The consistently shallow depths of the depressions scattered across Mercury's surface suggest their morphology is not determined by the thickness of a volatile-rich outer layer.
Surface materials and properties
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Minerals Hint at Liquid Groundwater, More Oxygen in Mars's Past
Manganese deposits in Gale Crater fractures are similar to Earth features that usually require flowing water and highly oxidizing conditions.
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A Cluster of Water Seeps on Mars?
The discovery of dense concentrations of recurring flowlike features in two Valles Marineris chasms could aid in the search for life and influence future exploration of the Red Planet.
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Carbon Dioxide Frost May Keep Martian Soil Dusty
Temperature readings acquired from orbit show that Mars's surface gets cold enough at night to allow layers of solid carbon dioxide frost up to several hundred micrometers thick to build up near the equator.
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Curiosity Sends Curious Water Data from Mars
The rover's neutron spectroscopy instrument hints at an unexpected trend: The upper soil levels in the layers of Gale Crater's Kimberley formation seem to hold more water-associated hydrogen.
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Demystifying Mercury "Hollows"
Spectral data from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft indicate that the properties of the depressions on Mercury's surface can vary within a single crater and that these differences may correlate to age.
Posted inScience Updates
Where Curiosity Has Taken Us
The Curiosity rover, one of NASA's flagship missions, analyzes Martian geology, geochemistry, climatology, and radiation to assess whether Mars could have supported microbial life.
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Curiosity Rover Finds Organic Molecules on Martian Surface
Scientists assess the present and past habitability of Mars from organic compounds detected at Gale Crater.
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What Formed These Curious Ripples on Mars?
Dunes, ridges, or something else? Scientists seek to understand the origins of transverse aeolian ridges.
Posted inScience Updates
The Importance of Dunes on a Variety of Planetary Surfaces
The Fourth International Planetary Dunes Workshop: Integrating Models, Remote Sensing, and Field Data; Boise, Idaho, 19–22 May 2015