New Evidence for Ancient Life on Mars

Scientists from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) recently announced that a new study they conducted on a famous Martian meteorite found in 1996 lends further credence to the fact that ancient life existed at one point on Mars. The space rock has been a cause for discord in the international scientific community since it was first discovered, and many groups have argued either for or against it containing sings of past Martian life. Using modern techniques, the JSC team determined that early life remains the most plausible explanation for the structures identified in the rocks, ScienceDaily reports.

What's interesting about this new work is that it did not focus directly on studying the ancient meteorites. Instead, the group analyzed the studies that proposed the structures found in the space rocks were not signs of life. Their results are very clear – other origins than lifeforms are not plausible for these particular samples. The investigation comes 14 years after another JSC team, led by scientists David McKay, Everett Gibson and Kathie Thomas-Keprta, published a paper in the highly-regarded journal Science, claiming the discovery of biogenic evidence in the meteorite known as ALH84001.

The recent paper, entitled “Origin of Magnetite Nanocrystals in Martian Meteorite ALH84001,” again revisits the same old hypothesis, but adds additional data to support the claims. Details of the data appear in the November issue of the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta of The Geochemical Society and The Meteoritical Society, and is authored by Thomas-Keprta. Coauthors include experts Simon Clemett, McKay, Gibson and Susan Wentworth, who are all based at the JSC Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate.

“In this study, we interpret our results to suggest that the in situ inorganic hypotheses are inconsistent with the data, and thus infer that the biogenic hypothesis is still a viable explanation,” reveals Thomas-Keprta, who was the lead author of the investigation. He is also a JSC senior scientist for Barrios Technology. “We believe that the biogenic hypothesis is stronger now than when we first proposed it 13 years ago,” adds Gibson, who is a senior scientist at the American space agency.

“The evidence supporting the possibility of past life on Mars has been slowly building up during the past decade. This evidence includes signs of past surface water including remains of rivers, lakes and possibly oceans, signs of current water near or at the surface, water-derived deposits of clay minerals and carbonates in old terrain, and the recent release of methane into the Martian atmosphere, a finding that may have several explanations, including the presence of microbial life, the main source of methane on Earth,” says McKay, who is the JSC chief scientist for exploration and astrobiology.

New Martian Views From Orbiting Camera Show Diversity

New images from more than 750 recent observations of Mars by an orbiting telescopic camera testify to the diversity of landscapes there.

The images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are now available on NASA's Planetary Data System and on the camera team's website. The features visible in the images range from oddly sculpted terrain inside a giant crater to frosted dunes, deformed craters, old gullies and pits strung along fractured ground.

This new batch brings the tally from the high-resolution camera to more than 1.4 million image products derived from more than 14,200 observations. Each observation can reveal features as small as desks in areas covering several square miles.

The camera is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which reached Mars in 2006. For more information about the mission, see http://www.nasa.gov/mro.

Mars Odyssey THEMIS images - April 26-30, 2010

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Auqakuh Vallis (Released 26 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows a small portion of Auqakuh Vallis.
• Daedalia Planum (Released 27 April 2010)
  Some of the youngest volcanic flows on Mars are from Arsia Mons.
• Ascraeus Mons (Released 28 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows part of the northeastern flank of Ascraeus Mons, one of the large Tharsis volcanoes.
• Juventae Chasma (Released 29 April 2010)
  Baetis Chasma is a chasmata near Valles Marineris.
• Galaxias Fossae (Released 30 April 2010)
  The fracture system in this VIS image is part of Galaxias Fossae, a series of fractures on the northern part of the Elysium Mons volcanic complex.

Sand Flows May Have Created Martian Gullies

Martian gullies may have been formed through the action of fluid sand, and not liquid water, a new research shows

For the past 11 years, ever since the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft sent back images of the mid-latitude regions of the Red Planet, astronomers have been obsessed with the gully-like features they noticed in the datasets. The landscape features resembled their Earth-based counterparts significantly, and so experts naturally assumed that the formation process must be the same between the two. But a new study now seems to suggest that this is not the case, and that water is not responsible for the gullies on our neighboring planet, Technology Review reports.

