Mars Reconnaissanse Orbiter!

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Нашли Марс-3!

NASA Mars Orbiter Images May Show 1971 Soviet Lander

          

This set of images shows what might be hardware from the Soviet Union's 1971 Mars 3 lander, seen in a pair of images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-132

April 11, 2013

Hardware from a spacecraft that the Soviet Union landed on Mars in 1971 might appear in images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

While following news about Mars and NASA's Curiosity rover, Russian citizen enthusiasts found four features in a five-year-old image from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that resemble four pieces of hardware from the Soviet Mars 3 mission: the parachute, heat shield, terminal retrorocket and lander. A follow-up image by the orbiter from last month shows the same features.

The Mars 3 lander transmitted for several seconds after landing on Dec. 2, 1971, the first spacecraft to survive a Mars landing long enough to transmit anything.

Images of the possible Mars 3 features, taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, are available at http://uahirise.org/ESP_031036_1345 and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA16920 .

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"Together, this set of features and their layout on the ground provide a remarkable match to what is expected from the Mars 3 landing, but alternative explanations for the features cannot be ruled out," said HiRISE Principal Investigator Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "Further analysis of the data and future images to better understand the three-dimensional shapes may help to confirm this interpretation."

In 1971, the former Soviet Union launched the Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions to Mars. Each consisted of an orbiter plus a lander. Both orbiter missions succeeded, although the surface of Mars was obscured by a planet-encircling dust storm. The Mars 2 lander crashed. Mars 3 became the first successful soft landing on the Red Planet, but stopped transmitting after just 14.5 seconds for unknown reasons.

The predicted landing site was at latitude 45 degrees south, longitude 202 degrees east, in Ptolemaeus Crater. HiRISE acquired a large image at this location in November 2007. This image contains 1.8 billion pixels of data, so about 2,500 typical computer screens would be needed to view the entire image at full resolution. Promising candidates for the hardware from Mars 3 were found on Dec. 31, 2012.

Vitali Egorov from St. Petersburg, Russia, heads the largest Russian Internet community about Curiosity, at http://vk.com/curiosity_live . His subscribers did the preliminary search for Mars 3 via crowdsourcing. Egorov modeled what Mars 3 hardware pieces should look like in a HiRISE image, and the group carefully searched the many small features in this large image, finding what appear to be viable candidates in the southern part of the scene. Each candidate has a size and shape consistent with the expected hardware, and they are arranged on the surface as expected from the entry, descent and landing sequence.

"I wanted to attract people's attention to the fact that Mars exploration today is available to practically anyone," Egorov said. "At the same time we were able to connect with the history of our country, which we were reminded of after many years through the images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter."

An advisor to the group, Alexander Basilevsky, of Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Moscow, contacted McEwen suggesting a follow-up image. HiRISE acquired the follow-up on March 10, 2013. This image was targeted to cover some of the hardware candidates in color and to get a second look with different illumination angles. Meanwhile, Basilevsky and Erogov contacted Russian engineers and scientists who worked on Mars 3 for more information.

The candidate parachute is the most distinctive feature in the images. It is an especially bright spot for this region, about 8.2 yards (7.5 meters) in diameter. The parachute would have a diameter of 12 yards (11 meters) if fully spread out over the surface, so this is consistent. In the second HiRISE image, the parachute appears to have brightened over much of its surface, probably due to its better illumination over the sloping surface, but it is also possible that the parachute brightened in the intervening years because dust was removed.

The descent module, or retrorocket, was attached to the lander container by a chain, and the candidate feature has the right size and even shows a linear extension that could be a chain. Near the candidate descent module is a feature with the right size and shape to be the actual lander, with four open petals. The image of the candidate heat shield matches a shield-shaped object with the right size if partly buried.

Philip J. Stooke from the University of West Ontario, Canada, suggested the direction of search and offered helpful advice. Arnold Selivanov (one of the creators of Mars 3) and Vladimir Molodtsov (an engineer at NPO Lavochkin, Moscow) helped with access to data archives.

HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and Curiosity are managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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Зонд НАСА разглядел на Марсе своего советского "прадедушку"

МОСКВА, 11 апр — РИА Новости. Российские энтузиасты космонавтики и специалисты НАСА нашли на снимках поверхности Марса советский зонд "Марс-3", совершивший посадку на планету в декабре 1971 года.

Автоматическая станция "Марс-3" стартовала к Марсу 29 мая 1971 года, а 2 декабря ее посадочный модуль вошел в атмосферу планеты и совершил мягкую посадку — первую в истории и единственную в советской марсианской программе. Зонд начал передавать информацию, но через 14,5 секунды связь прервалась. По мнению специалистов, электронная начинка модуля была "убита" разрядом статического электричества, которое накапливается в экстремально сухих марсианских условиях.

В декабре 2012 года создатель сообщества, посвященного марсоходу Curiosity в соцсети "Вконтакте", Виталий Егоров обнаружил на снимках зонда MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) объект, очень похожий на советскую станцию. Он находился почти в той точке, которую в качестве места посадки указывали советские конструкторы — 45 градусов южной широты, 158 градусов западной долготы. Егоров связался с профессором Института геохимии и аналитической химии имени Вернадского Александром Базилевским, при посредничестве которого НАСА 10 марта этого года организовало повторную съемку с MRO.

На снимках с разрешением около 25 сантиметров на пиксель хорошо различимы сбрасываемая штанга с двигателями мягкой посадки, тормозной конус, парашют и сам посадочный модуль размером около 1,5 метра. В НАСА отмечают, что расположение этих деталей "удивительно соответствуют ожидаемым для "Марса-3", но пока нельзя исключить и альтернативные объяснения".

"Снимки поверхности Марса доступны каждому. Мне было интересно самому, и я хотел показать, что быть исследователем Марса может каждый, достаточно приложить немного усилий и иметь доступ в интернет. Еще важно — напомнить молодому поколению, что мы тоже "на пыльных тропинках далеких планет" оставили следы, а то сейчас много говорят о достижениях НАСА, а своя история забывается", — сказал РИА Новости Егоров.

http://ria.ru/science/20130411/932196356.html

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НАСА приглашает добровольцев помочь перевести фотоатлас Марса

МОСКВА, 16 апр — РИА Новости. НАСА приглашает добровольцев принять участие в проекте по переводу на русский язык подписей к фотографиям и других материалов в самом подробном "фотоальбоме" Марса — на сайте со снимками марсианской поверхности, сделанными зондом MRO.
"Мы начали проект в 2010 году с перевода на три языка силами десятка добровольцев, которых мы нашли через социальные сети. Сегодня у нас более 100 волонтеров по всему миру и есть разделы на 9 языках... Это первый случай, когда действующая миссия НАСА делает информацию доступной на столь многих языках. Мы надеемся вскоре создать русский раздел, когда мы соберем достаточно переведенных подписей, чтобы запустить его", — сказал РИА Новости Израэль Эспиноза (Yisrael Espinoza), координатор проекта HiTranslate.
Участники этого проекта переводят подписи к снимкам поверхности Марса, сделанным камерой HiRISE на борту зонда MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter), который работает на околомарсианской орбите с 2006 года. HiRISE, созданная в университете Аризоны, может делать снимки с разрешением около 30 сантиметров на пиксель — это самые детальные снимки Марса, сделанные с орбиты. Недавно на этих снимках российские энтузиасты космоса обнаружили советский аппарат "Марс-3".
Эспиноза надеется, что эта находка привлечет внимание жителей России, позволит привлечь добровольцев и добавить русский раздел к имеющимся девяти — на французском, испанском, итальянском, португальском, нидерландском, исландском, греческом и арабском. "Мы называем HiRISE "народной камерой" и мы хотим получить возможность говорить с людьми, которые мало или совсем не знают английский", — сказал он.
Собеседник агентства отметил, что речь идет не только о переводе подписей к фотографиям (которые очень подробны и представляют собой отдельные статьи), но также и о русификации субтитров к видеороликам и аудиозаписям, о переводе других материалах, связанных с Марсом.

http://ria.ru/science/20130416/932891690.html

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NASA Mars Orbiters Have New Project Managers
04.17.13

