Downselection of Landing Sites Proposed for the Mars 2020 Rover Mission
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Imaginative Geographies of Mars: the Science and Significance of the Red Planet, 1877 - 1910
Copyright by Kristina Maria Doyle Lane 2006 The Dissertation Committee for Kristina Maria Doyle Lane Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: IMAGINATIVE GEOGRAPHIES OF MARS: THE SCIENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RED PLANET, 1877 - 1910 Committee: Ian R. Manners, Supervisor Kelley A. Crews-Meyer Diana K. Davis Roger Hart Steven D. Hoelscher Imaginative Geographies of Mars: The Science and Significance of the Red Planet, 1877 - 1910 by Kristina Maria Doyle Lane, B.A.; M.S.C.R.P. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2006 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to Magdalena Maria Kost, who probably never would have understood why it had to be written and certainly would not have wanted to read it, but who would have been very proud nonetheless. Acknowledgments This dissertation would have been impossible without the assistance of many extremely capable and accommodating professionals. For patiently guiding me in the early research phases and then responding to countless followup email messages, I would like to thank Antoinette Beiser and Marty Hecht of the Lowell Observatory Library and Archives at Flagstaff. For introducing me to the many treasures held deep underground in our nation’s capital, I would like to thank Pam VanEe and Ed Redmond of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. For welcoming me during two brief but productive visits to the most beautiful library I have seen, I thank Brenda Corbin and Gregory Shelton of the U.S. -
Martian Crater Morphology
ANALYSIS OF THE DEPTH-DIAMETER RELATIONSHIP OF MARTIAN CRATERS A Capstone Experience Thesis Presented by Jared Howenstine Completion Date: May 2006 Approved By: Professor M. Darby Dyar, Astronomy Professor Christopher Condit, Geology Professor Judith Young, Astronomy Abstract Title: Analysis of the Depth-Diameter Relationship of Martian Craters Author: Jared Howenstine, Astronomy Approved By: Judith Young, Astronomy Approved By: M. Darby Dyar, Astronomy Approved By: Christopher Condit, Geology CE Type: Departmental Honors Project Using a gridded version of maritan topography with the computer program Gridview, this project studied the depth-diameter relationship of martian impact craters. The work encompasses 361 profiles of impacts with diameters larger than 15 kilometers and is a continuation of work that was started at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas under the guidance of Dr. Walter S. Keifer. Using the most ‘pristine,’ or deepest craters in the data a depth-diameter relationship was determined: d = 0.610D 0.327 , where d is the depth of the crater and D is the diameter of the crater, both in kilometers. This relationship can then be used to estimate the theoretical depth of any impact radius, and therefore can be used to estimate the pristine shape of the crater. With a depth-diameter ratio for a particular crater, the measured depth can then be compared to this theoretical value and an estimate of the amount of material within the crater, or fill, can then be calculated. The data includes 140 named impact craters, 3 basins, and 218 other impacts. The named data encompasses all named impact structures of greater than 100 kilometers in diameter. -
Columbus Crater HLS2 Hangout: Exploration Zone Briefing
Columbus Crater HLS2 Hangout: Exploration Zone Briefing Kennda Lynch1,2, Angela Dapremont2, Lauren Kimbrough2, Alex Sessa2, and James Wray2 1Lunar and Planetary Institute/Universities Space Research Association 2Georgia Institute of Technology Columbus Crater: An Overview • Groundwater-fed paleolake located in northwest region of Terra Sirenum • ~110 km in diameter • Diversity of Noachian & Hesperian aged deposits and outcrops • High diversity of aqueous mineral deposits • Estimated 1.5 km depth of sedimentary and/or volcanic infill • High Habitability and Biosignature Preservation Potential LZ & Field Station Latitude: 194.0194 E Longitude: 29.2058 S Altitude: +910 m SROI #1 RROI #1 LZ/HZ SROI #4 SROI #2 SROI #5 22 KM HiRISE Digital Terrain Model (DTM) • HiRISE DTMs are made from two images of the same area on the ground, taken from different look angles (known as a stereo-pair) • DTM’s are powerful research tools that allow researchers to take terrain measurements and model geological processes • For our traversability analysis of Columbus: • The HiRISE DTM was processed and completed by the University of Arizona HiRISE Operations Center. • DTM data were imported into ArcMap 10.5 software and traverses were acquired and analyzed using the 3D analyst tool. • A slope map was created in ArcMap to assess slope values along traverses as a supplement to topography observations. Slope should be ≤30°to meet human mission requirements. Conclusions Traversability • 9 out of the 17 traverses analyzed met the slope criteria for human missions. • This region of Columbus Crater is traversable and allows access to regions of astrobiological interest. It is also a possible access point to other regions of Terra Sirenum. -
