OrbitalHub

NASA dixit:

“Even if rovers, balloons, and airplanes continuously move around and near the surface of Mars one day, we should never judge a planet by its cover. Today’s desert-like Martian surface likely hides the presence of water below ground. To “follow the water” to where it is today, we must go beneath the surface of the planet with subsurface explorers. The subsurface of Mars may resemble some of the colder parts of Earth. For example, in Antarctica or Iceland, we know that water is stored in a layer of permafrost and beneath that, as liquid groundwater. Even if the ancient surface water on Mars evaporated, there may still be substantial reservoirs of water, in either liquid or frozen form, in the subsurface.

The very first subsurface exploration of Mars for NASA will be in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) in their Mars Express mission. This spacecraft carries a subsurface radar instrument that will use a 40-meter (130-foot) antenna to detect and map subsurface water. Electric signals will be sent down the antenna, creating low-frequency radar waves. The radar waves will penetrate the Martian surface as deep as five kilometers (three miles) and will be reflected back to the spacecraft by different subsurface features, including water. This data will give us a three-dimensional understanding of where and how much water may be distributed in the Martian subsurface.

A lander on Mars Express called Beagle 2 will also carry the first robotic mole. Mimicking the behavior of the small furry earth-bound creatures that burrow into the ground, robotic moles will drill underground by pulverizing rock and soil, avoiding the need for a complex drill stem. Beagle 2’s mole will only have the ability to penetrate less than a meter (less than 3 feet) below the surface.

A much more capable mole is under development in NASA’s technology program. Weighing about 20 kilograms (44 pounds), it will be capable of drilling hundreds of meters (hundreds of yards) into the ground and possibly deeper at a rate of 10-20 meters (33 – 66 feet) a day. Excavated soil would be moved to the back of the mole and a small tube leading to the surface would help alleviate the pressure from the growing mounds of soil. The tube would also send soil samples back to the surface and carry power to the robotic mole. The samples sent up to the surface would be studied for scientific data such as mineral content and oxidation levels of subsurface soil. A mole drilling at the polar cap would study the layers of ice that tell the story of its history, much like the rings of a tree reveal many things from its past. All of this data would provide clues in the search for ancient, or possibly current, life.

Once we know in more detail where the water lies, the next step is to drill in those locations. To get to the zone where frozen water–and possible dormant life–might be present, we will probably need to drill to a depth of 200 meters (656 feet). Liquid groundwater will be even deeper. That’s no easy feat, but it’s critical for understanding the possibility of past or present life on Mars and for confirming that water resources are available for future human explorers.

Deep subsurface access on Mars will have unique challenges. First of all, unlike on Earth, we will not be able to use a drill to go through mud, water, or probably even gas pressure to carry the cuttings away from the bit. We will need new systems for fluidless drilling. Second, we will need an effective means of keeping the hole open while the drilling proceeds. On Earth, this task is normally done with steel casing, which is very heavy. Engineers are actively seeking alternative ways that don’t require us to send heavy equipment to Mars given the expense. Finally, we will have to develop systems that allow the drill to make operational decisions for itself. On Earth, drills can get stuck very quickly, so a Mars robotic drill or subsurface explorer must know how to recognize, avoid, and solve problems on its own.”

Video credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“When the Hubble Space Telescope observed Mars near opposition in May, 2016, a sneaky companion photobombed the picture. Phobos, the Greek personification of fear, is one of two tiny moons orbiting Mars. In 13 exposures over 22 minutes, Hubble captured a timelapse of Phobos moving through its 7-hour 39-minute orbit.”

Music credit: “Neighborhood Conspiracy” by Brice Davoli [SACEM]; Koka Media [SACEM], Universal Publishing Production Music (France) [SACEM]; Killer Tracks Production Music

Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Katrina Jackson

Wikipedia dixit:

“Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, on Mars near the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle at 5.4°S 137.8°E. It is 154 km (96 mi) in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5-3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer from Sydney, Australia, who observed Mars in the late 19th century. Aeolis Mons is a mountain in the center of Gale and rises 5.5 km (18,000 ft) high. Aeolis Palus is the plain between the northern wall of Gale and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons. Peace Vallis, a nearby outflow channel, ‘flows’ down from the Gale crater hills to the Aeolis Palus below and seems to have been carved by flowing water. The NASA Mars rover, Curiosity, of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, landed in “Yellowknife” Quad 51 of Aeolis Palus in Gale at 05:32 UTC August 6, 2012. NASA named the landing location Bradbury Landing on August 22, 2012. Curiosity is exploring Aeolis Mons and surrounding areas.

