|
|
Ulysses Preparations
| title |
Ulysses Preparations |
| date |
06.06.1990 |
| description |
Technicians in Hangar AO on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station continue preflight checkout and testing of the Ulysses spacecraft. Ulysses is a NASA/European Space Agency project launched from the Space Shuttle (Mission STS-41). *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL |
|
Ulysses Patera
| title |
Ulysses Patera |
| description |
This feature is an example of a class of volcanos that are considerably smaller than either the broad shield volcanos or Alba Patera. The summit consists of a single, very circular caldera with a smooth floor that predates the ejecta from two large impact craters. The lower flanks of the volcano, including portions of the impact craters, have been buried by the material that makes up the surrounding plains. This superpositional relationship indicates that the plains were emplaced subsequent to both the volcano and large impact craters on the volcano. The plains are probably made up of lava supplied from the Tharsis Montes that flowed down the sides of the broad uplift associated with the Tharsis shields. Both the plains and the volcano are cut by a graben (a paired set of linear faults), indicating tectonic activity subsequent to the emplacement of the plains. This image was taken by NASA's Viking 2 orbiter in 1977. *Image Credit*: NASA |
|
Ulysses and Comet Hyakutake
| title |
Ulysses and Comet Hyakutake |
| description |
An artist's impression of the Ulysses spacecraft passing through the tail of comet Hyakutake. Ulysses unexpectedly encountered the tail of comet Hyakutake in May 1996. At the time, Hyakutake's nucleus was close to the Sun - more than 525,000,000 km (326,000,000 miles) away. The measurement was the longest comet tail ever recorded. The discovery revealed comet tails - streams of ions, gas and dust extending away from the Sun - were much longer than previously believed. *Image Credit*: European Space Agency/David Hardy |
|
Ulysses Launch
| title |
Ulysses Launch |
| date |
10.06.1990 |
| description |
The Space Shuttle Discovery hurtles into space as sister ship Columbia looks on from Launch Pad 39A. Discovery lifted off from pad 39B at 7:47 a.m. EDT, Oct. 6. Columbia will be moved to the vacated pad 39B where it will undergo testing to pinpoint the source of a liquid hydrogen leak. Discovery is carrying a crew of five and the Ulysses solar explorer as it embarks on mission STS-41, a four-day flight. *Image Credit*: NASA |
|
Ulysses Leaves Earth
| title |
Ulysses Leaves Earth |
| description |
An artist's impression of the Ulysses spacecraft mated with its solid rocket booster drifting away from the Space Shuttle Discovery. The booster was used to push Ulysses out of Earth orbit towards Jupiter. Ulysses used Jupiter's gravity to hurl it into an orbit that takes it over the Sun's polar regions, an area not visible to Earth-based observers. *Image Credit*: Boeing, NASA and European Space Agency |
|
Ulysses and the Sun
| title |
Ulysses and the Sun |
| description |
An artist's impression of Ulysses in the complex environment of our Sun. Ulysses has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the Sun, the heliosphere, and our local interstellar neighbourhood. *Image Credit*: David Hardy, NASA and the European Space Agency |
|
Ulysses Mission Logo
| title |
Ulysses Mission Logo |
| description |
The European Space Agency's Ulysses mission logo. *Image Credit*: European Space Agency |
|
Ulysses at Jupiter
| title |
Ulysses at Jupiter |
| date |
02.04.2004 |
| description |
An artist's impression of the Ulysses spacecraft at Jupiter. Ulysses used Jupiter's powerful gravity to hurl it out of the Plane of the Ecliptic (where most planets and satellites orbit) so it could study the polar regions of the Sun. *Image Credit*: NASA/European Space Agency |
|
Inspecting Cassini's nuclear
…
| Title |
Inspecting Cassini's nuclear power source |
| Full Description |
Environmental Health Specialist Jamie A. Keeley of EG&G Florida Inc., KSC's base operations contractor, uses an ion chamber dose rate meter to measure radiation levels in one of the three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) that will provide electrical power to the Cassini spacecraft. Technicians tested and monitored four RTGs, including one spare, in the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Storage building in KSC's Industrial Area. The RTGs use heat from the natural decay of plutonium to generate electric power. This nuclear powered system enables the spacecraft to operate far from the Sun, where solar power systems are not feasible. Similar RTGs powered the Galileo and Ulysses spacecraft. A close-up study of Saturn and its moons, the Cassini/Huygens mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Station in October 1997 and reached the Saturnian system in July 2004 for four years of observation. Scientific instruments carried aboard the Cassini orbiter will study Saturn's atmosphere, magnetic field, rings, and several moons, while the Huygens probe will separate and land on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The Cassini-Huygens mission owes its name to the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens and Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini. Both had spectacular careers as observers of the heavens, which included important discoveries about Saturn and its satellites. Huygens (1629-1695) discovered Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in 1655 and in 1656 described the shape and phase changes of Saturn's rings. Cassini (1625-1712) was the first to observe four of Saturn's moons, Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys, and Dione, in the 1670s and 1680s. He also, in 1675, discovered the gap in Saturn's rings, now called the Cassini Division, and proposed that the rings were formed from many tiny particles. Cassini-Huygens is a joint mission of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). JPL is managing the Cassini project for NASA. The mission was proposed in November 1982 by a group of European and American scientists from the European Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences. The Solar System Exploration Committee of the NASA Advisory Council endorsed the idea in April 1983, and NASA and ESA began a joint assessment study in 1984. ESA officially adopted the project in November 1988, and Congress approved funding for NASA's portion of the mission in FY 89. |
| Date |
06/17/1997 |
| NASA Center |
Kennedy Space Center |
|
Exploring Comet Tails
| Title |
Exploring Comet Tails |
| Explanation |
Comets [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/billa/tnp/comets.html ] are known for their tails. In the spring [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970320.html ] of 1997 and 1996 Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/hale_bopp_info.html ] (above) and Comet Hyakutake [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/comets_long/96B2.html ] gave us stunning examples [ http://pages.prodigy.net/pam.orman/JoeGallery.html ] as they passed near the Sun. These extremely active comets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980410.html ] were bright, naked-eye spectacles offering researchers an opportunity to telescopically [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] explore the composition of primordial chunks of our solar system by studying their long and beautiful tails. But it has only recently been discovered that surprising readings [ ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2000/00-055.txt ] from experiments on-board the interplanetary Ulysses probe [ http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov ] which lasted for several hours on May 1, 1996, indicate the probe passed through [ http://www.sp.ph.ic.ac.uk/Ulysses/comet/ ] comet Hyakutake's tail! Ulysses experiments were intended [ http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov/science/objectives.html ] to study the Sun and solar wind and the spacecraft-comet [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] encounter was totally unanticipated. Relative positions of Ulysses [ http://ulysses-ops.jpl.esa.int/ulysses/ ] and Hyakutake on that date indicate that this comet's ion tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960319.html ] stretched an impressive 360 million miles or about four times the Earth-Sun distance [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981212.html ]. This makes Hyakutake's tail the longest ever recorded [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/missions/isee3.html ] and suggests that comet tails [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960327.html ] are much longer than previously believed. |
|
A GRB Host?
