Fractured crater near Valles Marineris

Fractured crater near Valles Marineris

27 July 2004

(http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMG6OV4QWD_0.html)

This perspective image of a fractured crater near Valles Marineris on Mars was obtained by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the ESA Mars Express spacecraft. The image was taken during orbit 61 in January 2004 with a resolution of 12.5 meters per pixel. It shows part of a cratered landscape to the north of the Valles Marineris, at 0.6°S latitude and 309°E longitude, with this crater having a fractured base.
This crater has a rim diameter of 27.5 kilometers and is about 800 meters deep. It is not known yet how these fractures are generated. On Earth, polygonal fractures may occur in contracting material, which breaks at weak zones. For example, we may see this appearing in cooled lava, dried clay or frozen ground.
Perspective view of deposits in Melas Chasma

2 August 2004

This image of the southern part of Valles Marineris, called Melas Chasma, was obtained by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the ESA Mars Express spacecraft. This image was taken at a resolution of approximately 30 meters per pixel. The displayed region is located at the southern rim of the Melas Chasma, centred at Mars latitude 11°S and Mars longitude 286°E. The images were taken on orbit 360 of Mars Express.
This perspective view has been turned in such a way that the observer has a view of the southern scarp, almost 5000 meters high. The basin on the floor of the valley is on the opposite side, bordered by a ridge. On its flanks it is possible to make out some layering. However, the nature of the bright material, possibly some kind of deposit, is still unknown.
This perspective view was created by using the nadir (vertical view) channel and one stereo channel of the HRSC to produce a digital model of the terrain. Please note that image resolution has been reduced for use on the internet.
(http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMFKTV4QWD_0.html)
Additional articles on this subject are available at:

http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1097.html

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/marsexpress-04r.html

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-general-04s.html

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/fractured_crater_mars.html

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/new_perspective_melas_chasma.html

MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES

NASA/JPL/MSSS releases

16-28 July 2004
The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available.
Boulder Tracks (Released 15 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/15/index.html

Terra Sirenum Slope (Released 16 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/16/index.html

Melas Sedimentary Rocks (Released 17 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/17/index.html

Troughs Near Ascraeus (Released 18 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/18/index.html

South Polar Terrain (Released 19 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/19/index.html

Polar Barchans (Released 20 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/20/index.html

Light and Dark Slope Streaks (Released 21 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/21/index.html

Gordii Fossae Troughs (Released 22 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/22/index.html

Polar Layers and Dunes (Released 23 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/23/index.html

Layers in Oudemans (Released 24 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/24/index.html

South Polar Terrain (Released 25 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/25/index.html

Galle Scene (Released 26 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/26/index.html

Spotty Dunes (Released 27 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/27/index.html

Outcrop in Iani (Released 28 July 2004)

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/07/28/index.html

All of the Mars Global Surveyor images are archived at http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/index.html.
Mars Global Surveyor was launched in November 1996 and has been in Mars orbit since September 1997. It began its primary mapping mission on March 8, 1999. Mars Global Surveyor is the first mission in a long-term program of Mars exploration known as the Mars Surveyor Program that is managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.
MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES

NASA/JPL/ASU releases

19-23, 26-30 July 2004
Channel Floor Yardangs (Released 19 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040719a.html

Yardangs and Crosshatching (Released 20 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040720a.html

A Change of Direction (Released 21 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040721a.html

A Question of Interpretation (Released 22 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040722a.html

Complete Makeover (Released 23 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040723a.html

Decorrelation Stretch near Cerberus Fossae (Released 26 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040726A.html

Canyon in DCS Color (Released 27 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040727A.html

DCS Color near Mare Cimmerium (Released 28 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040728A.html

Kaiser Crater DCS (Released 29 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040729A.html

DCS in Hesperia Planum (Released 30 July 2004)

http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040730A.html

All of the THEMIS images are archived at http://themis.la.asu.edu/latest.html.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. 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.
ROSETTA: MONITORING NEW AVIONICS SOFTWARE

ESA release

2 August 2004
In the reporting period (23 July to 30 July 2004) the spacecraft was monitored daily to ensure the correct behavior of its avionics systems after the upload and activation of the new version 7 of the on-board software. Taking the opportunity of this period of daily contact a number of tests were carried out, which in turn served as confidence checks of the functionality of the new software:

• 
  the two Navigation Cameras were checked out on 25 July and the first pictures received showed the Earth-Moon system from a distance of 70 million km
  
• 
  for the first time the new strategy for reaction wheel offloading in an optimized attitude was used on 27 July, to reduce fuel consumption in high disturbance torques conditions the redundant Transfer Frame Generator (TFG) and Decoder were tested as part of the redundancy commissioning
  
• 
  a special Star Tracker test was carried out on 29 July to track stars that have been identified for elimination from the catalogue
  
• 
  a new thermal characterization exercise was carried out on 29 July, to observe the thermal behavior of the spacecraft when the Sun is shining on the –Z side with an inclination of 50 degrees over the +X axis.
  

The TC files containing the patch commands for the redundant avionics processors have been uplinked to the on-board mass memory. The patch of the redundant processors to the new software version 7 is planned for the beginning of August.

At the end of the last New Norcia pass in the reporting period (DOY 212) Rosetta was at 71.9 million kilometers from the Earth. The one-way signal travel time was 3 minutes 59 seconds.
Read the original news release at http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=35642.
End Marsbugs, Volume 11, Number 30.

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