Curiosity update: ‘Plasma!’

Posted on July 18, 2014 by rburnham

Sol 691, July 17, 2014, update on Curiosity from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: “Some of the MAHLI images taken during the Sol 687 ChemCam LIBS measurements of Nova captured the plasma generated by the laser! The Sol 690 drive…” [More at link]

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THEMIS: Lonar Crater

Posted on July 18, 2014 by rburnham

Winter frost on Lonar Crater (THEMIIS_IOTD_20140718)THEMIS Image of the Day, July 18, 2014. Today’s VIS image shows Lonar Crater. This crater has undergone very little modification since it formed, and so is one of the younger features in this region.

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Earth-like soils in Gale Crater?

Posted on July 17, 2014 by rburnham

SpherulesYellowknifeBaySoil deep in a crater dating to some 3.7 billion years ago contains evidence that Mars was once much warmer and wetter, says University of Oregon geologist Gregory Retallack, based on images and data captured by the rover Curiosity. [His report is published in the journal Geology.] NASA rovers have shown Martian landscapes littered with loose rocks from impacts or layered by catastrophic floods, rather than the smooth contours of soils that soften landscapes on Earth. However, recent images from Curiosity from the impact Gale Crater, Retallack said, reveal Earth-like soil profiles with cracked surfaces lined with sulfate, ellipsoidal hollows and concentrations of sulfate comparable… [More at link]

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MARCI weather report: July 7-13, 2014

Posted on July 17, 2014 by rburnham

releaseimg_140707_140713The seasonal south polar cap was present up to ~50 degrees south latitude and numerous dust-lifting events were observed to nucleate at the cap edge. Storms occurred across most the southern mid-latitudes in Sirenum, west of Argyre, Noachis, west of Hellas, and Cimmeria. Storms were also observed in the southern tropics in Solis and Thaumasia…. [More at link, including video]

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HiRISE: Activity in Martian gullies

Posted on July 17, 2014 by rburnham

ESP_032078_1420This image covers a location that has been imaged several times to look for changes in gullies. The cutout shows a comparison between the first HiRISE image of the location and one of the more recent views. A lobate, rubbly flow (noted by the arrows) has been deposited near the mouth of the channel between the time of the two images. Further up the slope, the channel system has been modified by both erosion and deposition. Other images can pin down the timing of this flow more precisely, but it is easier to see… [More at link]

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Curiosity update: ‘The first billion years’

Posted on July 17, 2014 by rburnham

Sol 690, July 16, 2014, update on Curiosity from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: “Today was another day of fascinating science at the 8th International Conference on Mars! The theme today was The first billion years and I was struck with…” [More at link]

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HiRISE: Crater in Terra Sirenum

Posted on July 17, 2014 by rburnham

tumblr_n8q3ihB0PS1rlz4gso1_1280A crater in Terra Sirenum. Beautiful Mars series.

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THEMIS: Olympia Undae

Posted on July 17, 2014 by rburnham

Olympia Undae (THEMIS_IOTD_20140717)THEMIS Image of the Day, July 17, 2014. Today’s VIS image is part of Olympia Undae. Compare this to previous images and notice how uniform the dunes are in this region.

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Curiosity zaps a rock, finds aluminum increases with depth

Posted on July 16, 2014 by rburnham

pia18401-640Flashes appear on a baseball-size Martian rock [dubbed Nova] in a series of images taken Saturday, July 12 by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the arm of NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover. The flashes occurred while the rover’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument fired multiple laser shots to investigate the rock’s composition… [More at link, including video]

PIA18388_modestThe rock target Nova displayed an increasing concentration of aluminum as the series of laser shots from ChemCam penetrated through dust on the rock’s surface. This pattern is typical of many rocks examined with ChemCam… [More at link]

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THEMIS: Polar dunes

Posted on July 16, 2014 by rburnham

Olympia Undae polar dunes (THEMIS_IOTD_20140716)THEMIS Image of the Day, July 16, 2014. The dunes in this VIS image are part of Olympia Undae, a huge dune field near the north polar cap.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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