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Global Mineralogical and Aqueous Mars History Derived from OMEGA/Mars Express Data

Drossart, Pierre; Korablev, Oleg; Forget, F. +43 more

Global mineralogical mapping of Mars by the Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité (OMEGA) instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft provides new information on Mars' geological and climatic history. Phyllosilicates formed by aqueous alteration very early in the planet's history (the ``phyllocian'…

Formation of Glaciers on Mars by Atmospheric Precipitation at High Obliquity

Forget, F.; Montmessin, F.; Head, J. W. +2 more

Surface conditions on Mars are currently cold and dry, with water ice unstable on the surface except near the poles. However, geologically recent glacierlike landforms have been identified in the tropics and the midlatitudes of Mars. The ice has been proposed to originate from either a subsurface reservoir or the atmosphere. We present high-resolu…

Plasma Acceleration Above Martian Magnetic Anomalies

Coates, A. J.; Kallio, E.; Fedorov, A. +20 more

Auroras are caused by accelerated charged particles precipitating along magnetic field lines into a planetary atmosphere, the auroral brightness being roughly proportional to the precipitating particle energy flux. The Analyzer of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms experiment on the Mars Express spacecraft has made a detailed study of acceleration p…