5,000 Orbits

The European Space Agency's Mars Express mission has now completed 5,000 orbits of Mars. In nearly four years of operation, Mars Express has returned valuable data about the diverse surface of Mars and has helped scientists understand the history of the planet's geology and climate.

http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2538&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Outline for a manned mission

I know this isn't the most focused on geology, but I think this is important enough to include on this blog. NASA has released an outline for their plans to take a manned mission to Mars. They will send a crew on a 880,000 pound spacecraft. THe ship will be assembled in low-Earth orbit and will use an Ares V rocket which is a new heavy lift launch vehicle. The plan is to start in 2021 and have a cost ranging from 20 to 450 billion. The cargo lander and the surface habitat will be ssent to Mars separely, launched before the crew. Once on Mars the astronauts will use nuclear energy to power their habibtat. THey will recylcle air and water and could grow plants. NASA plans on using the moon to test many of these systems. FOr more see:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7116834.stm
This is cool!!!

HiRISE images of 'Home Plate' rock formation

The HiRISE camera aboard the Martian Reconnaissance Orbiter has recently taken a new color photo of the ‘Home Plate’ feature located in the Gusev Crater on Mars. The Home Plate is most likely the remains of a deposit that was emplaced by an ancient volcanic eruption. The Martian rover, Spirit, is visible within the photo taken of Home Plate. Visit http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu to check out the photo. Spirit is slowly making its way to the sheltered north-facing slopes of Home Plate to position its solar panels in a favorable position for the upcoming Martian winter.
The HiRISE camera is the most powerful camera to orbit another planet, and is capable of taking multi-gigabyte images that may take a computer up to 3 hours to process.

The Moons of Mars

These images were taken by the Mars Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM), and show the two small moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is the image to the left and Deimos is on the right.
Phobos is 21 kilometers in diameter and orbits mars in a period of 7 hours and 39.2 minutes. Because its orbit is shorter in duration than a Martian day, to an observer on the surface, Phobos would rise in the west and set in the East, and it would appear about 1/3 the diameter of the Moon. Deimos is only 12 km in diameter, but orbits Mars over the course of 1 day, 6 hours and 17.9 minutes.
Originally, it was thought that the moons were composed of Carbonaceous chondrites, materials found in the outer asterioid belt. This led scientists to believe that the moons were primitive asteroids pulled into Mars’ orbit early in the planet’s history. The images from CRISM reveal that the majority of the moons are reddish in color, and probably originated from Mars. A crater on the surface of Phobos contains a grey colored ejecta material that indicates the presence of materials composed of iron, water and carbon.

Spirit reaches Home Plate

NASA's orbiter has spotted the Spirit rover sitting on a rock formation called "Home Plate." Images from the orbiter could provide clues about the plateau's geological history and serve as a guide for future missions around Home Plate. Besides being useful to known the geological area, it is also very cool to find a rover from orbit. It is also useful to know the area that the rover is exploring. It confirms alot of the information that Spirit sees on the ground. For the image of Home Plate the imagery confirms that Home Plate was created as an explosive volcanic deposit. Now the Spirit rover is in search of a safe place for winter and the images from above can lead the scientists to find a good place. For more information see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21980167/

Life on Mars

This article looks back on the Viking Missions and has come up with two reasons why this mission did not provide conclusive answers to the life on Mars question. First, they didn't find organic material in the gas chromatograph - mass spectrometer, a device which detects the chemicals present in a sample. Although it was extremely sensitive, it didn't find any of the chemicals we associate with life. The second reason was that they found a rapid development of oxygen, carbon dioxide and some nitrogen in the moustered soil. A majority of scientists think an inorganic oxidant created this reaction, and that the Martian soil contains no life. A scientist from University of Giessen in Germany was not satisfied with this answer.

Phoenix on Mars

A new Mars spacecraft called Phoenix, created largely from leftovers from one mission that failed and another that was canceled, is set for takeoff on Saturday from Cape Canaveral, and it could provide more information than ever before about just what Mars is made of. Phoenix is equipped with a trenching tool that can dig down half a meter into the dirt--far lower than the few centimeters of previous missions--and a grinding tool that can penetrate even superhard ice.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3439041&page=1

New Data provides insight into early history of Mars and Earth

A team of researchers have been discussing the possibility that terrestrial planets such as Earth and Mars could have remained in a molten state for tens of millions of years. This hypothesis means that these planets cooled at much slower rates than originally thought. New data indicates that the early stages of inner planets encompass complex mechanisms that are currently misunderstood. Evidence for a slow cooling process has been discovered on Mars, but evidence on Earth has been erased thanks to erosion and other natural processes.

