21-Nov-2006
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NASA's Mars Global Surveyor May Be at Mission's End
Full Press Release
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A selection of images from Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera |
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For additional links to the greatest hits from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see: http://www.msss.com/moc_greatest_hits.html
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A selection of images from Mars Global Surveyor's Thermal Emission Spectrometer |
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Once a Martian Sea?
The iron mineral hematite lies on the surface of parts of the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. Mapped from orbit by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, hematite abundances range from 5 percent (blue) to 20 percent (red). Hematite often forms in the presence of liquid water. The hematite discovery by this instrument led to the selection of Meridiani Planum as the landing area for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Opportunity landed within the black oval indicated on this image. The background image is a daytime infrared mosaic from the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/ASU
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More Than Just Basalt
Mineral maps from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor showed the variety of surface rocks on Mars. This data let scientists interpret multispectral images taken with Mars Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System, such as this infrared image of Nili Patera caldera on Syrtis Major. The dacite flow (magenta) and the volcanic cone associated with it have a composition distinct from the basaltic lavas that comprise most of the caldera floor (blue). Small outliers of dacitic material lie east of the cone. Image width is 16 kilometers (10 miles).
Image credit: NASA/JPL/ASU
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MiLong Dry Spell
Data from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor showed exposures of olivine-rich rocks, which were mapped in more detail by the Thermal Emission Imaging System on Mars Odyssey. Here colors ranging from magenta to purple-blue trace large exposures of olivine-rich rocks in the Nili Fossae region of Syrtis Major. The images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System show that the olivine is about four times as extensive as scientists previously thought. This image is about 350 kilometers (220 miles) wide.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/ASU
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One Day's Temperature Map
The Thermal Emission Spectrometer on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor provided the first systematic study of Martian weather. For three Mars years, TES operated much like a terrestrial weather satellite, making daily weather maps to track changes in atmospheric temperature, water-ice clouds, water vapor, and dust. This map shows temperatures on Mars on Sept. 10, 2006.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/ASU
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Sand-Laden Jets
The Thermal Emission Spectrometer on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor discovered that jets of dusty gas produce dark markings on the south polar cap. During southern winter, carbon dioxide gas condenses onto the polar cap as a thin slab of transparent ice. When the Sun rises in spring, the ice sublimates from the bottom of the layer, while the growing gas pressure lifts the slab off the ground. Gas then breaks through the slab in places, erupting in jets that carry dust scavenged from under the slab. This image is an artist's concept illustrating the jets shooting into the sky at the Martian south polar icecap as southern spring begins.
Image credit: Arizona State University/Ron Miller
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