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Martian Crater May Once Have Held Groundwater-Fed Lake

By Guest PostJanuary 22, 2013Sciencearabia terra, carbonate, clay mineral, compact reconnaissance, crism, early evolution, flat rock, groundwater, hydrothermal fluids, imaging spectrometer, joseph michalski, lake environment, layered, mars, mars orbiters, mars reconnaissance orbiter, martian crater, martian history, mclaughlin crater, meteor impact, mro, nasa spacecraft, non acidic conditions, potential habitat, red planet, rich zurek, scott murchie, spectrometer data, subsurface, subsurface habitability, underground water, wet underground environment

PASADENA, Calif. — A NASA spacecraft is providing new evidence of a wet underground environment on Mars that adds to an increasingly complex picture of the Red Planet’s early evolution.

The new information comes from researchers analyzing spectrometer data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which looked down on the floor of McLaughlin Crater. The Martian crater is 57 miles (92 kilometers) in diameter and 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers) deep. McLaughlin’s depth apparently once allowed underground water, which otherwise would have stayed hidden, to flow into the crater’s interior. (more…)

Dark Shadows on Mars: Scene from Durable NASA Rover

Like a tourist waiting for just the right lighting to snap a favorite shot during a stay at the Grand Canyon, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has used a low sun angle for a memorable view of a large Martian crater.

The resulting view catches a shadow of the rover in the foreground and the giant basin in the distance. Opportunity is perched on the western rim of Endeavour Crater looking eastward. The crater spans about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter. Opportunity has been studying the edge of Endeavour Crater since arriving there in August 2011. (more…)

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Martian Crater May Once Have Held Groundwater-Fed Lake

Dark Shadows on Mars: Scene from Durable NASA Rover