Red Planet Report

HiRISE: Blocky deposit on Melas Chasma floor

Posted on September 16, 2014 by rburnham

Blocky deposit along northern Melas Chasma floor. Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Beautiful Mars, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Melas Chasma, MRO, NASA, University of Arizona, Valles Marineris | Comments Off

HiRISE: Outbreak

Posted on September 16, 2014 by rburnham

Outbreak. These are examples of carbon dioxide frost around areas where the ice has sublimated (gone directly from a solid to a gas).

Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Beautiful Mars, carbon dioxide ice, CO2 frost, frost, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, University of Arizona | Comments Off

Curiosity update: ‘Peeking over the ridge’

Posted on September 16, 2014 by rburnham

Sol 748-750, September 15, 2014, update from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: “The Sol 747 post-drive data were not received until 11:30 PDT today, so we are planning another “rapid-traverse” sol. After acquiring 3 Mastcam mosaics…” [More at link]

Posted in Reports | Tagged Aeolis Mons, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, NASA, Pahrump Hills | Comments Off

HiRISE: Hard land

Posted on September 16, 2014 by rburnham

Hard land. Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Beautiful Mars, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, layers, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, University of Arizona | Comments Off

Opportunity: Climbing Cape Tribulation

Posted on September 16, 2014 by rburnham

Sol 3784, September 15, 2014. Driving 30 meters (100 feet) in reverse, Opportunity continues its climb up the slope of Cape Tribulation. The view from the rear Hazcam shows a scatter of rocks and a gentle slope. The summit of Cape Tribulation lies toward the upper left in the image.

The front Hazcam captures part of Wdowiak Ridge at extreme left in this photo.

Opportunity raw images, its latest mission status, and a location map.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Cape Tribulation, Endeavour Crater, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, NASA, Opportunity, Wdowiak Ridge | Comments Off

THEMIS: Gigas Sulci

Posted on September 16, 2014 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 16, 2014. The region shown in this VIS image is part of Gigas Sulci.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, Gigas Sulci, hills, Mars Odyssey, NASA, sand, THEMIS, Thermal Emission Imaging System | Comments Off

Mars Orbiter Mission: Arrival timeline

Posted on September 15, 2014 by rburnham

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission is nearing the Red Planet. A detailed calendar of events (14 slides) leading up to Mars Orbit Insertion [September 24] is now available (PDF, 1.5 MB).

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) updates at the ISRO site and Facebook.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, Mars Orbiter Mission, MOM | Comments Off

MAVEN: Closing in on Mars

Posted on September 15, 2014 by rburnham

Everything continues to go well with MAVEN as it is readied for arrival at Mars on Sunday, September 21st. All spacecraft systems are operating nominally. We had scheduled a final Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM-4) for September 12th. However, the maneuver was cancelled because the flight path did not warrant a correction. MAVEN is right on track… [More at link, including video]