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Geology News
Mars Current Events

NASA Image

NASA’s Phoenix lander is scheduled to permeate the Martian atmosphere on May 25. Scientists are hoping for a successful landing, after which the Phoenix will investigate geological properties of the planet. This article features a video showing an artist’s conceptualization of the landing.

NASA Image

An archive of NASA news releases, image galleries and articles on a variety of topics related to planetary geology, earth observation, global climate change, monitoring volcanoes, looking beyond our solar system, monitoring the oceans and more. A few of the most popular ones are:

• Monitoring Volcanoes from Space
• Photograph of Avalanches on Mars
• Glacial Sediments Add to Louisiana Coastal Subsidence
• Satellite Images of Marine Phytoplankton Blooms
• Sahara Dust Storms Lower Sea Surface Temperatures
• Satellite Measures Pollution From East Asia to North America

A radar instrument co-sponsored by NASA on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter has looked beneath the surface of Mars and opened up a new dimension for planetary exploration.

“Brown University researchers have found compelling evidence of thick, recurring glaciers on Mars, a discovery that suggests that the Red Planet’s climate was much more dynamic than previously believed – and could change again.” Quoted from the Brown University release.

This summer, a balloon will carry a spectrometer on a week-long flight from Sweden to Canada or Alaska. The trip will test the technology of the new equipment, which is planned to take future journeys around the North Pole and Mars. These projects will help scientists learn more about the atmospheres of Earth, Mars and perhaps eventually Venus.

NASA Image

NASA has released images of Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons. These were captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 23, 2008. They show interesting geological features such as landslides and crater chains.

ESA/ DLR/ FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

The European Space Agency has published a nice collection of photos showing Hebes Chasma, a trough located in Valles Marineris, A.K.A. the “Grand Canyon of Mars”. They have a color-coded elevation model, overhead views, and several 3-D perspective views. Don’t miss the high-resolution versions, which show an incredible amount of detail. Wow!

Microscopic cellulose fibers can remain preserved in salt for over 250 million years, scientists have discovered. If we were to collect salt samples from Mars, we could use them to determine the possible existence of life on the planet.

NASA headquarters told the Mars Rover team that they were getting a 40% budget cut for the remainder of the 2008 fiscal year. This could force them to hibernate one of the Mars Rovers.

NASA Image

The northern hemisphere of Mars is mostly smooth plains with a thin crust below but the southern hemisphere is heavily cratered over a thicker crust. What caused these two different landscape/structural combinations?

“A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near the Red Planet’s north pole. The image shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.” Quoted from the NASA release.

Researchers originally thought some newly-created bright streaks on the surface of Mars could have been the result of flooding. While the presence of water on Mars is still possible, further investigation shows that the streaks are more likely the product of dry landslides.

The question of past or present life on Mars continues to be researched. Andrew Knoll, a Harvard researcher, believes that conditions for the development of life on early Mars were worse than the conditions present on the early Earth.

Scientists who plan the manned mission to Mars will need geologic maps. Although these maps are usually produced via human field work, scientists from Carnegie Mellon University are working on a robot that can do the job.

The European Space Agency announces new data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera has been used to produce a digital terrain model of Mars that will soon be released on the internet. It will be the most detailed topographic data set ever released for Mars.

Geology.com Article: Highest and Lowest Points on Mars

“As expected, scientists at JPL’s Near-Earth Object Office have further refined the trajectory estimate for asteroid 2007 WD5 and ruled out any possibility of a Mars impact on Jan. 30.” Quoted from the NASA news release.

Astronomers tracking the path of asteroid 2007 WD5 now have enough data to all but rule out a collision with Mars. The impact probability is now one in ten-thousand.

Spectacular events determined the highest and lowest elevation points on Mars. This article includes topographic maps of Mars and explains the events that produced the topographic extremes of the Red Planet.

Andy Puckett, a recent Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, found an image of the asteroid taken on November 8, 2007 - about two weeks prior to its discovery. This image allowed astronomers to accurately determine the position of the asteroid in space at a specific instant in time. This new data enabled them to refine the path of the asteroid’s orbit.

“A recently discovered asteroid which passed close to the Earth in November, is now headed towards a very close passage by Mars in late January, and there is a small chance that it could hit that planet. The probability of a collision is only 1 chance in 75, but scientists are excited about the possibility. If it happens, the impact would occur on January 30, 2008 at around 10:55 UT (2:55 a.m. PST).”

