Tag Archives: Spirit

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

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Not-so-everlasting hills

When the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit reached the top of Husband Hill in the Columbia Hills of Gusev Crater on August 22, 2005, it stood 107 meters (351 feet) above its landing site. Yet if recent work is right, the … Continue reading

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Home Plate’s volcanic bomb landed with a splat

One of the unusual features that Mars Exploration Rover Spirit discovered at Home Plate, a former hydrothermal vent in the Columbia Hills, was a “bomb sag,” complete with its partially embedded volcanic bomb. To geologists, volcanic bombs are rocks or … Continue reading

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Commemorating Mars Exploration Rover Spirit

The cast and crew of scientists and engineers who designed, built, and operated the Mars rover Spirit for its 2,210 days in Gusev Crater held a commemoration and celebration for the rover at its birthplace, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on … Continue reading

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Home Plate: Worth a second visit?

In Gusev Crater’s Columbia Hills, explored by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, a low plateau about 100 yards wide dubbed Home Plate has turned out to be a Pretty Big Deal. Although a deep bed of soft sand on its … Continue reading

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