 
 Dan Johnston (left) is the new project manager for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. David Lehman (right) is the new project manager for NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. Both missions are managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
 › Larger view

   PASADENA, Calif. -- Two NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars, both working long past their original prime missions, have new project managers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
 Dan Johnston is the new project manager for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and David Lehman is now project manager for NASA's Mars Odyssey.
 Johnston has worked on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission from its inception in 2000, through launch in 2005 and during operations in Mars orbit since 2006. He was the mission's design manager during development. Later roles have included mission manager and, since 2010, deputy project manager.
 Johnston, a Louisiana native, earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas, Austin, worked in private-industry support of NASA space shuttle mission operations, and joined JPL in 1989. He lives in La Crescenta, Calif.
 The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has returned more data than all other Mars missions combined, observing Mars' surface, subsurface and atmosphere in unprecedented detail and radically expanding our knowledge of the Red Planet.
 "The project's major challenge is to balance the science that the mission is continuing with the needs for serving as a communication relay for rovers," Johnston said. "Keeping the orbiter in service is our number-one priority."
 Lehman managed NASA's twin-spacecraft Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) Project from its inception in 2006 through the 2012 completion of its work orbiting Earth's moon.
 Lehman's career has taken him from undersea to deep space. Before joining JPL in 1980, he was a U.S. Navy submarine officer. At JPL, his accomplishments have included managing NASA's Deep Space 1 Project, which tested 12 innovative technologies, such as ion propulsion and autonomous navigation, on its way to an asteroid flyby. Lehman holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University, Fort Collins. The New Mexico native now lives in Pasadena, Calif.
 Mars Odyssey has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2001, began systematic science observations there in early 2002, and broke the previous record for longest-working Mars spacecraft in December 2010. The mission's longevity enables continued science, including the monitoring of seasonal changes on Mars from year to year, in addition to communication-relay service for Mars rovers.
 Lehman said, "Odyssey is a major asset for NASA's Mars Program both for its science and as a relay. There is a lot of work being done by a lean team to keep it running smoothly."
 JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built both orbiters and partners with JPL in spacecraft operations for both missions.
 For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mro . For more about Mars Odyssey, visit http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey .

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/mars20130417.html

[Настрел]

http://ru-universe.livejournal.com/618249.html

[Сергио]

Sellin пишет:
 http://ru-universe.livejournal.com/618249.html
 

flase colur или нет? а то меня 7-40 расстроил - оказывается хаббловские цветастые снимки галаткик - false colur. а я так надеялся.

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http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/

Земля приняла 193 терабита информации с MRO

[raputor]

Сергио пишет:
false colur или нет?

Цвета, естественно, условные. Там даже написано на некоторых снимках, что специально выкрашено для полноты картины

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Overhead View of Mars Rover 10 Years After Launch

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-224



NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been on the western rim of Endeavour Crater in Meridiani Planum for about two years. Until May 2013, it was investigating sedimentary layers that are three to four billion years old on a portion of the rim called "Cape York." This image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on July 8, 2013, captures Opportunity traversing south (at the end of the white arrow) to new science targets and a winter haven at "Solander Point," another portion of the Endeavour rim. The relatively level ground between Cape York and Solander Point is called "Botany Bay." The image was taken 10 years after Opportunity was launched from Florida on July 7, 2013, EDT and PDT (July 8, Universal Time). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Full image and caption

July 17, 2013

PASADENA, Calif. -- An image from Mars orbit taken 10 years after the launch of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the long-lived rover on its trek to a new destination on Mars.

The color image taken July 8, 2013, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter catches Opportunity crossing relatively level ground called "Botany Bay" on its way to a rise called "Solander Point."

The image is available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17278 and http://uahirise.org/ESP_032573_1775 .

"The Opportunity team particularly appreciates the color image of Solander Point because it provides substantially more information on the terrains and traverse that Opportunity will be conducting over the next phase of our exploration of the rim of Endeavour crater," said Mars Exploration Rover Project Scientist Matt Golombek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Opportunity was launched from Florida's Space Coast on July 7, 2003, PDT and EDT (July 8, Universal Time). The rover finished nearly two years of investigating an area called "Cape York" two months ago. Both Cape York and Solander Point are raised portions of the rim of Endeavour Crater, which is 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter.

