[NASA]. This image taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover’s now-empty lander, the Challenger Memorial Station, at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The image was […]
Gusev Crater
Posted inMars
A Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum For Undisturbed Soils From Gusev Crater, Mars
[Springer Nature] Mössbauer analyses from MIMOS II data collected on Mars provided breakthrough insights into iron mineralogy of the planet’s surface. [Life] Resulting from limited measurement time, science operations were […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Exploring Northeast Syrtis via Jezero Crater
One of the final three candidate landing sites for the Mars 2020 mission was northeast Syrtis, along with Gusev Crater/Columbia Hills and the eventual landing site for the Perseverance rover, […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Recovery of Lipid Biomarkers in Hot Spring Digitate Silica Sinter as Analogs for Potential Biosignatures on Mars
Digitate siliceous sinter deposits are common in geothermal environments. They form via evaporation and precipitation of cooling silica-rich fluids and passive microbial templating.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mars, Sample Return, Status Report
Phosphates on Mars and Their Importance as Igneous, Aqueous, and Astrobiological Indicators
This paper reviews the phosphate phases in meteorites and those measured by landed spacecraft, what they reveal about past igneous and aqueous conditions on Mars, and important implications for potential […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Possible Meteorites in the Martian Hills
From its winter outpost at “Low Ridge” inside Gusev Crater, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this spectacular, color mosaic of hilly, sandy terrain and two potential iron meteorites. The […]