Search Publications
Multispacecraft Observations of a Widespread Solar Energetic Particle Event on 2022 February 15–16
Holmström, M.; Lario, D.; Palmerio, E. +37 more
On 2022 February 15–16, multiple spacecraft measured one of the most intense solar energetic particle (SEP) events observed so far in Solar Cycle 25. This study provides an overview of interesting observations made by multiple spacecraft during this event. Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and BepiColombo were close to each other at 0.34–0.37 au (a radial …
A flexible deep learning crater detection scheme using Segment Anything Model (SAM)
Giannakis, Iraklis; Bhardwaj, Anshuman; Sam, Lydia +1 more
Craters are one of the most important morphological features in planetary exploration. To that extent, detecting, mapping and counting craters is a mainstream process in planetary science, done primarily manually, which is a very laborious, time-consuming and inconsistent process. Recently, machine learning (ML) and computer vision have been succe…
Geological evidence for multiple climate transitions on Early Mars
Kite, Edwin S.; Conway, Susan
Landforms and deposits observed on the Martian surface suggest that Mars' early climate supported rivers and lakes over a time span of more than a billion years. But, like Earth, which has over the past billion years experienced periods of global glaciations and hyperthermals, the climate history of Early Mars may have been intermittent. Here we s…
Evidence of Ice-Rich Layered Deposits in the Medusae Fossae Formation of Mars
Orosei, Roberto; Plaut, Jeffrey J.; Campbell, Bruce A. +4 more
Subsurface reflectors in radar sounder data from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding instrument aboard the Mars Express spacecraft indicate significant dielectric contrasts between layers in the Martian Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). Large density changes that create dielectric contrasts are less likely in deposits of …
Evidence for transient morning water frost deposits on the Tharsis volcanoes of Mars
Vandaele, A. C.; Daerden, F.; Ristic, B. +27 more
The present-day water cycle on Mars has implications for habitability and future human exploration. Water ice clouds and water vapour have been detected above the Tharsis volcanic province, suggesting the active exchange of water between regolith and atmosphere. Here we report observational evidence for extensive transient morning frost deposits o…
Discrete aurora and the nightside ionosphere of Mars: an EMM–MEX conjunction of FUV imaging, ionospheric radar sounding, and suprathermal electron measurements
Holmström, Mats; Futaana, Yoshifumi; Harada, Yuki +7 more
Since 2021, a new surge in discrete aurora detections at Mars has been observed by the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) onboard the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) Hope Orbiter as EMUS started to regularly obtain synoptic auroral images with a high sensitivity. Here we report on a fortuitous conjunction between EMM and Mars Express (MEX) …
Mars Express: 20 Years of Mission, Science Operations and Data Archiving
Johnstone, A.; Geiger, B.; Määttänen, A. +27 more
Launched on 2 June 2003 and arriving at Mars on 25 December 2003 after a 7-month interplanetary cruise, Mars Express was the European Space Agency's first mission to arrive at another planet. After more than 20 years in orbit, the spacecraft and science payload remain in good health and the mission has become the second oldest operational planetar…
Gravity-Driven Differences in Fluvial Sediment Transport on Mars and Earth
Sefton-Nash, Elliot; Braat, Lisanne; Lamb, Michael P. +1 more
There is abundant evidence from fluvial landforms and deposits that Mars had rivers that actively transported sediment and shaped its surface. Sediment transport equations are playing a key role in quantifying river processes from these observations, which continue to increase in quality and quantity. In this study, we review sediment transport eq…
Sinuous Aurora at Mars: A Link to the Tail Current Sheet?
Ramstad, Robin; Lillis, Robert J.; Deighan, Justin +18 more
We examine the newly discovered phenomena of sinuous aurora on the nightside of Mars, using images of 130.4 and 135.6 nm oxygen emission measured by the Emirates Mars Mission EMUS ultraviolet spectrograph, and upstream measurements from the MAVEN and Mars Express spacecraft. They are detected in ∼3% of observations, totaling 73 clear detections. T…
Insight from the Noachian-aged fractured crust to the volcanic evolution of Mars: A case study from the Thaumasia graben and Claritas Fossae
Hauber, Ernst; Stephan, Katrin; Pieterek, Bartosz +1 more
Although most of the large volcanic landforms on Mars have been extensively studied, this is not the case for kilometer-sized landforms whose origin remains uncertain and which might provide important insights into the evolution of Martian volcanism. Previously, different populations of small-scale putative scoria cone volcanoes have been describe…