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New Images of Phobos from Mars Express Flyby

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:03:40 +0000

Phobos, as seen by Mars Express on March 7, 2010. Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

ESA released new images of Mars' moon Phobos, taken during the Mars Express March 7, 2010 flyby, showing the rocky moon in exquisite detail and also in 3-D. Mars Express orbits the Red Planet in a highly elliptical, polar orbit that brings it close to Phobos every five months, and it is the only spacecraft currently in orbit around Mars whose orbit reaches far enough from the planet to provide a close-up view of Phobos. Like our Moon, Phobos always shows the same side to the planet, so only by flying outside the orbit is it possible to observe the moon's far side. Mars Express did such flybys on March 7, 10 and 13. Get out your 3-D glasses for a great look at Phobos, below.
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Possibility of Past Water on Mars Takes a Hit

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:47:32 +0000

Details from the Ascraeus channel (red), meandering across the surface of Mars. The insets in the black boxes show close-ups of some of the structures that lava can form: (left) branched channels, (middle) a snaking channel and (right) rootless vents; the rootless vents are also marked by yellow spots on the main image. Credit: Jacob Bleacher

Images of Mars taken from orbit show a massive system of riverbeds and canyons etched by water. Or maybe not. A new study of one channel shows that it was formed by lava flow and not water, and the results make "a strong case that fluid lava can produce channels that look very much like water-generated features," said Jim Zimbelman from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, one of the researchers. "So, we should not jump to a water-related conclusion when we see such channels on other planets."
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Gorilla On Mars?

Nancy Atkinson — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:39:17 +0000

Mars Gorilla. Credit: NASA/JPL, inset Io9

Classify this one under the same nonsense as the "Bigfoot on Mars" the wooden plank on Mars, or perhaps even the "Face on Mars." Just an optical illusions, folks from a very, very zoomed in image from the Mars rovers. The Sun newspaper seemingly started this foolishness on what must have been a slow news day.
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Could Phobos Be Hollow?

Nancy Atkinson — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:23:19 +0000

A mosaic image of Phobos composed by 53 pictures. Credits: ESA/ DLR (S. Semm, M. Wählisch, K.Willner)/ FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, there was some speculation that Mars' moon Phobos could possibly be hollow due to the its unusual orbital characteristics. While scientists now agree that the moon is very likely not hollow, vast caverns may exist within the moon, and it might be a porous body instead of solid. The Mars Express spacecraft made a close flyby of Phobos on Wednesday to help provide more data on the interior of Phobos, and all indications are the event was a big success. The spacecraft skimmed smoothly over the odd-shaped moon at just 67 km, the closest any manmade object has ever been. No images were taken from this flyby. Instead all the instruments were turned off so that ground stations could listen for a pure radio signal of how Phobos "tugged" on the spacecraft. Scientists say the data collected could help unlock the origin of Phobos and other ‘second generation’ moons.
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Spirit Hunkered Down for Winter; Stuck Forever ? Maybe Not !

Ken Kremer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:42:47 +0000

Mosaic of microscopic images of Spirit underbelly on Sol 1925 (June 2009) showing the predicament of being stuck at Troy with wheels buried in the sulfate-rich martian soil. The sulfate deposits formed by aqueous (water-related) processes when this area dubbed “Home Plate’ was volcanically active. This false color mosaic has been enhanced and stretched to bring out additional details about the surrounding terrain and embedded wheels and distinctly show a pointy rock perhaps in contact with the underbelly. Spirit fortuitously discovered extensive new evidence for an environment of flowing liquid water at this location on Mars adjacent to ‘Home Plate’, an eroded over volcanic feature. Credit: Marco Di Lorenzo, Ken Kremer - NASA/JPL/Cornell

The plucky Mars rover ‘Spirit’ may yet rove again !

She’ll just have to outwit and outlast the unavoidably harsh cold and desperately low power levels of the looming winter in Mars southern hemisphere. Rather long odds to be sure – but she’s done it before. Remember – at this moment on Sol 2192, Spirit is 75 months into her 3 month mission ! That’s 25 times beyond her “warrenty” as Rover Principal Investigator Prof. Steve Squyres of Cornell University is extremely fond of saying. (...)
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MRO Radar Maps Extensive Subsurface Martian Ice

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:27:08 +0000

A radar on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has detected widespread deposits of glacial ice in the mid-latitudes of Mars.NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/University of Rome/Southwest Research Institute

Sure, it's big news the Moon has water ice on the north pole, but Mars is loaded! A new extensive radar mapping of the middle-latitude region of northern Mars shows that thick masses of buried ice are quite common beneath the surface. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Shallow Radar instrument has detected subsurface ice deposits that extend for hundreds of kilometers in the rugged region called Deuteronilus Mensae, about halfway from the equator to the Martian north pole. "We have mapped the whole area with a high density of coverage," said Jeffrey Plaut from JPL. "These are not isolated features. In this area, the radar is detecting thick subsurface ice in many locations."
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© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Mars, MRO, Shallow Radar Instrument, Water on Mars

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Follow Closest Flyby of Phobos in Real Time

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:00:49 +0000

Phobos from Mars Express. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum).