Instead of slow cooling Magma oceans, scientists are thinking that Mars once contained an insulating ‘primitive atmosphere’ of hydrogen that was removed by impacts when the planet was just 100 million years old. This evidence was obtained by measuring the composition of the neodymium isotope in nine meteorites from Mars, called shergottites. These unique meteorites were once lava that melted deep in the interior of Mars and then erupted onto the surface. Impacts on Mars uncovered these rocks and launched them into space, where some eventually collided with Earth. By tracing radioactive decay, the team of researchers discovered that the shergottites formed at two different times, about 4,560 million years ago, and 110 million years after the solar system began to condense. This means that the cooling process extended for a much longer period than originally estimated.

Recent Activities of Opportunity Rover

The Opportunity rover is currently parked at ‘Smith layer’ of the ‘Bathtub Ring’ formation of rock layers at Duck Bay in Victoria Crater. The rover had been testing its wire brush used for abrasion of rock surfaces, which had recently failed due to encoding errors. The rover was instructed to swivel the brush in the incorrect direction, and the brush was bent as a result. An engineering team is now working at solutions around the problem. The aim is for the Rover to dig into the Smith layer to gather more information about its composition.
Some of the Rover’s recent activities include…
-mosaic images of ‘Cape Verde,’ a promontory on the crater rim
-measuring argon in the atmosphere
-taking images of the rock layer ‘Smith’ after it had been recently brushed clear
-Imaging of ‘Cabo Frio’ and ‘Cape Verde’

Video: The Violent History of Mars

Here is an interesting video I found on YouTube called "The Violent History of Mars." The theory of Mars' history is reconstructed from fission and tidal evolution theory and the exploded planet hypothesis (EPH). I found it to be a well-made and informative video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNyfA_0LXyQ

European Space Agency Makes Landing Site List

In 2013, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch a mission called ExoMars in which a Martian rover will search for evidence of past or present life. The ESA just recently released a short list containing the possible landing sites for this mission. These particular sites were chosen because they are home to some of Mars' oldest rocks, which were in contact with water just after the planets formation. Here are the possible sites:
- Mawrth Vallis - an ancient valley covered with light-coloured clay-rich minerals
- Nili Fossae - large eroded surface fracture partially filled with clay-rich debris from a space impact
- Meridiani Planum - Esa is looking at two different sites on this plain located two degrees south of the equator
- Holden Crater - an ancient lakebed with layered sedimentary deposits
- Gale Crater - an impact crater with exposed layered deposits

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7093172.stm

Life on Mars

One theory being tested is whether life could have arrived on Earth from Mars. University of Aberdeen experts had the rock attached to an unmanned Russian craft and found life would probably only survive in a large meteorite.Prof Parnell said primitive life could not survive a meteorite of small size because of the heat, but believed it could survive inside the centre of a larger one measuring tens of centimetres.

Weak Winds Cause Slow Dunes

Sand dunes on Mars are apparently not in any rush to get anywhere. New evidence suggests that on Mars, sand dunes move in glacier-like fashion, i.e. slowly. It takes wind up to 75mph to move a 3ft high sand dunes and this type of wind is rare on Mars. While it is a common occurrence to have windstorms on Mars, the winds are usually not strong enough to have any effect on the dunes. This is because the atmosphere on Mars is 100times less dense than the earth's atmosphere. The picture below slow dunes formed around a crater on Mars.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/071113-scitues-slowpoke-mars-dunes.html

Space Test Shows Alien Life's Ability to Survive Trip to Earth

National Geographic News reported yesterday that we could have alien origins. This theory is founded in the fact that scientists sent fossilized microscopic life-forms into space and back inside an artificial meteorite. The rock was attached to the outside of the European Space Agency's Foton M3 spacecraft. The rock was sculpted from stone from the Orkney Islands in Scotland and contained fossilized microbes and molecular signatures of microbes. The rock measured 2.8 inches across and was fitted to the exterior of Foton M3. Living microbes probably wouldn't survive in a meteorite this size, as the rock came back unshielded. The fake meteorite was exposed to temperatures reaching to about 392 degrees Fahrenheit. If the rock was bigger (about 8 inches across), scientists say that the temperature would not penetrate to the middle. This means that anything inside could survive. Scientists will know examine the rock and decide whether meteors from outer space can give rides to hitchhiking microbes. Whether exchange of life has ever occurred is a more complex question and will be examined further.