| Title |
A GRB Host? |
| Explanation |
Where do gamma-ray bursts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/debate_1995.html ] (GRBs) originate? The most powerful explosions in the universe have recently been located [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970513.html ] with record accuracy. But do GRBs occur in galaxies or out alone in deep space? This picture [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/97/20/A.html ] taken with the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/HSToverview.html ] of the field surrounding GRB 970228 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970407.html ] might provide a clue. It appears to show an extended structure to the lower right of the GRB [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961123.html ], which is identified with an arrow. Many astronomers speculate that this extended structure is a distant galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970209.html ], as its colors and subsequent steady emission indicate. Other astronomers worry that the extended emission is variable and so cannot be a galaxy. Astronomers hoping for more cases to study were rewarded just last Monday with a new, well-located event: GRB 970616. The location of this burst was determined by an unprecedented collaboration involving the tandem use of NASA satellites Compton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970606.html ], Ulysses [ http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov/ULSHOME.html ] and Rossi [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/XTE.html ]. |
|
X-ray Transit Of Mercury
| Title |
X-ray Transit Of Mercury |
| Explanation |
This sequence of [ http://www.solar.isas.ac.jp/sxt_co/980626.html ] false color X-ray images captures a rare event - the passage [ http://www.arrakis.es/~xgarciaf/paso.htm ] or transit of [ http://www.dsellers.demon.co.uk/venus/ven_ch4.htm ] planet Mercury in front of the Sun. Mercury's small disk [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mercury.html ] is silhouetted against the bright background of X-rays from the hot Solar Corona [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970217.html ]. It appears just to the right of center in the top frame and moves farther right as the sequence progresses toward the bottom. The dark notch is a coronal hole near the Solar South Pole [ http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], while a flaring coronal bright point can be seen to the left of the notch in the top frames. The frames were recorded [ http://www.lmsal.com/SXT/html2/Mercury_Transit_of_Solar_Corona.html ] on November 6, 1993 by the Soft X-ray Telescope [ http://www.lmsal.com/SXT/homepage.html ] on board the orbiting Yohkoh satellite [ http://www.lmsal.com/cgi-bin/yopos ]. Transits of Mercury (and Venus) were historically used to discover the geometry of the solar system [ http://beast.as.arizona.edu/textbook/text/CH03.html ] and to map planet Earth [ http://pacific.vita.org/pacific/cook/ ] itself. |
|
Recently-Formed Impact Crate
…
| title |
Recently-Formed Impact Crater |
| Description |
Scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have discovered a crater that appears to have formed on Mars in the past 20 or so Earth years, and have used it and several other similar craters to estimate the present cratering rate on Mars. One of the basic tenets of planetary geology is that impact craters have accumulated on planetary surfaces at roughly a constant rate since the early history of the solar system. This appears to have been the case for small craters on the surface of the Moon, as shown by measurements of the length of time that lunar rocks created by small impacts have been exposed to cosmic rays, as determined by laboratory measurements of samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. This principle should permit the number of craters found on a planetary surface to be used to determine the age of that surface, if the rate at which new craters form is known. Scientists have previously estimated the cratering rate of Mars by scaling the lunar cratering rate based on the proximity of Mars to the asteroid belt, and by performing calculations based on orbital mechanics. Another way to establish the cratering rate of Mars would be to use long-term observations, say, from orbiting spacecraft, to actually locate new craters. The new crater is located on the southern rim of the summit crater, or caldera, of the intermediate-sized martian volcano, Ulysses Patera. The site was imaged by the Viking 2 orbiter in 1976 (left, an enlarged portion of the image) and in narrow-angle views by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 (center) and 2005 (right). The new crater, about 25 meters (82 feet) across, is marked by a distinct dark, rayed pattern of ejected material, or ejecta, which is seen to have faded somewhat between 1999 and 2005. Ulysses Patera, a volcanic shield about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter volcanic shield, located near 2.5 degrees north latitude, 121.3 degrees west longitude, is one of the Tharsis volcanoes and is partly buried by younger lava flows. The summit caldera is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. The amount that the crater's rays faded between 1999 and 2005 can be used to help estimate how many years ago the crater formed. The actual contrast between the ejecta and the undisturbed volcano summit materials is actually much less than it appears to be in these processed images, and the amount of fading is also much less. Images of disturbed surfaces from various parts of Mars, such as dust devil tracks, dark slope streaks and rover tracks, indicate that disturbed surfaces on Mars are dark and that they lighten with time. Using these other examples to estimate how dark the ejecta from the Ulysses crater was originally, and how much it has faded in six years, suggests the crater formed in the early to mid 1980s. The rate at which dark surfaces lighten on Mars is not uniform over the whole planet, but scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera have found a number, of other craters with dark ejecta that have faded during the Mars Global Surveyor mission. The scientists estimate that these craters probably formed within the past 100 years. Although the sample is very small (the Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle camera has imaged barely 4 percent of Mars), it appears that the recent cratering rate for craters on Mars 25 to 100 meters (82 to 328 feet) in diameter is about 0.000000003 to 0.000000006 craters per square kilometer (0.39 square mile) per Earth year, which is about five times lower than previous estimates. The site of the new crater is shown in wider context in a comparison of the 1976 Viking image with wide-angle views taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 and 2005 (insert MOC2-1214b), and in even wider context in a regional mosaic of Viking images (insert MOC2-1214c). The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/USGS |
|
Recently-Formed Impact Crate
…
PIA04292
