Category Archives: Reports

Hunting for biosignatures in volcanic rocks

Posted on May 20, 2019 by rburnham

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Magnus Ivarsson, Therese Sallstedt, and Diana-Thean Carlsson recently published in Frontiers in Earth Science.] Morphological Biosignatures in Volcanic Rocks – Applications for Life Detection on Mars The exploration of Mars is largely based on comparisons with … Continue reading →

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Mars 2020 is coming together

Posted on May 20, 2019 by rburnham

An engineer inspects the completed spacecraft that will carry NASA’s next Mars rover to the Red Planet, prior to a test in the Space Simulator Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. From the top down, and suspended … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Grains, up close!

Posted on May 20, 2019 by rburnham

Sols 2410-12, May 20, 2019, update by MSL scientist Susanne Schwenzer: Curiosity is continuing the investigations at “Rigg.” The image in this update shows a close up taken by the MAHLI Hand Lens imager to allow the detailed investigation of … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Basaltic dunes in Firsoff Crater

Posted on May 20, 2019 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, May 20, 2019. Today’s false color image shows part of Firsoff Crater, located north of Meridiani Planum. Dark blue tones in the false color filter combination are basaltic sands. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Playing in the sand

Posted on May 17, 2019 by rburnham

Sol 2409, May 16, 2019, update by MSL scientist Ryan Anderson: The sol 2408 plan ended with the rover using its front wheel to dig a small trench in a ripple at the ripple field named “Rigg.” That means today’s … Continue reading →

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Latest weather at Gale Crater and Elysium Planitia

Posted on May 17, 2019 by rburnham

Daily Elysium charts and data (temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure) here.

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HiRISE: A snow plow landslide

Posted on May 17, 2019 by rburnham

This image shows a small landslide in Iani Chaos. Landslides are common on Mars where there are steep slopes, including this area where there are numerous mounds and hills. What is unusual about this landslide is that it carved a … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Dune mound in Acidalia Planitia crater

Posted on May 17, 2019 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, May 17, 2019. Today’s false color image shows an unnamed crater in Acidalia Planitia. The dark blue feature on the crater floor is a mound of sand. The sand is tall enough to cast a … Continue reading →

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MARCI weather report, May 6-12, 2019

Posted on May 17, 2019 by rburnham

We are now well into northern spring, and dust storm activity is picking up in the northern hemisphere. Numerous dust storms were observed near the seasonal north polar cap edge (presently ~60° N) throughout the past week. Several of these … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Ripple studies

Posted on May 16, 2019 by rburnham

Sol 2408, May 16, 2019. With Curiosity parked at the edge of a field of sand ripples, mission scientists directed the Navcam to image the ripple field leading up to Vera Rubin Ridge (above). Then the camera imaged part of … Continue reading →

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