Search Publications
Whistler mode bursts in the Venus ionosphere due to lightning: Statistical properties using Venus Express magnetometer observations
Russell, C. T.; Wei, H. Y.; Zhang, T. L. +2 more
The Venus Express mission has completed over four years in polar orbit about Venus with periapsis altitudes as low as 180 km. On each orbit around periapsis the fluxgate magnetometer samples the magnetic field at 128 Hz. The data reveal short-lived bursts with peak-to-peak amplitudes up to 1.5 nT in the frequency range 42 to 60 Hz. These signals a…
Modeled O2 airglow distributions in the Martian atmosphere
González-Galindo, Francisco; Lefèvre, Franck; Melo, Stella M. L. +2 more
We use a three-dimensional atmospheric model to study the airglow emissions from molecular oxygen in the Martian atmosphere. We estimate the O2 Herzberg I & II, the Chamberlain, and the Infrared Atmospheric band emissions from different sets of kinetic parameters available in the literature. As expected, the enhanced production of a…
Thermal anomalies on pit craters and sinuous rilles of Arsia Mons: Possible signatures of atmospheric gas circulation in the volcano
d'Uston, L.; Lopez, T.; Antoine, R. +3 more
Seven circular depressions named as pit craters were found in northern flank of Arsia Mons, and we report 76 new ones in the southern flank of the volcano. Their diameters range from 100 m to 1300 m and depths range from 22 to 500 m. THEMIS-IR data reveal that some of these pit craters are 10 K warmer than the surrounding surface during night and …
Mapping of the water ice content within the Martian surficial soil on the periphery of the retreating seasonal northern polar cap based on the TES and the OMEGA data
Christensen, P. R.; Kuzmin, R. O.; Zabalueva, E. V. +1 more
Analysis of seasonal data from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) shows a significant increase in thermal inertia during autumn, winter and spring in the middle and high latitudes of Mars. At each stage of the northern seasonal polar cap's recession in spring a distinct high thermal inertia (HTI) annulus arises around the…
Underlying structural control of small-scale faults and fractures in West Candor Chasma, Mars
Hauber, E.; Fueten, F.; Stesky, R. +1 more
Orientations of small-scale faults and fractures within the interior layered deposits of West Candor Chasma were measured to investigate what information about the geologic history of Valles Marineris they can contribute. Deformational features were separated into six categories based on morphology and their orientations were analyzed. The elevati…
Modeled O2 nightglow distributions in the Venusian atmosphere
Bougher, Stephen W.; Melo, Stella M. L.; Strong, Kimberly +2 more
In this paper, we study the global distribution of the O2 Infrared Atmospheric (0-0) emission at 1.27 µm in the Venusian atmosphere with an airglow model in combination with atmospheric conditions provided by a three-dimensional model, the Venus Thermospheric Global Circulation Model. We compare our model simulations with airglow …
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) imaging spectrometer for lunar science: Instrument description, calibration, on-orbit measurements, science data calibration and on-orbit validation
Geier, S.; Clark, R.; Besse, S. +51 more
The NASA Discovery Moon Mineralogy Mapper imaging spectrometer was selected to pursue a wide range of science objectives requiring measurement of composition at fine spatial scales over the full lunar surface. To pursue these objectives, a broad spectral range imaging spectrometer with high uniformity and high signal-to-noise ratio capable of meas…
Columbus crater and other possible groundwater-fed paleolakes of Terra Sirenum, Mars
Clark, R. N.; Wray, J. J.; Milliken, R. E. +11 more
Columbus crater in the Terra Sirenum region of the Martian southern highlands contains light-toned layered deposits with interbedded sulfate and phyllosilicate minerals, a rare occurrence on Mars. Here we investigate in detail the morphology, thermophysical properties, mineralogy, and stratigraphy of these deposits; explore their regional context;…
High heat flow from Enceladus' south polar region measured using 10-600 cm-1 Cassini/CIRS data
Spencer, J. R.; Howett, C. J. A.; Pearl, J. +1 more
Analysis of 2008 Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) 10 to 600 cm-1 thermal emission spectra of Encleadus shows that for reasonable assumptions about the spatial distribution of the emission and the thermophysical properties of the solar-heated background surface, which are supported by CIRS observations of background tempera…
Measuring moonlight: An overview of the spatial properties, lunar coverage, selenolocation, and related Level 1B products of the Moon Mineralogy Mapper
Besse, S.; Isaacson, P.; Pieters, C. M. +7 more
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), a high-resolution, high-precision imaging spectrometer, flew on board India's Chandrayaan-1 Mission from October 2008 through August 2009. This paper describes some of the spatial sampling aspects of the instrument, the planned mission, and the mission as flown. We also outline the content and context of…