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- CRISM: Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars
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- MARSIS: Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding
- SHARAD: Shallow Radar
- THEMIS: Thermal Emission Imaging System
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- 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
THEMIS: Dunes spill into pit in Rabe Crater
THEMIS Image of the Day, March 11, 2019. Today’s VIS image shows part of the dune field on the floor and within the pits of Rabe Crater. This crater, and a handful of others in Noachis Terra, have unique floors. … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, Mars Odyssey, NASA, Rabe Crater, sand dunes, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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How should astronauts search for life on Mars?
An international team of researchers, which includes scientists from McMaster’s School of Geography & Earth Sciences, NASA, and others, is tackling one of the biggest problems of space travel to Mars: what happens when we get there? A series of … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged BASALT program, Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains, Canadian Space Agency, CSA, human exploration, life, microbial life, NASA, organic biomarkers
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Recently formed crater clusters on Mars
[Editor’s note: From a paper by Ingrid Daubar and three co-authors recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] Recently Formed Crater Clusters on Mars • We report on properties of new dated crater clusters on Mars; most clusters in … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged crater clusters, cratering rate, impacts, multiple impacts, oblique impacts
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MAVEN: Aerobraking to lower the orbit
The MAVEN spacecraft today [March 7] performed an aerobraking maneuver (with a 0.2 m/s ∆V) to decrease the periapsis, or lowest, altitude by 1.2 km. MAVEN’s periapsis altitude is now 125.5 km above the surface of Mars and the apoapsis, … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged aerobraking, atmosphere, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, MAVEN, NASA, University of Colorado
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HiRISE: Layers in Meridiani
Layers in Meridiani. Despite the numerous data gaps with this observation, we can still get a closer look at the layers in Meridiani Planum. The hematite we find in this region is part of a layered sedimentary rock formation about … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged basaltic sand, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiPOD, HiRISE, HiRISE Picture of the Day, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Meridiani Planum, MRO, NASA, sedimentary deposits, University of Arizona
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THEMIS: Dunes in Nili Patera
THEMIS Image of the Day, March 8, 2019. Today’s false color image is located at Nili Patera in Syrtis Major Planum. There are regions of small dunes towards the top and the bottom of the image. The wide range of … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, false color, Mars Odyssey, NASA, Nili Patera, sand dunes, Syrtis Major, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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Defining the goals for collecting Mars samples
Returning samples from the surface of Mars has been a high-priority goal of the international Mars exploration community for many years. Although randomly collected samples would be potentially interesting, they would not be sufficient to answer the big questions that … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2020, ExoMars 2020 rover, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jezero Crater, JPL, M2020, Mars 2020, Mars 2020 rover, Mars sample return, NASA, Oxia Planum, Rosalind Franklin
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HiRISE: Colorful Mawrth Vallis
Mawrth Vallis is a place on Mars that has fascinated scientists because of the clays and other hydrated minerals detected from orbit. In this image, the enhanced black colors are most likely basaltic sands and rocks, while the green, yellow, … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clays, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, hydrated minerals, jarosite, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mawrth Vallis, MRO, NASA, Opportunity, phyllosilicates, University of Arizona
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Seeing Mars with 2020 vision: Jezero Crater and Oxia Planum
Both NASA and ESA hope their next Mars rovers will find evidence that life once thrived on Mars, but they have different strategies to reach this goal. Their landing site choices reflect this difference. Engineers are assembling two ambitious rover … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2020, ExoMars 2020 rover, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jezero Crater, JPL, landing sites, M2020, Mars 2020, Mars 2020 rover, NASA, Oxia Planum, Rosalind Franklin, Roscosmos
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THEMIS: Canyons of Ius Chasma
THEMIS Image of the Day, March 7, 2019. This false-color VIS image shows part of the southern cliff face of Ius Chasma, part of the giant Valles Marineris rift system. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, canyons, false color, Ius Chasma, Mars Odyssey, NASA, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System, Valles Marineris
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