Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Filter Total Items: 961

Evidence from Opportunity’s Microscopic Imager for water on Meridiani Planum Evidence from Opportunity’s Microscopic Imager for water on Meridiani Planum

The Microscopic Imager on the Opportunity rover analyzed textures of soils and rocks at Meridiani Planum at a scale of 31 micrometers per pixel. The uppermost millimeter of some soils is weakly cemented, whereas other soils show little evidence of cohesion. Rock outcrops are laminated on a millimeter scale; image mosaics of cross-stratification suggest that some sediments were deposited...
Authors
Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, S. W. Squyres, R. Arvidson, D.S. Bass, J. F. Bell, P. Bertelsen, B. L. Ehlmann, W. Farrand, Lisa R. Gaddis, R. Greeley, J. Grotzinger, A. G. Hayes, S.F. Hviid, J. R. Johnson, B. Jolliff, K.M. Kinch, A. H. Knoll, M.B. Madsen, J.N. Maki, S. M. McLennan, H.Y. McSween, D. W. Ming, J. W. Rice, L. Richter, M. Sims, P. H. Smith, Laurence A. Soderblom, Nicole Spanovich, R. Sullivan, S. Thompson, T. Wdowiak, C. Weitz, P. Whelley

Icelandic analogs to Martian flood lavas Icelandic analogs to Martian flood lavas

We report on new field observations from Icelandic lava flows that have the same surface morphology as many Martian flood lava flows. The Martian flood lavas are characterized by a platy‐ridged surface morphology whose formation is not well understood. The examples on Mars include some of the most pristine lava on the planet and flows >1500 km long. The surfaces of the flows are...
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Alfred McEwen, Henning Haack, Marie-Noelle Guilbaud, Stephen Self, Matti J. Rossi

RADAR: The Cassini Titan Radar Mapper RADAR: The Cassini Titan Radar Mapper

The Cassini RADAR instrument is a multimode 13.8 GHz multiple-beam sensor that can operate as a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) imager, altimeter, scatterometer, and radiometer. The principal objective of the RADAR is to map the surface of Titan. This will be done in the imaging, scatterometer, and radiometer modes. The RADAR altimeter data will provide information on relative elevations...
Authors
C. Elachi, M.D. Allison, L. Borgarelli, P. Encrenaz, E. Im, M.A. Janssen, W.T.K. Johnson, Randolph L. Kirk, R. D. Lorenz, J. I. Lunine, D.O. Muhleman, S.J. Ostro, G. Picardi, F. Posa, C.G. Rapley, L.E. Roth, R. Seu, Laurence A. Soderblom, S. Vetrella, S. D. Wall, C. A. Wood, H. A. Zebker

Exploring Martian polar atmospheric circulation and surface interactions Exploring Martian polar atmospheric circulation and surface interactions

The northern and southern seasonal polar caps of Mars are formed in the polar night, during their respective autumn and winter seasons, by the condensation of atmospheric CO2directly to the solid phase as ice, snow, and possibly frost. During spring and summer, the seasonal ice sublimes, returning CO2 to the atmosphere. The caps advance and recede in response to seasonal variations in...
Authors
Thomas H. Prettyman, Timothy N. Titus

Textures of the soils and rocks at Gusev Crater from Spirit’s Microscopic Imager Textures of the soils and rocks at Gusev Crater from Spirit’s Microscopic Imager

The Microscopic Imager on the Spirit rover analyzed the textures of the soil and rocks at Gusev crater on Mars at a resolution of 100 micrometers. Weakly bound agglomerates of dust are present in the soil near the Columbia Memorial Station. Some of the brushed or abraded rock surfaces show igneous textures and evidence for alteration rinds, coatings, and veins consistent with secondary
Authors
Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, S. W. Squyres, R. Arvidson, D.S. Bass, J. F. Bell, P. Bertelsen, N.A. Cabrol, Lisa R. Gaddis, A. G. Hayes, S.F. Hviid, J. R. Johnson, K.M. Kinch, M.B. Madsen, J.N. Maki, S. M. McLennan, H.Y. McSween, J. W. Rice, M. Sims, P. H. Smith, Laurence A. Soderblom, Nicole Spanovich, R. Sullivan, A. Wang

Magnetic properties experiments on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit at Gusev Crater Magnetic properties experiments on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit at Gusev Crater

The magnetic properties experiments are designed to help identify the magnetic minerals in the dust and rocks on Mars—and to determine whether liquid water was involved in the formation and alteration of these magnetic minerals. Almost all of the dust particles suspended in the martian atmosphere must contain ferrimagnetic minerals (such as maghemite or magnetite) in an amount of ∼2% by...
Authors
P. Bertelsen, W. Goetz, M.B. Madsen, K.M. Kinch, S.F. Hviid, J. M. Knudsen, H.P. Gunnlaugsson, J. Merrison, P. Nornberg, S. W. Squyres, J. F. Bell, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, S. Gorevan, A. S. Yen, T. Myrick, G. Klingelhoefer, R. Rieder, R. Gellert

Topographic mapping of Mars: From hectometer to micrometer scales Topographic mapping of Mars: From hectometer to micrometer scales

We describe USGS topomapping of Mars at resolutions from 100 m to 30 µm with data from the latest spacecraft missions. Analysis of NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) data combining daytime visible reflected, daytime IR emitted, and nighttime IR emitted images allows us to isolate the physical effects of topography, albedo, and thermal inertia. To a good...
Authors
Randolph L. Kirk, Steven W. Squyres, Gerhard Neukum

A new Mars Digital Image Model (MDIM 2.1) control network A new Mars Digital Image Model (MDIM 2.1) control network

The U.S. Geological Survey has recently completed a final revised version of its 231 m/pixel global Viking image mosaic of Mars that has substantially improved geodetic accuracy compared to versions released in 1991 and 2001. This mosaic, known as MDIM 2.1, is currently available in the USGS ISIS file format (see http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/MDIM21/) and will be formatted and...
Authors
Brent A. Archinal, Ella M. Lee, Randolph L. Kirk, T. C. Duxbury, Robert M. Sucharski, Debbie Cook, Janet M. Barrett

A new Mars Digital Image Model (MDIM 2.1) control network A new Mars Digital Image Model (MDIM 2.1) control network

The U.S. Geological Survey has recently completed a final revised version of its 231 m/pixel global Viking image mosaic of Mars that has substantially improved geodetic accuracy compared to versions released in 1991 and 2001. This mosaic, known as MDIM 2.1, is currently available in the USGS ISIS file format and will be formatted and submitted to the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) in...
Authors
Brent A. Archinal, Ella M. Lee, Randolph L. Kirk, T. C. Duxbury, Robert M. Sucharski, Debbie Cook, Janet M. Barrett

The emplacement of pahoehoe toes: Field observations and comparison to laboratory simulations The emplacement of pahoehoe toes: Field observations and comparison to laboratory simulations

We observed active pahoehoe lobes erupted on Kilauea during May-June 1996, and found a range of emplacement styles associated with variations in local effusion rate, flow velocity, and strain rate. These emplacement styles were documented and quantified for comparison with earlier laboratory experiments. At the lowest effusion rates, velocities, and strain rates, smooth-surfaced lobes...
Authors
Tracy K. P. Gregg, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi

Io after Galileo Io after Galileo

No abstract available.
Authors
Elizabeth P. Turtle, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, David A. Williams
Was this page helpful?