Remote sensing Archives

Planetary Sciences

Satellite image of the surface of Mars, with a 5-kilometer scale

Research Spotlight 16 May 2019

Detecting Carbonates on the Surface of Mars

A new study shows how a warm, wet climate weathered rocks on early Mars.

Planetary Sciences

An artist’s rendering of what Mars may have looked like 4 billion years ago with an ocean covering about half of its surface

Research Spotlight 9 April 2019

A New Way to Analyze Evidence of Martian Oceans

Mars’s aqueous past holds the answers to many questions about the Red Planet. A new study provides a tool for scouring planetary surfaces for ancient shorelines.

Planetary Sciences

Mosaic image of Bennu composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on Dec. 2 by OSIRIS-REx from a range of 24 kilometers

Scientific Press Releases 12 March 2019

Asteroid Bennu Is Rotating Faster Over Time

OSIRIS-REx finds Bennu’s rotation period is speeding up by about 1 second every 100 years.

Planetary Sciences

A picture of Phobos, the larger of Mars’s two moons

Research Spotlight 11 February 2019

New Hints About How Martian Moons Formed

A new study finds that Phobos includes chunks of Martian crust.

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Planetary Sciences

Editors' Vox 15 January 2019

Revisiting Enigmatic Martian Slope Streaks

Slope streaks of different sizes and shapes are a common feature on the surface of Mars, but scientists disagree about the mechanisms for their formation and development.

Planetary Sciences

Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two tiny satellites, pictured near the limb of Mars by the robot spacecraft Mars Express in 2010.

Scientific Press Releases 25 September 2018

Martian Moon May Have Come from Impact on Home Planet

Spectral fingerprints of Phobos’ surface support an ancient big crash origin for the Martian moon.

Planetary Sciences

Icy Bay in Alaska’s Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness

News 13 September 2018

Global Ice Monitoring Satellite to Launch as Early as This Week

The soon-to-launch satellite will measure the height and thickness of sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost around the world to an unprecedentedly high precision.

Planetary Sciences

Image of part of the Cerberus Fossae fault, taken by the HiRISE instrument aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Research Spotlight 28 August 2018

Searching for Signs of Marsquakes

Researchers use high-resolution images of Mars’s surface to look for signals of coseismic displacement.

Planetary Sciences

Mercury’s south pole to 80°S, with an Arecibo radar image in pink indicating locations of water ice.

Research Spotlight 20 April 2018

Evidence of Extensive Ice Deposits Near Mercury’s South Pole

New radar observations and refined illumination maps reveal uneven water ice deposits twice the size of those found around the planet’s north pole, suggesting the source may be a recent comet impact.

Hydrology, Cryosphere & Earth Surface

Horizontal exposure of cyclic cross strata in the Navajo Sandstone

Meeting Report 15 February 2018

Planetary Dune Workshop Expands to Include Subaqueous Processes

The Fifth International Planetary Dunes Workshop: From the Bottom of the Oceans to the Outer Limits of the Solar System; St. George, Utah, 16–19 May 2017