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The mineral diversity of Jezero crater: Evidence for possible lacustrine carbonates on Mars
Anderson, Ryan B.; Horgan, Briony H. N.; Dromart, Gilles +2 more
Noachian-aged Jezero crater is the only known location on Mars where clear orbital detections of carbonates are found in close proximity to clear fluvio-lacustrine features indicating the past presence of a paleolake; however, it is unclear whether or not the carbonates in Jezero are related to the lacustrine activity. This distinction is critical…
Refining the age, emplacement and alteration scenarios of the olivine-rich unit in the Nili Fossae region, Mars
Mangold, N.; Quantin-Nataf, C.; Millot, C. +8 more
The Nili Fossae region of Mars exhibits from remote sensing spectral data the largest exposures of olivine-rich materials on the planet. However, it is not clearly constrained how and when these terrains formed. Some of the proposed scenarios favor a mode of formation closely related to Isidis impact basin: either under intense effusive volcanism …
Climatology of SO2 and UV absorber at Venus' cloud top from SPICAV-UV nadir dataset
Montmessin, Franck; Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Korablev, Oleg +6 more
Following our previous work (Marcq et al., 2013, 2011), we have updated our forward radiative transfer code and processed the whole SPICAV-UV/Venus Express nadir dataset (2006-2014) in order to retrieve SO2 abundance at cloud top - assuming a SO2 decreasing scale height of 3 km and a ratio SO/SO2 tied to 10% - as w…
The surface distributions of the production of the major volatile species, H2O, CO2, CO and O2, from the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko throughout the Rosetta Mission as measured by the ROSINA double focusing mass spectrometer
Hansen, Kenneth C.; Altwegg, Kathrin; Rubin, Martin +12 more
The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) suite of instruments operated throughout the over two years of the Rosetta mission operations in the vicinity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It measured gas densities and composition throughout the comet's atmosphere, or coma. Here we present two-years' worth of measuremen…
The composition and structure of Enceladus' plume from the complete set of Cassini UVIS occultation observations
Hansen, C. J.; Hendrix, A. R.; West, R. A. +4 more
Observations acquired at ultraviolet wavelengths are uniquely well-suited to investigate the composition and structure of Enceladus' plume. This paper describes the observations, analysis techniques and results of all the Enceladus occultations observed by Cassini's Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) and other observations designed to study t…
Crust stratigraphy and heterogeneities of the first kilometers at the dichotomy boundary in western Elysium Planitia and implications for InSight lander
Pan, Lu; Quantin-Nataf, Cathy; Tauzin, Benoit +9 more
InSight landed on Mars on November 26, 2018, in western Elysium Planitia. The Mars crust beneath the lander is subject to complex geologic history next to the great topographic and crustal dichotomy of Mars. Understanding this part of the Martian crust in the subsurface would aid future investigations of the internal structure of the planet based …
The landscape of Saturn's internal magnetic field from the Cassini Grand Finale
Cao, Hao; Dougherty, Michele K.; Hunt, Gregory J. +5 more
The Cassini mission entered the Grand Finale phase in April 2017 and executed 22.5 highly inclined, close-in orbits around Saturn before diving into the planet on September 15th 2017. Here we present our analysis of the Cassini Grand Finale magnetometer (MAG) dataset, focusing on Saturn's internal magnetic field. These measurements demonstrate tha…
The gravity field and interior structure of Dione
Tortora, Paolo; Zannoni, Marco; Hemingway, Douglas +1 more
During its mission in the Saturn system, Cassini performed five close flybys of Dione. During three of them, radio tracking data were collected during the closest approach, allowing estimation of the full degree-2 gravity field by precise spacecraft orbit determination.
The gravity field of Dione is dominated by J2 and C22Multiple mineral horizons in layered outcrops at Mawrth Vallis, Mars, signify changing geochemical environments on early Mars
Seelos, Frank P.; Murchie, Scott L.; Horgan, Briony +6 more
Refined calibrations of CRISM images are enabling identification of smaller deposits of unique aqueous materials on Mars that reveal changing environmental conditions at the region surrounding Mawrth Vallis. Through characterization of these clay-sulfate assemblages and their association with the layered, phyllosilicate units of this region, more …
Labyrinth terrain on Titan
Malaska, Michael J.; Lopes, Rosaly M. C.; Solomonidou, Anezina +14 more
The Cassini/Huygens mission revealed a terrain type on Saturn's moon Titan of dissected, elevated plateaux with a high density of valleys named labyrinth terrain. We define four subtypes of labyrinth terrains: valleyed, polygonal, finely-dissected, and the possible outlier Kronin Labyrinth. We mapped the locations of all labyrinths imaged by Cassi…