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Tag Archives: atmosphere
MAVEN: Mapping Mars’ upper atmosphere
High above the thin Martian skies, the MAVEN spacecraft is carrying out a mission: determine how Mars lost its early atmosphere, and with it, its water. MAVEN is currently executing the 9th stellar occultation campaign of the mission. These campaigns … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, IUVS, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, MAVEN, NASA, University of Colorado
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MARCI weather report, July 4-10, 2016
Dust storm activity over the southern hemisphere intensified soon after Mars’ equinox last week. A number of large local-scale storms developed in Sirenum and Aonia. Other regions along the defrosting seasonal south polar ice cap edge also experienced small short-lived … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, clouds, dust, haze, Malin Space Science Systems, MARCI, Mars Color Imager, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, MSSS, NASA, storms, weather, wind
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Frosty nights year-round may stir Mars dust
Some dusty parts of Mars get as cold at night year-round as the planet’s poles do in winter, even regions near the equator in summer, according to new NASA findings based on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observations. [The findings are reported … Continue reading
MARCI weather report, June 27-July 3, 2016
As Mars quickly approaches the Autumnal Equinox in the northern hemisphere, large arcuate-shaped dust storms swept eastward across the northern plains, keeping the north polar region dusty for another week. Across the southern hemisphere, storm activity was less active than … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, clouds, dust, haze, Malin Space Science Systems, MARCI, Mars Color Imager, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, MSSS, NASA, storms, weather, wind
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Computer-simulated dust devils may improve Mars weather forecasts
Future manned missions to Mars could face a formidable phenomenon: towering red dust devils. These columns of wind-whipped sand and dust, some small and some 10 times taller than Earth’s tornadoes, have been spied on Mars by satellites and surface … Continue reading
MARCI weather report, June 6-12, 2016
Dust-lifting activity continued to pulse over the northern plains of Mars last week. These events contributed to the regional polar storm mentioned in the previous report. Further west of this activity, a couple local scale dust storms were observed south … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, clouds, dust, haze, Malin Space Science Systems, MARCI, Mars Color Imager, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, MSSS, NASA, storms, weather, wind
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MAVEN deep-dip maneuver #5 has begun
MAVEN began its fifth “deep dip” campaign of the mission this week. Three maneuvers were successfully carried out to lower the periapsis (or lowest) altitude of the spacecraft by approximately 29 km, placing MAVEN into the targeted density corridor, where … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, MAVEN, NASA, University of Colorado
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MARCI weather report, May 30-June 5, 2016
Different degrees of dust-raising activity were observed for the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars this past week. At southern highlands, short-lived local scale dust storms were spotted over Sirenum, Noachis, and Cimmeria. The ground frost to the south of … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, clouds, dust, haze, Malin Space Science Systems, MARCI, Mars Color Imager, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, MSSS, NASA, storms, weather, wind
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MARCI weather report, May 23-29, 2016
Dust storm activity continued along the seasonal south polar ice cap edge of Mars this past week. Northern portions of Sirenum, Solis, Noachis, and Cimmeria also experienced some local-scale dust-lifting activity. A large dust storm, propagated eastward over the plains … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, clouds, dust, haze, Malin Space Science Systems, MARCI, Mars Color Imager, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, MSSS, NASA, storms, weather, wind
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MARCI weather report, May 16-22, 2016
For the past week on Mars, dust storm activity was frequently spotted over the southern highlands and northern lowlands. Throughout the week, local-scale dust storms occurred over terrain just north of the seasonal south polar ice cap edge. Looking just … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, clouds, dust, haze, Malin Space Science Systems, MARCI, Mars Color Imager, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, MSSS, NASA, storms, weather, wind
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