Publications
Filter Total Items: 915
The Preventing Harassment in Science workshop: Summary and best practices for planetary science and astrobiology
The NASA-funded Preventing Harassment in Science workshop took place in June of 2020. Here we describe the workshop and summarize the best practices for reducing harassment that were discussed. We include a list of recommendations that can be used to take steps towards reducing harassment in the planetary science and astrobiology community.
Authors
Kristen A. Bennett, Maggie McAdam, Moses Milazzo, Patricia A. Garcia, Jenna L. Shelton, Peggy J. Gardiner, Serina Diniega, Catalina Martinez, Alexandra B. Etheridge, Alicia Rutledge, C. Richey
The Mars Orbiter for Resources, Ices, and Environments (MORIE) science goals and instrument trades in radar, imaging, and spectroscopy
The Mars Orbiter for Resources, Ices, and Environments (MORIE) was selected as one of NASA's 2019 Planetary Mission Concept Studies. The mission builds upon recent discoveries and current knowledge gaps linked to two primary scientific questions: (1) when did elements of the cryosphere form and how are ice deposits linked to current, recent, and ancient climate, and (2) how does the crust record t
Authors
Wendy M. Calvin, Nathaniel E. Putzig, Colin M. Dundas, Ali M Bramson, Briony H. N. Horgan, Kim D Seelos, Hanna G Sizemore, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Gareth A Morgan, John W Holt, Scott L. Murchie, G Wesley Patterson
Alternating wet and dry depositional environments recorded in the stratigraphy of Mt Sharp at Gale Crater, Mars
The Curiosity rover is exploring Hesperian-aged stratigraphy in Gale crater, Mars, where a transition from clay-bearing units to a layered sulfate-bearing unit has been interpreted to represent a major environmental transition of unknown character. We present the first description of key facies in the sulfate-bearing unit, recently observed in the distance by the rover, and propose a model for cha
Authors
William Rapin, Gilles Dromart, Dave Rubin, Laticia Le Deit, Nicolas Mangold, Lauren A. Edgar, Olivier Gasnault, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, S. Lemouelic, Ryan Anderson, S. Maurice, V. Fox, B. L. Ehlmann, J. L. Dickson, R. C. Wiens
Diagenesis revealed by fine-scale features at Vera Rubin ridge, Gale crater, Mars
Fine-scale (submillimeter to centimeter) depositional and diagenetic features encountered during the Curiosity rover's traverse in Gale crater provide a means to understand the geologic history of Vera Rubin ridge (VRR). VRR is a topographically high feature on the lower north slope of Aeolis Mons, a 5-km high stratified mound within Gale crater. We use high-spatial resolution images from the Mars
Authors
Kristen A. Bennett, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Connor Tinker, Briony H. N. Horgan, Deirdra M. Fey, C. S. Edwards, Lauren A. Edgar, Rachel Kronyak, Kenneth S. Edgett, Abigail A. Fraeman, Linda C. Kah, Marie Henderson, Nathan Stein, Erwin Dehouck, Amy Williams
Mars Astrobiological Cave and Internal habitability Explorer (MACIE): A New Frontiers mission concept
Martian subsurface habitability and astrobiology can be evaluated via a lava tube cave, without drilling. MACIE addresses two key goals of the Decadal Survey (2013–2022) and three MEPAG goals. New advances in robotic architectures, autonomous navigation, target sample selection, and analysis will enable MACIE to explore the Martian subsurface.