Mars Express will skim over the surface of Mars’ largest moon on Wednesday, making the closest flyby of Phobos by any spacecraft. Passing at just 67 km above the surface, precise radio tracking will allow researchers to virtually peer inside the mysterious moon. You can follow the flyby in "real time," — allowing for the current 6 minute and 30 second light time delay from Mars (13 minutes round trip) – on the Mars Express blog. The flyby will take place on March 3, at 20:55 GMT.
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Phoenix Still Silent as Martian Ice Recedes

Ken Kremer — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:50:04 +0000

Time lapse photo mosaic was assembled from Phoenix images taken of the lander deck and martian terrain. Panorama shows the robotic arm in action as it scoops up soil samples (right) and delivers the samples to the MECA and TEGA science instruments (left). Credit: Marco Di Lorenzo, Kenneth Kremer - NASA/JPL/UA/Spaceflight

As expected, NASA’s February 2010 listening campaign for the Phoenix Mars Lander has failed to detect any signals emanating from the long silent vehicle. NASA’s attempts to reestablish contact with Phoenix were restarted in January 2010 and timed to coincide with the onset of springtime and disappearance of ice at her location in the martian north polar regions. In theory, the return of abundant sunshine striking the twin energy producing solar arrays could again power up the science lander sufficiently to revive itself and ‘phone home’ to Earth. (...)
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Stunning New Looks at the Mars Avalanche

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:06:11 +0000

A single-image photoclinometric 3D reconstruction of the Mars avalanche from HiRISE. Image data: NASA/JPL/UA; 3D model: Bernhard Braun

Remember the amazing image of an avalanche on Mars back in 2008, captured by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter? Bernhard Braun from UnmannedSpaceflight.com has now created several different 3-D views of the event, providing never-seen-before, ground-level observations by using special software he developed that can create three dimensional images from one 2-dimensional picture. Normally, to create a 3-D image you need at least two images, or you have to combine images with data from an instrument such as a laser altimeter. But Braun's single-image photoclinometric 3D reconstruction algorithm, also known as "shape from shading" allows the shape of three dimensional objects to be recovered from shading in a two-dimensional image. Braun told Universe Today that since developing the software, one of the areas he has wanted to "visit from the ground" is the famous dust avalanche caught live in action by HiRISE. His images provide an entirely new — and stunning — view of Mars.
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© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Digital image editing, HiRISE, Mars, Mars Avalanche

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Ozone on Mars: Two Windows Better Than One

Jean Tate — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:17:31 +0000

Understanding the present-day Martian climate gives us insights into its past climate, which in turn provides a science-based context for answering questions about the possibility of life on ancient Mars.

Our understanding of Mars' climate today is neatly packaged as climate models, which in turn provide powerful consistency checks – and sources of inspiration – for the climate models which describe anthropogenic global warming here on Earth.

But how can we work out what the climate on Mars is, today? A new, coordinated observation campaign to measure ozone in the Martian atmosphere gives us, the interested public, our own window into just how painstaking – yet exciting – the scientific grunt work can be.
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© Jean Tate for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Climate Change, Infrared Astronomy, Mars, ozone

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Phoenix Phone Home! Teams Still Attempting Contact with Mars Lander

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:51:32 +0000

No word yet from the Phoenix Mars Lander and, really, mission managers don't expect to hear from the lander. But that doesn't mean they aren't trying. Teams are currently attempting to make contact, with another — and final — series of attempts that may occur next month.

“We haven’t heard a peep since late 2008, when a dust storm combined with the onset of winter to end the mission,” said Mark Lemmon from Texas A&M University, who worked with Phoenix's camera. “But if Phoenix did survive, a revived mission could uncover some of the climate processes in the area around Mars’ North Pole, where most of the water seems to be."
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Post tags: Mars, Missions, Phoenix Lander

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Martian Settlers May Need Chickens To Conquer The Red Planet

Darnell Clayton — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:13:18 +0000

If humanity ever intends upon on settling Mars (by settling I mean a one way trip with no plans on returning back to Earth), they are going to need a whole lot of chickens if they want to survive–let alone thrive–upon the red planet.

Aside from providing an excellent source of protein, chickens could help future settlers raise not only crops (such as wheat, barely, etc.) upon the barren Martian soil, but also help colonists keep the lights on through a very useful by-product (aka chicken dung).