Over time, various theories have argued that the gullies were not in fact formed by water, but by the flow of sand on the surface. Now, a series of experiments appears to validate this assumption and indeed verify that sand flows are responsible for carving out the landscape features. An additional element that seems to support this idea is the vast amount of data sent back by Spirit and Opportunity, the NASA rovers that are currently in their seven year on the planet.

While the new theory does nothing in the way of proposing that water never existed on Mars, it simply draws attention to a number of issues related to the age of the gullies. While the two exploration rovers indeed found signs of water on the Red Planet, the liquid was present at their respective locations billions of years ago, and not sooner. On the other hand, the gullies were found to be only a few million years old. This clearly eliminates the possibility that they were created by water. Some proposed that water from aquifers may be responsible, but the idea does not stand because rain is needed to replenish aquifers, and no such thing exists on Mars.

Scientists at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, led by experts Yolanda Cedillo-Flores and Hector Javier Durand-Manterola, propose a new explanation for the gullies. They say that the formations developed as frozen carbon dioxide in the ground started to sublimate into the Martian atmosphere. This process in turn makes the sand become “fluid,” and start “flowing” even above light slopes. This explanation also accounts for why no gullies exist at the equator or poles. Carbon dioxide cannot freeze at the equator, and cannot unfreeze at the poles, the experts say.

Winter Solstice Just Three Weeks Away For Spirit

Spirit remains silent at her location called "Troy" on the west side of Home Plate. No communication has been received from the rover since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010).

It is likely that Spirit has experienced a low-power fault and has powered off all sub-systems, except her master clock. The rover will use the available solar array energy to recharge her batteries.

When the batteries recover to a sufficient state of charge, Spirit will wake up and begin to communicate. When that does happen, Spirit will also trip an up-loss timer fault.

This fault response will allow the rover to communicate over Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) as well as X-band.

It is not know when the rover will wake up, so the project has been listening for any X-band signal from Spirit through the Deep Space Network every day.

The relay orbiters are also listening over any scheduled UHF relay passes. The winter solstice is just three weeks away (Sol 2261, or May 13, 2010).

Total odometry is unchanged at 7,730.50 meters (4.80 miles).

Microbial Contamination Could Hinder Search for Life on Mars

Microbes and other microorganisms on the outer hull of Mars-bound spacecraft could contaminate the Red Planet with Earth-based lifeforms

After recent scientific studies demonstrated that several species of bacteria can endure in the harsh conditions of outer space for prolonged periods of time, space engineers have begun wondering on how to prevent cross-contamination in space exploration. Given the large number of mission destined for Mars that will search for signs of past life there, resolving the issues related to the possibility of cross-contamination between indigenous life forms and Earth-based microorganisms becomes of the utmost importance. New sterilization mechanisms need to be devised, and fast, scientists say.

Even if a trip to the Red Planet lasts several months at least, some species of Earth bacteria may be able to endure on the outer hull of the spacecraft. Once that particular mission reaches its destination and lands, the microorganisms could easily contaminate the Martian landscape with alien lifeforms. Scenarios related to these possible events are published in the April issue of the esteemed scientific journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, PhysOrg reports.

The new paper is very important to the Mars Exploration Program and the Astrobiology Institutes, both NASA initiatives centered on finding life, or signs of past life, on the Red Planet. At this point, machines departing for our neighboring planet are subjected to thorough and careful decontamination procedures, which are meant to ensure that the smallest amount possible of microorganisms make their way to space, and then to Mars. However, the clean-up mechanisms are not perfect, and several kinds of microbial populations endure on the outer hull of spacecrafts, experts say.

“If long-term microbial survival is possible on Mars, then past and future explorations of Mars may provide the microbial inoculum for seeding Mars with terrestrial life. Thus, a diversity of microbial species should be studied to characterize their potential for long term survival on Mars,” say investigators from the University of Central Florida. The team here emulated Martian conditions in a test laboratory, and determined that certain bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, could survive on the planet, even though it would still have some problems multiplying.

