Earth has had at least 5 major ice ages. Now it appears Mars – the next planet outward from the sun – has undergone anywhere from half a dozen to 20 ice ages in the past several hundred million years. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-evidence-for-multiple-ice-ages-on-mars…
Tag: hirise
Billion-year-old Martian dunes reveal planet’s history
The discovery of near-perfectly preserved billion-year-old Martian dunes is helping scientists to unravel the geologic and climatic history of the red planet. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/billion-year-old-martian-dunes-reveal-planet-history…
The colorful walls of an exposed impact crater on Mars
Impact craters have been called the “poor geologists’ drill,” since they allow scientists to look beneath to the subsurface of a planet without actually digging down. It’s estimated that Mars has over 600,000 craters, so there’s plenty of opportunity to peer into the red planet’s strata—especially with the incredible HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,…
Scientists use AI to find tiny craters on Mars
All these years, NASA scientists have laboriously sifted through spacecraft images, to identify and classify markings on Mars. Now they’re using a new “classifier,” powered by artificial intelligence. What takes a human 40 minutes takes the AI tool an average of just 5 seconds. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nasa-artifical-intelligence-spots-craters-on-mars…
Amazing photos in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter celebration
NASA has posted a sampling of some of the most awe-inspiring photos of Mars, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They are proof that Mars is a very photogenic world. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-photos-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter-15th-anniversary…
Today in science: Asaph Hall finds Mars moon Phobos
On this date in 1877, American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered the first small moon known to be orbiting Mars. Scientists now think this moon – called Phobos – is the latest incarnation of a cyclic ring-moon formation process that goes back billions of years. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-asaph-hall-discovers-a-moon-for-mars…
The caved-in roof of a lava tube could be a good place to explore on Mars
Want to look inside a deep, dark pit on Mars? The scientists and engineers from the NASA’s HiRISE Camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have done just that. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-02-caved-in-roof-lava-tube-good.html…
HiRISE views NASA’s InSight and Curiosity on Mars
The HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recently sent home eye-catching views of the agency’s InSight lander and its Curiosity rover. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-10-hirise-views-nasa-insight-curiosity.html…
Using 3-D models in the search for Mars life
Maps are handy for travel. But what if you’re traveling to a place never before visited? For the ExoMars mission, due to launch next summer, scientists have developed new 3-D models of the area to be explored, which may be an old Martian river delta. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/rosalind-franklin-rover-exomars-3d-models-mars-life-search…
Image: HiRISE spots Curiosity rover at Mars’ Woodland Bay
A dramatic Martian landscape can be seen in a new image taken from space, showing NASA’s Curiosity rover examining a location called “Woodland Bay.” It’s just one of many stops the rover has made in an area referred to as the “clay-bearing unit” on the side of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain inside of Gale Crater. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-07-image-hirise-curiosity-rover-mars.html…