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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…
The Analyzer of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA-3) for the Mars Express Mission
Coates, A. J.; Kallio, E.; Fedorov, A. +39 more
The general scientific objective of the ASPERA-3 experiment is to study the solar wind - atmosphere interaction and to characterize the plasma and neutral gas environment with within the space near Mars through the use of energetic neutral atom (ENA) imaging and measuring local ion and electron plasma. The ASPERA-3 instrument comprises four sensor…
Orientation and distribution of recent gullies in the southern hemisphere of Mars: Observations from High Resolution Stereo Camera/Mars Express (HRSC/MEX) and Mars Orbiter Camera/Mars Global Surveyor (MOC/MGS) data
Mangold, Nicolas; Neukum, Gerhard; Balme, Matthew +5 more
Geologically recent small gullies on Mars display morphologies consistent with erosion by water or by debris flows. Suggested formation models are divided into two main categories: (1) groundwater or (2) melting of near-surface ice/snow sourced from the atmosphere. We have measured location and orientation and recorded the local contexts of gullie…
Nature and origin of the hematite-bearing plains of Terra Meridiani based on analyses of orbital and Mars Exploration rover data sets
Bibring, J. -P.; Arvidson, R. E.; Gondet, B. +23 more
The ~5 km of traverses and observations completed by the Opportunity rover from Endurance crater to the Fruitbasket outcrop show that the Meridiani plains consist of sulfate-rich sedimentary rocks that are largely covered by poorly-sorted basaltic aeolian sands and a lag of granule-sized hematitic concretions. Orbital reflectance spectra obtained …
SPICAM on Mars Express: Observing modes and overview of UV spectrometer data and scientific results
Montmessin, Franck; Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Perrier, Séverine +13 more
This paper is intended as an introduction to several companion papers describing the results obtained by the SPICAM instrument on board Mars Express orbiter. SPICAM is a lightweight (4.7 kg) UV-IR dual spectrometer dedicated primarily to the study of the atmosphere of Mars. The SPICAM IR spectrometer and its results are described in another compan…
Subvisible CO 2 ice clouds detected in the mesosphere of Mars
Montmessin, Franck; Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Perrier, Séverine +8 more
The formation of CO 2 ice clouds in the upper atmosphere of Mars has been suggested in the past on the basis of a few temperature profiles exhibiting portions colder than CO 2 frost point. However, the corresponding clouds were never observed. In this paper, we discuss the detection of the highest clouds ever observed on Mars…
Plasma Morphology at Mars. Aspera-3 Observations
Barabash, S.; Lundin, R.; Winningham, J. D. +6 more
A total of about of 400 orbits during the first year of the ASPERA-3 operation onboard the Mars Express spacecraft were analyzed to obtain a statistical pattern of the main plasma domains in the Martian space environment. The environment is controlled by the direct interaction between the solar wind and the planetary exosphere/ionosphere which res…
Gusev crater: Wind-related features and processes observed by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit
Arvidson, R. E.; Christensen, P. R.; Greeley, Ronald +19 more
Wind-related features observed by the rover Spirit in Gusev crater, Mars, include patches of soil on the surface, some of which are organized into bed forms. Windblown grains include dust (inferred to be <3 µm in diameter), sands (up to a few hundred µm in diameter), and granules (>2 mm in diameter). Microscopic Imager data show …
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…