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Previous Evidence of Water on Mars Now Identified as Grainflows
Dark features previously proposed as evidence for significant liquid water flowing on Mars have now been identified as granular flows, where sand and dust move rather than liquid water, according to a new article published in Nature Geoscience by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Guiding Rovers for Safe Mars Exploration
Billions of dollars and a decade worth of research are on the line in the instant that a spacecraft touches down on Mars. When deciding where to land on the planet’s rocky surface, it is essential to analyze potential landing sites and their surface characteristics.
New USGS Maps of Mars Reveal Ancient Oases
A new set of high-resolution geologic maps reveal complex geologic processes that suggest a dynamic, wet environment once existed on early Mars, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Publications
Image mosaic and topographic maps of Mercury
Map DescriptionsSheet 1: This image mosaic is based on observations acquired by the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS; Hawkins and others, 2009), an instrument on the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft (Solomon and others, 2007). The Mercator projection...
Hunter, Marc A.; Hare, Trent M.; Hayward, Rosalyn K.; Chabot, Nancy L.; Hash, Christopher D.; Denevi, Brett W.; Ernst, Carolyn M.; Murchie, Scott L.; Blewett, David T.; Malaret, Erick R.; Solomon, Sean C.; Becker, Kris J.; Becker, Tammy L.; Weller, Lynn A.; Edmundson, Kenneth L.; Neuman, Gregory A.; Mazarico, Erwan; Perry, Mark E.
Mars global digital dune database (MGD3)—Composition, stability, and thermal inertia
The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3) is an online repository that has catalogued dune fields larger than 1 km2 located between latitudes 90° N. and 90° S. The work presented here expands upon previous MGD3 open-file reports, with a new emphasis upon characterizing dune fields through composition, stability, and thermal inertia. Included in...
Gullikson, Amber L.; Hayward, Rosalyn K.; Titus, Timothy N.; Charles, Heather; Fenton, Lori K.; Hoover, Rachael H.; Putzig, Nathaniel E.
Complex bedding geometry in the upper portion of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
The Upper formation of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater exhibits curvilinear bedding patterns on the surfaces of several erosional benches that have been interpreted as cross-bedding. We use High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) stereo topography to test this hypothesis by measuring the bedding geometry within these benches. The bedding...
Anderson, Ryan; Edgar, Lauren; Rubin, David M.; Lewis, Kevin W.; Newman, Claire