Search Publications
OpenMARS: A global record of martian weather from 1999 to 2015
Holmes, James A.; Lewis, Stephen R.; Patel, Manish R.
The Open access to Mars Assimilated Remote Soundings (OpenMARS) dataset is a reanalysis product combining past spacecraft observations with a Mars Global Circulation Model (GCM). The OpenMARS product is a global surface/atmosphere reference database of surface and atmospheric properties for almost nine Mars years that can be used by Mars scientist…
The Holy Grail: A road map for unlocking the climate record stored within Mars' polar layered deposits
Horgan, Briony; Byrne, Shane; Zacny, Kris +35 more
In its polar layered deposits (PLD), Mars possesses a record of its recent climate, analogous to terrestrial ice sheets containing climate records on Earth. Each PLD is greater than 2 km thick and contains thousands of layers, each containing information on the climatic and atmospheric state during its deposition, creating a climate archive. With …
Implications for the origin and evolution of Martian Recurring Slope Lineae at Hale crater from CaSSIS observations
Pajola, M.; Cremonese, G.; Thomas, N. +9 more
Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL) are narrow, dark features that typically source from rocky outcrops, incrementally lengthen down Martian steep slopes in warm seasons, fade in cold seasons and recur annually. In this study we report the first observations of RSL at Hale crater, Mars, during late southern summer by the Color and Surface Science Imaging…
3D digital outcrop model reconstruction of the Kimberley outcrop (Gale crater, Mars) and its integration into Virtual Reality for simulated geological analysis
Le Mouélic, Stéphane; Mangold, Nicolas; Le Deit, Laetitia +3 more
Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry has recently become a cheap and efficient method to reconstruct accurate and highly-resolved 3D Digital Outcrop Model (DOM) from a single set of images. This enables the 3D visualization of hardly accessible and/or remote geological scenes, which is of strong interest for planetary bodies. This paper focuses on…
Layered mound, inverted channels and polygonal fractures from the Makgadikgadi pan (Botswana): Possible analogues for Martian aqueous morphologies
Franchi, Fulvio; MacKay, Ruaraidh; Selepeng, Ame Thato +1 more
Layered mounds and inverted channels with polygonal fractures from the Ntwetwe Pan in the Makgadikgadi Basin (central Botswana) have been herein investigated. These morphologies are from an evaporitic basin (the Makgadikgadi Basin) that is the remnant of an ancient Pleistocene lake and is currently part of the world's largest evaporitic system.
Outbursts of comets at large heliocentric distances: Concise review and numerical simulations of brightness jumps
Wesołowski, M.; Gronkowski, P.; Tralle, I.
The outburst of comet brightness is spectacular and well-known manifestation of the physical activity of these relatively small cosmic bodies. The outbursts of brightness are observed for periodic comets, as well as for the comets moving along parabolic trajectories. The most known comet representing such kind of activity is the comet 29P/Schwassm…
End-of-mission calibration of the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem
Porco, Carolyn; West, Robert; Verbiscer, Anne +3 more
We provide an end-of-mission update to the in-flight calibration of the Imaging Science Subsystem cameras on the Cassini spacecraft, resolving discrepancies in our previous analyses from 2004 to 2010, incorporating data through the end of the mission, adding a correction for the weak but measurable camera sensitivity decline over time, and providi…
Variability of spider spatial configuration at the Martian south pole
Jaumann, R.; Hauber, E.; Portyankina, G. +5 more
Araneiform terrain, or "spider" (spider-like surface modifications) is suggested to form through basal sublimation of seasonal translucent CO2 slab ice and subsequent gas jetting, and so far only known to occur at the Martian south pole. Their spatial configuration characteristics remain incompletely understood. We observed non-random s…
Zodiacal light observations and its link with cosmic dust: A review
Lasue, Jeremie; Levasseur-Regourd, Anny-Chantal; Renard, Jean-Baptiste
The zodiacal light is a nightglow mostly visible along the plane of the ecliptic. It represents the background radiation associated with solar light scattered by the tenuous flattened interplanetary cloud of dust particles surrounding the Sun and the planets. It is an interesting subject of study, as the source of the micrometeoroids falling on Ea…
Analogues of interplanetary dust particles to interpret the zodiacal light polarization
Lasue, J.; Levasseur-Regourd, A. C.; Hadamcik, E. +1 more