Monthly Archives: June 2017

THEMIS: Craters in Memnonia

Posted on June 14, 2017 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, June 14, 2017. Do you see what I see? Is that a momma holding a baby? (THEMIS Art #125) More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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Curiosity: Close targets

Posted on June 13, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1724, June 12, 2017. The Mastcam (with its wide-angle lens) shot a composite image that shows several targets — Haynes Point, John Small Cove, and Barr Hill — in front of the rover. (For more about this site, see … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Crater on a crater wall

Posted on June 13, 2017 by rburnham

It’s not that common to see craters on steep hills, partly because rocks falling downhill can quickly erase such craters. Here, however, a small impact occurred on the sloping wall of a larger crater and is well-preserved. Dark, blocky ejecta … Continue reading →

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Impact-heated rock led to relatively recent water-carved valleys on Mars

Posted on June 13, 2017 by rburnham

New research shows that water from melted snow and ice likely carved valley networks around Lyot crater on Mars. Present-day Mars is a frozen desert, colder and more arid than Antarctica, and scientists are fairly sure it’s been that way … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Curiosity’s four-day weekend

Posted on June 13, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1725, June 12, 2017, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: On most weekends, Curiosity dedicates part of her efforts to do contact science – deployment of APXS, MAHLI, and sometimes the DRT – because multi-sol weekend plans have more … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Noachis Terra in daytime infrared

Posted on June 13, 2017 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, June 13, 2017. Do you see what I see? Is that a little beetle at the top of the image? (THEMIS Art #124) More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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Opportunity: Pancam composite on Winnemucca

Posted on June 12, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 4757, June 12, 2017. Sitting below Winnemucca mesa, Opportunity is continuing to profile its surroundings with the Pancam. This four-shot false-color view (missing some of the filtered frames for the top left quadrant) looks up toward the mesa (Holger … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Monitoring sand sheets and dunes

Posted on June 12, 2017 by rburnham

This crater features sand dunes and sand sheets on its floor. What are sand sheets? Snow fall on Earth is a good example of sand sheets: when it snows, the ground gets blanketed with up to a few meters of … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Late summer scarps and textures

Posted on June 12, 2017 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, June 12, 2017. This VIS image shows more of the variety of textures on the south polar cap, as southern summer winds to its close. More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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Curiosity update: Leftovers for dinner

Posted on June 10, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1722-24, June 9, 2017, update by MSL scientist Scott Guzewich: Today, as I served as the Science Operations Working Group Chair, we prepared a 3-sol duration plan to keep Curiosity busy over the weekend.  Almost the entirety of the … Continue reading →

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