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- CRISM: Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars
- CTX: Context Camera
- HiRISE: High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
- MARSIS: Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding
- SHARAD: Shallow Radar
- THEMIS: Thermal Emission Imaging System
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- All Mars missions list
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- Hope (al-Amal) orbiter
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- Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN)
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- Mars Express (MEX)
- Mars Odyssey
- Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) / Mangalyaan
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
- Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
- Perseverance Rover
- Tianwen-1 orbiter/rover
news
Category Archives: Reports
Lightning on Mars is probably rare and weak
[Editor’s note: From a paper by Gerhard Wurm and four co-authors recently published in Icarus.] A Challenge for Martian Lightning: Limits of Collisional Charging at Low Pressure • Collision experiments on identical grains show a strong dependence of charging on … Continue reading
HRSC: From canals to craters
Mars was once believed to be criss-crossed by a system of irrigation canals – dark troughs that sliced across the planet’s surface, excavated by an intelligent society of thirsty martians. The astronomer who promoted this idea lends his name to … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged DLR, ESA, European Space Agency, FU Berlin, High Resolution Stereo Camera, HRSC, Lowell Crater, Mars Express, MEX
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HiRISE: A frosted surface
This is the first of a new monitoring series to track seasonal processes. It is also a striking image with late winter angled illumination over dunes covered by carbon dioxide frost mixed with dust. Dark spots may be where sand … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged carbon dioxide ice, CO2 frost, dust, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, north polar region, north polar sand sea, University of Arizona
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Curiosity update: Touch-and-go!
Sol 2408, May 15, 2019, update by MSL scientist Mark Salvatore: Now that we’re back on the road following our drill campaign at Kilmarie, Curiosity is planning a quick “touch-and-go” activity today to characterize the local bedrock. Yesterday afternoon, Curiosity … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Kilmarie, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Rigg, sand ripples, Vera Rubin Ridge
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THEMIS: Basaltic dunes on a Meridiani Planum crater floor
THEMIS Image of the Day, May 16, 2019. Today’s false color image shows an unnamed crater north of Meridiani Planum. The dark blue features are small basaltic sand dunes. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, basaltic sand, false color, Mars Odyssey, Meridiani Planum, NASA, sand, sand dunes, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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Fly over Gale Crater’s Mt. Sharp by video
Ever wanted to visit Mars? A new animated video shows what it would be like to soar over Mount Sharp, which NASA’s Curiosity rover has been climbing since 2014. This video highlights several regions on the mountain that are intriguing … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Gediz Vallis, Gediz Vallis Ridge, Greenheugh Pediment, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, NASA, sulfate-bearing unit
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60,000 orbits for MRO
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter hit a dizzying milestone this morning: It completed 60,000 loops around the Red Planet at 10:39 a.m. PDT (1:39 p.m. EDT). On average, MRO takes 112 minutes to circle Mars, whipping around at about 2 miles … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA
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Curiosity update: Turning our wheels
Sol 2407, May 14, 2019, update by MSL scientist Abigail Fraeman: We’re driving today! …but only about three meters. After weeks of staying put while we completed drilling activities at “Kilmarie,” Curiosity is stretching her wheels. The main activity in … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Kilmarie, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA
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HiRISE: Resistant lava and erosion
This image demonstrates the curious phenomenon called “topographic inversion.” The southern half of the picture is covered by a well-preserved lava flow. The flow stops just at the brink of descending a steep slope. Lava isn’t afraid of falling, so … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, inverted topography, lava flows, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, University of Arizona, volcanics
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Phobos: Full Moon view
For the first time, NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter has caught the Martian moon Phobos during a full moon phase. Each color in this new image represents a temperature range detected by Odyssey’s infrared camera, which has been studying the Martian … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, false color, Mars Odyssey, NASA, Phobos, THEMIS, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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