Tag Archives: Phoenix lander

HiRISE: Spring frost on a cold world

Winter on Mars comes with a blanket of carbon dioxide snow. During the spring “thaw,” this snow evaporates into the atmosphere, lingering longest in the shallow depressions such as the troughs of polygon patterned ground. Enhanced color shows the carbon … Continue reading

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Phoenix lander soil: dry for a long, long time

NASA’s Phoenix  spacecraft landed on the high northern plains of Mars. Among its instruments were optical and atomic-force microscopes. A team of scientists led by Tom Pike (Imperial College, London) used these to measure the size and number of particles … Continue reading

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