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- CRISM: Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars
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- SHARAD: Shallow Radar
- THEMIS: Thermal Emission Imaging System
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news
Category Archives: Reports
THEMIS: Northern polar ice cap edge
THEMIS Image of the Day, May 24, 2019. Today’s false color image shows part of the margin of the north polar cap and the surrounding plains. This image was collected during the northern summer season. The THEMIS VIS camera contains … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, false color, Mars Odyssey, NASA, north polar ice cap, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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Curiosity update: Cairn today, drill tomorrow?
Sol 2415, May 23, 2019, update by MSL scientist Fred Calef: After a short six meter drive to “Hallaig,” the science team began the investigation of a new potential drill target named “Broad Cairn,” a flat spot on a bright … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Broad Cairn, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Hallaig, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA
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Explosive volcanism likely made olivine-rich deposit near 2020 rover landing site
Ashfall from ancient volcanic explosions is the likely source of a strange mineral deposit near the landing site for NASA’s next Mars rover, a new study finds. The research, published in the journal Geology, could help scientists assemble a timeline … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged ashfall, Isidis Planitia, Jezero Crater, Mars 2020, Syrtis Major, volcanics, volcanism
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HiRISE: Collapsed material on the floor of Orson Welles Crater
Collapsed material on the floor of Orson Welles Crater. This observation captures collapsed blocks of material on floor of Orson Welles Crater. Layers and the clay minerals found in this 125-kilometer crater are evidence that it once contained a lake. … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clay minerals, crater lakes, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiPOD, HiRISE, HiRISE Picture of the Day, layered deposits, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, Orson Welles Crater, University of Arizona
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Curiosity: Next drill target?
Sol 2414, May 22, 2019. After a 6-meter (19-foot) drive to the north-northeast, the forward Hazcam (right) shows the scene as Curiosity squares up to a small flat outcrop dubbed Broad Cairn, possibly a new drill target. Above is the … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Broad Cairn, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Hallaig, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Vera Rubin Ridge
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Latest weather at Gale Crater and Elysium Planitia
Daily Elysium charts and data (temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure) here.
Posted in Reports
Tagged Curiosity, dust storms, Elysium Planitia, Gale Crater, InSight, Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL, NASA, temperature, Temperature and Wind for InSight, TWINS, weather
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THEMIS: Arabia Terra crater in false color
THEMIS Image of the Day, May 23, 2019. Today’s false color image shows part of an unnamed crater in Arabia Terra. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arabia Terra, Arizona State University, ASU, basaltic sand, false color, Mars Odyssey, NASA, sand, sand dunes, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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Detecting carbonates on the martian surface
Was Mars warm and wet enough to support life during the planet’s first few hundred million years? Scars of ancient lakes and rivers, as well as minerals that form only when water is present, have convinced many researchers that Mars … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged aluminum phyllosilicates, carbonate minerals, clay minerals, iron-magnesium phyllosilicates, Mawrth Vallis, phyllosilicates
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Curiosity update: Curiosity’s potassium ‘Special K’ campaign
Sol 2414, May 21, 2019, update by MSL engineer Ashley Stroupe: Curiosity is investigating an area that is very high in potassium, and we’re trying to characterize the distribution and the source of that potassium. Yesterday we did a short … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Annbank, Balintore, Brimmond, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Grampian Mountains, Hallaig, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Woodland Bay
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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
Posted in Reports
Tagged climate change, climate cycles, north polar ice cap, north polar layered deposits, Shallow Radar, SHARAD
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