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Recently-Formed Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have discovered a crater that appears to have formed on Mars in the past 20 or so Earth years, and have used it and several other similar craters to estimate the present cratering rate on Mars. One of the basic tenets of planetary geology is that impact craters have accumulated on planetary surfaces at roughly a constant rate since the early history of the solar system. This appears to have been the case for small craters on the surface of the Moon, as shown by measurements of the length of time that lunar rocks created by small impacts have been exposed to cosmic rays, as determined by laboratory measurements of samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. This principle should permit the number of craters found on a planetary surface to be used to determine the age of that surface, if the rate at which new craters form is known. Scientists have previously estimated the cratering rate of Mars by scaling the lunar cratering rate based on the proximity of Mars to the asteroid belt, and by performing calculations based on orbital mechanics. Another way to establish the cratering rate of Mars would be to use long-term observations, say, from orbiting spacecraft, to actually locate new craters. The new crater is located on the southern rim of the summit crater, or caldera, of the intermediate-sized martian volcano, Ulysses Patera. The site was imaged by the Viking 2 orbiter in 1976 (left, an enlarged portion of the image) and in narrow-angle views by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 (center) and 2005 (right). The new crater, about 25 meters (82 feet) across, is marked by a distinct dark, rayed pattern of ejected material, or ejecta, which is seen to have faded somewhat between 1999 and 2005. Ulysses Patera, a volcanic shield about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter volcanic shield, located near 2.5 degrees north latitude, 121.3 degrees west longitude, is one of the Tharsis volcanoes and is partly buried by younger lava flows. The summit caldera is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. The amount that the crater's rays faded between 1999 and 2005 can be used to help estimate how many years ago the crater formed. The actual contrast between the ejecta and the undisturbed volcano summit materials is actually much less than it appears to be in these processed images, and the amount of fading is also much less. Images of disturbed surfaces from various parts of Mars, such as dust devil tracks, dark slope streaks and rover tracks, indicate that disturbed surfaces on Mars are dark and that they lighten with time. Using these other examples to estimate how dark the ejecta from the Ulysses crater was originally, and how much it has faded in six years, suggests the crater formed in the early to mid 1980s. The rate at which dark surfaces lighten on Mars is not uniform over the whole planet, but scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera have found a, number of other craters with dark ejecta that have faded during the Mars Global Surveyor mission. The scientists estimate that these craters probably formed within the past 100 years. Although the sample is very small (the Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle camera has imaged barely 4 percent of Mars), it appears that the recent cratering rate for craters on Mars 25 to 100 meters (82 to 328 feet) in diameter is about 0.000000003 to 0.000000006 craters per square kilometer (0.39 square mile) per Earth year, which is about five times lower than previous estimates. The site of the new crater is shown in wider context in a comparison of the 1976 Viking image with wide-angle views taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 and 2005 (figure 2), and in even wider context in a regional mosaic of Viking images (figure 3). The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. |
|
Recently-Formed Impact Crate
…
PIA04292
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Recently-Formed Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have discovered a crater that appears to have formed on Mars in the past 20 or so Earth years, and have used it and several other similar craters to estimate the present cratering rate on Mars. One of the basic tenets of planetary geology is that impact craters have accumulated on planetary surfaces at roughly a constant rate since the early history of the solar system. This appears to have been the case for small craters on the surface of the Moon, as shown by measurements of the length of time that lunar rocks created by small impacts have been exposed to cosmic rays, as determined by laboratory measurements of samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. This principle should permit the number of craters found on a planetary surface to be used to determine the age of that surface, if the rate at which new craters form is known. Scientists have previously estimated the cratering rate of Mars by scaling the lunar cratering rate based on the proximity of Mars to the asteroid belt, and by performing calculations based on orbital mechanics. Another way to establish the cratering rate of Mars would be to use long-term observations, say, from orbiting spacecraft, to actually locate new craters. The new crater is located on the southern rim of the summit crater, or caldera, of the intermediate-sized martian volcano, Ulysses Patera. The site was imaged by the Viking 2 orbiter in 1976 (left, an enlarged portion of the image) and in narrow-angle views by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 (center) and 2005 (right). The new crater, about 25 meters (82 feet) across, is marked by a distinct dark, rayed pattern of ejected material, or ejecta, which is seen to have faded somewhat between 1999 and 2005. Ulysses Patera, a volcanic shield about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter volcanic shield, located near 2.5 degrees north latitude, 121.3 degrees west longitude, is one of the Tharsis volcanoes and is partly buried by younger lava flows. The summit caldera is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. The amount that the crater's rays faded between 1999 and 2005 can be used to help estimate how many years ago the crater formed. The actual contrast between the ejecta and the undisturbed volcano summit materials is actually much less than it appears to be in these processed images, and the amount of fading is also much less. Images of disturbed surfaces from various parts of Mars, such as dust devil tracks, dark slope streaks and rover tracks, indicate that disturbed surfaces on Mars are dark and that they lighten with time. Using these other examples to estimate how dark the ejecta from the Ulysses crater was originally, and how much it has faded in six years, suggests the crater formed in the early to mid 1980s. The rate at which dark surfaces lighten on Mars is not uniform over the whole planet, but scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera have found a, number of other craters with dark ejecta that have faded during the Mars Global Surveyor mission. The scientists estimate that these craters probably formed within the past 100 years. Although the sample is very small (the Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle camera has imaged barely 4 percent of Mars), it appears that the recent cratering rate for craters on Mars 25 to 100 meters (82 to 328 feet) in diameter is about 0.000000003 to 0.000000006 craters per square kilometer (0.39 square mile) per Earth year, which is about five times lower than previous estimates. The site of the new crater is shown in wider context in a comparison of the 1976 Viking image with wide-angle views taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 and 2005 (figure 2), and in even wider context in a regional mosaic of Viking images (figure 3). The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. |
|
Recently-Formed Impact Crate
…
PIA04292