Gale crater, named for Walter F. Gale (1865-1945), an amateur astronomer from Australia, spans 154 km (96 mi) in diameter and holds a mountain, Aeolis Mons (informally named “Mount Sharp” to pay tribute to geologist Robert P. Sharp) rising 18,000 ft (5,500 m) from the crater floor, higher than Mount Rainier rises above Seattle. Gale is roughly the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The crater formed when a meteor hit Mars in its early history, about 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago. The meteor impact punched a hole in the terrain, and the subsequent explosion ejected rocks and soil that landed around the crater. Layering in the central mound (Aeolis Mons) suggests it is the surviving remnant of an extensive sequence of deposits. Some scientists believe the crater filled in with sediments and, over time, the relentless Martian winds carved Aeolis Mons, which today rises about 5.5 km (3.4 mi) above the floor of Gale—three times higher than the Grand Canyon is deep.

At 10:32 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, 2012 (1:32 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012), the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, landed on Mars at 4.5°S 137.4°E, at the foot of the layered mountain inside Gale crater. Curiosity landed within a landing ellipse approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) by 20 km (12 mi). The landing ellipse is about 4,400 m (14,400 ft) below Martian “sea level” (defined as the average elevation around the equator). The expected near-surface atmospheric temperatures at the landing site during Curiosity’s primary mission (1 Martian year or 687 Earth days) are from −90 °C (−130 °F) to 0 °C (32 °F).

Scientists chose Gale as the landing site for Curiosity because it has many signs that water was present over its history. The crater’s geology is notable for containing both clays and sulfate minerals, which form in water under different conditions and may also preserve signs of past life. The history of water at Gale, as recorded in its rocks, is giving Curiosity lots of clues to study as it pieces together whether Mars ever could have been a habitat for microbes. Gale Crater contains a number of fans and deltas that provide information about lake levels in the past, including: Pancake Delta, Western Delta, Farah Vallis delta and the Peace Vallis Fan.”

Video credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA dixit:

“On July 4, 1997, NASA’s Mars Pathfinder lander and Sojourner rover successfully landed on the Red Planet utilizing a revolutionary airbag landing system. This special 20th anniversary show chronicles the stories and the people behind the groundbreaking mission that jump-started 20 years of continuous presence at Mars. Guests include: Former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, former JPL Directors Ed Stone and Charles Elachi, JPL Director Michael Watkins and Pathfinder mission team members Jennifer Trosper and Brian Muirhead.”

Video credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“No one under 20 has experienced a day without NASA at Mars. The Pathfinder mission, carrying the Sojourner rover, landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. In the 20 years since Pathfinder’s touchdown, eight other NASA landers and orbiters have arrived successfully, and not a day has passed without the United States having at least one active robot on Mars or in orbit around Mars.”

Mars Pathfinder

Mars Global Surveyor

2001 Mars Odyssey

Mars Exploration Rover

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Phoenix

Curiosity

MAVEN

Video credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“On Mars, wind rules. Wind has been shaping the Red Planet’s landscapes for billions of years and continues to do so today. Studies using both a NASA orbiter and a rover reveal its effects on scales grand to tiny on the strangely structured landscapes within Gale Crater.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, on the lower slope of Mount Sharp — a layered mountain inside the crater — has begun a second campaign of investigating active sand dunes on the mountain’s northwestern flank. The rover also has been observing whirlwinds carrying dust and checking how far the wind moves grains of sand in a single day’s time.

Gale Crater observations by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have confirmed long-term patterns and rates of wind erosion that help explain the oddity of having a layered mountain in the middle of an impact crater.

“The orbiter perspective gives us the bigger picture — on all sides of Mount Sharp and the regional context for Gale Crater. We combine that with the local detail and ground-truth we get from the rover,” said Mackenzie Day of the University of Texas, Austin, lead author of a research report in the journal Icarus about wind’s dominant role at Gale.

The combined observations show that wind patterns in the crater today differ from when winds from the north removed the material that once filled the space between Mount Sharp and the crater rim. Now, Mount Sharp itself has become a major factor in determining local wind directions. Wind shaped the mountain; now the mountain shapes the wind.

The Martian atmosphere is about a hundred times thinner than Earth’s, so winds on Mars exert much less force than winds on Earth. Time is the factor that makes Martian winds so dominant in shaping the landscape. Most forces that shape Earth’s landscapes — water that erodes and moves sediments, tectonic activity that builds mountains and recycles the planet’s crust, active volcanism — haven’t influenced Mars much for billions of years. Sand transported by wind, even if infrequent, can whittle away Martian landscapes over that much time.”

Video credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory