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Publications

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Mars south polar spring and summer behavior observed by TES: seasonal cap evolution controlled by frost grain size

Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) observations of the recession phase of Mars' south polar cap are used to quantitatively map this recession in both thermal and visual appearance. Geographically nonuniform behavior interior to the cap is characterized by defining several small regions which exemplify the range of behavior. For most of the cap, while temperatures remain near the CO2...
Authors
Hugh H. Kieffer, Timothy N. Titus, Kevin F. Mullins, Phillip R. Christensen

Sinus Meridiani: uncontrolled Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbital Camera (MOC): digital context photomosaic (250 megapixel resolution)

These images were processed from a raw format using Integrated Software for Images and Spectrometers (ISIS) to perform radiometric corrections and projection. All the images were projected in sinusoidal using a center longitude of 0 degrees. There are two versions of the mosaic, one unfiltered (sinusmos.tif), and one produced with all images processed through a box filter with an...
Authors
Eric Noreen

Central Valles Marineris: uncontrolled Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbital Camera (MOC) digital context photomosaic (250 megapixel resolution)

These images were processed from a raw format using Integrated Software for Images and Spectrometers (ISIS) to perform radiometric corrections and projection. All the images were projected in sinusoidal using a center longitude of 70 degrees. There are two versions of the mosaic, one unfiltered (vallesmos.tif), and one produced with all images processed through a box filter with an...
Authors
Eric Noreen

Results of the Imager for Mars Pathfinder windsock experiment

The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) windsock experiment measured wind speeds at three heights within 1.2 m of the Martian surface during Pathfinder landed operations. These wind data allowed direct measurement of near-surface wind profiles on Mars for the first time, including determination of aerodynamic roughness length and wind friction speeds. Winds were light during periods of...
Authors
Robert M. Sullivan, Ronald Greeley, Michael Kraft, Gregory Wilson, Matthew P. Golombek, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, James R. Murphy, Peter N. Smith

The state and future of Mars polar science and exploration

As the planet's principal cold traps, the martian polar regions have accumulated extensive mantles of ice and dust that cover individual areas of ∼106 km2 and total as much as 3–4 km thick. From the scarcity of superposed craters on their surface, these layered deposits are thought to be comparatively young—preserving a record of the seasonal and climatic cycling of atmospheric CO2, H2O...
Authors
S.M. Clifford, D. Crisp, D.A. Fisher, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Suzanne E. Smrekar, P. M. Thomas, D. D. Wynn-Williams, R.W. Zurek, J.R. Barnes, B.G. Bills, E.W. Blake, W. M. Calvin, J.M. Cameron, M. H. Carr, P. R. Christensen, B. T. Clark, G.D. Clow, J.A. Cutts, D. Dahl-Jensen, W.B. Durham, F. P. Fanale, J.D. Farmer, Francois Forget, K. Gotto-Azuma, R. Grard, R.M. Haberle, W. Harrison, R. Reid Harvey, A.D. Howard, A.P. Ingersoll, P.B. James, J.S. Kargel, H. H. Kieffer, J. C. Larsen, K. Lepper, M. C. Malin, D. J. McCleese, B. C. Murray, J.F. Nye, D. A. Paige, S.R. Platt, J.J. Plaut, Niels Reeh, J.W. Rice, D.E. Smith, C. R. Stoker, K.L. Tanaka, E. Mosley-Thompson, T. Thorsteinsson, S.E. Wood, A. P. Zent, Maria Zuber, H.J. Zwally

Does Europa have a subsurface ocean? Evaluation of the geological evidence

It has been proposed that Jupiter's satellite Europa currently possesses a global subsurface ocean of liquid water. Galileo gravity data verify that the satellite is differentiated into an outer H2O layer about 100 km thick but cannot determine the current physical state of this layer (liquid or solid). Here we summarize the geological evidence regarding an extant subsurface ocean...
Authors
Robert T. Pappalardo, Michael J.S. Belton, H.H. Breneman, M. H. Carr, Clark R. Chapman, G.C. Collins, Tilmann Denk, S. Fagents, Paul E. Geissler, B. Giese, R. Greeley, R. Greenberg, J.W. Head, P. Helfenstein, G.V. Hoppa, S.D. Kadel, K.P. Klaasen, James E. Klemaszewski, K.P. Magee, Alfred S. McEwen, J.M. Moore, W.B. Moore, G. Neukum, C.B. Phillips, L.M. Prockter, G. Schubert, D.A. Senske, R.J. Sullivan, B.R. Tufts, Elizabeth P. Turtle, Robert V. Wagner, K.K. Williams

Observations of Phobos, Deimos, and bright stars with the Imager for Mars Pathfinder

The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was used to observe several objects during the Martian night. The satellites, Phobos and Deimos, were observed on two occasions each, through the IMP geological filters covering the wavelength range 440 nm to 1 μm. The observations were converted to geometric albedo using triaxial ellipsoid models of the satellites and phase functions derived from...
Authors
Nick Thomas, D.T. Britt, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Scott L. Murchie, B. Semenov, H.U. Keller, P.S. Smith

Mars Pathfinder spectral measurements of Phobos and Deimos: Comparison with previous data

The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) acquired four spectra of parts of the sub‐Mars hemispheres of Phobos and Deimos. The measured region of Phobos is expected to be a mixture of the two spectral units identified on that satellite from Phobos 2 data, and the IMP spectra of Phobos are intermediate to the two units as expected. The derived geometric albedo is consistent with the value for...
Authors
Scott L. Murchie, Nick Thomas, Daniel T. Britt, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, James F. Bell

Overview of the Mars Pathfinder Mission: Launch through landing, surface operations, data sets, and science results

Mars Pathfinder successfully landed at Ares Vallis on July 4, 1997, deployed and navigated a small rover about 100 m clockwise around the lander, and collected data from three science instruments and ten technology experiments. The mission operated for three months and returned 2.3 Gbits of data, including over 16,500 lander and 550 rover images, 16 chemical analyses of rocks and soil...
Authors
M. P. Golombek, R. Todd Anderson, J.R. Barnes, J. W. Bell, N. T. Bridges, D.T. Britt, J. Brückner, R. A. Cook, D. Crisp, J.A. Crisp, T. Economou, W. M. Folkner, R. Greeley, R.M. Haberle, R.B. Hargraves, J.A. Harris, Albert F.C. Haldemann, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, S.F. Hviid, R. Jaumann, J. Micheal Johnson, P. H. Kallemeyn, H.U. Keller, Randolph L. Kirk, J. M. Knudsen, S. Larsen, M. T. Lemmon, M.B. Madsen, J.A. Magalhães, J.N. Maki, M.C. Malin, R. M. Manning, Jacob R. Matijevic, H.Y. McSween, H. J. Moore, S.L. Murchie, J.R. Murphy, T. J. Parker, R. Rieder, T.P. Rivellini, J. T. Schofield, A. Seiff, R.B. Singer, P.S. Smith, Laurence A. Soderblom, D.A. Spencer, C. R. Stoker, R. Sullivan, N. Thomas, S.W. Thurman, M.G. Tomasko, R. Greg Vaughan, H. Wanke, A. Wesley Ward, G.R. Wilson

Dark material in the polar layered deposits and dunes on Mars

Viking infrared thermal mapping and bistatic radar data suggest that the bulk density of the north polar erg material is much lower than that of the average Martian surface or of dark dunes at lower latitudes. We have derived a thermal inertia of 245–280 J m−2 s−1/2 K−1 (5.9–6.7×10−3 cal cm−2 s−1/2 K−1) for the Proctor dune field and 25–150 J m−2 s−1/2 K−1 (0.6–3.6×10−3cal cm−2 s−1/2 K−1...
Authors
Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Ashwin R. Vasavada

General geology and geomorphology of the Mars Pathfinder landing site

The Mars Pathfinder (MPF) spacecraft landed on relatively young (late Hesperian-early Amazonian; 3.1-0.7 Ga) plains in Chryse Planitia near the mouth of Ares Vallis. Images returned from the spacecraft reveal a complex landscape of ridges and troughs, large hills and crater rims, rocks and boulders of various sizes and shapes, and surficial deposits, indicating a complex, multistage...
Authors
A. Wesley Ward, Lisa Gaddis, Randolph L. Kirk, Laurence A. Soderblom, K.L. Tanaka, M.P. Golombek, T. J. Parker, Ronald Greeley, R.O. Kuzmin

Geology of the Upheaval Dome impact structure, southeast Utah

Two vastly different phenomena, impact and salt diapirism, have been proposed for the origin of Upheaval Dome, a spectacular scenic feature in southeast Utah. Detailed geologic mapping and seismic refraction data indicate that the dome originated by collapse of a transient cavity formed by impact. Evidence is as follows: (1) sedimentary strata in the center of the structure are...
Authors
Bryan J. Kriens, Eugene Merle Shoemaker, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff
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