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Recently-Formed Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have discovered a crater that appears to have formed on Mars in the past 20 or so Earth years, and have used it and several other similar craters to estimate the present cratering rate on Mars. One of the basic tenets of planetary geology is that impact craters have accumulated on planetary surfaces at roughly a constant rate since the early history of the solar system. This appears to have been the case for small craters on the surface of the Moon, as shown by measurements of the length of time that lunar rocks created by small impacts have been exposed to cosmic rays, as determined by laboratory measurements of samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. This principle should permit the number of craters found on a planetary surface to be used to determine the age of that surface, if the rate at which new craters form is known. Scientists have previously estimated the cratering rate of Mars by scaling the lunar cratering rate based on the proximity of Mars to the asteroid belt, and by performing calculations based on orbital mechanics. Another way to establish the cratering rate of Mars would be to use long-term observations, say, from orbiting spacecraft, to actually locate new craters. The new crater is located on the southern rim of the summit crater, or caldera, of the intermediate-sized martian volcano, Ulysses Patera. The site was imaged by the Viking 2 orbiter in 1976 (left, an enlarged portion of the image) and in narrow-angle views by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 (center) and 2005 (right). The new crater, about 25 meters (82 feet) across, is marked by a distinct dark, rayed pattern of ejected material, or ejecta, which is seen to have faded somewhat between 1999 and 2005. Ulysses Patera, a volcanic shield about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter volcanic shield, located near 2.5 degrees north latitude, 121.3 degrees west longitude, is one of the Tharsis volcanoes and is partly buried by younger lava flows. The summit caldera is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. The amount that the crater's rays faded between 1999 and 2005 can be used to help estimate how many years ago the crater formed. The actual contrast between the ejecta and the undisturbed volcano summit materials is actually much less than it appears to be in these processed images, and the amount of fading is also much less. Images of disturbed surfaces from various parts of Mars, such as dust devil tracks, dark slope streaks and rover tracks, indicate that disturbed surfaces on Mars are dark and that they lighten with time. Using these other examples to estimate how dark the ejecta from the Ulysses crater was originally, and how much it has faded in six years, suggests the crater formed in the early to mid 1980s. The rate at which dark surfaces lighten on Mars is not uniform over the whole planet, but scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera have found a, number of other craters with dark ejecta that have faded during the Mars Global Surveyor mission. The scientists estimate that these craters probably formed within the past 100 years. Although the sample is very small (the Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle camera has imaged barely 4 percent of Mars), it appears that the recent cratering rate for craters on Mars 25 to 100 meters (82 to 328 feet) in diameter is about 0.000000003 to 0.000000006 craters per square kilometer (0.39 square mile) per Earth year, which is about five times lower than previous estimates. The site of the new crater is shown in wider context in a comparison of the 1976 Viking image with wide-angle views taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 and 2005 (figure 2), and in even wider context in a regional mosaic of Viking images (figure 3). The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. |
|
Recently-Formed Impact Crate
…
PIA04292
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Recently-Formed Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have discovered a crater that appears to have formed on Mars in the past 20 or so Earth years, and have used it and several other similar craters to estimate the present cratering rate on Mars. One of the basic tenets of planetary geology is that impact craters have accumulated on planetary surfaces at roughly a constant rate since the early history of the solar system. This appears to have been the case for small craters on the surface of the Moon, as shown by measurements of the length of time that lunar rocks created by small impacts have been exposed to cosmic rays, as determined by laboratory measurements of samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. This principle should permit the number of craters found on a planetary surface to be used to determine the age of that surface, if the rate at which new craters form is known. Scientists have previously estimated the cratering rate of Mars by scaling the lunar cratering rate based on the proximity of Mars to the asteroid belt, and by performing calculations based on orbital mechanics. Another way to establish the cratering rate of Mars would be to use long-term observations, say, from orbiting spacecraft, to actually locate new craters. The new crater is located on the southern rim of the summit crater, or caldera, of the intermediate-sized martian volcano, Ulysses Patera. The site was imaged by the Viking 2 orbiter in 1976 (left, an enlarged portion of the image) and in narrow-angle views by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 (center) and 2005 (right). The new crater, about 25 meters (82 feet) across, is marked by a distinct dark, rayed pattern of ejected material, or ejecta, which is seen to have faded somewhat between 1999 and 2005. Ulysses Patera, a volcanic shield about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter volcanic shield, located near 2.5 degrees north latitude, 121.3 degrees west longitude, is one of the Tharsis volcanoes and is partly buried by younger lava flows. The summit caldera is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. The amount that the crater's rays faded between 1999 and 2005 can be used to help estimate how many years ago the crater formed. The actual contrast between the ejecta and the undisturbed volcano summit materials is actually much less than it appears to be in these processed images, and the amount of fading is also much less. Images of disturbed surfaces from various parts of Mars, such as dust devil tracks, dark slope streaks and rover tracks, indicate that disturbed surfaces on Mars are dark and that they lighten with time. Using these other examples to estimate how dark the ejecta from the Ulysses crater was originally, and how much it has faded in six years, suggests the crater formed in the early to mid 1980s. The rate at which dark surfaces lighten on Mars is not uniform over the whole planet, but scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera have found a, number of other craters with dark ejecta that have faded during the Mars Global Surveyor mission. The scientists estimate that these craters probably formed within the past 100 years. Although the sample is very small (the Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle camera has imaged barely 4 percent of Mars), it appears that the recent cratering rate for craters on Mars 25 to 100 meters (82 to 328 feet) in diameter is about 0.000000003 to 0.000000006 craters per square kilometer (0.39 square mile) per Earth year, which is about five times lower than previous estimates. The site of the new crater is shown in wider context in a comparison of the 1976 Viking image with wide-angle views taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 and 2005 (figure 2), and in even wider context in a regional mosaic of Viking images (figure 3). The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. |
