HiRISE: Gully monitoring

Posted on November 4, 2014 by rburnham

tumblr_ne9quqb1lA1rlz4gso1_1280Gully monitoring. Beautiful Mars series.

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Curiosity: Sand ripple scrutiny

Posted on November 3, 2014 by rburnham

797-ripple-panbSol 797, November 3, 2014. After driving across the flat expanse of the Pahrump Hills outcrop, Opportunity reversed course and returned to the spot where it first drove onto the outcrop at Confidence Hills (three-frame Navcam composite). The rover’s next goal, according to USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff, is to study the physical and chemical makeup of the sand ripples.

Sol 797 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

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HiRISE: Alluvial fans in a crater

Posted on November 3, 2014 by rburnham

tumblr_ne9r2xHQPo1rlz4gso2_1280Alluvial fans in a crater. Beautiful Mars series.

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Curiosity: Fragile rock

Posted on November 3, 2014 by rburnham

792-layeredSol 792, October 28, 2014. In its 100-mm (telephoto) mode, the Mastcam makes a two-frame composite of a much-eroded layered rock with a highly fragile appearance.

NASA description: This image was taken by Mastcam: Right (MAST_RIGHT) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 792 (2014-10-28 21:19:32 UTC).

Sol 792 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

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THEMIS: Ophir Chasma

Posted on November 3, 2014 by rburnham

Ophir Chasma badlands THEMIS_IOTD_20141103)THEMIS Image of the Day, November 2, 2014. This VIS image shows a portion of the northern cliff face and complex floor deposits of Ophir Chasma.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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Curiosity update: ‘Whale Rock’

Posted on November 1, 2014 by rburnham

NLB_467991018EDR_F0440568NCAM00298M_Sol 796-797, October 31, 2014, update from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: “The 30-meter drive planned for Sol 794 completed perfectly, placing the rover near laminated blocks shed from the Whale Rock outcrop (visible at upper right in this image).  So ChemCam and Mastcam will observe some of these blocks and the outcrop on Sol 796, before the rover drives away on Sol 797… [More at link]

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MAVEN Status update: October 31, 2014

Posted on October 31, 2014 by rburnham

MAVEN-status-Oct-31October was a very busy time for the team. We performed a total of three engine burns this month in order to get MAVEN down to its planned science orbit with an orbital period of 4.6 hours and a periapsis (closest distance from the Mars surface) of 175 kilometers. The periapsis altitude is a bit higher than the original plan of 150 kilometers only because we’ve dialed in the MAVEN orbit to support the science team’s atmospheric density requirement versus a specific altitude….. [More at link]

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Curiosity: Chinle textures

Posted on October 31, 2014 by rburnham

794-chemcamSol 794, October 30, 2014. The ChemCam profiles two different targets on the Chinle outcrop. Note the fault in the layers shown in the upper image (right). The layers in the lower image show a coarser texture than those in the top image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

794-chemcam2Sol 794 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

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Opportunity: Ejecta, sand ripples, and a view

Posted on October 31, 2014 by rburnham

3828-pan2aSol 3828, October 30, 2014. Opportunity is working its way higher up Wdowiak Ridge on Cape Tribulation, leaving Ulysses Crater behind — but the rover is still within the Ulysses impact debris field. The rocks in the left foreground may have all been ejected as a group. Shock-shattered, they then landed close together as clumps of fragments. Threading among the rocks are linear sand ripples, strewn by easterly winds blowing upslope out of Endeavour Crater. Off to the right lie the plains of Meridiani.

Opportunity raw images, its latest mission status, a location map. and atmospheric opacity, known as tau.

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HiRISE: Sand sources near Athabasca Valles

Posted on October 31, 2014 by rburnham

ESP_038224_1890This image shows a small channel cutting into young volcanic lavas in a region where massive catastrophic flooding took place in the relatively recent past. The Athabasca Valles region includes a vast lava flow, thought to be the youngest on Mars, with even younger outflow channels that were carved by running water… [More at link]

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