Mars Express (MEX) - ESA orbiter

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2005-01-29 11:50:33

oh - I LOVE the MEX stuff coming down in colour and 3D - I wish they'd release it as vrmls or DEMs with textures - as I really want to spin around and roatate around these things
Doug

largest postcard?

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Expres … ESD_0.html

covering 380 000 square kilometres,

larger than Arizona, a great size than NewMexico
an area bigger than Germany

http://www.marsgeo.com/videos.html]http … ideos.html

Mars Express video plus you can get the NASA rover vids and Pathfinder Rover

some Mars Express PDFs

Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object … ctid=35544

USA Participation in Mars Express
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object … ctid=34884

Analyser of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object … ctid=34920

Nightglow in the Upper Atmosphere of Mars and Implications for Atmospheric Transport
We detected light emissions in the nightside Martian atmosphere with the SPICAM ultraviolet (UV) spectrometer on board Mars Express. The UV spectrum of this nightglow is composed of hydrogen Lyman a emission (121.6 nanometres) and the g and d bands of nitric oxide (NO) (190 to 270 nanometres) produced when N and O atoms combine to produce the NO molecule. N and O atoms are produced by electron UV photodissociation of O2, CO2 , and N2 in the dayside upper atmosphere and transported to the night side. The NO emission is brightest in the winter south polar night because of continuous downward transport of air in this region at night during winter and because of freezing at ground level....
....The SPICAM instrument on board Mars Express is a UV-infrared dual spectrometer dedicated primarily to the study of the atmosphere and ionosphere of Mars but also capable of providing important results on the surface albedo of Mars. A UV imaging spectrometer (118 to 320 nm, spectral resolution of 1.5 nm, intensified charge coupled device) is dedicated to nadir viewing, limb viewing, and atmospheric vertical profiling by stellar and solar occultations.

http://sci.esa.int/science-e-media/img/ … sults2.jpg

http://sci.esa.int/science-e-media/img/ … sults1.jpg

Palomar · 2005-01-30 15:49:27

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … ]Nightglow in upper Marsian atmosphere detected

*..."and implications for atmospheric transport." Via ME's SPICAM UV spectrometer. A rather "techy" article (definitely one of those "oh yeah, I'm an -amateur- astronomer, thanks for the reminder!" type moments, LOL). Observation dated 16 August 2004.

N and O atoms are produced by electron UV photodissociation of O2, CO2 , and N2 in the dayside upper atmosphere and transported to the night side. The NO emission is brightest in the winter south polar night because of continuous downward transport of air in this region at night during winter and because of freezing at ground level.

The SPICAM instrument on board Mars Express is a UV-infrared dual spectrometer dedicated primarily to the study of the atmosphere and ionosphere of Mars but also capable of providing important results on the surface albedo of Mars.

Mentions Venus UV nightglow too, referencing past missions.

Up to now, however, nightglow from Mars had escaped detection.

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-02-07 11:45:53

Been waiting long enough for this one.

Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding - or MARSIS set to deploy

To seek water - which might provide oases for life - as deep as several kilometres below the Martian surface.

Rxke · 2005-02-07 15:25:43

At last!

Now let's hope it doesn't get snagged...

SpaceNut · 2005-02-07 21:26:41

Or to whiplash, backlash back into the probe with a force as some have said would be present damaging the delicate craft.

Rxke · 2005-02-08 09:28:03

Heehee...

Somehow I suspect the guy that designed the freaking stuff uncounsciously is a deeply devout self-whipping religious fanatic!

Palomar · 2005-02-15 11:54:06

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Expres … tml]Center of Valles Marineris

*Just released from ESA. Melas, Candor and Ophir Chasmas. Images taken during orbits 334 - 360. Covers an area 300 x 600 km.

It remains unclear how this gigantic geological feature, unparalleled in the Solar System, was formed. Tensions in the upper crust of Mars possibly led to cracking of the highlands. Subsequently, blocks of the crust slid down between these tectonic fractures.

In contrast, some gigantic ‘hills’ (indeed, between 1000 and 2000 metres high) located on the floors of the valleys have a smoother topography and a more sinuous outline. So far, scientists have no definitive explanation for why these different landforms exist.

Below the northern scarp, there are several landslides, where material was transported over a distance of up to 70 kilometres.

