Publications
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Pancam multispectral imaging results from the opportunity Rover at Meridiani Planum Pancam multispectral imaging results from the opportunity Rover at Meridiani Planum
Panoramic Camera (Pancam) images from Meridiani Planum reveal a low-albedo, generally flat, and relatively rock-free surface. Within and around impact craters and fractures, laminated outcrop rocks with higher albedo are observed. Fine-grained materials include dark sand, bright ferric iron-rich dust, angular rock clasts, and millimeter-size spheroidal granules that are eroding out of...
Authors
J.F. Bell, S. W. Squyres, R. E. Arvidson, H.M. Arneson, D. Bass, W. Calvin, W. H. Farrand, W. Goetz, M. Golombek, R. Greeley, J. Grotzinger, E. Guinness, A. G. Hayes, M.Y.H. Hubbard, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, M. J. Johnson, J. R. Johnson, J. Joseph, K.M. Kinch, M.T. Lemmon, R. Li, M.B. Madsen, J.N. Maki, M. Malin, E. McCartney, S. McLennan, H.Y. McSween, D. W. Ming, R.V. Morris, E.Z. Noe Dobrea, T. J. Parker, J. Proton, J. W. Rice, F. Seelos, J.M. Soderblom, Laurence A. Soderblom, J. N. Sohl-Dickstein, R.J. Sullivan, C.M. Weitz, M.J. Wolff
Soils of eagle crater and Meridiani Planum at the opportunity Rover landing site Soils of eagle crater and Meridiani Planum at the opportunity Rover landing site
The soils at the Opportunity site are fine-grained basaltic sands mixed with dust and sulfate-rich outcrop debris. Hematite is concentrated in spherules eroded from the strata. Ongoing saltation exhumes the spherules and their fragments, concentrating them at the surface. Spherules emerge from soils coated, perhaps from subsurface cementation, by salts. Two types of vesicular clasts may...
Authors
Laurence A. Soderblom, R. C. Anderson, R. E. Arvidson, J.F. Bell, N.A. Cabrol, W. Calvin, P. R. Christensen, B. C. Clark, T. Economou, B.L. Ehlmann, W. H. Farrand, D. Fike, Ralf Gellert, T.D. Glotch, M.P. Golombek, R. Greeley, J.P. Grotzinger, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, D.J. Jerolmack, J. R. Johnson, B. Jolliff, C. Klingelhofer, A.H. Knoll, Z.A. Learner, R. Li, M. C. Malin, S. M. McLennan, H.Y. McSween, D. W. Ming, R.V. Morris, J. W. Rice, L. Richter, R. Rieder, D. Rodionov, C. Schroder, F.P. Seelos, J.M. Soderblom, S. W. Squyres, R. Sullivan, W.A. Watters, C.M. Weitz, M.B. Wyatt, A. Yen, J. Zipfel
Athena Mars rover science investigation Athena Mars rover science investigation
Each Mars Exploration Rover carries an integrated suite of scientific instruments and tools called the Athena science payload. The primary objective of the Athena science investigation is to explore two sites on the Martian surface where water may once have been present, and to assess past environmental conditions at those sites and their suitability for life. The remote sensing portion...
Authors
Steven W. Squyres, Raymond E. Arvidson, Eric T. Baumgartner, James F. Bell, Phillip R. Christensen, Stephen Gorevan, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Gostar Klingelhofer, Morten Bo Madsen, Richard V. Morris, Rudolf Rieder, Raul A. Romero
Orogenic tectonism on Io Orogenic tectonism on Io
We catalog 143 Ionian mountains (montes) and mountain‐like features (mensae, tholi, plana, and small peaks) in order to investigate orogenic tectonism on Io. From this comprehensive list, we select 96 mountains for which there are sufficient coverage and resolution to discern spatial relationships with surrounding geologic features. Three of the 96 mountains are probably volcanoes, 92...
Authors
Windy L. Jaeger, Elizabeth P. Turtle, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Jani Radebaugh, A.S. McEwen, Robert T. Pappalardo
What Became of the Water on Mars? What Became of the Water on Mars?
