MARCI weather report, Sept 28-October 4, 2015

Posted on October 7, 2015 by rburnham

releaseimg_150928_151004For the past week on Mars, dust storms and diffuse water-ice clouds were spotted north of the developing south polar hood. Meanwhile, on the other side of the red planet, a long reaching dust storm occurred over Arcadia. Towards the end of the week, dust lifting located near the edge of the receding north polar ice cap expanded into a large arcuate-shaped dust storm north of Deuteronilus. [More at link, including video]

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THEMIS: Acidalia Planitia – false color

Posted on October 7, 2015 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the DayPedestal craters on Acidalia Planitia (THEMIS_IOTD_20151007), October 7, 2015. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today’s false color image shows part of Acidalia Planitia.

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Curiosity update: ‘MAHLI selfie’

Posted on October 6, 2015 by rburnham

CR0_497188105PRC_F0500592CCAM02123L1Sol 1126, October 5, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: MSL did well last weekend, but the Sol 1124 MAHLI images of the unsieved part of the drill sample showed that the APXS was not perfectly centered on the dump pile.  Therefore, the Sol 1126 plan includes new MAHLI images and APXS measurements, better centered on the dump pile… Then MAHLI will be used to take another self-portrait of the rover, and… [More at link]

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HiRISE: Dynamic Mars

Posted on October 6, 2015 by rburnham

ESP_042572_2640This scarp at the edge of the North Polar layered deposits of Mars is the site of the most frequent frost avalanches seen by HiRISE. At this season, northern spring, frost avalanches are common and HiRISE monitors the scarp to learn more about the timing and frequency of the avalanches, and their relationship to the evolution of frost on the flat ground above and below the scarp.

This picture managed to capture a small avalanche in progress, right in the color strip. See if you can spot it in the browse image… [More at link]

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Curiosity: Zapping Big Sky

Posted on October 6, 2015 by rburnham

1124MH0005240000401685R00_DXXX-br2Sol 1124, October 5, 2015. Small laser zap pits go down the wall of the drill hole at Big Sky, while similar zaps into the drill tailings excavate wider pits because the material is loose. This MAHLI image was taken after dark using LED illumination by the rover.

Sol 1124 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

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HiRISE: Nested channels near Hellas

Posted on October 6, 2015 by rburnham

ESP_042433_1535We’re not sure if this channel-inside-a-channel was carved by flowing water or lava. Flowing water erodes channels, and flowing lava both erodes and melts surrounding rock to form channels.

It’s not clear whether a huge surge of water or lava first formed the wide channel and then subsided into a trickle to form this narrow, inner channel, or if a trickle formed the inner channel and a subsequent surge formed the wider one. Detailed analysis of the shape could reveal… [More at link]

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JPL’s role in making ‘The Martian’ a reality

Posted on October 6, 2015 by rburnham

martian20151005When fictional astronaut Mark Watney becomes stranded alone on the Red Planet in the novel and film “The Martian,” people and technology from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, play important roles in his castaway adventure. Acclaimed for its attention to scientific and technical detail, “The Martian” is steeped in decades of real-life Mars exploration that JPL has led for NASA… [More at link]

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THEMIS: Aureum Chaos – false color

Posted on October 6, 2015 by rburnham

Mesas and buttes in Aureum Chaos (THEMIS_IOTD_20151006)THEMIS Image of the Day, October 6, 2015. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today’s false color image shows part of Aureum Chaos.

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HiRISE: Western edge of Marth Crater

Posted on October 5, 2015 by rburnham

ESP_042252_1930In the book “The Martian” by Andy Weir, stranded astronaut Mark Watney is headed for the Ares 4 landing site but encounters the rim of Marth Crater just as a dust storm arrives. This HiRISE image shows the nature of this terrain.

The crater rim is not very distinct and from the ground it would be quite difficult to tell that you are even on the rim of a crater. The terrain is hummocky and rolling, punctuated by smaller impact craters and wind-blown drifts of sand or… [More at link]

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THEMIS: Gusev Crater – false color

Posted on October 5, 2015 by rburnham

Gusev Crater - false color (THEMIS_IOTD_20151005)THEMIS Image of the Day, October 5, 2015. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today’s false color image shows part of Gusev Crater. This image is located west of landing site for the MER Spirit rover. The blue tinted patch in the north of the image is part of a large area that has been swept relatively clean by dust devils, exposing the basaltic lava surface underneath.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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