Planetary Science Institute Archives

A Tetracorder map of the Moon showing water absorption areas (with an Earth-based image of the Moon in the center right to establish the boundaries of this map).

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Planetary Orbital Surveys Using A Tetracorder

by Keith CowingJanuary 6, 2025January 6, 2025

In Star Trek, the intrepid explorers use a handheld device called a tricorder to sense, record and compute environmental data. But scientists in the real world have one-upped our fictional friends […]

Map of Miranda's southern hemisphere made using JMARS and a base map by P. M. Schenk (2013). The map is shown to give context to the regional maps of Arden Corona and Elsinore Corona in Figures 4 and 5. The map shows how Arden Corona and Elsinore Corona are on opposite hemispheres from each other and made up of concentric ridges. The upper mapped region represents Elsinore Corona. Elsinore Corona is divided between ropelike folded terrain in the south (ECFT), rugged ridged terrain in the northwest (ECRT) and a mixture of the two terrains to the northeast (ECMT). Ridges are positive relief grooves. Furrows are negative relief grooves. The lower region represents Arden Corona (AC). Arden Corona is made up of a series of furrows. Prominent impact basins are also mapped for geographic context. Elsinore Corona and Arden Corona are mapped in this figure because their analysis required higher-resolution imagery, but the cratered terrain and Inverness Corona are mapped only in Figure 3 because of lower-resolution requirements, since they were not the main focus of the study. Labels of each unit mapped are added to clarify colors because of transparency issues. -- The Planetary Science Journal

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Miranda, Press Release, Uranus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Is An Ocean Lurking Beneath Miranda?

by Keith CowingNovember 25, 2024November 25, 2024

Uranus’s moon Miranda might have once harbored an ocean beneath its surface, according to research published in the Planetary Science Journal. The work was led by graduate student Caleb Strom […]

Map of the north polar region of Ceres. The color areas are areas that are continuously shadowed over a Ceres year, and therefore very cold. The axis tilt (obliquity) of Ceres slowly changes over time and is currently 4 degrees, but ranged between 2 and 20 degrees over time. The color indicates the maximum obliquity at which a location is in shadow through an entire orbit. Credit: Erwan Mazarico/GSFC.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

History Of Ceres’s Young Cold Traps

by Keith CowingApril 16, 2024April 16, 2024

Ceres, the largest asteroid in our Solar System, harbors a dark secret: Extremely young ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters near its poles. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because […]

An illustration of Mimas’ ice shell evolution, in which the changes in ice shell thickness (y-axis) lag behind the eccentricity decay (inverted x-axis). Time increases to the right of the plot, while eccentricity decreases. Points A, B, and C have associated interior structure cartoons, where the equilibrium ice shell thickness (light blue dashed line, “EQ thickness”) moves to thicker values as the eccentricity drops. Hence, the ice shell will first thin, then achieve temporary thermal equilibrium, and finally thicken. Credit: Alyssa Rhdoen.

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Press Release, Saturn, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Eccentricity Led To A Young Underground Ocean On Mimas

by Keith CowingApril 15, 2024April 15, 2024

Saturn’s moon Mimas could have grown a huge underground ocean as its orbital eccentricity decreased to its present value and caused its icy shell to melt and thin.

Illustration of the uncertainty of Earth's orbit 56 million years ago due to a potential past passage of the Sun-like star HD7977 2.8 million years ago. Each point's distance from the center corresponds to the degree of ellipticity of Earth's orbit, and the angle corresponds to the direction pointing to Earth's perihelion, or closest approach distance to the Sun. 100 different simulations (each with a unique color) are sampled every 1,000 years for 600,000 years to construct this figure. Every simulation is consistent with the modern Solar System's conditions, and the differences in orbital predictions are primarily due to orbital chaos and the past encounter with HD 7977. Credit: N. Kaib/PSI.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

Stellar Cartography: Passing Stars Altered Orbital Changes For Earth And Other Planets

by Keith CowingFebruary 15, 2024February 15, 2024

Stars that pass by our Solar System have altered the long-term orbital evolution of planets, including Earth, and by extension modified our climate.

Thickness maps of the suspected ice-rich portions of the Medusae Fossae Formation deposits. Top panel assumes the deposits are buried by a 300-meter layer of ice-free sediments and the bottom panel assumes a burial depth of 600 meters. Credit: Planetary Science Institute/Smithsonian Institution.

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Vast, Potential Ice-Rich Deposit Found In Mars’ Equatorial Region

by Keith CowingJanuary 19, 2024January 19, 2024

A potential ice-rich portion of the Medusae Fossae Formation deposits may contain the largest volume of water in the equatorial region of Mars.

Detail of an unnamed valley network on Mars. Impact craters are marked with blue and red circles. Craters marked in red postdate the valley network while those marked in blue predate the valley network. Dashed circles have a lower degree of superposition certainty with the valley network. Dashed black line is the mapped valley network. (a) overview of the valley system. The entire basin is outlined in white; the highland areas that have undergone less erosion are outlined in black. (b) detail of the area marked in (a). Credit: MOLA MEGDR, NASA/USGS; THEMIS mosaic, ASU/NASA/USGS; CTX, NASA/MSSS.

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Water May Have Flowed Intermittently in Martian Valleys for Hundreds of Millions of Years

by Keith CowingJanuary 16, 2024January 16, 2024

Using impact craters as a dating tool, Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Alexander Morgan has determined maximum timescales for the formation of Martian valley networks shaped by running water.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Surface Of Enceladus Shields Buried Organics

by Keith CowingDecember 18, 2023December 18, 2023

The Saturnian moon Enceladus presents a unique opportunity in our Solar System to search for evidence of life, given its habitable ocean and plume that deposits organic-bearing ocean material onto […]

A view of Mercury’s north polar chaotic terrain (Borealis Chaos) and the Raditladi and Eminescu craters where evidence of possible glaciers has been identified. Credit: NASA.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mercury, Press Release

Unveiling Mercury’s Geological Mysteries: Salt Glaciers, Primordial Atmosphere, and the New Frontiers of Astrobiology

by Keith CowingNovember 17, 2023November 17, 2023

Scientists from the Planetary Science Institute have uncovered evidence of potential salt glaciers on Mercury, opening a new frontier in astrobiology by revealing a volatile environment that might echo habitability […]

view of Hydraotes Chaos (white outline), including the location of the proposed mud lake (black arrow) -- PSI

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

Searching For Concentrated Biosignatures In An Ancient Martian Mud Lake

by Keith CowingOctober 19, 2023October 19, 2023

A landmark discovery by a collaborative team led by the Planetary Science Institute’s Alexis Rodriguez has unveiled evidence of sedimentary plains created by aquifer drainage within Martian collapse formations termed […]