Focuses on several exploratory missions to the planet Mars to investigate the role of water within the planet. Facts about Mars that were gathered from two National Aeronautics and Space Administration orbiters, the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey; Features of Mars that are similar with the planet Earth; Factors that contribute to the possible existence of water in Mars; Background...
Authors
M. H. Carr
Mars Digital Image Model (MDIM) 2.1 control network Mars Digital Image Model (MDIM) 2.1 control network
Positional control for MDIM 2.1 comes from a new geodetic/photogrammetric solution of the global Mars Mariner 9 and Viking image control network. The details of this network solution are described here. This network incorporates 1,054 Mariner 9 and 5,317 Viking Orbiter images. Accuracy of the new solution is improved primarily as the result of constraining all 37,652 control points to...
Authors
Brent A. Archinal, Randolph L. Kirk, T. C. Duxbury, Ella M. Lee, Robert M. Sucharski, Debbie Cook
Hydrothermal alteration at the Lonar Lake impact structure, India: Implications for impact cratering on Mars Hydrothermal alteration at the Lonar Lake impact structure, India: Implications for impact cratering on Mars
The 50,000 year old, 1.8 km diameter Lonar crater is one of only two known terrestrial craters to be emplaced in basaltic target rock (the 65 million year old Deccan Traps). The composition of the Lonar basalts is similar to martian basaltic meteorites, which establishes Lonar as an excellent analogue for similarly sized craters on the surface of Mars. Samples from cores drilled into the...
Authors
Justin Hagerty, Horton E. Newsom
Compositional analyses of lunar pyroclastic deposits Compositional analyses of lunar pyroclastic deposits
The 5-band Clementine UVVIS data at ∼100 m/pixel were used to examine the compositions of 75 large and small lunar pyroclastic deposits (LPDs), and these were compared to representative lunar maria and highlands deposits. Results show that the albedo, spectral color, and inferred composition of most LPDs are similar to those of low-titanium, mature lunar maria. These LPDs may have...
Authors
Lisa R. Gaddis, Matthew I. Staid, James A. Tyburczy, B. Ray Hawke, Noah E. Petro
Observations of the effect of wind on the cooling of active lava flows Observations of the effect of wind on the cooling of active lava flows
We present the first direct observations of the cooling of active lava flows by the wind. We confirm that atmospheric convective cooling processes (i.e., the wind) dominate heat loss over the lifetime of a typical pahoehoe lava flow. In fact, the heat extracted by convection is greater than predicted, especially at wind speeds less than 5 m/s and surface temperatures less than 400°C. We...
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Andrew J. L. Harris, Jonathan Dehn
Selection of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites Selection of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites
The selection of Meridiani Planum and Gusev crater as the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites took over 2 years, involved broad participation of the science community via four open workshops, and narrowed an initial ∼155 potential sites (80–300 × 30 km) to four finalists based on science and safety. Engineering constraints important to the selection included (1) latitude (10°N–15°S) for...
Authors
M.P. Golombek, J. A. Grant, T. J. Parker, D.M. Kass, J.A. Crisp, S. W. Squyres, A. F. C. Haldemann, M. Adler, W.J. Lee, N.T. Bridges, R. E. Arvidson, M. H. Carr, Randolph L. Kirk, P.C. Knocke, R.B. Roncoli, C.M. Weitz, J. T. Schofield, R.W. Zurek, P. R. Christensen, R.L. Fergason, F.S. Anderson, J. W. Rice
Timing of recent accelerations of Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica Timing of recent accelerations of Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica
We have used Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data and sequential Landsat imagery to identify and temporally constrain two acceleration events on Pine Island Glacier (PIG). These two events are separated by a period of at least seven years (1987 - 1994). The change in discharge between two flux gates indicates that the majority of the increase in discharge associated with...
Authors
I. Joughin, Eric Rignot, Christine E. Rosanova, Baerbel K. Lucchitta, J. Bohlander