|
Recently-Formed Impact Crate
…
PIA04292
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Recently-Formed Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have discovered a crater that appears to have formed on Mars in the past 20 or so Earth years, and have used it and several other similar craters to estimate the present cratering rate on Mars. One of the basic tenets of planetary geology is that impact craters have accumulated on planetary surfaces at roughly a constant rate since the early history of the solar system. This appears to have been the case for small craters on the surface of the Moon, as shown by measurements of the length of time that lunar rocks created by small impacts have been exposed to cosmic rays, as determined by laboratory measurements of samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. This principle should permit the number of craters found on a planetary surface to be used to determine the age of that surface, if the rate at which new craters form is known. Scientists have previously estimated the cratering rate of Mars by scaling the lunar cratering rate based on the proximity of Mars to the asteroid belt, and by performing calculations based on orbital mechanics. Another way to establish the cratering rate of Mars would be to use long-term observations, say, from orbiting spacecraft, to actually locate new craters. The new crater is located on the southern rim of the summit crater, or caldera, of the intermediate-sized martian volcano, Ulysses Patera. The site was imaged by the Viking 2 orbiter in 1976 (left, an enlarged portion of the image) and in narrow-angle views by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 (center) and 2005 (right). The new crater, about 25 meters (82 feet) across, is marked by a distinct dark, rayed pattern of ejected material, or ejecta, which is seen to have faded somewhat between 1999 and 2005. Ulysses Patera, a volcanic shield about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter volcanic shield, located near 2.5 degrees north latitude, 121.3 degrees west longitude, is one of the Tharsis volcanoes and is partly buried by younger lava flows. The summit caldera is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. The amount that the crater's rays faded between 1999 and 2005 can be used to help estimate how many years ago the crater formed. The actual contrast between the ejecta and the undisturbed volcano summit materials is actually much less than it appears to be in these processed images, and the amount of fading is also much less. Images of disturbed surfaces from various parts of Mars, such as dust devil tracks, dark slope streaks and rover tracks, indicate that disturbed surfaces on Mars are dark and that they lighten with time. Using these other examples to estimate how dark the ejecta from the Ulysses crater was originally, and how much it has faded in six years, suggests the crater formed in the early to mid 1980s. The rate at which dark surfaces lighten on Mars is not uniform over the whole planet, but scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera have found a, number of other craters with dark ejecta that have faded during the Mars Global Surveyor mission. The scientists estimate that these craters probably formed within the past 100 years. Although the sample is very small (the Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle camera has imaged barely 4 percent of Mars), it appears that the recent cratering rate for craters on Mars 25 to 100 meters (82 to 328 feet) in diameter is about 0.000000003 to 0.000000006 craters per square kilometer (0.39 square mile) per Earth year, which is about five times lower than previous estimates. The site of the new crater is shown in wider context in a comparison of the 1976 Viking image with wide-angle views taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 and 2005 (figure 2), and in even wider context in a regional mosaic of Viking images (figure 3). The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. |
|
Recently-Formed Impact Crate
…
PIA04292
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Recently-Formed Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have discovered a crater that appears to have formed on Mars in the past 20 or so Earth years, and have used it and several other similar craters to estimate the present cratering rate on Mars. One of the basic tenets of planetary geology is that impact craters have accumulated on planetary surfaces at roughly a constant rate since the early history of the solar system. This appears to have been the case for small craters on the surface of the Moon, as shown by measurements of the length of time that lunar rocks created by small impacts have been exposed to cosmic rays, as determined by laboratory measurements of samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. This principle should permit the number of craters found on a planetary surface to be used to determine the age of that surface, if the rate at which new craters form is known. Scientists have previously estimated the cratering rate of Mars by scaling the lunar cratering rate based on the proximity of Mars to the asteroid belt, and by performing calculations based on orbital mechanics. Another way to establish the cratering rate of Mars would be to use long-term observations, say, from orbiting spacecraft, to actually locate new craters. The new crater is located on the southern rim of the summit crater, or caldera, of the intermediate-sized martian volcano, Ulysses Patera. The site was imaged by the Viking 2 orbiter in 1976 (left, an enlarged portion of the image) and in narrow-angle views by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 (center) and 2005 (right). The new crater, about 25 meters (82 feet) across, is marked by a distinct dark, rayed pattern of ejected material, or ejecta, which is seen to have faded somewhat between 1999 and 2005. Ulysses Patera, a volcanic shield about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter volcanic shield, located near 2.5 degrees north latitude, 121.3 degrees west longitude, is one of the Tharsis volcanoes and is partly buried by younger lava flows. The summit caldera is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. The amount that the crater's rays faded between 1999 and 2005 can be used to help estimate how many years ago the crater formed. The actual contrast between the ejecta and the undisturbed volcano summit materials is actually much less than it appears to be in these processed images, and the amount of fading is also much less. Images of disturbed surfaces from various parts of Mars, such as dust devil tracks, dark slope streaks and rover tracks, indicate that disturbed surfaces on Mars are dark and that they lighten with time. Using these other examples to estimate how dark the ejecta from the Ulysses crater was originally, and how much it has faded in six years, suggests the crater formed in the early to mid 1980s. The rate at which dark surfaces lighten on Mars is not uniform over the whole planet, but scientists using the Mars Orbiter Camera have found a, number of other craters with dark ejecta that have faded during the Mars Global Surveyor mission. The scientists estimate that these craters probably formed within the past 100 years. Although the sample is very small (the Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle camera has imaged barely 4 percent of Mars), it appears that the recent cratering rate for craters on Mars 25 to 100 meters (82 to 328 feet) in diameter is about 0.000000003 to 0.000000006 craters per square kilometer (0.39 square mile) per Earth year, which is about five times lower than previous estimates. The site of the new crater is shown in wider context in a comparison of the 1976 Viking image with wide-angle views taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999 and 2005 (figure 2), and in even wider context in a regional mosaic of Viking images (figure 3). The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. |