NASA Mars Exploration Strategy: “Follow the Water”
Gullies on Mars -- Water or Not? Allan H. Treiman NASA Mars Exploration Strategy: “Follow the Water” Life W Climate A T Geology E Resources R Evidence of Water on Mars Distant Past Crater Degradation and Valley Networks ‘River’ Channels Flat Northern Lowlands Meteorites Carbonate in ALH84001 Clay in nakhlites MER Rover Sites Discoveries Hydrous minerals: jarosite! Fe2O3 from water (blueberries etc.) Silica & sulfate & phosphate deposits Recent Past (Any liquid?) Clouds & Polar Ice Ground Ice Valley Networks and Degraded Craters 1250 km River Channels - Giant Floods! 225 km 10 km craters River Channels - ‘Normal’ Flows 14 km 1 km River Channels from Rain? 700 km Science, July 2, 2004 19 km Ancient Martian Meteorite ALH84001 MER Opportunity - Heatshield and parachute. Jarosite - A Water-bearing Mineral Formed in Groundwater 3+ KFe3 (SO4)2(OH)6 2 Jarosite = K2SO4 + 3 Fe2O3 + 3 H2SO4 Hematite is in “Blueberries,” which still suggest water. Stone Mountain MER Spirit: Columbia Hills H2O Now: Clouds & Polar Caps Ground Ice – Mars Orbiter GRS Water abundances within a few meters depth of the Martian surface. Wm. Feldman. AAAS talk & Los Alamos Nat’l. Lab. Press Release, 15 Feb. 2003. (SPACE.com report, 16 Feb. 2003) So, Water on Mars !! So? Apparently, Mars has/had lots of water. Lots of evidence for ancient liquid water (> ~2 billion years ago), both surface and underground. Martian Gullies - Liquid Water or Not? Material flows down steep slopes, most commonly interpreted as water-bearing debris flows [Malin and Edgett (2000) Science 288, 2330]. Liquid water is difficult to produce and maintain near Mars’ surface, now. -
Possible Clastic Origin for Olivine-Rich Rocks in the Nili Fossae Region: Implications for NE Syrtis, Midway, and Jezero Landing Site Science
Possible Clastic Origin for Olivine-Rich Rocks in the Nili Fossae Region: Implications for NE Syrtis, Midway, and Jezero Landing Site Science Christopher H. Kremer, John F. Mustard, and Michael S. Bramble Brown University Mars 2020 4th LSW October 17, 2018 Circum-Isidis Olivine-Rich Unit Mustard et al. (2009) Ehlmann and Mustard (2012) Goudge et al. (2015) Exposed at NE Syrtis, Midway, Enriched in Fo68-91 olivine Diversely altered, with exposures (~10-30%), widely distributed of carbonate with local exposures and Jezero including olivine-rich (Hamilton and Christensen, 2005) of serpentine and talc/saponite analog(?) in Columbia Hills (70,000 km2; Kremer et al., In Review) Previous Hypotheses and Observations Basement Olivine-rich unit 30 km 50 km (Rogers et al., 2018) (after Goudge et al., 2015) (Mustard et al., 2009) Moderate thermal inertia, minimal Unit superposes crater that is regolith or craters, yardangs: unit may be Intrusive origin ruled out by younger than the ~1900 km friable, potentially inconsistent with most superposition of basement diameter Isidis impact basin melt rocks unit Previous Hypotheses and Observations Basement Olivine-rich unit 50 km 30 km Kremer et al. In Review (after Goudge et al., 2015) (Mustard et al., 2009) Moderate thermal inertia, minimal Unit superposes crater that is regolith or craters, yardangs: unit may be Intrusive origin ruled out by younger than the ~1900 km friable, potentially inconsistent with most superposition of basement diameter Isidis impact basin melt rocks unit Hypotheses for Origins of Olivine-Rich Unit ??? Intrusive complex? Lava? (Hamilton and Non-Isidis Impact Sand lag deposit, erg, Volcanic ash?? (Hoefen et al., 2003) Christensen, 2005; condensate or or other epiclastic Tornabene et al., 2008) ejecta? (Rogers et al. -
Mineralogy of the Martian Surface
EA42CH14-Ehlmann ARI 30 April 2014 7:21 Mineralogy of the Martian Surface Bethany L. Ehlmann1,2 and Christopher S. Edwards1 1Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125; email: [email protected], [email protected] 2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109 Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2014. 42:291–315 Keywords First published online as a Review in Advance on Mars, composition, mineralogy, infrared spectroscopy, igneous processes, February 21, 2014 aqueous alteration The Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences is online at earth.annualreviews.org Abstract This article’s doi: The past fifteen years of orbital infrared spectroscopy and in situ exploration 10.1146/annurev-earth-060313-055024 have led to a new understanding of the composition and history of Mars. Copyright c 2014 by Annual Reviews. Globally, Mars has a basaltic upper crust with regionally variable quanti- by California Institute of Technology on 06/09/14. For personal use only. All rights reserved ties of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine associated with distinctive terrains. Enrichments in olivine (>20%) are found around the largest basins and Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2014.42:291-315. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org within late Noachian–early Hesperian lavas. Alkali volcanics are also locally present, pointing to regional differences in igneous processes. Many ma- terials from ancient Mars bear the mineralogic fingerprints of interaction with water. Clay minerals, found in exposures of Noachian crust across the globe, preserve widespread evidence for early weathering, hydrothermal, and diagenetic aqueous environments. Noachian and Hesperian sediments include paleolake deposits with clays, carbonates, sulfates, and chlorides that are more localized in extent. -
