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February 5 - February 9, 2001
Forum 2/5
- 2/9
Live Webcast 2/9 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET
Images
These images are arranged in 4 categories to assist
students with their research
- Earth, Mars, and Planetary Photos
- Regional Images of Mars
- Specific landing sites within regions
- Additional Web sites with images
Earth, Mars, and Planetary Photos
Regional Images of Mars
Clickable Mars
Map
By using the clickable map you can access additional information
such as the location of hematite deposits discovered by Mars Global
Surveyor, rock abundance in percent surface coverage, topography
from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) in kilometers, or the
thermal inertia. (Thermal inertia is a measure of how a surface
resists changes in temperature which is in part an indication of
how much dust is covering the surface. Lower values generally correspond
to more dust.) Some sites may have features that could place them
in multiple categories, but have been listed in the category that
best represents the site.
Valles Marineris Sites: These are sites located in parts
of the canyon system that is as long as the width of the United
States. Since Valles Marineris is a canyon, layers in the rocks
should be easy to see. These layers may be sedimentary or from
lava flows. Also, there could be evidence of water-carved features.
Unlike the Grand Canyon which was formed by water, many Mars scientists
think Valles Marineris was formed by tectonics (fracturing of
the surface). The closest Earth analog would be the East African
Rift.
Melas
Chasma
Specific sites that are best for studying the canyon itself:
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/12_051.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/12_052.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/12_054.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/12_053.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/13_054.html
Sites in Valles Marineris related to large discharges of ground
water:
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/11_065.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/14_069.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/13_071.html
Terra Meridiani Hematite Sites: Sites located on Mars by Global
Surveyor that have sand-sized grains of the mineral hematite. Hematite
is a common iron mineral found on Earth and usually occurs where
rock has interacted with water. The grains in this deposit are grey,
similar to the hematite used to make jewelry because of their size.
The red grains in the dust of Mars are the size of powdered sugar.
Both the red and grey hematite are altered minerals that are produced
from iron bearing rocks like basalt, common in places like the seafloor
of Hawaii. The volcanoes on Mars are the same type of volcanoes
on Hawaii, therefore they should be producing similar rock. Most
meteorites from Mars are basalt. An example of this type of site:
Terra
Meridiani Hematite
Specific Hematite images:
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/08_087.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/08_088.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/09_086.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/09_087.html
Paleo-lake Sites: Ancient lake bed.
Obviously a lake bed is an area that shows evidence where liquid
water was once on the surface of Mars. White Rock Basin White
Rock Basin
Specific Paleolake Sites (some of these could also be classified
as hydrothermal sites)
- Gale Crater: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/10_159.html
- Gusev Crater: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/14_177.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/14_178.html
- Boeddicker Crater (EP64A): http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/14_171
.html
- Meridiani Crater: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/12_087.html
- unnamed crater in Elysium Planitia: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/12_165
.html
Hydrothermal Sites: We do not know if there are hydrothermal
locations on Mars. However, because there are volcanoes and substantial
evidence of liquid water at the surface of Mars in the past and
there is current evidence for ground ice and small amounts of
liquid water near the surface, Hydrothermal systems should be
present on Mars. Impacts from meteors can also provide heat for
Hydrothermal systems.
The sites in this category are in areas that would be the most
likely to be hydrothermal. Hydrothermal sites would give us evidence
of water and rock interactions which is important for life. These
sites are characterized by water carved features or evidence of
water discharged on the surface and a source of hear such as volcanoes
or impact craters. An example of a hydrothermal site, the top
of the image very clearly shows branches like a tree which looks
much like our river valleys on Earth would appear from above.
Apollinaris Patera 2
Apollinaris
Patera
Volcanic sites in Elysium Planitia:
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/07_164.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/06_160.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/06_161.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/04_167.html
Isidis Planitia (water-carved valley networks in the region
plus possible small volcanic features):
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/06_134.html
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/06_131.html
Apollinaris Patera (volcano):
- http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/submaps/mdims/13_175.html,
a new site for the 2003 rovers that added in January 2001 at
11.1 degrees S, 188.5 degrees W. This is the same site as one
that was previously proposed called "Apollinaris Chaos". Chaos
refers to an area that looks jumbled up. Chaos terrain is thought
to result from the release of ground water onto the surface.
Additional Web sites with images:
Mars Virtual Reality
Website
Main Science
page for the MER2003
Center for Mars Exploration
Conference Web
Site
Rover Site
Arizona K-12 Mars
Exploration Program
JPL Mars Education
Viking Orbiter
images
Viking Orbiter
images of Mars surface
JPL Mars site
Mars Exploration
Rover website
United States Geological
Survey MER page
On-line Education and Outreach by Mary
Urquhart, Ph.D.
Teachers tour guide
to the planets
Question
of life on Mars
Questions and comments about this event can be sent to: tkrieg@quest.arc.nasa.gov
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