HiRISE: Little collection of crater dunes

Posted on August 25, 2015 by rburnham

tumblr_ntkjpuGSLW1rlz4gso1_1280A little collection of crater dunes. Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity update: ‘Rough road ahead’

Posted on August 25, 2015 by rburnham

1082MH0001530000400790R00_DXXXSol 1085-1086, August 24, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: MSL had a good weekend, and returned lots of data including nice MAHLI images of Ravalli [image at right].  The nearly 22-meter Sol 1083 drive completed as planned, and placed the rover near some nice rock outcrops.

NLB_493646326EDR_F0491420NCAM00251M_I helped the planning team select targets for ChemCam observations; we settled on two that were named “Tinder Box” and “Gordon.” Mastcam will acquire mosaics of these targets as well as “Centennial Range” and “Willow Ridge.”  [More at link]

 

 

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

THEMIS: Gusev Crater

Posted on August 25, 2015 by rburnham

Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater (THEMIS_IOTD_20150825)THEMIS Image of the Day, August 25, 2015. Today’s VIS image shows part of the floor of Gusev Crater, home of the MER Spirit Rover.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Crater north of Hellas, with clay minerals?

Posted on August 24, 2015 by rburnham

tumblr_ntkjlzk4BS1rlz4gso1_1280I keep a silent vigil. A crater to the north of Hellas Planitia with possible phyllosilicates in the ejecta.

Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity update: ‘Nice view’

Posted on August 24, 2015 by rburnham

NLB_493379909EDR_F0491216NCAM05113M_Sol 1082-1084, August 21, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: I’m having another very busy day as SOWG Chair, as we are planning lots of activities to keep the rover busy this weekend.  The vehicle is on a local high spot that gives us a spectacular view of the terrain ahead.  But there aren’t many targets in front of the rover that are suitable for contact science, so we selected only one (called “Ravalli”) to investigate using MAHLI and APXS.  We had time for another contact science target, but decided…  [More at link]

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

THEMIS: Candor Chasma

Posted on August 24, 2015 by rburnham

Wall and debris in Candor Chasma (THEMIS_IOTD_20150824)THEMIS Image of the Day, August 24, 2015. Today’s VIS image shows part of Candor Chasma.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity: Rough road ahead, and far to go

Posted on August 21, 2015 by rburnham

1080-navcamSol 1080, August 20, 2015. The Navcam look ahead to the south across a rough tableland. Three (Earth) years on Mars, and Mount Sharp still lies in the distance. Click image to enlarge.

Sol 1080 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Weathered

Posted on August 21, 2015 by rburnham

tumblr_nt8xbjd5u21rlz4gso1_1280Weathered. Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

THEMIS: Melas Chasma – false color

Posted on August 21, 2015 by rburnham

Minerals in Melas Chasma (THEMIS_IOTD_20150821)THEMIS Image of the Day, August 21, 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 Melas Chasma.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity: Mastcam’s varied rocks

Posted on August 20, 2015 by rburnham

1078-mastcam100Sol 1078, August 18, 2015. The Mastcam’s 100m lens shoots a mosaic of several large rocks near the rover. Note the differences in rock texture. Click to enlarge.

Sol 1078 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off