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Publications

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Spirit rover localization and topographic mapping at the landing site of Gusev crater, Mars Spirit rover localization and topographic mapping at the landing site of Gusev crater, Mars

By sol 440, the Spirit rover has traversed a distance of 3.76 km (actual distance traveled instead of odometry). Localization of the lander and the rover along the traverse has been successfully performed at the Gusev crater landing site. We localized the lander in the Gusev crater using two-way Doppler radio positioning and cartographic triangulations through landmarks visible in both...
Authors
Rongxing Li, Brent A. Archinal, Raymond E. Arvidson, Jim Bell, Phillip R. Christensen, Larry S. Crumpler, David J. Des Marais, Kaichang Di, Tom Duxbury, Matthew P. Golombek, John Grant, Ronald Greeley, Joe Guinn, Aaron H. Johnson, Randolph L. Kirk, Mark Maimone, Larry H. Matthies, Michael Malin, Timothy Parker, Michael H. Sims, Shane D. Thompson, Steven W. Squyres, Laurence A. Soderblom

Spectrophotometric properties of materials observed by Pancam on the Mars Exploration Rovers: 1. Spirit Spectrophotometric properties of materials observed by Pancam on the Mars Exploration Rovers: 1. Spirit

Multispectral observations of rocks and soils were acquired under varying illumination and viewing geometries in visible/near‐infrared wavelengths by the Panoramic Camera (Pancam) on the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover to provide constraints on the physical and mineralogical nature of geologic materials in Gusev Crater. Data sets were acquired at six sites located near the landing site, in...
Authors
J. R. Johnson, W.M. Grundy, M.T. Lemmon, J.F. Bell, M. J. Johnson, R.G. Deen, R. E. Arvidson, W. H. Farrand, E.A. Guinness, A. G. Hayes, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, F. Seelos, J. Soderblom, S. Squyres

CO2 jets formed by sublimation beneath translucent slab ice in Mars' seasonal south polar ice cap CO2 jets formed by sublimation beneath translucent slab ice in Mars' seasonal south polar ice cap

The martian polar caps are among the most dynamic regions on Mars, growing substantially in winter as a significant fraction of the atmosphere freezes out in the form of CO2 ice. Unusual dark spots, fans and blotches form as the south-polar seasonal CO2 ice cap retreats during spring and summer. Small radial channel networks are often associated with the location of spots once the ice...
Authors
Hugh H. Kieffer, Phillip R. Christensen, Timothy N. Titus

Titan Radar Mapper observations from Cassini's T3 fly-by Titan Radar Mapper observations from Cassini's T3 fly-by

Cassini's Titan Radar Mapper imaged the surface of Saturn's moon Titan on its February 2005 fly-by (denoted T3), collecting high-resolution synthetic-aperture radar and larger-scale radiometry and scatterometry data. These data provide the first definitive identification of impact craters on the surface of Titan, networks of fluvial channels and surficial dark streaks that may be...
Authors
C. Elachi, S. Wall, M. Janssen, E. Stofan, R. Lopes, Randolph L. Kirk, R. Lorenz, J. Lunine, F. Paganelli, Laurence A. Soderblom, C. Wood, L. Wye, H. Zebker, Y. Anderson, S. Ostro, M. Allison, R. Boehmer, P. Callahan, P. Encrenaz, E. Flamini, G. Francescetti, Y. Gim, G. Hamilton, S. Hensley, W. Johnson, K. Kelleher, D. Muhleman, G. Picardi, F. Posa, L. Roth, R. Seu, S. Shaffer, B. Stiles, S. Vetrella, R. West

Two years at Meridiani Planum: Results from the Opportunity Rover Two years at Meridiani Planum: Results from the Opportunity Rover

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has spent more than 2 years exploring Meridiani Planum, traveling ∼8 kilometers and detecting features that reveal ancient environmental conditions. These include well-developed festoon (trough) cross-lamination formed in flowing liquid water, strata with smaller and more abundant hematite-rich concretions than those seen previously, possible relict...
Authors
S. W. Squyres, A.H. Knoll, R. E. Arvidson, B. C. Clark, J.P. Grotzinger, B.L. Jolliff, S. M. McLennan, N. Tosca, J.F. Bell, W. M. Calvin, W. H. Farrand, T.D. Glotch, M.P. Golombek, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J. R. Johnson, G. Klingelhofer, H.Y. McSween, A. S. Yen

The heartbeat of the volcano: The discovery of episodic activity at Prometheus on Io The heartbeat of the volcano: The discovery of episodic activity at Prometheus on Io

The temporal signature of thermal emission from a volcano is a valuable clue to the processes taking place both at and beneath the surface. The Galileo Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) observed the volcano Prometheus, on the jovian moon Io, on multiple occasions between 1996 and 2002. The 5 micron (μm) brightness of this volcano shows considerable variation from orbit to orbit...
Authors
Ashley G. Davies, Lionel Wilson, Dennis Matson, Giovanni Leone, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger

Sedimentary textures formed by aqueous processes, Erebus crater Meridiani Planum, Mars Sedimentary textures formed by aqueous processes, Erebus crater Meridiani Planum, Mars

New observations at Erebus crater (Olympia outcrop) by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity between sols 671 and 735 (a sol is a martian day) indicate that a diverse suite of primary and penecontemporaneous sedimentary structures is preserved in sulfate-rich bedrock. Centimeter-scale trough (festoon) cross-lamination is abundant, and is better expressed and thicker than previously...
Authors
J. Grotzinger, J. Bell, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J. Johnson, A. Knoll, E. McCartney, S. McLennan, J. Metz, Jeff Moore, S. Squyres, R. Sullivan, O. Ahronson, R. Arvidson, B. Joliff, M. Golombek, K. Lewis, T. Parker, J. Soderblom

The HRSC DTM test The HRSC DTM test

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) has been orbiting the planet Mars since January 2004 onboard the ESA Mars Express mission and delivers imagery which is being used for topographic mapping of the planet. The HRSC team is currently conducting a systematic inter-comparison of different alternatives for the production of high resolution Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) from the...
Authors
Christian Heipke, Jurgen Oberst, Jeorg Albertz, Maria Attwenger, Peter Dorninger, Egon Dorrer, M. Ewe, Stephan Gehrke, Klaus Gwinner, H. Hirschmuller, J.R. Kim, Randolph L. Kirk, H. Mayer, Jan-Peter Muller, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, M. Rentsch, R. Schmidt, Frank Scholten, J. Shan, Michael Spiegel, M. Wahlisch, Gerhard Neukum

Rocks of the Columbia Hills Rocks of the Columbia Hills

The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has identified five distinct rock types in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater. Clovis Class rock is a poorly sorted clastic rock that has undergone substantial aqueous alteration. We interpret it to be aqueously altered ejecta deposits formed by impacts into basaltic materials. Wishstone Class rock is also a poorly sorted clastic rock that has a...
Authors
S. W. Squyres, R. E. Arvidson, D.L. Blaney, B. C. Clark, L. Crumpler, W. H. Farrand, S. Gorevan, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J. Hurowitz, A. Kusack, H.Y. McSween, D. W. Ming, R.V. Morris, S. W. Ruff, A. Wang, A. Yen

Physical properties of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites as inferred from Mini-TES-derived thermal inertia Physical properties of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites as inferred from Mini-TES-derived thermal inertia

The Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini‐TES) on board the two Mars Exploration Rovers provides the first opportunity to observe thermal properties from the Martian surface, relate these properties to orbital data, and perform soil conductivity experiments under Martian conditions. The thermal inertias of soils, bedforms, and rock at each landing site were derived to quantify...
Authors
R.L. Fergason, P. R. Christensen, J.F. Bell, M.P. Golombek, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, H. H. Kieffer

The sand seas of titan: Cassini RADAR observations of longitudinal dunes The sand seas of titan: Cassini RADAR observations of longitudinal dunes

The most recent Cassini RADAR images of Titan show widespread regions (up to 1500 kilometers by 200 kilometers) of near-parallel radar-dark linear features that appear to be seas of longitudinal dunes similar to those seen in the Namib desert on Earth. The Ku-band (2.17-centimeter wavelength) images show ∼100-meter ridges consistent with duneforms and reveal flow interactions with...
Authors
R. D. Lorenz, S. Wall, J. Radebaugh, G. Boubin, E. Reffet, M. Janssen, E. Stofan, R. Lopes, Randolph L. Kirk, C. Elachi, J. Lunine, Ken Mitchell, F. Paganelli, Laurence A. Soderblom, C. Wood, L. Wye, H. Zebker, Y. Anderson, S. Ostro, M. Allison, R. Boehmer, P. Callahan, P. Encrenaz, G.G. Ori, G. Francescetti, Y. Gim, G. Hamilton, S. Hensley, W. Johnson, K. Kelleher, D. Muhleman, G. Picardi, F. Posa, L. Roth, R. Seu, S. Shaffer, B. Stiles, S. Vetrella, E. Flamini, R. West

Evidence of phyllosilicates in Wooly Patch, an altered rock encountered at West Spur, Columbia Hills, by the Spirit rover in Gusev crater, Mars Evidence of phyllosilicates in Wooly Patch, an altered rock encountered at West Spur, Columbia Hills, by the Spirit rover in Gusev crater, Mars

On its traverse to Columbia Hills, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit investigated an outcrop designated “Wooly Patch” that exhibited morphological, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics at the extreme ends of ranges observed among rocks studied at West Spur, a westward projecting salient near the foot of the Columbia Hills, Gusev crater. The major‐element composition and Fe...
Authors
A. Wang, R.L. Korotev, B.L. Jolliff, L.A. Haskin, L. Crumpler, W. H. Farrand, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Jr. de Souza, A.G. Kusack, J.A. Hurowitz, N.J. Tosca
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