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Ulysses Patera
PIA09993
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Ulysses Patera |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Context image for PIA09993 Ulysses Patera This infrared image shows half of Ulysses Patera. Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -0.1N, Longitude 237.6E. 98 meter/pixel resolution. Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note [ http://themis.la.asu.edu/terms ] for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
|
Ulysses Patera
PIA09993
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Ulysses Patera |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Context image for PIA09993 Ulysses Patera This infrared image shows half of Ulysses Patera. Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -0.1N, Longitude 237.6E. 98 meter/pixel resolution. Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note [ http://themis.la.asu.edu/terms ] for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Ulysses Patera
PIA09998
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Ulysses Patera |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Context image for PIA09998 Ulysses Patera This VIS image shows part of the summit caldera and south-eastern flank of Ulysses Patera. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 2.3N, Longitude 238.8E. 18 meter/pixel resolution. Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note [ http://themis.la.asu.edu/terms ] for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
|
Ulysses Patera
PIA09998
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Ulysses Patera |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Context image for PIA09998 Ulysses Patera This VIS image shows part of the summit caldera and south-eastern flank of Ulysses Patera. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 2.3N, Longitude 238.8E. 18 meter/pixel resolution. Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note [ http://themis.la.asu.edu/terms ] for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
|
Before-and-After Look at Imp
…
PIA09023
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Before-and-After Look at Impact Craters |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Two of the 20 new impact craters determined by the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera science operations team to have formed between May 1999 and March 2006 occur at a location that the narrow-angle camera imaged previously. This is surprising given that the narrow-angle camera, with its 3-kilometer-wide (1.9-mile-wide) field of view, has only covered about 5.2 percent of the Martian surface. One of the two craters that formed where the camera had already taken a narrow-angle image is featured here. Figure A: The colorized image and figure A show sub-frames of an image acquired on March 13, 2006. This image has been colorized using a table derived from the colors of Mars as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. The impact site is located near 27.3 degrees north latitude, 91.8 degrees west longitude, on the upper north flank of the Martian volcano Ulysses Patera. Fine details are evident at the impact site, showing how the blast moved dust around and interacted with craters and other small obstacles on the ground. The crater has a diameter of about 19.8 meters (about 65 feet). Figure B: The second figure shows before-and-after narrow-angle camera views of the impact site. The before image was acquired on Feb. 24, 2002. The after image was acquired on March 13, 2006. Other images from Mars-orbiting spacecraft cover this location and show the impact site, including data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System. These other data help constrain when the impact occurred. The last orbiter image obtained before the impact was taken on April 18, 2003. The first orbiter image that showed the impact feature was obtained on Feb. 7, 2004. Thus, the impact occurred between those dates, April 18, 2003, and Feb. 7, 2004. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]. |
|
Before-and-After Look at Imp
…
PIA09023
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Before-and-After Look at Impact Craters |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Two of the 20 new impact craters determined by the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera science operations team to have formed between May 1999 and March 2006 occur at a location that the narrow-angle camera imaged previously. This is surprising given that the narrow-angle camera, with its 3-kilometer-wide (1.9-mile-wide) field of view, has only covered about 5.2 percent of the Martian surface. One of the two craters that formed where the camera had already taken a narrow-angle image is featured here. Figure A: The colorized image and figure A show sub-frames of an image acquired on March 13, 2006. This image has been colorized using a table derived from the colors of Mars as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. The impact site is located near 27.3 degrees north latitude, 91.8 degrees west longitude, on the upper north flank of the Martian volcano Ulysses Patera. Fine details are evident at the impact site, showing how the blast moved dust around and interacted with craters and other small obstacles on the ground. The crater has a diameter of about 19.8 meters (about 65 feet). Figure B: The second figure shows before-and-after narrow-angle camera views of the impact site. The before image was acquired on Feb. 24, 2002. The after image was acquired on March 13, 2006. Other images from Mars-orbiting spacecraft cover this location and show the impact site, including data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System. These other data help constrain when the impact occurred. The last orbiter image obtained before the impact was taken on April 18, 2003. The first orbiter image that showed the impact feature was obtained on Feb. 7, 2004. Thus, the impact occurred between those dates, April 18, 2003, and Feb. 7, 2004. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]. |
|
Before-and-After Look at Imp
…
PIA09023