The asteroid on a possible collision path with Mars was discovered by astronomers at the University of Arizona. They estimate that it is about 164 feet wide, traveling at about 8 miles per second and if it hits Mars it will create a crater about the size of Meteor Crater in northern Arizona.

NASA Image

An asteroid known as 2007 WD5 is speeding towards Mars and scientists believe that it has a small chance of hitting the planet in January. It could make a hole in Mars about the same size as the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona.

NASA and an international team are planning to send a mission to Mars to obtain some soil samples and bring them back to Earth. They are curious if there is evidence of life in the soil and they want to know if the Martian soil might be useful or harmful to astronauts who visit there.

The days on Mars are getting shorter where Mars Rover Spirit is located. To survive the long winter it needs to position itself in a sunny location and aim its solar panels at the sun.

NASA has video program about the planet Mars and the star Mira. This is one of the better web videos that I have seen. It includes tips for observing the November sky, interesting images, facts and a lot more.

The caves recently discovered on Mars by NASA’s Mars orbiter are thought to have been produced by volcanic activity or by asteroid impacts. This article is based upon presentations made at the recent GSA meeting in Denver.

The Medusae Fossae Formation is one of the youngest surficial deposits on Mars. This young age is assumed because it shows very few craters. The radar system on the ESA Mars Express orbiter is collecting data on the depth and electrical properties of these materials.

November 18th is the night to see the popular Leonid Meteor shower. Between 30 and 80 meteors per hour are expected. In addition, the Southern and Northern Taurid showers can be seen on November 4th and 10th respectively. The planets Mars, Venus and Saturn are also easy to locate and observe in the November sky.

NASA Image

NASA’s Mars Rover Opportunity has reached its first destination inside Victoria Crater. It is now on the inner slope of the 800-meter-wide crater, near an outcrop of bright bedrock. The rover is in position to touch the outcrop and examine it with analytical tools next week.

NASA Image

A cave skylight is an hole the roof of a cave that extends up to the surface. NASA’s Mars orbiter Odyssey has imaged features that appear to be cave skylights on the slope of a Martian volcano. These openings are about 100 to 250 meters across and based upon day time / night time temperature differences measured with an infrared camera, scientists conclude that they are openings in the planet surface.

NASA Image

The Mars orbiter is looking at features such as erosion gullies, polar ice layers and signs of water released by large impacts. These studies are helping scientists understand the role of water in Martian history.

NASA Image

Researchers have found evidence that Mars has experienced a number of ice ages and speculate that wobbles in the planet’s rotation are the cause. These wobbles alter the amount of sunlight that reaches the surface and that might cause temperature variations significant enough to trigger an “ice age”.

NASA JPL Image

Mars Rover Opportunity is on the beginning of a descent into Victoria Crater. There has been some concern about the wheels slipping on the descent. If the Rover makes the descent it will investigate layered rocks exposed on the interior slope of the crater.

NASA Image

Two crucial tools for a successful landing of America’s latest mission to Mars, the radar and UHF radio on NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, have passed in-flight checkouts.

USGS Image

From the article: “Researchers at the University of Bergen are investigating whether it is possible to find signs of life in rocks that are 3.5 billion years old. If they succeed, it may become easier to search for life on Mars. “

NASA Image

Are robot missions a better way to go than sending astronauts? Bob Park thinks that robots are more cost effective and that sending astronauts involves expenses that are a waste of resources. From the article: “It costs more to send a human to the moon than it does to send the rovers to Mars…. Our robotic missions are going great.”

NASA Image

The dust storms that started in June on Mars have finally started to die down and Rovers Spirit and Opportunity have survived. They are gaining energy and are now driving on to new locations, although their dusty solar panels are operating slower than normal.

NASA Image

NASA has launched its next step in the exploration of Mars. A rocket carrying the Phoenix Mars Lander lifted off at Cape Canaveral on August 4th. It will take ten months to reach Mars where it will land on the northern plains and begin sampling soil and ice and sending back new information about the Red Planet.

NASA Image

In an interview, Scientist Jorge Vago explains how the European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover, scheduled for launch in 2011, will focus on looking for fossil evidence of ancient life on Mars and why such evidence may be easier to find there than it is on Earth.

NASA Image

Rovers Spirt and Opportunity are still trying to survive a dust storm on Mars that is blocking their abilty to get enough solar energy to keep warm. Opportunity made its first transmission report in three days. It is getting about 200 watt hours per day of recharge compared to a low of 128. Dust settled on the solar panel is reducing power generation.