Mars Odyssey THEMIS images - April 12-16, 2010

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Candor Chasma (Released 12 April 2010)
  This VIS image of Candor Chasma contains eroded deposits of material and a large landslide deposit.
• Hecates Tholus (Released 13 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows the southeastern flank of Hecates Tholus, the northernmost volcano of the Elysium Volcanic complex.
• Terra Sabaea (Released 14 April 2010)
  The northern part of Terra Sabaea is heavily fractured and channeled, breaking up into a chaotic terrain as the elevation drops down to the northern plains.
• Arabia Terra (Released 15 April 2010)
  Dark slope streaks mark this crater rim.
• Coprates Chasma (Released 16 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows a portion of the floor of Coprates Chasma.

HiRISE images for April 14, 2010

The following new captioned and spotlight images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• New Impact Crater
  This small crater (approximately 7 meters, or 20 feet, in diameter) was created sometime within the last five years. We know this because we have enough images of Mars over the last decade that we can narrow down its formation date using "before" images where the crater did not appear.
• Comic and Tragic Craters
  The subimage shows two craters on Mars that are reminiscent of the Greek muses of comedy and tragedy.
• Gully Grab Bag in Crater Wall, Terra Sirenum Region
  This observation shows the complex, gullied western wall of a kilometer-deep impact crater in the Terra Sirenum region.
• Scalloped Topography in Peneus Patera Crater
  This image, near the southeast rim of Peneus Patera crater, is marked by depressions in the mantle with scalloped edges.
• Layers Exposed on Slope in Echus Chasma Region
  The layers seen in this HiRISE subimage of Echus Chasma are very different from the light-toned, thinly bedded layers HiRISE has observed in deposits seen elsewhere in Valles Marineris.

No Peep From Phoenix In Third Odyssey Listening Stint

NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter heard no signal from the Phoenix Mars Lander when it listened from orbit while passing over Phoenix 60 times last week.

Odyssey had also listened for a signal from Phoenix during periods in January and February. During the third campaign, April 5 through April 9, the sun stayed above the horizon continuously at the arctic site where Phoenix completed its mission in 2008.

The solar-powered lander examined ice, soil and atmosphere at the site for two months longer than its planned three-month mission before succumbing to seasonal decline in sunlight. It was not designed to withstand winter conditions.

However, in case it did, NASA has used Odyssey to listen for the signals that Phoenix would have transmitted if abundant spring sunshine revived the lander.

"In the unlikely event that Phoenix had survived the harsh Martian arctic winter and been able to achieve a power-positive state with the return of continuous sunshine, there is a very high likelihood that one or more of these 60 overflights would have overlapped with a transmission attempt by the lander," said Chad Edwards, chief telecommunications engineer for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

"This was the last of our three planned Phoenix search campaigns. The Mars program will evaluate the results in hand to assess whether further action is warranted," Edwards said.

Picking Up Pace To Endeavour Crater

Endeavour crater will be the final destination for Opporitnity.

Opportunity has picked up the pace a little as she presses on toward Endeavour crater, recharging her batteries between drives.

First, the rover must clear a region of large ripples, so Opportunity is heading south before the turn to the East. Sols 2206 (April 8, 2010) and 2208 (April 10, 2010), each saw a roughly 50-meter (164-foot) drive straight south.

On Sol 2211 (April 13, 2010), Opportunity drove 30 meters (98 feet) east, deliberately crossing a series of ripples to collect terrain data that will be used to calibrate simulation software. That software will help design future drives.

The right-front and right-middle wheel are exhibiting modestly elevated motor current levels, which the project continues to watch. The plan ahead is more driving. As of Sol 2211 (April 13, 2010), the solar array energy production was 227 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.347 and a dust factor of 0.474.

Total odometry is 20,385.31 meters (20.39 kilometers, or 12.67 miles).

Mars Odyssey THEMIS images - April 5-9, 2010

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Arsia Mons Flows (Released 5 April 2010)
  The lava flows in this VIS image are part of the extensive flow field of Arsia Mons.
• Arkhanglesky Crater Dunes (Released 6 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows part of the dune field located on the floor of Arkhangelsky Crater.
• Wind Effects (Released 7 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows some of the effects that wind action has on the surface of Mars.
• Sabis Vallis (Released 8 April 2010)
  A section of Sabis Vallis is shown in today's VIS image.
• Eastern Coprates Chasma (Released 9 April 2010)
  This VIS image of the eastern end of Coprates Chasma contains a landslide deposit and sand dunes.