The article can be found here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071112-space-rock.html

Schutt (pronounced skut) One of the Northwest’s Own Earns Meteoritical Society Award

John W. Schutt grew up in the Northwest as a boy climbing in the Cascades. He now is the backbone of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program, known as Ansmet. For the past 20 years he has been the one in charge of keeping all the scientists safe and so far he has an undefeated record. The Ansmet program does scientific research on meteorites found on the snow and ice covered expanses of the Antarctic ice sheet. Many of the specimens they discover and perform scientific research on are from Mars. In August Schutt was honored by the Meteoritical Society with its service award for nonresearch contributions to the field.

New Missions for the Mars Rovers

NASA is extending, for a fifth time, the activities of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The decision keeps the trailblazing mobile robotic pioneers active on opposite sides of Mars, possibly through 2009. In January 2007, NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers marked three years on Mars.


http://www.azreporter.com/news/index.php?itemid=124

A Solid Link to the Nomenclature of Mars

Provided below is an outstanding link to a list of nomenclature of Mars. It provides information on the:

Feature Name, Latitude Longitude, Starting Latitude, Starting Longitude, Ending Latitude, Ending Longitude, Diameter, Continent, Ethnicity, Map, Quadrangle, Approval Status, Approval Date, Origin, Coordinate System, Direction of Increasing Longitude, Longitude Range

It is an excellent source if you are doing research on Mars which requires in depth knowledge of these informational indicators on Martian features.
http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/jsp/SystemSearch2.jsp?System=Mars

"A Traveler's Guide to Mars"

Here is a solid book review of "A Traveler's Guide to Mars" by William K. Hartmann who is a renowned scientist who had significant input and influence in the Mariner 9 Mission. Essentially this book is a comprehensive account of the known and unknown geological features we have found on Mars. It has detailed descriptions of what certain features are and the scientific insight that went into explaining them. An attractive point the review makes is the honesty of Hartmann in this book. When the explanation of a certain phenomena or feature on Mars is unavailable he does not try to make up a false one but instead embraces the true wonder of the thing and highlights how much we have yet to learn about Mars and our solar system. It seems like an excellent read and I will be sure to check it out for some good pre sleep leering.

Corner Pin of The Phoenix Lander Mission

The success of the Phoenix Lander mission which recently launched on August 4th 2007 will be determined not only by completion of the assigned tasks but the time constraints imposed on the mission by the approaching Martian Winter according to International Mars Watch. The main mission objectives of the Phoenix Lander are to dig in the Martian surface for above all else life or at least the remnants or fossils of life but also depending on how deep they end up digging hopefully to discover water ice. How long it takes to complete these objectives will be of utmost importance because the designated landing site in the northern hemisphere will eventually become shrouded in darkness as winter sets in and the sun dips below the horizon. The Phoenix’s solar panels will then be unable to function as a power source for continuing the mission. Good Luck! I really really hope they find some good stuff!

A high resolution camera aboard ESA’s Mars Express orbiter captured pictures of the Noachis Terra region on Mars, focusing on the Maunder Crater. This crater, located in the southern Martian highlands, is the result of an impact and was named after Edward W. Maunder. The crater is 90 km in diameter and about 900 meters deep, and is not among the larger impact craters present on Mars. In recent times, the western slope of the crater has begun to fail, triggering landslides and transporting material eastward. Portions of the collapsed western slope now contain gullies. In the eastern sector, there is a deep trough slicing across the crater floor, which may be the result of landslides on the western edge. There are also features called Barchan dunes, a geological feature also present on Earth in the West-African Namib desert.

Opportunity's recent activities...

Opportunity has been spending its recent time in Victoria Crater collecting data from the grouping of light colored rocks just inside the crater called “Steno,” and “Smith,” The rover is currently in excellent condition and continues to contribute to our knowledge about the Martian surface on a daily basis. The article then goes on to describe the day by day activities of Opportunity from October 12 to October 19. Some of these activities included...
-measuring atmospheric dust
-ground and sky surveys with thermal emission spectrometer and panoramic camera
-microscopic image mosaic of the rocks in Victoria Crater known as “Hall”
-searched for clouds with its panoramic camera
-imaging of surrounding terrain and mapping of geography

Images Suggest 'Recent' Ice on Mars Sea

"Three-dimensional images from the Mars Express spacecraft of the European Space Agency suggest that flat, fractured plates near the Martian equator are remnants of ice that floated on a sea just a few million years ago, scientists said on Monday."

