Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Astrobiology

A Clay-Rich Mound In An Eroded Plateau On Mars

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report

A Clay-Rich Mound In An Eroded Plateau On Mars

by Keith CowingJanuary 12, 2024January 12, 2024

These mounds contain bright-toned material which have been found to be clay-bearing with data from the CRISM instrument on MRO.

Mixtures Of Sulfates In Melas Chasma On Mars

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Status Report

Mixtures Of Sulfates In Melas Chasma On Mars

by Keith CowingDecember 26, 2023December 26, 2023

Many locations on Mars have sulfates, which are sedimentary rocks formed in water. Within Valles Marineris, the large canyon system that cuts across the planet, there are big and thick […]

This image taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter shows an oblique view focusing on one of the vast lava flows in Elysium Planitia.ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Recent Volcanism On Mars Reveals A Planet More Active Than Previously Thought

by Keith CowingDecember 20, 2023December 20, 2023

A vast, flat, “featureless” plain on Mars surprised researchers by revealing a much more tumultuous geologic past than expected, according to a study led by researchers at the University of […]

MRO image of gradual movement of ice on Mars

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Status Report

Vast Water Ice Flows On Mars Viewed From Orbit

by Keith CowingDecember 18, 2023December 18, 2023

On Aug. 18, 2023, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured ridged lines carved onto Mars’ landscape by the gradual movement of ice. While surface ice deposits are mostly limited to […]

An overview of the inputs for each step in our processing pipeline. a) A region in the HiRISE image of ESP 018707 2205 is shown at the native resolution (0.3m/px) with a blue box highlighting the window size for our classifier network. b) A 256 x 256 pixel window is used as input for our spatial classifier algorithm however the window is at 1/16 the original resolution (1.2m/px). A grid of 8x8 squares is displayed showing how that image gets tiled and preprocessed using parts of a JPEG encoder which involves the discrete cosine transform (d). c) A single 8x8 tile flattened into a 1d array which is used for the DCT transform (d). e) A block of Fourier coefficients is rearranged into a data cube and used as input for our Fourier classifier. Reducing the image size and ultimately the channel size after the first conv. layer significantly shortens the network’s processing time compared to the spatial image input. -- astro-ph.EP

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrogeology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report

Mapping “Brain Coral” Regions On Mars Using Deep Learning

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2023November 22, 2023

One of the main objectives of the Mars Exploration Program is to search for evidence of past or current life on the planet. To achieve this, Mars exploration has been […]

These Mars global maps show the likely distribution of water ice buried within the upper 3 feet (1 meter) of the planet’s surface and represent the latest data from the Subsurface Water Ice Mapping project, or SWIM. S

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Exposing Impacts On Mars

by Keith CowingNovember 19, 2023November 19, 2023

These Mars global maps show the likely distribution of water ice buried within the upper 3 feet (1 meter) of the planet’s surface and represent the latest data from the […]

NASA’s Perseverance rover captured this view of the location where it will be parked for several weeks during Mars solar conjunction, a period when engineers stop sending commands to spacecraft at the Red Planet. During this time, Mars and Earth are on opposite sides of the Sun, which expels hot, ionized gas that can interfere with radio signals sent between the planets. This image was taken by the rover’s left navigation camera on November 1, 2023, the 960th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech (PH)

Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Mars Missions Will Continue Astrobiology And Astrogeology Research During Solar Conjunction

by Keith CowingNovember 13, 2023November 13, 2023

Rovers and orbiters will continue collecting limited data during a two-week communications pause due to the position of Earth, the Sun, and the Red Planet.