Search Publications
Near-infrared spectra of ferrous mineral mixtures and methods for their identification in planetary surface spectra
Bell, James F.; Cloutis, Edward A.; Mann, Paul +1 more
Iron-bearing minerals are a major component of planetary surfaces, and many can be identified by their characteristic absorption bands in the near-infrared (NIR). Here we present laboratory NIR spectra of a wide range of common Fe-bearing minerals (e.g., olivines, pyroxenes), glasses, and mineral/glass mixtures. We then use this suite of spectra t…
Mud volcanism and morphology of impact craters in Utopia Planitia on Mars: Evidence for the ancient ocean
Hiesinger, H.; Erkeling, G.; Reiss, D. +1 more
Results of our detailed geological mapping and interpretation of the nature and relative and absolute model ages of units and structures in the SW portion of Utopia Planitia (20-45°N, 100-120°E) suggest the following. (1) The size-frequency distribution (SFD) of craters that both are buried by materials of the Vastitas Borealis units (VB) and supe…
Evidence for a bimodal size distribution for the suspended aerosol particles on Mars
Maltagliati, L.; Montmessin, F.; Bertaux, J. -L. +4 more
First simultaneous analysis of the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) atmospheric extinctions from SPICAM/Mars Express solar occultations in the beginning of the Northern summer (Ls = 56-97°) is presented. The two SPICAM channels allow sounding of the martian atmosphere in the spectral range from 0.118 to 1.7 µm at the altitudes f…
Mineral abundances at the final four curiosity study sites and implications for their formation
Poulet, F.; Bishop, J. L.; Carter, J. +2 more
A component of the landing site selection process for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) involved the presence of phyllosilicates as the main astrobiological targets. Gale crater was selected as the MSL landing site from among 4 down selected study sites (Gale, Eberswalde and Holden craters, Mawrth Vallis) that addressed the primary scientific goal…
Evidence for very recent melt-water and debris flow activity in gullies in a young mid-latitude crater on Mars
Hiesinger, H.; Hauber, E.; Johnsson, A. +2 more
Terrestrial debris flows and their deposits are mainly studied and monitored because of their hazardous nature. On Mars they may serve as geomorphologic indicators of transient liquid water. We compared the morphology of debris flow-like deposits within a young (∼0.2 Ma) mid-latitude crater on Mars with debris flow fans on Svalbard as possible ter…
The dayside ionospheres of Mars and Venus: Comparing a one-dimensional photochemical model with MaRS (Mars Express) and VeRa (Venus Express) observations
González-Galindo, F.; Tellmann, Silvia; Tyler, G. Leonard +8 more
The electron density distributions of the lower ionospheres of Mars and Venus are mainly dependent on the solar X-ray and EUV flux and the solar zenith angle. The influence of an increasing solar flux is clearly seen in the increase of the observed peak electron density and total electron content (TEC) of the main ionospheric layers. The model “Io…
Formation of lobate debris aprons on Mars: Assessment of regional ice sheet collapse and debris-cover armoring
Head, James W.; Fastook, James L.; Marchant, David R.
Lobate debris aprons (LDA) are lobate-shaped aprons surrounding scarps and isolated massifs that are concentrated in the vicinity of the northern Dichotomy Boundary on Mars. LDAs have been interpreted as (1) ice-cemented talus aprons undergoing viscous flow, (2) local debris-covered alpine-like glaciers, or (3) remnants of the collapse of a region…
Valles Marineris dune fields as compared with other martian populations: Diversity of dune compositions, morphologies, and thermophysical properties
Chojnacki, Matthew; Moersch, Jeffrey E.; Burr, Devon M.
Planetary dune field properties and their bulk bedform morphologies relate to regional wind patterns, sediment supply, climate, and topography. On Mars, major occurrences of spatially contiguous low-albedo sand dunes are primarily found in three major topographic settings: impact craters, high-latitude basins, and linear troughs or valleys, the la…
Volcano-ice interactions in the Arsia Mons tropical mountain glacier deposits
Head, James W.; Marchant, David R.; Wilson, Lionel +1 more
Fan-shaped deposits (FSD) superposed on the sides of the Tharsis Montes volcanic edifices are widely interpreted to have been formed by cold-based glaciation during the Late Amazonian, a period when the Tharsis Montes were volcanically active. We survey the ∼166,000 km2 Arsia Mons FSD using new, high-resolution image and topography data…
Phobos mass determination from the very close flyby of Mars Express in 2010
Pätzold, M.; Asmar, S. W.; Häusler, B. +3 more
The global geophysical parameters GMPh=(0.7072±0.0013)×10-3 km3 s-2, C20, C22 and the bulk density <ρ>=(1862±30) kg/m3 have been determined from the closest Mars Express flyby at the Mars moon Phobos on 3rd March 2010 at a distance of 77 km. The second degree gravit…