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Radar evidence of subglacial liquid water on Mars
Pajola, M.; Lauro, S. E.; Pettinelli, E. +19 more
The presence of liquid water at the base of the martian polar caps has long been suspected but not observed. We surveyed the Planum Australe region using the MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) instrument, a low-frequency radar on the Mars Express spacecraft. Radar profiles collected between May 2012 and December 20…
Surface clay formation during short-term warmer and wetter conditions on a largely cold ancient Mars
Michalski, Joseph R.; Bishop, Janice L.; Fairén, Alberto G. +5 more
The ancient rock record for Mars has long been at odds with climate modelling. The presence of valley networks, dendritic channels and deltas on ancient terrains points towards running water and fluvial erosion on early Mars1, but climate modelling indicates that long-term warm conditions were not sustainable2. Widespread phy…
Water vapor in the middle atmosphere of Mars during the 2007 global dust storm
Montmessin, Franck; Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Korablev, Oleg +4 more
Recent observations of the Martian hydrogen corona in the UV H Ly-alpha emission by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (Clarke et al., 2014) and the SPICAM UV spectrometer on Mars Express (Chaffin et al., 2014) reported its rapid change by an order of magnitude over a short few months period in 2007 (MY28), which is inconsistent with the existing mo…
Observations and Impacts of the 10 September 2017 Solar Events at Mars: An Overview and Synthesis of the Initial Results
Holmström, M.; Luhmann, J. G.; Halekas, J. S. +8 more
On 10 September 2017, some of the strongest solar activity occurred in association with active region 12673 (AR2673), including an X-class solar flare and a fast coronal mass ejection. Although AR2673 was not centrally facing Mars, the activity impacted the local space weather conditions at Mars. We give an overview of observations obtained from t…
Modeling the Evolution and Propagation of 10 September 2017 CMEs and SEPs Arriving at Mars Constrained by Remote Sensing and In Situ Measurement
Dumbović, Mateja; Temmer, Manuela; Veronig, Astrid +13 more
On 10 September 2017, solar energetic particles originating from the active region 12673 produced a ground level enhancement at Earth. The ground level enhancement on the surface of Mars, 160 longitudinally east of Earth, observed by the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) was the largest since the landing of the Curiosity rover in August 2012. Ba…
Equatorial locations of water on Mars: Improved resolution maps based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data
Elphic, Richard C.; Massey, Richard J.; Maurice, Sylvestre +4 more
We present a map of the near subsurface hydrogen distribution on Mars, based on epithermal neutron data from the Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer. The map's spatial resolution is approximately improved two-fold via a new form of the pixon image reconstruction technique. We discover hydrogen-rich mineralogy far from the poles, including ∼10 wt.% w…
The science process for selecting the landing site for the 2020 Mars rover
Golombek, Matthew P.; Wilson, Sharon A.; Grant, John A. +3 more
The process of identifying the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 rover began in 2013 by defining threshold mission science criteria related to seeking signs of ancient habitable conditions, searching for biosignatures of past microbial life, assembling a returnable cache of samples for possible future return to Earth, and collecting data for plann…
The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment on the InSight Mission to Mars
Golombek, Matthew P.; Asmar, Sami W.; Yseboodt, Marie +5 more
The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE) on-board the InSight mission will use the lander's X-band (8 GHz) radio system in combination with tracking stations of the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) to determine the rotation of Mars. RISE will measure the nutation of the Martian spin axis, detecting for the first time the effect of the li…
The GEM-Mars general circulation model for Mars: Description and evaluation
Daerden, F.; Neary, L.
GEM-Mars is a gridpoint-based three-dimensional general circulation model (GCM) of the Mars atmosphere extending from the surface to approximately 150 km based on the GEM (Global Environmental Multiscale) model, part of the operational weather forecasting and data assimilation system for Canada. After the initial modification for Mars, the model h…
Introducing a New Inventory of Large Martian Landslides
Crosta, G. B.; Frattini, P.; Valbuzzi, E. +1 more
Landslides have been observed in different terrestrial environments and also on planets, satellites, and asteroids. Long runout landslides are strongly dependent on the initial mass position, material and slope path properties, topographic relief, and presence of volatiles. Therefore, landslides represent a means for the description of rock proper…