HiRISE images for April 7, 2010

The following new captioned and spotlight images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• Faulted Layered Bedrock in Noctus Labyrinthus
  A portion of this observation shows layered bedrock that has been faulted and tilted.
• Fading Young Impact Crater
  This image shows a new impact crater that formed on Mars between May 2002 and February 2004. It was discovered in data from the Mars Odyssey Mission THEMIS instrument and later confirmed to be an impact crater by the Context Camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
• Monitor Spirit Landing Site for Aeolian Changes
  This observation covers the Columbia Hills and the surrounding plains of Gusev Crater, which the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been exploring since January 2004. Repeat images of this site have been acquired to study aeolian (wind-related) changes on the surface.
• Polygonal Patterned Ground
  From a distance, the floor of this crater looks like a giant honeycomb or spider web. The intersecting shapes, or polygons, commonly occur in the northern lowlands of Mars.
• Avalanche Clouds
  This HiRISE image shows at least three isolated clouds of particles near a steep cliff in the northern polar region of Mars.

San Diego Team Delivers Camera for Next Mars Rover

The Mastcam instrument for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will use a side-by side pair of cameras for examining terrain around the mission's rover. Right is a sample image from Mastcam 34 of Mastcam Principal Investigator Michael Malin. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Malin Space Science Systems, Inc. (MSSS), has delivered the last two of four science cameras it developed for the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory 2011 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover mission. These cameras, known collectively as the Mast Camera (or Mastcam--see Figure 1a and b) are designed to be the science imaging "workhorse" for the MSL rover. The cameras, capable of taking full color images analogous to those taken by consumer digital cameras, will be mounted on the rover's remote sensing mast, where they can be panned and tilted to proved image coverage around the rover, both near the rover and out to the horizon. One of the two Mastcams has a telephoto lens, providing the rover with a long-distance reconnoitering capability. Also delivered to JPL for MSL with the two Mastcams was the Digital Electronics Assembly (DEA), which compresses and buffers the images from the Mast Cameras, and the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and Mars Descent Imager (MARDI), cameras also developed by MSSS for the MSL mission.

Figure 1a. The Mast Camera 34 mm fixed focal length flight camera head with a Swiss Army Knife (88.9 mm; 3.5 inches long) for scale. The Mastcam 34 consists of a refractive optics with a focus mechanism and a filter wheel, and a CCD sensor and associated electronics. Figure credit: Malin Space Science Systems.

Figure 1b. The Mast Camera 100 mm fixed focal length flight camera head with a Swiss Army Knife (88.9 mm; 3.5 inches long) for scale. The Mastcam 100 is a duplicate of the 34 mm Mastcam except for the lens, which has three times the focal length. The only external indication of which camera is which is that the front baffle opening for the Mastcam 100 is smaller than the front baffle opening of the Mastcam 34. Figure credit: Malin Space Science Systems.

The Mastcams were transported from the MSSS facility in San Diego to JPL on 17 March 2010 for an extremely sensitive contamination measurement. Prior the contamination test, the each camera was shown to be operating normally and capable of taking in-focus images (Figure 2). The contamination test was completed satisfactorily on 18 March, and instrument functionality was verified in testing the following day. The cameras and the DEA now await integration with the MSL rover.

Figure 2. During post-transportation instrument checkout in the Building 306 Low Bay Cleanroom at JPL, the Mastcam 34 mm flight unit was used to take this picture of Dr. Michael Malin, the Mastcam's Principal Investigator. A test target derived from the "1951 U. S. Air Force Resolution Chart" can be used to determine the spatial resolution of the camera as a function of contrast, a standardized test to demonstrate that the camera is functioning properly and that the optics have not experienced any change during transport to JPL. In this image, the camera is demonstrating a resolution of about 4.5 line pairs per millimeter (9 pixels per mm, or about 111 micrometers per pixel) at a distance of 2 meters. Figure credit: Malin Space Science Systems.

