A new paper published in Icarus describes, maps and dates how glaciers and glacial runoff sculpted the northeastern rim of Mars’ Hellas basin over the last 3 billion years. The […]
PSI
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release, Venus
Looking For Ancient Rock Beyond Earth
Earth’s continents are each different and have changed through time, but they all have one thing in common — the presence of one or more cratons, forming their ancient nuclei. […]
Posted inAstrogeology, 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
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.
Posted inMars
Evidence of More Recent Presence of Water on Mars Revealed
Two papers on which Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Alexander Morgan is an author help explain what happened to water on Mars. “Together, these papers describe how Mars had liquid […]
Posted inAnalog Studies
Multiple Lab Analyses of Antarctic Minerals Offer a Better Understanding of Mars
Results of multiple and complementary lab analyses of minerals found in samples of material from Antarctica could give scientists a better understanding of the surface and subsurface environment of Mars, […]
Posted inCeres
Traces of Ceres' Icy Crust Found at Occator Crater
Anomalies in the distribution of hydrogen at Occator crater on the dwarf planet Ceres reveal an icy crust, says a new paper led by Tom Prettyman, a Senior Scientist at […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
Less Restrictive 'Bioburden' Rules Would Make Some Mars Missions Simpler
A new report that could make it simpler to send spacecraft to some areas of Mars while still protecting the planet from Earth-based contamination was presented today at a press […]
Posted inPress Release, Titan
Titan's Lakes Can Stratify Like Those on Earth
Lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan, composed of methane, ethane, and nitrogen rather than water, experience density driven stratification, forming layers similar to lakes on Earth. However, whereas lakes on Earth […]
Posted inMercury, Press Release
Vast Collapsed Terrains on Mercury Might be Windows Into Ancient – Possibly Habitable – Volatile-Rich Materials
New research raises the possibility that some parts of Mercury’s subsurface, and those of similar planets in the galaxy, once could have been capable of fostering prebiotic chemistry, and perhaps […]
Posted inMars, Press Release
Salt Water May Periodically Form on the Surface of Mars
Briny water may form on the surface of Mars a few days per year, research by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Norbert Schorghofer shows. Liquid water is difficult to come […]