--Cindy

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2005-02-15 13:22:45

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Expres … tml]Center of Valles Marineris
*Just released from ESA. Melas, Candor and Ophir Chasmas. Images taken during orbits 334 - 360. Covers an area 300 x 600 km.
It remains unclear how this gigantic geological feature, unparalleled in the Solar System, was formed. Tensions in the upper crust of Mars possibly led to cracking of the highlands. Subsequently, blocks of the crust slid down between these tectonic fractures.
In contrast, some gigantic ‘hills’ (indeed, between 1000 and 2000 metres high) located on the floors of the valleys have a smoother topography and a more sinuous outline. So far, scientists have no definitive explanation for why these different landforms exist.
Below the northern scarp, there are several landslides, where material was transported over a distance of up to 70 kilometres.
--Cindy

very good

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2005-02-17 06:19:10

Science from Mars Express after one year in orbit

16 February 2005
ESA PR 10-2005. After reaching its observational orbit around Mars a year ago, ESA’s Mars Express has already delivered an avalanche of scientific data of unprecedented quality that have completely changed the way in which we think about the Red Planet.
In order to compare views and discuss the implications of the new discoveries, over two hundred scientists will be attending the first Mars Express science conference, taking place from 21 to 25 February

Period of Long Eclipses Ending
15 Feb 2005 14:50
Overall Mission and Payload Status
The Mars Express payload operations continue to run smoothly, with scientific instruments operating normally and the spacecraft in good condition. The period of long eclipses, from January to February 2005, is ending without any power or thermal problem to date.

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/i … ?fareaid=9

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMEP7YEM4E_in … dex_0.html

No life on Mars · 2005-02-19 13:31:21

After more of one year flying around planet Mars taking low res. pictures, lunching one unsuccessful probe and undiployed radar :down:
seems they found sommething se her http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc20 … f/1741.pdf :up:

Rxke · 2005-02-20 05:49:33

Whoa! If they are right, this is *BIIIIIIIIIIIG* news!

Sounds too good to be true, though?

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-20 08:13:15

This is indeed remarkable news!
If this paper proves to be correct in its assertions, it opens up all sorts of possibilities. The first thing that springs to mind is the possibility that the first astronauts on Mars might have easy access to frozen water very close to the Martian Equator.
The second thing that occurred to me, looking at my topographic globe of Mars, is that the region described is at roughly the same altitude, ~2 kilometres below Datum, as the area Spirit is currently exploring, a few hundred kilometres away, in Gusev Crater. If southern Elysium could have a frozen sea comparable in area and volume to the terrestrial North Sea, what does that do for the concept of Gusev Crater perhaps having been an inlet of a much larger expanse of water in the past? And, extrapolating a little further, does that bring the possibility of an ancient Oceanus Borealis closer to reality also?
???
This is heady stuff, all right!

Rxke · 2005-02-20 11:18:22

This is going off- Mars Express- topic, but another paper for the same conference talks about subsurface water there:

Our friends from the http://www.markcarey.com/mars/discuss-2 … .html]Mars Rover Blog discuss this possibility.

The link to the paper itself, so you don't have to copy&paste is http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc20 … 1.pdf]here ,another .pdf

Hmmm... This should merit a new thread in the H2O on Mars section, no? No life, since you found this, the honous should be yours, heehee

imran · 2005-02-20 18:57:42

On top of that you have the possible detection of Formaldehyde.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7014]A whiff of life on the Red Planet

Now Formisano is saying that there is much more methane on Mars. He bases this on the detection of a different gas, formaldehyde, by the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS), an instrument on Mars Express that he runs. Formisano averaged thousands of measurements taken by the PFS and calculated that the Martian atmosphere has formaldehyde in concentrations of 130 parts per billion.

No life on Mars · 2005-02-21 15:23:33

A huge, frozen sea lies just below the surface of Mars, a team of European scientists has announced.
see more http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/natu … 285119.stm
I wrote this here because :If this is true then this is big succes for Mars express and so far Mrs express wasn't succes. And this tread name is Mars express succes.

Palomar · 2005-02-21 19:31:49

*I think Mars Express has been very successful. It's returned the best photos of Mars I've ever seen.