Interesting Website

This website lets you travel through time focusing major discoveries of not only the geography of Mars but other significant facts. The way it is set up was really interesting and I learned alot!

Spirit explores "Home Plate"

The Spirit Mars rover is now examining the geology of the “Home Plate” area in the Victoria Crater. The rover is currently scouring the area in search of a suitable place to spend the winter, safe from high winds and dust storms. In the past few days, the rover has been exploring this area and collecting data with its thermal emission spectrometer, taking panoramic photos, and measuring atmospheric dust levels. The article then goes on to describe the day by day activities of Spirit in the Crater in great detail. Data analysis has not yet taken place in this article, so the findings are rudimentary, but interesting.

Did Martian Meteorites Come From These Sources?

"Cosmochemists have determined that these rocks came from basaltic igneous sources with young (by planetary standards) crystallization ages no more than 1.3 billion years (with the one exception: ALH84001 with an age of 4.5 billion years) and were ejected from Mars by impact cratering events between 600,000 and 20 million years ago. While these rocks provide invaluable direct 'ground truth' that scientists are using to help piece together the chemical and geological history of Mars, the question remains where exactly did these rocks come from?"

Landing Sites

Scientists have narrowed their selection of landing sites for the Mars Science Laboratory rover, which launches as the end of 2009. The rover is the largest to travel to mars and its main goal is to find if their is an habitablity on Mars. They are focusing their attention on sites that have clay minerals that scientists think formed by water contact. Many other factors must be considered such as steepness of terrian, the locate winter, high winds etc. However scientists will use the Reconnasissance Orbiter to scout the possible 6 sites and choose one. Hopefully, the Laboratory rover can give us some interesting results on the possibilty of life on Mars.
Link:http://www.topnews.in/six-sites-chosen-rover-landing-mars-25113

Investigating Mysterious Deposits

The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter has discovered new properties of the Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars. It is thought that these deposits could be some of the youngest deposits on Mars' surface. Using Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (Marsis) to take different radar soundings, the orbiter has found that the deposits are over 2.5 km thick in places. There are many theories as to the creation of the deposits, but the mystery has yet to be solved. Marsis is proving to be a great resource for further exploration of Mars.


http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Mars_Express_Probes_Red_Planet_Unusual_Deposits_999.html

Medusae Fossae Formation Still provides Mysteries

The Mars Express probe has recently sent back deep-penetrating radar data of the Medusae Fossae Formation near the equator of Mars. The formation is near the divide between highlands and lowlands and has often been called a "stealth" spot due to the fact that it has absorbed other forms forms of radar at higher wavelengths. The spot intrigues scientists because it lacks much cratering, indicating that it may be one of the youngest geologic spots on the planet. The new data is consistent with a fluffy substance like dust, in a lyer 1.4 miles thick. However it seems unlikely that dust would be so thick, offering the possibility of volcanic ash. The electrical properties of the formation indicate a substance much more like water ice. In all, the new information raises as many questions as it has solved and some of the scientists involved speculate that unless new ways to analyze the spot can be created, we may never know what the formation is made of until we actually go there.

The article is here.

Deposits on Mars May Be Large Ice Cap

An article posted today by National Geographic news discussed a possible ice cap at the equator of Mars. The materials were spotted at the equator, but they appear to contain a large amount of water that has only been seen on the Red Planet's poles. The materials were found using a new high-resolution radar camera which shows similarities between the properties of deposits on an area called Medusae Fossae. The observed properties may also mean that the Martian equator is rich in ice. Thomas Watters of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum has examined the Martian surface with his team of scientists. They have been using an instrument called MARSIS, which is aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. The nature of the deposits has been a geologic mystery for decades. The radar observations have deposits more than 1.4 miles thick in places. The data also showed that the deposits are highly porous, meaning that they could be pure ice protected by a blanket of sediments. However, Watters and his team believe that volcanic ash or wind-blown deposits could be sources of materials porous enough to look like ice in the images. On Earth volcanic pumice can be up to 90 percent porous when it's first deposited, but gravity soon forces it to collapse on itself, thus decreasing its porosity. Since gravity is much lower on Mars, highly porous deposits may retain their properties longer. The question is how thick of a deposit could be sustained and have such low porosity. The team now needs to see if there is a plausible alternative to ice.