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Recent Articles
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Topic: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
A paper published today in the journal Icarus identifies distinct deposits of minerals called carbonates along the inner rim of Jezero, the site of a lake more than 3.5 billion years ago. On Earth, carbonates help form structures that are hardy enough to survive in fossil form for billions of years, including seashells, coral and some stromatolites – rocks formed on this planet by ancient microbial life along ancient shorelines, where sunlight and water were plentiful. ![]() NASA’s Mars 2020 Will Hunt for Microscopic Fossils Lighter colors represent higher elevation in this image of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. The oval indicates the landing ellipse, where the rover will be touching down on Mars. (NASA) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: Technology | No Comments
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Detects Changes in Martian Sand DunesWritten by Guy Webster
This is unexpected because Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth, is only about one percent as dense, and its high-speed winds are less frequent and weaker than Earth’s. ![]() This is a picture of a sand dune on Mars. A study of images shows that Martian sand dunes have a movement similar to that of dunes in Antarctica on Earth. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/JHU-APL) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: Technology | No Comments
NASA to Fly Deep Space Atomic Clock to Improve Space NavigationWritten by Priscilla Vega
NASA is preparing to fly a Deep Space Atomic Clock, or DSAC, demonstration that will revolutionize the way we conduct deep-space navigation by enabling a spacecraft to calculate its own timing and navigation data in real time. ![]() A computer-aided design, or CAD, drawing of the linear ion trap of the clock -- the "heart" of the Deep Space Atomic Clock's physics package -- is slightly smaller than two rolls of quarters laid side by side. The DSAC project is a small, low-mass atomic clock based on mercury-ion trap technology that will be demonstrated in space, providing unprecedented stability needed for next-generation deep space navigation and radio science. (Image credit: NASA/JPL) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: Technology | No Comments
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter catches 12-Mile-High Martian Dust Devil in the ActWritten by DC Agle
Despite its height, the plume is little more than three-quarters of a football field wide (70 yards, or 70 meters). ![]() A Martian dust devil roughly 12 miles (20 kilometers) high was captured winding its way along the Amazonis Planitia region of Northern Mars on March 14, 2012 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Despite its height, the plume is little more than three-quarters of a football field wide (70 yards, or 70 meters). (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: Technology | No Comments
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Catches Twister in ActionWritten by Guy Webster
HiRISE captured the image on February 16th, 2012, while the orbiter passed over the Amazonis Planitia region of northern Mars. In the area observed, paths of many previous whirlwinds, or dust devils, are visible as streaks on the dusty surface. ![]() A towering dust devil casts a serpentine shadow over the Martian surface in this image acquired by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: Technology | No Comments
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provides Photo Showing Wind’s HandiworkWritten by Guy Webster
The scene shows dunes and sand ripples of various shapes and sizes inside an impact crater in the Noachis Terra region of southern Mars. Patterns of dune erosion and deposition provide insight into the sedimentary history of the area. ![]() This enhanced-color image shows sand dunes trapped in an impact crater in Noachis Terra, Mars. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: Technology | No Comments
NASA Orbiter Catches Mars Sand Dunes in MotionWritten by Dwayne Brown – NASA Headquarters
“Mars either has more gusts of wind than we knew about before, or the winds are capable of transporting more sand,” said Nathan Bridges, planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD, and lead author of a paper on the finding published online in the journal Geology. “We used to think of the sand on Mars as relatively immobile, so these new observations are changing our whole perspective.” ![]() A dune in the northern polar region of Mars shows significant changes between two images taken on June 25th, 2008 and May 21st, 2010 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Ariz./JHUAPL) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: News | No Comments
NASA Study of Clays Suggests Watery Mars UndergroundWritten by Guy Webster – Jet Propulsion Laboratory
A new interpretation of years of mineral-mapping data, from more than 350 sites on Mars examined by European and NASA orbiters, suggests Martian environments with abundant liquid water on the surface existed only during short episodes. These episodes occurred toward the end of a period of hundreds of millions of years during which warm water interacted with subsurface rocks. This has implications about whether life existed on Mars and how the Martian atmosphere has changed. ![]() Impact cratering and erosion combine to reveal the composition of the Martian underground by exposing materials from the subsurface. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: News | No Comments
Strange Hollows Discovered on MercuryWritten by Dauna Coulter
“These hollows were a major surprise,” says David Blewett, science team member from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “We’ve been thinking of Mercury as a relic – a place that’s really not changing much anymore, except by impact cratering. But the hollows appear to be younger than the craters in which they are found, and that means Mercury’s surface is still evolving in a surprising way.” ![]() Hollows inside the Raditladi impact basin. (Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: News | No Comments
The Strange Attraction of Gale CraterWritten by Dauna Coulter
It sounds a little odd—a mountain in the middle of an impact crater. Wouldn’t the impact have smashed it flat? Some scientists believe the 96 mile wide crater filled in with sediments over time and relentless Martian winds carved a mountain in the center, where it now stands nearly three times higher than the Grand Canyon is deep. ![]() Gale crater photographed from above by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. Within Gale, an impressive layered mountain rises about 5 kilometers (3 miles) above the crater floor. (Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, ASU) «Read the rest of this article» Sections: News | No Comments
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