The Mastcam focus and filter wheels are driven by precision mechanisms developed by Alliance Spacesystems (www.alliancespacesystems.com). The focus mechanism uses a stepper motor to position an internal focus group by means of a cam. The filter wheel mechanisms use stepper motors to drive 8-filter wheels to position the desired color filters in front of each camera's CCD detector.
The versions of the Mastcams delivered to JPL have fixed focal lengths (34 mm and 100 mm), and relatively small fields of view (15 degrees and 5 degrees). They would be used to build up coverage of the martian landscape around the rover from a series of small individual images.

The two Mastcams were originally proposed to have the identical 15:1 zoom (variable focal length) lenses on each camera [each camera could image from 100 mm focal length (telephoto) down to 6.5 mm focal length (wide angle)]. NASA directed that the development of the zoom lens be abandoned in 2007 as a cost saving measure, and the Fixed Focal Length Mastcams just delivered were developed to replace the zoom versions. With the two completed and delivered fixed focal length cameras in hand, NASA recently decided to fund completion of the zoom cameras by the Mastcam team, with the possibility of swapping out the old cameras for the new ones provided they can be assembled and tested in the time remaining before the MSL rover begins final testing early next year. The effort to build the zoom lens cameras has just started at MSSS.

"Restoring the zoom is not a science issue," said Michael Malin, Mastcam Principal Investigator, "although there will be some science benefits." "The fixed focal length Mastcams we just delivered will do almost all of the science we originally proposed. But they cannot provide a wide field of view with comparable eye stereo. With the zoom Mastcams, we'll be able to take cinematic video sequences in 3D on the surface of Mars. This will give our public engagement Co-Investigator, James Cameron, tools similar to those he used on his recent 3D motion picture projects."

MSSS has also provided two other cameras for the MSL mission: the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI). The MAHLI, delivered to JPL in October of 2008, will be mounted at the end of the rover's robotic arm, and will be used to acquire very high resolution color images of the grain structure of individual rocks. The MARDI, delivered to JPL in July of 2008, will obtain color images of the martian surface during the descent of the MSL spacecraft to the surface, and may be used during rover traverses to acquire millimeter scale 3D views of the surface beneath the rover.

The Mastcam, MAHLI, and MARDI investigations were selected in 2004 by NASA's Science Mission Directorate in an open competition. The instruments share a common electronics design and were developed by Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., of San Diego, CA, under a single $18.9 million contract with Caltech's NASA-funded Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. MSSS will also be responsible for operating the cameras during the mission to Mars.

MSSS is currently building a camera for the Juno mission to Jupiter, that will also launch in 2011. MSSS built, and is presently operating two cameras onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the Mars Color Imager (MARCI) and the Context Camera (CTX). MARCI provides a daily global weather map of Mars in five colors and two ultraviolet bands. CTX has already mapped more than 53% of Mars at 6 m per pixel resolution. Pictures from these cameras and other activities of the company are described at www.msss.com.

Third and Final Phoenix Listening Campaign Begins

In late 2008, mission managers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, lost contact with the Phoenix Mars Lander. This is the science platform that managed to establish for a fact that water-ice exists at high northern latitudes on Mars. The machine remained operational for longer than it was meant to, and now experts are hopeful that, as the winter of the Red Planet is replaced by spring, the robot will come back to life.

As such, the Mars Odyssey orbiter is currently conducting a new listening campaign, in which it will try to make out potential radio signals sent by the awoken lander. Two other campaigns of this nature have been conducted over the past couple of months, but thus far they have yielded no palpable result. Experts hope that, as time passes, the amount of sunlight bathing the robot will be enough to make it get out of the “Lazarus mode” they hope it is in at this point. This is a special feature that has been built into the machine for this very purpose, but no one is sure whether it would actually work.

As the Martian winter set in at the high latitudes Phoenix landed in, it battered the machine with extremely cold temperatures, at the same time preventing sunlight from reaching it. If, however, sufficient energy remained in its batteries, it will awaken, and start to transmit messages, in an attempt to contact available orbiters around Mars. Still, NASA officials cannot afford to detour Odyssey – in orbit around the Red Planet since 2001 – from its regular science duties for a long time.