Have read the http://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-wate … .html]Mars Daily article pertaining to this.

While the site of the plates near Mars' equator means that sunlight should have melted any ice there, the team suggested that a layer of volcanic ash, perhaps a few centimetres thick, may protect the structures...
In their paper the researchers traced a possible history for Mars' underground ice, saying it began with huge masses of ice floating in water that were later covered with volcanic ash, leaving the pack ice plates behind.

Kudos to ESA and Mars Express.

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-02-22 05:26:52

Reference to this was posted in this thread as well
Getting water on mars

Just might be easier than we thought. ???
'Pack ice' suggests frozen sea on Mars

A frozen sea, surviving as blocks of pack ice, may lie just beneath the surface of Mars, suggest observations from Europe's Mars Express spacecraft. The sea is just 5° north of the Martian equator and would be the first discovery of a large body of water beyond the planet's polar ice caps.
Images from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on Mars Express show raft-like ground structures - dubbed "plates" - that look similar to ice formations near Earth's poles, according to an international team of scientists.

Palomar · 2005-02-22 07:17:10

The team of researchers, led by John Murray of Britain's Open University, estimated the possible submerged ice sea at about 800 by 900 kilometres in size and 45 metres (150 feet) deep on average.

*That quote is a bit screwed up (the text crammed only 1 standard measurement pertaining to size next to the metric) -- so I deleted the partial first standard equivalent.

Have checked all the links in articles pertaining to this news story which have been posted so far at New Mars. There seems to be only 1 illustration -- in the article I posted yesterday (above).

Would be nice to see a image of Mars with the area where this pack ice exists outlined in blue or red. A more definitive visual "idea" of its shape and area would be nice.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-22 22:27:04

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … sk/receive

*Yeah, it was coming sooner or later I know. :;): Strange squarish upraised area on the biggest "plaque" -- to your left, between middle and the lower portion of the big pic. Looks like some sort of dermatological condition. Anyway, am curious about that square-shaped mound especially.

Excellent images from Mars Express.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-23 01:40:12

A great article with great pictures! Thanks, Cindy.
It occurred to me that the colourful topographic map of Elysium Planitia, with the little white square (LWS) on it, might be open to a misinterpretation of scale, though.

My initial reaction to the LWS was to imagine that it represented the estimated extent of the frozen sea. However, on second thoughts, I realized the frozen sea is actually bigger than the LWS.
At the equator, 10 degrees of longitude correspond, conveniently in this case, to about 890 kms. The LWS appears to be only about 160 kms on a side.
So, the actual area of the frozen sea is more like 10 degrees x 10 degrees on that map, or some 30 times the area of the LWS.

[Just in case anybody was confused .. like me! ]

Julius Caeser · 2005-02-24 11:58:06

Allow me to be a bit sceptical,though i personally believe in the possibility of some form of martian life,the presence of methane in the Elysium area might just be an indicator of tectonic activity related to cerberus fossae rather than direct evidence of life;but i guess we cant be sure about the source until we directly sample the area and actually culturing whatever microbe there is underground.Otherwise,i'm more likely to believe in the tectonic source for the methane!Magma in contact with underground ice gives rise to the surface floods we observe in the area and accounts for the other massive (more ancient) floods like Ares vallis..that now looks more certain than ever.

Shaun Barrett · 2005-03-01 03:49:03

I'm not sure whether these images have been linked here before, or not, but I think they include some of the best pictures of Mars' North Pole region I've ever seen.
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMX67D … html]Check them out.

Rxke · 2005-03-01 07:06:50

2 kilometer-high cliffs. Just imagine standing there, wowza. I wonder what that would do to your mind, must be really dizzying, heh...

Palomar · 2005-03-01 07:21:29

I'm not sure whether these images have been linked here before, or not, but I think they include some of the best pictures of Mars' North Pole region I've ever seen.
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMX67D … html]Check them out.

*Oh - my - god, what awesome photos. ME is phenomenal.

The 1st photo looks like an upclose shot of a cinnamon roll with white icing drizzled over it.

Definitely my favorite area of Mars -- the northern polar region.

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-03-01 08:25:38

Great work the ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has done thus far. Still waiting thou for when in May the MARSIS radar will be deployed.

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Re: Mars Express (MEX) - ESA orbiter

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