Unlike Earth, Martian dirt is very hostile towards plant life. Unless we can genetically alter plants to grow upon the red planets soil, future settlers will have to heavily rely upon the home world for their daily bread.(...)
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Multi-Layer Mars Parfait Provides Environmental Record

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:15:19 +0000

This oblique view shows geological layers of rock exposed on a mound inside Gale Crater on Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/USGS

Is Mars more like a Peanut Buster Parfait, a granola-yogurt parfait, –or perhaps — maybe a seven-layer salad? Near the center of a Martian crater about the size of Connecticut, hundreds of exposed rock layers form a mound as tall as the Rockies and reveal a record of major environmental changes on Mars billions of years ago. According to a new report by geologists using instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to look at the "parfait" of layers inside Gale Crater, the layers show that Mars was likely wet at one point, but gradually dried over time.
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Movies of Spirit's Last Moves Before Winter

Nancy Atkinson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:40:09 +0000

Even though the Spirit rover is stuck in a Martian sandtrap, the rover drivers were actually able to move her quite a bit, and therefore improving her chances of surviving the winter. This video shows recent drives by the Spirit rover from Jan. 14 to Feb. 4, 2010 (Sols 2145 to 2165), where the center of the rover approximately 13.4 inches (34 centimeters) backwards. Since Jan 26 (sol 2157), drive commands have concentrated on placing Spirit into a favorable tilt toward the sun as the Martian winter approaches.

© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Mars, Mars Rovers, Spirit Rover

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Will Bio Fuels Power Martian Colonies Instead Of Solar?

Darnell Clayton — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:20:24 +0000

If I told you that your great, great, great grandkids would be building houses on that crimson world known as Mars, what would be the first thought to enter your head?

Rovers? Check! A comfy Martian house? Check! Power cutting rock tools? (for us guys) Double check! A bio fuel gas tank? Che–huh?!

You're probably wondering "what power on Earth would motivate you to bring bio fuels to Mars?" The answer: a slightly altered cyanobacterium that may help us power future Martian rovers, homes–and yes–power tools with good ol' biofuel. (...)
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Can an Immobile Spirit Rover Survive the Martian Winter?

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:48:11 +0000

Mission managers for the Mars Exploration Rover program announced this week that the Spirit rover will likely never rove again on Mars. But that doesn't mean her life is over. However, with the rover virtually immobile and stuck in a sand trap, she currently is in a very vulnerable and potentially "deadly" situation as winter approaches on Mars' southern hemisphere. Pointing the rover's solar panels towards the sun is critical if the rover is to survive, and the rover team has just a handful of drives to make it so. And the winters are long and harsh on Mars. "The temperatures will be colder than anything Spirit has experienced before," said John Callas, project manager for the MER mission. "This is a much more difficult and dangerous situation for Spirit, and we're heading into a regime where vehicle is going to get colder than it ever has."

What is Spirit facing, and what are her odds?
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Post tags: Mars, Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit Rover

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Big Full Moon and Mars Put on a Show Friday Night

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:50:56 +0000

An almost full Moon on Jan. 27, 2010. Credit and copyright: Alan Walters

If your skies are clear on Friday night, January 29, 2010, take advantage of one of the skywatching highlights of the year. A full Moon and Mars will be putting on a show, and the pair will be prominently close to each other in the sky. Plus, this Friday night's full Moon is the biggest and brightest full Moon of the year. It's a "perigee Moon," as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than other full Moons you'll see later in 2010, according to Spaceweather.com. And, even though you've likely not gotten an email from an excited acquaintance relaying that Mars is really close to the Earth now — that is the case. Mars is at opposition on the 29th, which means it lines up opposite the Sun and is now the closest to Earth their orbits, and so will shine brighter.

The image above of the not-quite-full Moon from January 27, 2010 is shared by Universe Today reader Alan Walters, from Florida. You can see more of his wonderful photography of the night sky, launches and shuttle landings, Florida wildlife and more at Alan Walters Photography.
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New Amazing Mars Flyover Videos

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:08:19 +0000

Doug Ellison from UnmannedSpaceflight.com has done it again… and again… and again. Here are new Mars flyover videos Doug has created from data from the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Using DEM (Digital Elevation Model)– (also known as DTM Digital Terrain Model) files provided by the HiRISE team, Doug is able to render 3-D movies of a specific location on Mars. Since he is using actual high-resolution data from HiRISE, Doug says the terrain seen in the movies has accurate vertical scaling and is not exaggerated. These new views of the Red Planet are also stunningly beautiful! The video above is of the Mojave Crater wall on Mars, and below is Athabasca Valles. And Doug says more are on the way! If you recall, Doug created the flyover video of the Spirit rover's location that was on Astronomy Picture of the Day.
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Post tags: Citizen Science, HiRISE, Mars

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Could Mars Dust Be "Levitated" Away?