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Before-and-After Look at Impact Craters |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Two of the 20 new impact craters determined by the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera science operations team to have formed between May 1999 and March 2006 occur at a location that the narrow-angle camera imaged previously. This is surprising given that the narrow-angle camera, with its 3-kilometer-wide (1.9-mile-wide) field of view, has only covered about 5.2 percent of the Martian surface. One of the two craters that formed where the camera had already taken a narrow-angle image is featured here. Figure A: The colorized image and figure A show sub-frames of an image acquired on March 13, 2006. This image has been colorized using a table derived from the colors of Mars as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. The impact site is located near 27.3 degrees north latitude, 91.8 degrees west longitude, on the upper north flank of the Martian volcano Ulysses Patera. Fine details are evident at the impact site, showing how the blast moved dust around and interacted with craters and other small obstacles on the ground. The crater has a diameter of about 19.8 meters (about 65 feet). Figure B: The second figure shows before-and-after narrow-angle camera views of the impact site. The before image was acquired on Feb. 24, 2002. The after image was acquired on March 13, 2006. Other images from Mars-orbiting spacecraft cover this location and show the impact site, including data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System. These other data help constrain when the impact occurred. The last orbiter image obtained before the impact was taken on April 18, 2003. The first orbiter image that showed the impact feature was obtained on Feb. 7, 2004. Thus, the impact occurred between those dates, April 18, 2003, and Feb. 7, 2004. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]. |
|
Before-and-After Look at Imp
…
PIA09023
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Before-and-After Look at Impact Craters |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Two of the 20 new impact craters determined by the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera science operations team to have formed between May 1999 and March 2006 occur at a location that the narrow-angle camera imaged previously. This is surprising given that the narrow-angle camera, with its 3-kilometer-wide (1.9-mile-wide) field of view, has only covered about 5.2 percent of the Martian surface. One of the two craters that formed where the camera had already taken a narrow-angle image is featured here. Figure A: The colorized image and figure A show sub-frames of an image acquired on March 13, 2006. This image has been colorized using a table derived from the colors of Mars as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. The impact site is located near 27.3 degrees north latitude, 91.8 degrees west longitude, on the upper north flank of the Martian volcano Ulysses Patera. Fine details are evident at the impact site, showing how the blast moved dust around and interacted with craters and other small obstacles on the ground. The crater has a diameter of about 19.8 meters (about 65 feet). Figure B: The second figure shows before-and-after narrow-angle camera views of the impact site. The before image was acquired on Feb. 24, 2002. The after image was acquired on March 13, 2006. Other images from Mars-orbiting spacecraft cover this location and show the impact site, including data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System. These other data help constrain when the impact occurred. The last orbiter image obtained before the impact was taken on April 18, 2003. The first orbiter image that showed the impact feature was obtained on Feb. 7, 2004. Thus, the impact occurred between those dates, April 18, 2003, and Feb. 7, 2004. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]. |
|
Before-and-After Look at Imp
…
PIA09023
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Before-and-After Look at Impact Craters |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Two of the 20 new impact craters determined by the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera science operations team to have formed between May 1999 and March 2006 occur at a location that the narrow-angle camera imaged previously. This is surprising given that the narrow-angle camera, with its 3-kilometer-wide (1.9-mile-wide) field of view, has only covered about 5.2 percent of the Martian surface. One of the two craters that formed where the camera had already taken a narrow-angle image is featured here. Figure A: The colorized image and figure A show sub-frames of an image acquired on March 13, 2006. This image has been colorized using a table derived from the colors of Mars as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. The impact site is located near 27.3 degrees north latitude, 91.8 degrees west longitude, on the upper north flank of the Martian volcano Ulysses Patera. Fine details are evident at the impact site, showing how the blast moved dust around and interacted with craters and other small obstacles on the ground. The crater has a diameter of about 19.8 meters (about 65 feet). Figure B: The second figure shows before-and-after narrow-angle camera views of the impact site. The before image was acquired on Feb. 24, 2002. The after image was acquired on March 13, 2006. Other images from Mars-orbiting spacecraft cover this location and show the impact site, including data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System. These other data help constrain when the impact occurred. The last orbiter image obtained before the impact was taken on April 18, 2003. The first orbiter image that showed the impact feature was obtained on Feb. 7, 2004. Thus, the impact occurred between those dates, April 18, 2003, and Feb. 7, 2004. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]. |
|
Ulysses Patera
PIA03900
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Ulysses Patera |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
(Released 18 July 2002) It is helpful to look at the context for this THEMIS image, which covers a large area over the summit of Ulysses Patera. Ulysses Patera is one of the many volcanoes that make up the giant Tharsis volcanic province, although Ulysses itself is fairly small in comparison to the other volcanoes in this area. In the context image, there are 3 circular features near the top of the volcano. The large, central feature is called a "caldera", and is the result of volcanic activity at Ulysses. The other two circular features are impact craters. The THEMIS image primarily spans across the central caldera, but also covers a portion of the northernmost impact crater. We know that the large central caldera must have formed earlier than the two craters, because its circular form has been cut by the smaller crater rims. In the THEMIS image, there are stair-stepping plateaus in the northern portion of the image. These are part of the rim of the northern crater, and are caused by collapse or subsidence after the impact event. Just to the south of this crater, "rayed" patterns can be seen on part of the caldera floor. The rayed pattern is most likely due to a landslide of material down the crater rim slope. Another possibility is that the impact that formed the northern crater caused material to be ejected radially, and then parts of the ejecta have either been buried or eroded away. Other signs of mass movement events in this image are dark streaks, caused by dust avalanches, visible in the caldera's northern wall. In the central portion of the image, there are two lobe-shaped features-one overlaps the other-that appear to have flowed westward. It is likely that these features are ejecta lobes, because they are located adjacent to the southeastern crater (see context image). The fluidized appearance of these ejecta lobes is probably due to a significant amount of ice or water being present in the soil at the time of impact. We know that the