Throughout next week, Odyssey will conduct about 60 flights above Phoenix's location, which is currently bathed in sunlight throughout the day. NASA experts say that, if the solar panels endured the winter without suffering irreparable damage, then they should have enough power by now to allow for the lander to communicate telemetry data about itself. They add that the January and February campaigns were somewhat of a long shot, given that the amount of sunlight, which reached Phoenix at the time was clearly insufficient to allow for its revival. However, they add that, even now, the probability of the lander waking up is still remote, Space reports.

Mars Odyssey THEMIS images - March 29-April 2, 2010

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Ceranus Tholus (Released 29 March 2010)
  This VIS image shows the western edge of the summit caldera of Ceranus Tholus, one of the smaller volcanic constructs of the Tharsis region.
• Coprates Catena (Released 30 March 2010)
  This VIS image shows a small portion of the floor of Coprates Catena.
• Tithonium Chasma (Released 31 March 2010)
  Today's VIS image is of part of Tithonium Chasma, part of the western side of Valles Marineris.
• Aurorae Chaos (Released 1 April 2010)
  The landslide deposit in this VIS image is located in Aurorae Chaos.
• Bahram Vallis (Released 2 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows a section of Bahram Vallis.

HiRISE images for March 31, 2010

The following new captioned images based on HighWish suggestions taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• Icy Layers and Climate Fluctuations at the Martian North Pole
  Sometimes icy layers can be ablated away during warm climates. Later the ice sheet can be buried by new ice layers and grow in size again; it's likely that many of these cycles have occurred over the ice sheet's history.
• Lobate Debris Apron in Deuteronilus Mensae
  This observation is located in the Deuteronilus Mensae region along the highland/lowland dichotomy boundary in the Northern hemisphere of Mars.
• Dust-Mantled Topography Near Zephyria Tholus
  This image covers some high-standing topography just outside the rim of an approximately 30 kilometer diameter impact crater.
• Deposits on the Floor of Palos Crater
  This image shows a portion of the floor in Palos Crater. The floor appears bumpy with high-standing layered knobs.
• Samara Valles
  Samara Valles is one of the longest ancient valley systems on Mars. This system traverses over 1000 kilometers towards the northwest across the heavily cratered Southern highlands eroding into the gentle slopes of Terra Meridiani.
• Collapsing Volcano
  This image covers the northern edge of the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. The margin of Olympus Mons is defined by a massive, tall cliff.
• Mesas in Aureum Chaos
  This image reveals the meter-scale surface textures of mesas and knobs in the Aureum Chaos region of Mars.
• Boulder Strewn Plain in Northern Utopia Planitia
  Common to the northern plains of Mars are rock and boulder strewn landscapes otherwise devoid of major features, short of a few impact craters.

Opportunity Finished Investigating Concepcion Crater

Image comment: Photo from Martian orbit, showing Opportunity (1 o'clock position - a darker spot) on the rim of Concepción Crater, on Mars
Image credits: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona

MER mission managers from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, announce that the rover Opportunity has just finished a six-week-long analysis of an odd, young crater. Called Concepción, the formation is no larger than ten meters (or 33 feet) in diameter, but it proved to be very interesting from a geological perspective. As the rover was investigating it, the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft snapped a photo of the two from the Red Planet's orbit.

Though the explorations robot accumulated impressive amounts of data on the crater during its six-week stay, preliminary analysis results have left geologists and planetary scientists just as puzzled as they were before beginning the investigation. Rock layers next to the small crater revealed a weird-looking coating, whose composition is still a mystery to researchers. In addition, the structure is surrounded by dark rays, as seen from above, which means that it is relatively very young. This recommended it as a certain target for investigations by Opportunity.

Since the rover landed on the Red Planet, in 2004, it has always navigated above the same type of ground – soft, sulfate-rich sandstone. These lands feature harder, peppercorn-size, dark spheres, which geologists say resemble berries in a muffin. They are also very rich in iron deposits, experts say, and they are generally referred to as “blueberries.”

“It was clear from the images that Opportunity took on the approach to Concepción that there was strange stuff on lots of the rocks near the crater. There's dark, grayish material coating faces of the rocks and filling fractures in them. At least part of it is composed of blueberries jammed together as close as you could pack them. We've never seen anything like this before,” the principal investigator for the MER mission, Steve Squyres, says. The expert holds an appointment at the Ithaca, New York-based Cornell University. He is the person in charge with analyzing the data that Opportunity and Spirit send back from Mars.