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:48:57 +0000

What could potentially be the biggest problem during a human mission to Mars? One NASA study says, surprisingly, that dust could be the number one risk for both humans and equipment. Human explorers could inhale the extremely fine but rough dust particles causing severe respiratory problems, and high winds on Mars could disperse the dust to coat solar panels, penetrate through seals and interfere with machinery. But scientists at the University of Vermont may have come up with a new way to combat dust: acoustic levitation. But will it work on Mars?
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No More Roving for Spirit; Stationary Science Ahead

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:47:04 +0000

Artist concept of the Mars Exploration Rover on Mars. Credit: NASA

The Spirit rover's driving days are likely over, as efforts to extricate the rover have been curtailed. "We do not believe that Spirit is extractable," said Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. But mission managers stressed that today is not a day of loss at this point, as they hope to continue to make some exciting scientific observations. However, the rover needs to be tilted to gather as much sunlight as possible in order to survive the Martian winter. John Callas, project manager for the MER mission told Universe Today at today's press briefing that time is short. "We estimate about three weeks of driving activity, and we can't drive every day," he said. "So there are just a handful of drives left before there is insufficient power to continue."
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Post tags: Mars, Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit Rover

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No Word Yet From Phoenix; Spirit's Days May be Numbered

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:02:47 +0000

A look at the nearly buried wheels on the Spirit rover on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL

Not a peep yet from the Phoenix lander. The Mars Odyssey orbiter has completed all 30 relay overflights of the Phoenix landing site that were scheduled for Jan. 18 to 21, and heard nothing from the lander. Additional listening campaigns will be conducted in February and March. NASA has said repeatedly that hearing from the lander would be highly unlikely, as Phoenix was never designed to withstand the Martian arctic winters.

Meanwhile, the outlook isn't brilliant for the Spirit rover, either.
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Post tags: Mars, Mars Exploration Rover, Phoenix Lander

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HiRISE Makes Your Wishes Comes True

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:40:38 +0000

Possible future landing site on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

The HiRISE science team is now taking requests! A new web tool called HiWish is now available for the high-resolution camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter which allows the public to suggest a location on Mars where the HiRISE instrument should take an image. If you don't have a particular location, you can use the HiWish site to browse around the planet, examine the locations of other data sets, and find a place that should be imaged. The team will then put into their targeting database, and your suggestion may get selected as an upcoming observation. Furthermore, the HiWish site allows you to track your suggestions and be notified when one of your suggestions gets taken.
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Post tags: Citizen Science, HiRISE, Mars

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If Phoenix Arises, Science could flow quickly

Ken Kremer — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:05:55 +0000

Caption: This mosaic assembled from Phoenix images shows the spacecraft's three landing legs and patches of water ice exposed by the landing thrusters. Splotches of Martian material on the landing leg strut at left could be liquid saline-water. Larger version on Spaceflightnow.com .Credit: Kenneth Kremer, Marco Di Lorenzo, NASA/JPL/UA/Max Planck Institute and Spaceflightnow.com.

If the miraculous happens and contact is unexpectedly re-established with NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, science could flow almost instantly if the ships vital operating systems are healthy. Indeed a science plan could be swiftly put in place after determining the condition of the lander, says Doug McCuiston, director of Mars Exploration at NASA Headquarters. McCuiston explained to me in an interview that the initial science would be “a surface change and atmospheric imaging campaign that could begin nearly immediately. In that instance, if the cameras are operable it is easy to begin an imaging campaign with real-time planning”.(...)
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Stunning New Views From HiRISE; Plus Big Announcement?

Nancy Atkinson — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:34:51 +0000

Caption: Dune symmetry on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

It is so wonderful to see the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter back in action, especially our favorite camera, the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE. The HiRISE team released some of their latest images this week, and they are particularly stunning, including this one of symmetrical dunes in a small crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin. Alfred McEwan, from the HiRISE team and the University of Arizona says the dunes here are linear, and are thought to be created due to shifting wind directions. In places, each dune is remarkably similar to adjacent dunes. The linear dune fields on Mars are similar to the ones seen on Titan, although not quite as large. The debris between the dunes are large boulders.

More images below, but on another note, HiRISE Twitter notes there will be a "big announcement" on Wednesday, January 20. A major discovery? Mission extension? Website redesign? Stay tuned.
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Odyssey to Start Listening for Phoenix Lander

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:09:04 +0000

Caption: The Phoenix Mars Lander, its backshell and its heatshield are visible within this enhanced-color image of the Phoenix landing site taken on Jan. 6, 2010 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Listen up, all you Phoenix lander fans! Beginning Jan. 18, the Mars Odyssey orbiter will start listening for any signs of life from Phoenix, which has been sitting silently on the frozen arctic region of Mars since its last communication in November 2008. The Phoenix team says hearing any radio transmission from the lander is high improbably, but possible. Never say never….
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