THEMIS Image of the Day, May 27, 2014. Today’s image shows another section of Siton Undae. There is a crater just off the image to the left (west). In the lee of this unnamed crater there are no dunes, but there are numerous dust devil tracks. Dunes surround the crater, except for the lee area. The winds, moving from west to east, are channeled into a chaotic regime by the crater rim, which has created the dune-free area and the dust devils.
More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.
THEMIS Image of the Day, May 26, 2014. Today’s VIS image shows some of the dunes that are located near the north polar cap. This region of dunes is part of Siton Undae.
More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover has no formal name yet, but already 27 places on Mars are contending to be its landing site. NASA has a lot riding on the site selection because this rover, unlike the currently operating Curiosity and Opportunity, will collect and store some 30+ small cylindrical samples of rock and soil for eventual return to Earth.
Planning for NASA’s 2020 Mars rover envisions a basic structure that capitalizes on the design and engineering work done for Curiosity, but with new science instruments for accomplishing different science goals. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Launch for the new rover is set for July-August 2020, with arrival on Mars in February 2021. The rover’s baseline mission will last one Martian year, or 1.9 Earth years. In general, the new rover will use the same chassis as Curiosity, but with modifications to handle the samples. The instruments are to be selected by mid-summer 2014, and will probably be a simpler set than that carried by Curiosity.
As with previous lander missions, NASA is using a series of workshops where scientists can make the case for a particular spot to go to. The first such was held May 14-16 in Arlington, Virginia, where more than 100 Mars scientists gathered to propose, critique, and vote on some 27 potential sites.
The engineering criteria for what makes a site feasible are here, the mission’s geological criteria and goals are here, and the site proposals are here.
Among the sites brought forward at the workshop were the finalists from Curiosity’s selection round (Holden, Eberswalde delta, and Mawrth Vallis) as well as three sites that have been visited already: Gusev Crater (where Spirit landed), Meridiani Planum (where Opportunity is at work now), and Gale Crater (where Curiosity is at present).
But at least in this initial round of voting, old sites and visited ones ranked lower than new sites. Interestingly, the top four (Northeast Syrtis, Nilli Fossae trough, Nilli Fossae carbonates, and Jezero Crater) all lie in the same general area of Mars. This is where northeastern Syrtis Major meets the hill-and-trough terrain on the northwest side of the Isidis impact basin. Phyllosilicate (clay) minerals figure large in these four sites (and in most of the others as well), along with a diversity of additional rocks and minerals.
But this ranking won’t be the last word. The choice of Gale Crater for Curiosity came only after more than 65 sites had been examined during five workshops held from 2006 to 2011. The next Mars 2020 site workshop will be in summer 2015, and the final site may not be selected until 2019. Meanwhile, scientists are collecting more data and images on the sites proposed at this meeting. If the past is any guide, at least a few new candidates will emerge by mid-2015.
What’s that rock? Meteorite? Piece of impact ejecta? Chunk of basalt? And there’s maybe another piece just beyond.
NASA description: This image was taken by Navcam: Right B (NAV_RIGHT_B) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 637 (2014-05-22 17:51:10 UTC).
Sol 637 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.
Contact science on the Pillinger Point outcrop, seen by the front right Hazcam. (Wider view here.)
Opportunity raw images, its latest mission status, and a location map. (For a shortcut to Sol 3671 Hazcam images, click here.)
THEMIS Image of the Day, May 23, 2014. The unnamed channels in this VIS image are located in northern Arabia Terra.
More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.
Right past the sharp, but warped rim of this ancient impact crater are deposits of winter frost, which show up as blue in enhanced color. There are two possible science goals that we can study here: what does the terrain…. [More at link]
Formative downslope winds descending on Mars’ North Polar ice cap likely play an important role in transporting sediment from the base of the ice cap into the dune fields that sit beyond the ice cap. The deep chasm that formed on the polar cap edge is identified as an area of strong down-slope winds… [More at link]
This observation shows an incredible diversity of ancient lava tubes and impact craters filled with sediment on the flank of Arsia Mons. The rationale for this observation is to get a better look at those lava tubes… [More at link]
Researchers have discovered on the Red Planet the largest fresh meteor-impact crater ever firmly documented with before-and-after images….. The crater spans half the length of a football field… The impact that created it likely was preceded by an explosion in the Martian sky… [More at link]
