“Last year, images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured sand dunes and ripples moving across the surface of Mars — observations that challenged previously held beliefs that there was not a lot of movement on the red planet’s surface. Now, technology developed by a team at the California Institute of Technology has allowed scientists to measure these activities for the very first time.” Quoted from the Caltech press release.
“Five years of Mars Express gravity mapping data are providing unique insights into what lies beneath the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes. The results show that the lava grew denser over time and that the thickness of the planet’s rigid outer layers varies across the Tharsis region.” Quoted from the ESA press release.
“Dark patches visible across much of the northern Martian hemisphere aren’t canals or vegetation, as once thought, but volcanic glass according to a new study.” Quoted from the ABC Science press release.
“The frigid McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are a cold, polar desert, yet the sandy soils there are frequently dotted with moist patches in the spring despite a lack of snowmelt and no possibility of rain. A new study found the salty soils in the region actually suck moisture out of the atmosphere, raising the possibility that such a process could take place on Mars or on other planets.” Quoted from the Oregon State University press release.
A study of ruptures in the Martian surface and associated “displaced” boulder suggest that earthquakes as powerful as M7.0 could have occurred in the past few million years.
This enhanced-color image shows sand dunes trapped in an impact crater in Noachis Terra, Mars. Dunes and sand ripples of various shapes and sizes display the natural beauty created by physical processes.
In July, 2011 a meteor broke-up during its descent through Earth’s atmosphere, dropping debris on the Moroccan desert. Fragments of the meteorite were recovered and NASA has confirmed that they are fragments of Mars.
“When a meteorite careens toward the dusty surface of the Red Planet, it kicks up dust and can cause avalanching even before the rock from outer space hits the ground…” Quoted from the University of Arizona press release.
The new issue of SciNews has an activity about NASA’s Curiosity Rover and it’s recent launch to Mars! In the lesson students decide which landing site to send Curiosity to based on a .KMZ for Google Mars.
The purpose of SCINEWS is to provide middle and high school teachers timely, pre-packaged lessons on a science current event (such as an oil spill, earthquake, or shuttle launch) that are short (~15 min), easy to implement, and align to AZ state standards.
A Russian satellite is falling out of orbit after a mission to Phobos, a moon of Mars failed last month. It is one of the heaviest satellites ever launched and is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere in early January.
New images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show sand dunes moving across the surface of Mars at dozens of locations. The images are providing new information about the power and frequency of surface winds on Mars.
Following the success of Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, NASA has launched another rover on an expedition to Mars. Curiosity is a car-sized rover that has many more capabilities.
The Mars Express spacecraft has returned an image of Tharsis Tholus, an extinct volcano on the surface of Mars. The image reveals a number of interesting structural features that are described in an article on the European Space Agency website.
“By analyzing carbonate minerals in a four-billion-year-old meteorite that originated near the surface of Mars, the scientists determined that the minerals formed at about 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit).”
“A NASA-led team has used radar sounding technology developed to explore the subsurface of Mars to create high-resolution maps of freshwater aquifers buried deep beneath an Earth desert, in the first use of airborne sounding radar for aquifer mapping.” Quoted from the NASA press release.
The European Space Agency has released a nice image of a stream-built delta located in the Eberswalde Crater that formed when the crater was occupied by a lake. Link to the image.
“After a journey of almost three years, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the Red Planet’s Endeavour crater to study rocks never seen before. [...] At Endeavour, scientists expect to see much older rocks and terrains than those examined by Opportunity during its first seven years on Mars.” Quoted from the NASA press release.
“After a journey of almost three years, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the Red Planet’s Endeavour crater to study rocks never seen before.” The crater shown in the image at right is a small impact site known as “Skylab Crater”. Quote from the NASA press release.
“Observations from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars.” Quoted from the NASA new release.
“NASA’s next Mars rover will land at the foot of a layered mountain inside the planet’s Gale Crater. The car-sized Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, is scheduled to launch late this year and land in August 2012.” Quoted from the NASA press release.
NASA and the Smithsonian will host a news conference on Friday to announce the landing site for the new Mars Rover. Named “Curiosity” the new rover “will study whether the landing region had environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and for preserving clues about whether life existed. [...] NASA’s next Mars rover will land either beside the site of a former river delta or beside a mountain of stacked layers.” Quoted from the NASA press release.
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