Bio-Preservation Potential of Sediment in Eberswalde Crater, Mars
Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Graduate School Collection WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship Fall 2020 Bio-preservation Potential of Sediment in Eberswalde crater, Mars Cory Hughes Western Washington University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Hughes, Cory, "Bio-preservation Potential of Sediment in Eberswalde crater, Mars" (2020). WWU Graduate School Collection. 992. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/992 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Graduate School Collection by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Bio-preservation Potential of Sediment in Eberswalde crater, Mars By Cory M. Hughes Accepted in Partial Completion of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science ADVISORY COMMITTEE Dr. Melissa Rice, Chair Dr. Charles Barnhart Dr. Brady Foreman Dr. Allison Pfeiffer GRADUATE SCHOOL David L. Patrick, Dean Master’s Thesis In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Western Washington University, I grant to Western Washington University the non-exclusive royalty-free right to archive, reproduce, distribute, and display the thesis in any and all forms, including electronic format, via any digital library mechanisms maintained by WWU. I represent and warrant this is my original work, and does not infringe or violate any rights of others. I warrant that I have obtained written permissions from the owner of any third party copyrighted material included in these files. -
Spring 2019 Newsletter
Friends of the Columbia Gorge Protecting the Gorge Since 1980 Spring 2019 Newsletter Spring Brings Hope for the Gorge Friends of the Columbia Gorge Oil train fire and oil spill in Mosier, Board of Directors Oregon, 2016. Geoff Carr Chair Photo: Paloma Ayala Debbie Asakawa Vice Chair Kari Skedsvold Secretary/Treasurer Pat Campbell Greg Delwiche John Nelson* Gwen Farnham Carrie Nobles Donald Friedman Buck Parker* John Harrison Lisa Berkson Platt David Michalek* Mia Prickett Patty Mizutani Vince Ready* Annie Munch Meredith Savery Land Trust Board of Trustees John Nelson* President David Michalek* Secretary/Treasurer John Baugher Land Trust Advisor Pat Campbell Greg Delwiche Take Action Dustin Klinger Barbara Nelson Buck Parker* Rick Ray* Protect Oregon from Dangerous Oil Trains Staff riends of the Columbia Gorge and proposed bills. Especially in light of Sophia Aepfelbacher Membership Coordinator Frances Ambrose* Land Trust Assistant our allies are supporting legislation the Trump administration’s repeal of a Nathan Baker Senior Staff Attorney in Oregon that would improve 2015 Department of Transportation rule Mika Barrett Stewardship Volunteer Coord. Fprotections against crude oil derailments and requiring oil trains to use newer, safer, Dan Bell* Land Trust Director Elizabeth Brooke-Willbanks Development Manager oil spills. House Bill 2858 and Senate Bill 99 breaking technology, Oregon needs to Peter Cornelison* Field Representative would require: ensure it is doing all it can to reduce the Pam Davee Director of Philanthropy threat from -
Geophysical and Remote Sensing Study of Terrestrial Planets
GEOPHYSICAL AND REMOTE SENSING STUDY OF TERRESTRIAL PLANETS A Dissertation Presented to The Academic Faculty By Lujendra Ojha In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology August, 2016 COPYRIGHT © 2016 BY LUJENDRA OJHA GEOPHYSICAL AND REMOTE SENSING STUDY OF TERRESTRIAL PLANETS Approved by: Dr. James Wray, Advisor Dr. Ken Ferrier School of Earth and Atmospheric School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Joseph Dufek Dr. Suzanne Smrekar School of Earth and Atmospheric Jet Propulsion laboratory Sciences California Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Britney Schmidt School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Date Approved: June 27th, 2016. To Rama, Tank, Jaika, Manjesh, Reeyan, and Kali. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks Mom, Dad and Jaika for putting up with me and always being there. Thank you Kali for being such an awesome girl and being there when I needed you. Kali, you are the most beautiful girl in the world. Never forget that! Thanks Midtown Tavern for the hangovers. Thanks Waffle House for curing my hangovers. Thanks Sarah Sutton for guiding me into planetary science. Thanks Alfred McEwen for the continued support and mentoring since 2008. Thanks Sue Smrekar for taking me under your wings and teaching me about planetary geodynamics. Thanks Dan Nunes for guiding me in the gravity world. Thanks Ken Ferrier for helping me study my favorite planet. Thanks Scott Murchie for helping me become a better scientist. Thanks Marion Masse for being such a good friend and a mentor. -
The Red Planet's Watery Past
