Publications
Filter Total Items: 915
Comparison of the mineral composition of the sediment found in two Mars dunefields: Ogygis Undae and Gale crater – three distinct endmembers identified
The composition of two dune fields, Ogygis Undae and the NE–SW trending dune field in Gale crater (the “Bagnold Dune Field” and “Western Dune Field”), were analyzed using thermal emission spectra from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS). The Gale crater dune field was used as a baseline as other orbital co
Authors
Heather Charles, Timothy N. Titus, Rosalyn Hayward, Christopher Edwards, Caitlin Ahrens
Determination of eruption temperature of Io's lavas using lava tube skylights
Determining the eruption temperature of Io's dominant silicate lavas would constrain Io's present interior state and composition. We have examined how eruption temperature can be estimated at lava tube skylights through synthesis of thermal emission from the incandescent lava flowing within the lava tube. Lava tube skylights should be present along Io's long-lived lava flow fields, and are attract
Authors
Ashley G. Davies, Laszlo P. Kestay, Alfred S. McEwen
Analysis of local slopes at the InSight landing site on Mars
To evaluate the topography of the surface within the InSight candidate landing ellipses, we generated Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) at lander scales and those appropriate for entry, descent, and landing simulations, along with orthoimages of both images in each stereopair, and adirectional slope images. These products were used to assess the distribution of slopes for each candidate ellipse and te
Authors
Robin L. Fergason, Randolph L. Kirk, Glen E. Cushing, Donna M. Galuszka, Matthew P. Golombek, Trent M. Hare, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Devin M Kipp, Bonnie L. Redding
The water content of recurring slope lineae on Mars
Observations of recurring slope lineae (RSL) from the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment have been interpreted as present-day, seasonally variable liquid water flows; however, orbital spectroscopy has not confirmed the presence of liquid H2O, only hydrated salts. Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) temperature data and a numerical heat transfer model definitively constrain the amount
Authors
Christopher S. Edwards, Sylvain Piqueux
Pleistocene Lake Bonneville as an analog for extraterrestrial lakes and oceans
Geomorphic confirmation for a putative ancient Mars ocean relies on analog comparisons of coastal-like features such as shoreline feature attributes and temporal scales of process formation. Pleistocene Lake Bonneville is one of the few large, geologically young, terrestrial lake systems that exemplify well-preserved shoreline characteristics that formed quickly, on the order of a thousand years o
Authors
M.A. Chan, P. Jewell, T. J. Parker, J. Ormo, Chris Okubo, G. Komatsu
Stratigraphy of the north polar layered deposits of Mars from high-resolution topography
The stratigraphy of the layered deposits of the polar regions of Mars is theorized to contain a record of recent climate change linked to insolation changes driven by variations in the planet's orbital and rotational parameters. In order to confidently link stratigraphic signals to insolation periodicities, a description of the stratigraphy is required based on quantities that directly relate to i
Authors
Patricio Becerra, Shane Byrne, Michael M. Sori, Sarah Sutton, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff
Complex explosive volcanic activity on the Moon within Oppenheimer crater
Oppenheimer Crater is a floor-fractured crater located within the South Pole-Aitken basin on the Moon, and exhibits more than a dozen localized pyroclastic deposits associated with the fractures. Localized pyroclastic volcanism on the Moon is thought to form as a result of intermittently explosive Vulcanian eruptions under low effusion rates, in contrast to the higher-effusion rate, Hawaiian-style
Authors
Kristen A Bennett, Briony H. N. Horgan, Lisa R. Gaddis, Benjamin T Greenhagen, Carlton C. Allen, Paul O. Hayne, James F. Bell, David A. Paige
ChemCam activities and discoveries during the nominal mission of the Mars Science Laboratory in Gale crater, Mars
At Gale crater, Mars, ChemCam acquired its first laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) target on Sol 13 of the landed portion of the mission (a Sol is a Mars day). Up to Sol 800, more than 188 000 LIBS spectra were acquired on more than 5800 points distributed over about 650 individual targets. We present a comprehensive review of ChemCam scientific accomplishments during that period, togeth
Authors
Sylvestre Maurice, Samuel M. Clegg, Roger C. Wiens, O. Gasnault, W. Rapin, O. Forni, Agnès Cousin, V. Sautter, Nicolas Mangold, L. Le Deit, Marion Nachon, Ryan Anderson, Nina Lanza, Cecile Fabre, Valerie Payre, Jeremie Lasue, Pierre-Yves Meslin, Richard A. LeVeille, Bruce Barraclough, Pierre Beck, Steven C. Bender, Gilles Berger, John C. Bridges, Nathan Bridges, Gilles Dromert, M. Darby Dyar, Raymond Francis, Jens Frydenvang, B. Gondet, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Yves Langevin, Madsen Morten B., N. Melikechi, J.-L. Lacour, Stephane Le Mouelic, Eric Lewin, Horton E. Newsom, Ann M. Ollila, Patrick Pinet, S. Schroder, Jean-Baptiste Sirven, Robert L. Tokar, M.J. Toplis, Claude d'Uston, David Vaniman, Ashwin R. Vasavada
The missing large impact craters on Ceres
Asteroids provide fundamental clues to the formation and evolution of planetesimals. Collisional models based on the depletion of the primordial main belt of asteroids predict 10–15 craters >400 km should have formed on Ceres, the largest object between Mars and Jupiter, over the last 4.55 Gyr. Likewise, an extrapolation from the asteroid Vesta would require at least 6–7 such basins. However, Cere
Authors
S. Marchi, A. Ermakov, C.A. Raymond, R.R. Fu, D.P. O'Brien, Michael T. Bland, E. Ammannito, M.C. De Sanctis, Tim Bowling, P. Schenk, J.E.C. Scully, D.L. Buczkowski, D.A. Williams, H. Hiesinger, C.T. Russell
Geologic context of recurring slope lineae in Melas and Coprates Chasmata, Mars
One of the major Mars discoveries of recent years is the existence of recurring slope lineae (RSL), which suggests that liquid water occurs on or near the surface of Mars today. These dark and narrow features emerge from steep, rocky exposures and incrementally grow, fade, and reform on a seasonal basis and are detected in images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. RSL are
Authors
Matthew Chojnacki, Alfred McEwen, Colin M. Dundas, Lujendra Ojha, Anna Urso, Sarah Sutton
Composition and structure of the shallow subsurface of Ceres revealed by crater morphology
Before NASA’s Dawn mission, the dwarf planet Ceres was widely believed to contain a substantial ice-rich layer below its rocky surface. The existence of such a layer has significant implications for Ceres’s formation, evolution, and astrobiological potential. Ceres is warmer than icy worlds in the outer Solar System and, if its shallow subsurface is ice-rich, large impact craters are expected to b
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Carol A. Raymond, Paul M. Schenk, Roger R. Fu, Thomas Kneisl, Jan Hendrick Pasckert, Harald Hiesinger, Frank Preusker, Ryan S. Park, Simone Marchi, Scott King, Julie C. Castillo-Rogez, Christopher T. Russell
Spectral nature of CO2 adsorption onto meteorites
Previous studies have identified carbon dioxide (CO2) on the surfaces of Jovian and Galilean satellites in regions of non-ice material that are too warm for CO2 ice to exist. CO2 ice would quickly sublimate if not retained by a less-volatile material. To ascertain what non-ice species may be responsible for stabilizing this CO2, we performed CO2 gas adsorption experiments on thirteen powdered CM,
Authors
Genesis Berlanga, Charles A Hibbitts, Driss Takir, Draby M Dyar, Elizabeth Sklute