“One consideration that jumps out is that we've been driving around this part of Mars for six years and never seen this stuff before, then we get to this young crater and it's coating rocks all around the crater. Sure looks like there's a connection, but it could just be a coincidence,” Matt Golombek, who is a member of the science team managing the two rovers, says.

Opportunity Reaches New Drive Record on Mars

Astronomers announce today that the NASA rover Opportunity managed to break new records on March 24. More than 74 months after arriving on the Red Planet, the machine finally exceeded the 20-kilometer (12.43-mile) mark, meaning that it traveled further away than any other robotic explorer on Mars. Only a Soviet-built lunar rover traveled more, but that was a lot closer to home, and there are several advantages to a shorter distance. Experts at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), who manage the mission, are understandably ecstatic about this achievement.

Opportunity, just like its twin MER component Spirit, was originally planned to endure for only three months on the Martian surface. After exceeding that duration more than 24 times over, it's safe to say that those who were in charge of building it did a fantastic job. Drivers and mission planners are to be praised for this achievement as well. Also worthy of mention is the fact that the robot has not been driving non-stop since it landed. It has had numerous pit stops along the way, as every time it found an interesting rock it stopped to take a closer look.

It only recently concluded a six-week stay on the rim of Concepción Crater, where it investigated a peculiar layer of material covering the otherwise-uniform rocks that it has been driving over for the past 6 years. The drive that made it achieve the new record took place on the 2,191st Martian day, or sol, of its mission, as the rover was heading southwards, towards the Endeavor Crater, its long-term mission. During the last trek, Opportunity covered some 67 meter, or 220 feet, its managers say. But its target is still a spectacular distance away. The robot needs to go an additional 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) farther to reach Endeavor.

There is currently no reason to believe that the rover won't make it to that location. Its primary systems are looking fine, and its wheels and driving train are in good shape. Naturally, all components are showing signs of aging, given the amount of time it endured on Mars. But, unlike its twin Spirit, the robot doesn't need to stop and shut down its systems for winter, which means that it can be operated around the year. Either way, if Opportunity is to reach Endeavor before old age and technical issues get to it, managers need to hasten the drive maneuvers, while at the same time remaining vigilant to the dangers ahead.

HiRISE images for March 24, 2010

The following new captioned and spotlight images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• DTM: Along the Walls of Bahram Vallis
  Bahram Vallis is a narrow-winding valley (20-22 North, 301-304 East) that terminates at the circum-Chyrse Basin on Mars.
• Layers and Dark Debris in Melas Chasma
  This subimage shows layering in a light-toned deposit in Melas Chasma.
• Signs of Aeolian and Periglacial Activity at Vastitas Borealis
  This observation shows a region of approximately 7 x 7 kilometer (4.4 x 4.4 miles) located in Vastitas Borealis, part of the Northern Plains.
• Opportunity at the Edge of Concepcion Crater
  This image shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity perched on the edge of Concepcion Crater in Meridiani Planum, Mars.
• Deformed Layered Sediments in Western Hellas Planitia
  The western margin of Alpheus Colles (the large plateau in Hellas Planitia) is bound by a large depression that is the deepest point in the Hellas basin and also the lowest terrain on Mars.

Mars Odyssey THEMIS images - Feb 22-24 and Mar 15-19 2010

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Gale Crater (Released 22 February 2010)
  This VIS image shows a portion of the rim and floor of Gale Crater.
• Dunes (Released 23 February 2010)
  This dunes in this VIS image are located on the floor of an unnamed crater in Tyrrhena Terra.
• Pasteur Crater (Released 24 February 2010)
  The small, dark features in this VIS image are sand dunes.
• Sand Dunes (Released 15 March 2010)
  A sand dune field is located on the floor of this unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria.
• Candor Chasma (Released 17 March 2010)
  This large landslide is located in Candor Chasma.
• McLaughlin Crater Dunes (Released 18 March 2010)
  These sand dunes are located on the floor of McLaughlin Crater.
• Candor Chasma (Released 19 March 2010)
  The ridge features at the top of this VIS image are called spurs.