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Remote sensing of surface pressure on Mars with the Mars Express/OMEGA spectrometer: 1. Retrieval method
Drossart, Pierre; Vinatier, Sandrine; Gendrin, Aline +7 more
Observing and analyzing the variations of pressure on the surface of a planet is essential to understand the dynamics of its atmosphere. On Mars the absorption by atmospheric CO2 of the solar light reflected on the surface allows us to measure the surface pressure by remote sensing. We use the imaging spectrometer OMEGA aboard Mars Expr…
Composition of the atmosphere of Venus below the clouds
Bézard, Bruno; de Bergh, Catherine
The composition of Venus' lower atmosphere, beneath the clouds, has been investigated through both in situ measurements and remote-sensing observations. In 1978 the mass spectrometers and gas chromatographs aboard the Venera 11-12 landers and Pioneer Venus Large probe returned unique information on the abundances of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, noble…
Vertical sheets of dense plasma in the topside Martian ionosphere
Gurnett, D. A.; Wang, X. -D.; Orosei, R. +6 more
The low-frequency radar, Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS), on board the Mars Express spacecraft is used to sound electron densities in the topside Martian ionosphere. The radar records the delay times to echoes of reflected radio waves as a function of frequency, yielding spectrograms with traces of radar echoes.…
Remote sensing of surface pressure on Mars with the Mars Express/OMEGA spectrometer: 2. Meteorological maps
Drossart, Pierre; Vinatier, Sandrine; Gendrin, Aline +7 more
Surface pressure measurements help to achieve a better understanding of the main dynamical phenomena occurring in the atmosphere of a planet. The use of the Mars Express OMEGA visible and near-IR imaging spectrometer allows us to tentatively perform an unprecedented remote sensing measurement of Martian surface pressure. OMEGA reflectances in the …
Mineralogical structure of the subsurface of Syrtis Major from OMEGA observations of lobate ejecta blankets
Bibring, J. -P.; Gendrin, A.; Pinet, P. +5 more
This paper focuses on the spectral characteristics of lobate ejecta across Syrtis Major volcano, a dark region of Mars presenting a mafic composition as revealed from the Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité (OMEGA) instrument. Two spectrally distinct crater types are identified. Type I is enriched in high-calcium pyro…
Coordinated analyses of orbital and Spirit Rover data to characterize surface materials on the cratered plains of Gusev Crater, Mars
Arvidson, Raymond E.; Knudson, Amy; Squyres, Steven W. +11 more
Comparison of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's Pancam (0.4 to 1.0 µm) and Mars Express Observatoire pour la Mineralogie l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité (OMEGA) (0.4 to 2.5 µm) spectral reflectance data over Spirit's traverses shows that Gusev cratered plains are dominated by nanophase ferric-oxide-rich dust covering weakly altered b…
On the origin of perennial water ice at the south pole of Mars: A precession-controlled mechanism?
Bibring, J. -P.; Langevin, Y.; Clancy, R. T. +3 more
The poles of Mars are known to have recorded recent (<107 years) climatic changes. While the south polar region appears to have preserved its million-year-old environment from major resurfacing events, except for the small portion containing the CO2 residual cap, the discovery of residual water ice units in areas adjacent …
Acheron Fossae, Mars: Tectonic rifting, volcanism, and implications for lithospheric thickness
Neukum, G.; Hauber, E.; Masson, P. +6 more
The Acheron Fossae region is an ancient crustal block exposed in the northwestern Tharsis province on Mars. It is named after the Acheron Fossae, a particularly well-developed system of extensional tectonic grabens. This study is the first to describe the tectonic inventory in detail, using topographic and image data from the Global Surveyor and M…
Martian ice cloud distribution obtained from SPICAM nadir UV measurements
Montmessin, Franck; Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Fussen, Didier +6 more
The Spectroscopy for the Investigation of the Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Mars (SPICAM) instrument on board Mars Express has successfully performed one Martian year of measurements. Nadir UV (200-310 nm) measurements allowed it to build maps of ice cloud optical depth distribution for all seasons. The development and decay of the aphelion…
Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera spectrophotometric data: Characteristics and science analysis
Poulet, F.; Bellucci, G.; Jaumann, R. +9 more
The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on the Mars Express (MEx) spacecraft in orbit about Mars is delivering images of the Mars surface and atmosphere from its high-inclination, elliptical orbit that are intended to cover most of the Mars surface by the end of the mission. These are acquired in four specific spectral passbands that sample the s…