[NASA] Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA […]
crater
Posted inMars
A Mars Impact Crater Surrounded By Chunks Of Water Ice
[NASA] Boulder-size blocks of water ice can be seen around the rim of this giant meteoroid impact crater on Mars, as viewed by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE camera) […]
Posted inEnceladus
The Enceladian Crater Production Function
[astro-ph.EP]. Interpreting Enceladus’s past and present surface history and interior state remains challenging, owing to uncertain prescription of its impact bombardment history and limited interpretation of its crater statistics. Further […]
Posted inMars
ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover Recon: Geological History Of Oxia Planum
[NASA] This crater contains exposures in the rim that can corroborate prevailing hypotheses for Oxia Planum’s geologic history ahead of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover’s landing, currently planned for 2030. […]
Posted inMars
Cracks In A Martian Crater’s Ice
[NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA] Many impact craters on Mars were filled with ice in past climates. Sometimes this ice flows or slumps down the crater walls into the center and acquires concentric wrinkles […]
Posted inMars
Martian Geology: Possible Evidence Of Glacial Processes
At the southern section of the floor of an impact crater is this stunning lobate (tongue-shaped) debris apron with surface banding showing high sinuosity.
Posted inMars
An Interesting Crater In Valles Marineris
[ESA] Along the equator of Mars, CaSSIS spotted a couple of interesting craters in Ganges Chasma, a mineralogically diverse canyon in the far-eastern portion of Valles Marineris.
![(A) Summary interpolation of the extent of bedrock geologic units based on in situ mapping. The width of the mapping corridor is ∼120 m. White dots are positions occupied during the traverse for which images are available for mapping. (B) Summary of interpreted stratigraphic relationships between identified lithologic units along the Jezero crater floor traverse (A and B adapted from Crumpler et al., 2023; Fig. 19). (C) Orbital image of Jezero crater floor with the path of the Perseverance overlaid in white. (D) Inset of the crater floor campaign, with all Máaz abrasion patches shown (Guillaumes, Montpezat, Bellegarde, and Alfalfa), and the OEB (Octavia E. Butler) landing site indicated. The Guillaumes and Alfalfa abrasions are highlighted, as they are the focus of this article (altered from NASA). -- [Astrobiology (journal)]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/The-Possible-Aqueous.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inMars
The Possible Aqueous Origins of Manganese Alteration Minerals in the Máaz Formation of Jezero Crater
[Astrobiology (journal)] Home to a lake around 4 billion years ago, Jezero Crater is a unique location to study the interplay between igneous processes and aqueous alteration on ancient Mars.
Posted inMars
Perseverance Rover Provides A Record of Ancient Mars Impacts
[NASA] Old rocks exposed on the rim of Jezero Crater preserve a roughly 4-billion-year-old cosmic “weather report” from the solar system’s most dynamic era.
Posted inMars
Water Ice Inside A Martian Crater
[ESA] Like a sprinkle of powdered sugar on a rich red velvet cake, this scene from the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captures the contrasting colours of bright white water-ice […]