Tag Archives: MEX

Rise and fall of Martian lakes

Posted on May 16, 2016 by rburnham

There is a wealth of evidence, collected over the past few decades, suggesting liquid water was abundant in the early history of Mars. However, the size, evolution, and duration of standing bodies of water such as lakes on Mars’ surface … Continue reading →

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Olympus Mons: slumps make terraces & scarps

Posted on May 11, 2016 by rburnham

Scientists from the Division of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing in the Institute of Geological Sciences at Freie Universität Berlin have succeeded in creating a model simulating the formation of mysterious structures on the surface of the Mars volcano, Olympus … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Frosty Martian valleys

Posted on March 24, 2016 by rburnham

Nestled within the fractured rim of a vast impact basin on Mars are valley floors dusted in frost. At 2200 km wide and up to 9 km deep, the Hellas Basin is the largest impact crater on Mars. This scene, … Continue reading →

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MEX: Mars Visual Monitoring Camera back online

Posted on March 4, 2016 by rburnham

From the Mars Express Mars Webcam blog: Today’s post sent in by Mars Express Spacecraft Operations Engineer Simon Wood, at ESOC. The news? Ten observations slots in the next four weeks, starting today! You may have noticed that VMC has … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Aeolis Mensae

Posted on February 29, 2016 by rburnham

A powerful combination of tectonic activity and strong winds have joined forces to shape the scenery in this region of Mars. The image was taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 7 July 2015 and covers part of the Aeolis Mensae … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Arda Valles

Posted on February 18, 2016 by rburnham

The Arda Valles region of Mars, comprising the network of drainage valleys seen in the left-hand portion of the image. The region lies on the western rim of an ancient large impact basin, which can be seen in the right-hand … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Noctis Labyrinthus in perspective

Posted on January 28, 2016 by rburnham

A small portion of the vast Noctis Labyrinthus region, part of a complex graben system relating to volcanic activity in the Tharsis region. As the crust bulged it stretched apart nearby terrain, ripping fractures several kilometres deep and leaving blocks … Continue reading →

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ESA: On the rim of Schiaparelli Crater

Posted on November 23, 2015 by rburnham

A 42 km-wide impact crater and numerous smaller craters straddle the northwestern rim of the 460 km-diameter Schiaparelli basin in this image taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 15 July 2010. The large basin is named for Italian astronomer Giovanni … Continue reading →

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Mars Express: Witness to a wet early Mars

Posted on November 19, 2015 by rburnham

Vast volumes of water once flooded through this deep chasm on Mars that connects the ‘Grand Canyon’ of the Solar System – Valles Marineris – to the planet’s northern lowlands. The image, taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 16 July, … Continue reading →

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Mars Express: New light on Mars’ UV aurora

Posted on November 5, 2015 by rburnham

ESA’s Mars Express has shed new light on the Red Planet’s rare ultraviolet aurora by combining for the first time remote observations with in situ measurements of electrons hitting the atmosphere. [...] These light displays are also found on other … Continue reading →

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