-looking crater” on the … Continue reading

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