Authors
C. M. Phillips-Lander, A. Agha-mohamamdi, J. J. Wynne, Timothy N. Titus, N. Chanover, C. Demirel-Floyd, Kyle Uckert, Kaj E. Williams, D Wyrick, J. Blank, Penelope J. Boston, K. Mitchell, A Kereszturi, J. Martin-Torres, S. Shkolyar, N. Bardabelias, S. Datta, K. Retherford, Lydia Sam, A. Bahardwaj, A. Fairén, D. Flannery, Roger C. Wiens
A rock record of complex aeolian bedforms in a Hesperian desert landscape: The Stimson formation as exposed in the Murray Buttes, Gale Crater, Mars
Lithified aeolian strata encode information about ancient planetary surface processes and the climate during deposition. Decoding these strata provides insight regarding past sediment transport processes, bedform kinematics, depositional landscape, and the prevailing climate. Deciphering these signatures requires a detailed analysis of sedimentary architecture to reconstruct dune morphology, motio
Authors
Steve G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Kenneth S. Edgett, Robert Barnes, Jason K. Van Beek, Jessica A. Watkins, Lauren A. Edgar, Christopher M. Fedo, Rebecca M. E. Williams, Kathryn M. Stack, John P. Grotzinger, Kevin Lewis, Ryan C. Ewing, Mackenzie D. Day, Ashwin R. Vasavada
The role of the Next Generation Lunar Scientists and Engineers (NextGen) group in lunar science and exploration
Founded in 2008, the Next Generation Lunar Scientists and Engineers (NextGen) is a group of students and early career professionals who have a vision and passion for lunar science and exploration. NextGen organizes professional development opportunities through workshops and networking events that are designed to provide resources and training for scientists and engineers so that they are prepared
Authors
Ryan Watkins, Lillian R. Ostrach, Sarah Valencia, Amanda Stadermann, Lora Bleacher, Noah E. Petro, Tess Caswell, Amy Fagan, Erica Jawin, Heather Meyer, Deanna Phillips, Hannah O'Brien
Airborne dust plumes lofted by dislodged ice blocks at Russell Crater, Mars
Linear dune gullies on poleward-facing Martian slopes are enigmatic. Formation by CO2-ice block or snow cornice falls has been proposed based on optical imagery of bright, high-albedo features inside gully channels. Because these features often resemble patchy frost residue rather than three-dimensional blocks, more evidence is needed to support the ice-block formation mechanism. Satellite imagery
Authors
Cynthia L. Dinwiddie, Timothy N. Titus
Airborne dust plumes lofted by dislodged ice blocks at Russell crater, Mars
Linear dune gullies on poleward‐facing Martian slopes are enigmatic. Formation by CO2‐ice block or snow cornice falls has been proposed based on optical imagery of bright, high‐albedo features inside gully channels. Because these features often resemble patchy frost residue rather than three‐dimensional blocks, more evidence is needed to support the ice‐block formation mechanism. Satellite imagery
Authors
Cynthia Dinwiddie, Timothy N. Titus
The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mast camera zoom (Mastcam-Z) multispectral, stereoscopic imaging investigation
Mastcam-Z is a multispectral, stereoscopic imaging investigation on the Mars 2020 mission’s Perseverance rover. Mastcam-Z consists of a pair of focusable, 4:1 zoomable cameras that provide broadband red/green/blue and narrowband 400-1000 nm color imaging with fields of view from 25.6° × 19.2° (26 mm focal length at 283 μrad/pixel) to 6.2° × 4.6° (110 mm focal length at 67.4 μrad/pixel). The camera
Authors
J. F. Bell, J. N. Maki, G. L. Mehall, M. A. Ravine, M. A. Caplinger, Z. J. Bailey, S. Brylow, J. A. Schaffner, K. M. Kinch, M. B. Madsen, A. Winhold, A. G. Hayes, P. Corlies, C. Tate, M. Barrington, E. Cisneros, E. Jensen, Katy L. Parise, Kelon Crawford, C. Rojas, L. Mehall, J. Joseph, J. B. Proton, N. Cluff, R. G. Deen, B. Betts, Edward A. Cloutis, A. J. Coates, Anthony Colaprete, K. S. Edgett, B. L. Ehlmann, Sarah A. Fagents, J. P. Grotzinger, C. Hardgrove, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Briony H. N. Horgan, R. Jaumann, J. R. Johnson, M. T. Lemmon, G. Paar, M Caballo-Perucha, S. Gupta, C Traxler, F. Preusker, M. S. Rice, M. S. Robinson, N. Schmitz, R. Sullivan, M. J. Wolff
Availability of subsurface water-ice resources in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars
Multiple nations and private entities are pushing to make landing humans on Mars a reality. The majority of proposed mission architectures envision ‘living off the land’ by leveraging Martian water-ice deposits for fuel production and other purposes. Fortunately for mission designers, water ice exists on Mars in plentiful volumes. The challenge is isolating accessible ice deposits within regions t
Authors
Gareth A Morgan, Nathaniel E Putzig, Matthew R Perry, Hanna G Sizemore, Ali M Bramson, Eric I Petersen, Zach M Bain, David M H Baker, Marco Mastrogiuseppe, Rachel H Hoover, Isaac B. Smith, Asmin V Pathare, Colin M. Dundas, Bruce A Campbell
Modern Mars' geomorphological activity, driven by wind, frost, and gravity
Extensive evidence of landform-scale martian geomorphic changes has been acquired in the last decade, and the number and range of examples of surface activity have increased as more high-resolution imagery has been acquired. Within the present-day Mars climate, wind and frost/ice are the dominant drivers, resulting in large avalanches of material down icy, rocky, or sandy slopes; sediment transpor
Authors
Serina Diniega, Ali M Bramson, Bonnie J. Buratti, Peter Buhler, Devon M. Burr, Matthew Chojnacki, Susan J. Conway, Colin M. Dundas, Candice J. Hansen, Alfred S. McEwen, Mathieu G.A. Lapotre, Joseph S. Levy, Lauren McKeown, Sylvain Piqueux, Ganna Portyankina, Christy Swann, Timothy N. Titus, Jacob Widmer