New observations by rovers and orbiters indicate that liquid water not only existed on Mars, it once covered large parts of the planet’s surface, perhaps for more than a billion years WATER FLOWS ACROSS the Martian surface in an artist’s rendering of how the Red Planet may have looked 2.5 billion to four billion years ago. Salt deposits along the water’s edge C REDI T appear purple in this twilight view. 62 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN DECEMBER 2006 COPYRIGHT 2006 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC. RedThe Planet’s atery W Pastast BY JIM BELL y February 2005 the Mars Exploration Rover named Spirit had already spent more than a year in Gusev Crater, a two-kilometer-deep, Connecticut-size hole in the Red Planet’s surface. Because Gusev lies at the end of an ancient, dry river valley longer than the Grand Canyon, many of us on the rover’s mission team Bhad expected Spirit to fi nd evidence that the crater had been fi lled with water billions of years ago. On the fl at plains where the craft had landed, however, the rover found neither lake deposits nor other preserved signs that water had once fl owed inside Gusev. The rover’s photographs showed only dust and sand and bone-dry volcanic lava rocks. But everything changed once Spirit reached the slopes of the Columbia Hills, about 2.6 kilometers from the landing site. (Each of the hills is named after one of the seven astronauts who died in the space shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.) As Spirit struggled to climb the western slope of Husband Hill, its wheels dislodged rocks and dug deep C REDI T tracks in the Martian soil. -
Downselection of Landing Sites for the Mars Science Laboratory
Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIX (2008) 2181.pdf DOWNSELECTION OF LANDING SITES FOR THE MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY. M. Golombek1, J. Grant2, A. R. Vasavada1, M. Watkins1, E. Noe Dobrea1, J. Griffes2, and T. Parker1, 1Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cali- fornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, 2Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum, Center for Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington, D.C. 20560. Introduction: Six landing sites remain under con- 3°E), Terby crater (28°S, 74°E), Melas Chasma (10°S, sideration for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) 284°E), E Meridiani (0°N, 4°E), and Miyamoto crater after discussion of over 30 general sites at the Second (referred to as Runcorn crater or E and S Meridiani at Landing Site Workshop and a subsequent project meet- the workshop) (3°S, 353°E). ing. This abstract discusses the downselection process, Additional discussion that included consideration defines the sites under consideration and describes of engineering constraints and science diversity further subsequent activities to select the final landing site. trimmed the list to six: Nili Fossae trough, Holden cra- Second Landing Site Workshop: After the First ter, Mawrth Vallis, Jezero crater, Terby crater, and Landing Site Workshop in June 2006, 33 general land- Miyamoto crater. Four sites from the top eleven that ing sites that incorporated 94 landing ellipses (multiple did not make the final list, but might satisfy the engi- ellipses were proposed for some sites) [1] were tar- neering constraints include Eberswalde, NE Syrtis, geted with Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Mars Chloride sites, and E Meridiani. These four sites were Odessey, and Mars Global Surveyor observations. -
Visible-To-Near-Infrared Spectral Variability of Hydrated Sulfates and Candidate Mars Landing Sites
Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Graduate School Collection WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship Winter 2018 Visible-to-Near-Infrared Spectral Variability of Hydrated Sulfates and Candidate Mars Landing Sites: Implications for the Mastcam- Z Investigation on NASA’s Mars-2020 Rover Mission Darian Dixon Western Washington University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Dixon, Darian, "Visible-to-Near-Infrared Spectral Variability of Hydrated Sulfates and Candidate Mars Landing Sites: Implications for the Mastcam-Z Investigation on NASA’s Mars-2020 Rover Mission" (2018). WWU Graduate School Collection. 638. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/638 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Graduate School Collection by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Visible-to-Near-Infrared Spectral Variability of Hydrated Sulfates and Candidate Mars Landing Sites: Implications for the Mastcam-Z Investigation on NASA’s Mars-2020 Rover Mission By Darian Dixon Accepted in Partial Completion of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Kathleen L. Kitto, Dean of the Graduate School ADVISORY COMMITTEE Chair, Dr. Melissa Rice Dr. Pete Stelling Dr. Michael Kraft MASTER’S THESIS In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Western Washington University, I grant to Western Washington University the non-exclusive royalty-free right to archive, reproduce, distribute, and display the thesis in any and all forms, including electronic format, via any digital library mechanisms maintained by WWU.