Martian surfaces

MIMOS II has three temperature sensors one on the electronics board and two on the SH. One temperature sensor in the SH is mounted near the internal reference absorber, and the measured temperature is associated with the reference absorber and the internal volume of the SH. The other sensor is mounted outside the SH at the contact ring assembly. It gives the approximate analysis temperature for the sample on the Martian surface. This temperature is used to route the Mossbauer data to the different temperature intervals (maximum of 13, with the temperature width software selectable) assigned in memory areas. Shown in Fig. 3.21 are the data of the three temperature sensors taken on Mars (rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum) in January 2004 between 12 10 PM on Sol 10 (10 Martian days after landing) and 11 30 AM on Sol 11. The temperature of the electronics board inside the rover is much higher than the temperatures inside the SH and the contact plate sensor, which are nearly identical and at ambient Martian temperature. 

The MER mission was originally planned to last for three months on the Martian surface. At the time of writing (July 2010), both rovers and their instruments have spent more than 6 years exploring their landing sites and are still operational. 

MIMOS II has three temperature sensors, one on the electronics board and two on the sensor head. One temperature sensor in the sensor head is mounted near the internal reference absorber, and the measured temperature is associated with the reference absorber and the internal volume of the sensor head. The other sensor is mounted outside the sensor head at the contact ring assembly. It gives the analysis temperature for the sample on the Martian surface. This temperature is used to route... 

First Mtissbauer Spectrum Recorded on Martian Surface Gusev Crater, January 17,2004 (3h25min)... 

Bell, J. (ed.) The Martian Surface. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2008)... 

August 12, 2005, saw the launch of the US spacecraft Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which entered orbit around Mars on March 10, 2006. This craft has high-resolution cameras on board to permit a more exact mapping of the Martian surface (as a precondition for the search for suitable landing grounds). 

Gyr ago. There is evidence that it was reheated as a result of a shock event about 4 Gyr ago and water flowed through it, depositing carbonate globules. It was ejected form the Martian surface by another impact event and orbited the Sun on its own for about 16 million years before intersecting the Earth s orbit and landing some 13000 years ago, impacting into the ice of Antarctica where it was found. 

Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, could deposit Earth bacteria on the Martian surface, which fortuitously could find an environment in which to colonise. One possible false alarm for Martian life exploration is that evidence is found on the Martian surface of life on Earth. Extreme measures have been taken with the NASA spacecraft to use exposure to the UV radiation from the Sun to sterilise the spacecraft, rotating the various surfaces to face a prolonged exposure, but none of this could guarantee a sterile spacecraft. 

Figure 9.14 Pathfinder image of the Martian surface. (Reproduced by permission of NASA Pathfinder Mission, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Arizona. (A colour reproduction of this figure can be seen in the colour section)...

There are various environments in which recent formation of Fe oxides on earth can be observed. Among these are active volcanoes, soils (see Chap. 16), rivers and lakes, oceans, both hydrothermal and cold springs, and biota (see Chap. 17). All these environments supply helpful information about the pathways of Fe oxide formation in the geological past of which they may be considered as present-day analogues. Since spectroscopic information about the red Martian surface became available, there has been much speculation about the possibility of past Fe oxide formation by surface weathering on Mars. 

Murchie S., Kirkland L., Erard S., Mustard )., Robinson M. (2000) Near-infrared spectral variations of martian surface materials from ISM imaging spectrometer data. Icarus 147, 444-471. 

What is the evidence that Martian meteorites came to Earth as a result of a few discrete impact events on the Martian surface ... 

McSween, H. Y. (2008) Martian meteorites as crustal samples. In I he Martian Surface Composition, Mineralogy, and Physical Properties, ed. Bell, J. E, III. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, pp. 383-396. 

The best available source for details about Mars geology is The Surface of Mars (Carr, 2006). Solomon et al. (2005) provided an excellent review of the geological evolution of Mars, and various chapters in The Martian Surface Composition, Mineralogy, and Physical Properties (Bell, 2008) give up-to-date summaries of Mars geochemistry. 

The composition of Martian surface materials can be assessed using laboratory analyses of Martian meteorites, in situ APXS analyses from Mars Pathfinder and the Mars Exploration Rovers, and orbital geochemistry analyzed by GRS and derived from TES spectra. 

Early on, water existed at least periodically on the Martian surface. The formation of clay minerals in the Noachian and precipitation of sulfates and chlorides in the Hesperian were consequences of this water. Some fraction of the water evaporated and was lost to space, as indicated by the high D/H ratios in SNCs. Other water was apparently sequestered at the poles or underground as permafrost. The surface of Mars is effectively dry now, and chemical weathering of crustal rocks is minimal. 

Hamilton, V. E., Wyatt, M. B., McSween, H. Y. and Christensen, P. R. (2001) Analysis of terrestrial and Martian volcanic compositions using thermal emission spectroscopy 2. Application to Martian surface spectra from the Mars Global Surveyor thermal emission spectrometer. Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, 14,733-14,746. 

Another important application of this technique has been to determine the elemental composition of the lunar and Martian surfaces. Turkevich et al. (1969) constructed a rugged device to measure the backscattering of a particles from the lunar surface, which flew on three Surveyor missions in 1967-68 and yielded the first complete and accurate analysis of the lunar surface. The a particles came from a radioactive source (242Cm) that was part of the instrument package. The results of these experiments, which showed an unexpected and comparatively high abundance of Ti, were confirmed by laboratory analysis of lunar samples gathered in the Apollo missions. Since then, this technique has been used to study Martian rocks and soil. 

If Soln. E is allowed to dry by evaporation at 0°C (Fig. 5.14c) or freezing to the eutectic (Fig. 5.14d), then the distribution of precipitated salts is similar to Soln. C except for the large increase in MgSC>4 salts (cf. Figs. 5.14a,b with 5.14c,d). Exactly the same suite of salts precipitate for Solns. C and E. Also, the eutectic temperature is the same (—35.4°C). For Soln. E, the salt quantities fall in the order (MgNa)SC>4 > NaCl > (MgCa)CC>3, in agreement with estimates of salt distribution on the Martian surface (Clark and Van Hart 1981). 

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