Publications
Filter Total Items: 915
Feasibility study for the quantitative assessment of mineral resources in asteroids
This study was undertaken to determine if the U.S. Geological Survey’s process for conducting mineral resource assessments on Earth can be applied to asteroids. Successful completion of the assessment, using water and iron resources to test the workflow, has resulted in identification of the minimal adjustments required to conduct full resource assessments beyond Earth. We also identify the types
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Justin Hagerty, Amanda Bowers, Karl J. Ellefsen, Ian Ridley, Trude King, David Trilling, Nicholas Moskovitz, Will Grundy
Interoperability in planetary research for geospatial data analysis
For more than a decade there has been a push in the planetary science community to support interoperable methods for accessing and working with geospatial data. Common geospatial data products for planetary research include image mosaics, digital elevation or terrain models, geologic maps, geographic location databases (e.g., craters, volcanoes) or any data that can be tied to the surface of a pla
Authors
Trent M. Hare, Angelo P. Rossi, Alessandro Frigeri, Chiara Marmo
Terrestrial subaqueous seafloor dunes: Possible analogs for Venus
Dunes on Venus, first discovered with Magellan Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in the early 1990s, have fueled discussions about the viability of Venusian dunes and aeolian grain transport. Confined to two locations on Venus, the existence of the interpreted dunes provides evidence that there could be transportable material being mobilized into aeolian bedforms at the surface. However, because of t
Authors
Lynn D.V. Neakrase, Martina Klose, Timothy N. Titus
The vanishing cryovolcanoes of Ceres
Ahuna Mons is a 4 km tall mountain on Ceres interpreted as a geologically young cryovolcanic dome. Other possible cryovolcanic features are more ambiguous, implying that cryovolcanism is only a recent phenomenon or that other cryovolcanic structures have been modified beyond easy identification. We test the hypothesis that Cerean cryovolcanic domes viscously relax, precluding ancient domes from re
Authors
Michael M. Sori, Shane Byrne, Michael T. Bland, Ali Bramson, Anton Ermakov, Christoper Hamilton, Katharina Otto, Ottaviano Ruesch, Christopher Russell
Connecting the dots: Preprocessing Apollo 15 panoramic camera images for photogrammetric control
No abstract available.
Authors
Kenneth L. Edmundson, Brent A. Archinal, Tammy L. Becker, J.A. Mapel, Mark S. Robinson, M.R. Shepherd
Subsurface volatile content of martian double-layer ejecta (DLE) craters
Excess ice is widespread throughout the martian mid-latitudes, particularly in Arcadia Planitia, where double-layer ejecta (DLE) craters also tend to be abundant. In this region, we observe the presence of thermokarstically-expanded secondary craters that likely form from impacts that destabilize a subsurface layer of excess ice, which subsequently sublimates. The presence of these expanded crater
Authors
Donna Viola, Alfred S. McEwen, Colin M. Dundas, Shane Byrne
Recalibration of the Mars Science Laboratory ChemCam instrument with an expanded geochemical database
The ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has obtained > 300,000 spectra of rock and soil analysis targets since landing at Gale Crater in 2012, and the spectra represent perhaps the largest publicly-available LIBS datasets. The compositions of the major elements, reported as oxides (SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, FeOT, MgO, Ca
Authors
Samuel M. Clegg, Roger C. Wiens, Ryan Anderson, Olivier Forni, Jens Frydenvang, Jeremie Lasue, Agnès Cousin, Valerie Payre, Tommy Boucher, M. Darby Dyar, Scott M. McLennan, Richard V. Morris, Trevor G. Graff, Stanley A Mertzman, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Ines Belgacem, Horton E. Newsom, Ben C. Clark, Noureddine Melikechi, Alissa Mezzacappa, Rhonda E. McInroy, Ronald Martinez, Patrick J. Gasda, Olivier Gasnault, Sylvestre Maurice
Improved accuracy in quantitative laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy using sub-models
Accurate quantitative analysis of diverse geologic materials is one of the primary challenges faced by the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)-based ChemCam instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover. The SuperCam instrument on the Mars 2020 rover, as well as other LIBS instruments developed for geochemical analysis on Earth or other planets, will face the same challenge. Conseq
Authors
Ryan Anderson, Samuel M. Clegg, Jens Frydenvang, Roger C. Wiens, Scott M. McLennan, Richard V. Morris, Bethany L. Ehlmann, M. Darby Dyar
Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars
The Curiosity rover's campaign at Pahrump Hills provides the first analyses of lower Mount Sharp strata. Here we report ChemCam elemental composition of a diverse assemblage of post-depositional features embedded in, or cross-cutting, the host rock. ChemCam results demonstrate their compositional diversity, especially compared to the surrounding host rock: (i) Dendritic aggregates and relief enhan
Authors
Marion Nachon, Nicolas Mangold, Olivier Forni, Linda C. Kah, Agnès Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Ryan Anderson, Diana L. Blaney, Jen G. Blank, Fred J. Calef, Samuel M. Clegg, Cecile Fabre, Martin R. Fisk, Olivier Gasnault, John P. Grotzinger, Rachel Kronyak, Nina L. Lanza, Jeremie Lasue, Laetitia Le Deit, Stephane Le Mouelic, Sylvestre Maurice, Pierre-Yves Meslin, D. Z. Oehler, Valerie Payre, William Rapin, Susanne Schroder, Katherine M. Stack, Dawn Sumner
Effects of lava heating on volatile-rich slopes on Io
The upper crust of Io may be very rich in volatile sulfur and SO2. The surface is also highly volcanically active, and slopes may be warmed by radiant heat from the lava. This is particularly the case in paterae, which commonly host volcanic eruptions and long-lived lava lakes. Paterae slopes are highly variable, but some are greater than 70°. I model the heating of a volatile slope for two end-me
Authors
Colin M. Dundas
Granular flows at recurring slope lineae on Mars indicate a limited role for liquid water
Recent liquid water flow on Mars has been proposed based on geomorphological features, such as gullies. Recurring slope lineae — seasonal flows that are darker than their surroundings — are candidate locations for seeping liquid water on Mars today, but their formation mechanism remains unclear. Topographical analysis shows that the terminal slopes of recurring slope lineae match the stopping angl
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Alfred S. McEwen, Matthew Chojnacki, Moses P. Milazzo, Shane Byrne, Jim McElwaine, Anna Urso
Geologic overview of the Mars Science Laboratory rover mission at the Kimberley, Gale crater, Mars
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover completed a detailed investigation at the Kimberley waypoint within Gale crater from sols 571-634 using its full science instrument payload. From orbital images examined early in the Curiosity mission, the Kimberley region had been identified as a high-priority science target based on its clear stratigraphic relationships in a layered sedimentary s
Authors
Melissa Rice, Sanjeev Gupta, Allan H. Treiman, Kathryn M. Stack, Fred J. Calef, Lauren A. Edgar, John P. Grotzinger, Nina L. Lanza, Laetitia Le Deit, Jeremie Lasue, Kirsten L. Siebach, Ashwin R. Vasavada, Roger C. Wiens, Josh Williams