southeastern crater must have formed after the northern crater, because the fluidized ejecta lobe overlies the rayed pattern. A close-up look at the fluidized ejecta lobes reveals a different surface "texture" than the surrounding caldera floor. This could be due to compressional features that formed during the lobe emplacement, or to contrasting surface properties that cause the flows to be eroded differently than the caldera floor. In the lower portion of the image, there is a cluster of small circular features in the southernmost part of the central caldera. These features may be layered material that has since been eroded into circular plateaus, or they may be degraded volcanic cones, which would indicate a later stage of smaller-scale volcanism within the caldera. Volcanic cones are common in many calderas on Earth, and are formed after the initial stage of volcanic activity in that caldera. Finally, in the southern wall of the caldera, there is classic "spur-and-gully" morphology. This type of, , morphology is often formed on steep slopes, where variations in wall resistance cause the surface to be eroded more easily in some areas. |
|
Ulysses Patera
PIA03900
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Ulysses Patera |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
(Released 18 July 2002) It is helpful to look at the context for this THEMIS image, which covers a large area over the summit of Ulysses Patera. Ulysses Patera is one of the many volcanoes that make up the giant Tharsis volcanic province, although Ulysses itself is fairly small in comparison to the other volcanoes in this area. In the context image, there are 3 circular features near the top of the volcano. The large, central feature is called a "caldera", and is the result of volcanic activity at Ulysses. The other two circular features are impact craters. The THEMIS image primarily spans across the central caldera, but also covers a portion of the northernmost impact crater. We know that the large central caldera must have formed earlier than the two craters, because its circular form has been cut by the smaller crater rims. In the THEMIS image, there are stair-stepping plateaus in the northern portion of the image. These are part of the rim of the northern crater, and are caused by collapse or subsidence after the impact event. Just to the south of this crater, "rayed" patterns can be seen on part of the caldera floor. The rayed pattern is most likely due to a landslide of material down the crater rim slope. Another possibility is that the impact that formed the northern crater caused material to be ejected radially, and then parts of the ejecta have either been buried or eroded away. Other signs of mass movement events in this image are dark streaks, caused by dust avalanches, visible in the caldera's northern wall. In the central portion of the image, there are two lobe-shaped features-one overlaps the other-that appear to have flowed westward. It is likely that these features are ejecta lobes, because they are located adjacent to the southeastern crater (see context image). The fluidized appearance of these ejecta lobes is probably due to a significant amount of ice or water being present in the soil at the time of impact. We know that the southeastern crater must have formed after the northern crater, because the fluidized ejecta lobe overlies the rayed pattern. A close-up look at the fluidized ejecta lobes reveals a different surface "texture" than the surrounding caldera floor. This could be due to compressional features that formed during the lobe emplacement, or to contrasting surface properties that cause the flows to be eroded differently than the caldera floor. In the lower portion of the image, there is a cluster of small circular features in the southernmost part of the central caldera. These features may be layered material that has since been eroded into circular plateaus, or they may be degraded volcanic cones, which would indicate a later stage of smaller-scale volcanism within the caldera. Volcanic cones are common in many calderas on Earth, and are formed after the initial stage of volcanic activity in that caldera. Finally, in the southern wall of the caldera, there is classic "spur-and-gully" morphology. This type of, , morphology is often formed on steep slopes, where variations in wall resistance cause the surface to be eroded more easily in some areas. |
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Gigas Meets Ulysses
PIA04642
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Gigas Meets Ulysses |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 9 July 2003 Roughly halfway between the great volcanoes of Olympus Mons and Pavonis Mons, the graben (troughs) of Ulysses Fossae intersect with the furrows of Gigas (gigantic) Sulci. A clear time sequence is evident: first came the formation of the sulci terrain (to the left), which then was fractured by graben radial to Olympus Mons, followed by flooding of lava. All but the deepest graben are filled by lava in the topographic low between the two volcanic rises. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 11.8, Longitude 234.3 East (125.7 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Gigas Meets Ulysses
PIA04642
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Gigas Meets Ulysses |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 9 July 2003 Roughly halfway between the great volcanoes of Olympus Mons and Pavonis Mons, the graben (troughs) of Ulysses Fossae intersect with the furrows of Gigas (gigantic) Sulci. A clear time sequence is evident: first came the formation of the sulci terrain (to the left), which then was fractured by graben radial to Olympus Mons, followed by flooding of lava. All but the deepest graben are filled by lava in the topographic low between the two volcanic rises. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 11.8, Longitude 234.3 East (125.7 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Ulysses Fossae in Tharsis
PIA04005
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Ulysses Fossae in Tharsis |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Extensional forces in the volcanic province of Tharsis have produced a fractured terrain that resembles wrinkled skin. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (J
…
| Description |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) technicians finish mounting a thermal model of a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) on the installation cart which will be used to install the RTG in the Cassini spacecraft at Level 14 of Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Air Station. The technicians use the thermal model to practice installation procedures. The three actual RTGs which will provide electrical power to Cassini on its 6.7-mile trip to the Saturnian system, and during its four-year mission at Saturn, are being tested and monitored in the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Storage Building in KSC's Industrial Area. The RTGs use heat from the natural decay of plutonium to generate electric power. RTGs enable spacecraft to operate far from the Sun where solar power systems are not feasible. The RTGs on Cassini are of the same design as those flying on the already deployed Galileo and Ulysses spacecraft. The Cassini mission is targeted for an October 6 launch aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur expendable launch vehicle. Cassini is built and managed for NASA by JPL |
| Release Date |
05/27/1997 |
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