Category Archives: Reports

HiRISE: Clay-rich terrain in the Eridania Basin

Posted on April 4, 2019 by rburnham

HiRISE reveals small-scale shapes that often correlate with mineral units and provides information about stratigraphy (i.e., what’s on top and relative ages). This image was acquired for co-analysis with a spectrometer instrument also on our spacecraft called CRISM (Compact Reconnaissance … Continue reading →

Curiosity update: Luck be an Aberlady

Posted on April 4, 2019 by rburnham

Sol 2367, April 3, 2019, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: Our short drive on Monday was successful, bringing two candidate drill targets into closer, clearer view. The prime candidate (image above), “Aberlady,” appeared to have the same color, structure … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged Aberlady, Aeolis Mons, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Longannet, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Tartan | Comments Off

THEMIS: Oyama Crater in false color

Posted on April 4, 2019 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, April 4, 2019. Oyama Crater dominates the top of this VIS image. Oyama Crater is located in Arabia Terra, just west of Mawrth Vallis. The two craters at the bottom of the image are unnamed. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, false color, Mars Odyssey, Mawrth Vallis, NASA, Oyama Crater, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System | Comments Off

HiRISE: The hills in Juventae Chasma

Posted on April 3, 2019 by rburnham

This image captures some of the geologic diversity of Mars. There are hills of ancient terrains on the floor of Juventae Chasma, surrounded by younger sediments, including dark sand sheets and dunes that are likely active today. The hills are … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged active dunes, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Juventae Chasma, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, sand sheets, sedimentary deposits, University of Arizona, volcanic minerals, water-related minerals | Comments Off

Curiosity: Outcrop workspace

Posted on April 3, 2019 by rburnham

Sol 2365, April 2, 2019. Curiosity has driven to where it can examine the outcrop where mission scientists hope to make the next drill hole. (For more about the drill planning, see here.) This composite of six Mastcam (34mm) frames … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged Aberlady, Aeolis Mons, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA | Comments Off

MARCI weather report, March 25-31, 2019

Posted on April 3, 2019 by rburnham

For the past week on Mars, transient dust storms and water ice clouds continued to develop along the seasonal north polar ice cap edge. Just a bit further south, a couple fleeting dust storms were spotted extending southward across Acidalia … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged atmosphere, clouds, dust, dust storms, haze, Malin Space Science Systems, MARCI, Mars Color Imager, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, MSSS, NASA, storms, weather, wind | Comments Off

THEMIS: Melas Chasma landslide debris

Posted on April 3, 2019 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, April 3, 2019. This false-color image is located within Melas Chasma. The lobate forms at the bottom of the image are the remnants of landslides that crashed from the top of the cliff sides to … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, false color, landslides, Mars Odyssey, mass wasting, Melas Chasma, NASA, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System, Valles Marineris | Comments Off

Curiosity update: Edging closer and closer to a new drill target!

Posted on April 2, 2019 by rburnham

Sols 2365-66, April 2, 2019, update by MSL scientist Catherine O’Connell-Cooper: One of the primary goals of the Curiosity mission, to determine the composition of a region which appears to be rich in clays (informally known as “Glen Torridon”), is … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged Aeolis Mons, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Longannet, Lumphanan, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Tartan, Teal | Comments Off

Curiosity: Mastcam looks ahead

Posted on April 2, 2019 by rburnham

Sol 2364, April 1, 2019. The rover’s Mastcam (34mm lens) looked ahead across the Glen Torridon clay-bearing unit, with Mt. Sharp rising in the distance and the southern side of Vera Rubin Ridge at left. These five frames are part … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged Aeolis Mons, CBU, clay-bearing unit, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Glen Torridon, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Vera Rubin Ridge | Comments Off

HiRISE: Dramatic changes over the south polar cap

Posted on April 2, 2019 by rburnham

The south polar residual cap of carbon dioxide ice rapidly changes. This image was planned as an almost exact match to the illumination and viewing angles of a previous one we took in August 2009. The pits have all expanded … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged CO2 ice, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, polar pits, south polar ice cap, south polar residual cap, University of Arizona | Comments Off

Category Archives: Reports

Recent Posts

Archives

Links

general

mission instruments

missions

news