HiRISE first imaged Opportunity in 2006, the year Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter began orbiting Mars with six science instruments. The rover had then just reached the edge of Victoria Crater, which is half a mile (800 meters) in diameter. Opportunity spent two years investigating Victoria Crater before heading toward much-larger Endeavour Crater.

HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and Mars Exploration Rover Project are managed for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mro . For more information about Opportunity, visit http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov .

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Swapping Motion-Sensing Units

Update: Aug. 14, 2013 (10:25 a.m. PST)
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is now using its Inertial Measurement Unit 2 and has resumed normal relay operations and science observations.

Aug. 12, 2013

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is switching from one motion-sensing device to a duplicate unit onboard.

The veteran orbiter relies on this inertial measurement unit (IMU) for information about changes in orientation. This information is important for maintaining spacecraft attitude and for pointing the orbiter's large antenna and science-observation instruments.

The spacecraft has two identical copies of this motion-sensing device, called IMU-1 and IMU-2. Either of them can be used with either of the spacecraft's redundant main computers. Each contains three gyroscopes and three accelerometers.

"The reason we're doing this is that one of the gyroscopes on IMU-1 is approaching its end of life, so we want to swap to our redundant unit early enough that we still have some useful life preserved in the first unit," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Manager Reid Thomas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The orbiter began investigating Mars in 2006. Since completing its primary science phase in 2008, it has continued to work as an extended mission.

The swap has been planned for this week, with procedures expected to take less than two days before the orbiter resumes its normal functions of science observations from orbit and communication relay for Mars rovers.

"To make sure we have a smooth transition, regaining attitude knowledge as quickly as possible, we will power off all instruments, do the IMU swap, maneuver to sun point, do the IMU swap, and then put the spacecraft into safe mode," Thomas said. "The safe-mode process re-initializes the spacecraft's knowledge of its attitude."

IMU-2 has been used previously, but IMU-1 has been used much more. After the swap, IMU-1 will remain available if needed for short periods.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has provided more data about Mars than all other earlier and current missions combined. It also relays to Earth information from both of NASA's active Mars rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity, sharing that function with the NASA Mars Odyssey orbiter.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and partners in its daily operation.

More information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is available online at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/ .

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1505

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Смена текущих устройств на зонде «Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter»

14 августа 2013, в 10:25 утра по тихоокеанскому времени, на аппарате «Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter» произошло обновление, теперь аппарат использует свое второе (запасное) инерциальное измерительное устройство и возобновил нормальную работу по передаче данных и дальнейших наблюдений.

Космический аппарат НАСА «Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter» перешел с одного устройства зондирования на дубликат имеющийся на его борту. Зонд-ветеран опирается на это инерционное измерительное устройство (ИИУ) для получения информации об изменениях и перемещении.

Эти устройства важны для поддержания ориентации космического корабля в космосе и нормальной работы большой антенны орбитального аппарата, а так же для приборов наблюдения.

Космический аппарат имеет два идентичных устройства зондирования, называемые - ИИУ-1 и ИИУ-2. Любой из них может быть использован как резервное или как главное техническое устройство. Каждый состоит из трех гироскопов и трех акселерометров.

Как сказал менеджер этого проекта – Рид Томас: «Причина, почему мы решили перейти на запасное устройство в том, что у одного из гироскопов на ИИУ-1 заканчивается срок его эксплуатации. Мы хотим, перейти на резервный блок заранее, сохранив некоторые полезные программы в первом блоке».

«Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter» начал свою работу еще в 2006 году и предоставил больше данных о Марсе, чем все другие ранее и текущие миссии вместе взятые. Он также обеспечил передачу информации на Землю от обоих марсоходов, «Opportunity» и «Curiosity».

http://www.astronews.ru/cgi-bin/mng.cgi?page=news&news=4514

[che wi]

Удивительные дюны-птицы Марса
http://rnd.cnews.ru/natur_science/news/line/index_science.shtml?2014/02/20/561425
http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_034815_2035

Камера HiRISE на борту космического аппарата НАСА Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter запечатлела удивительные V-образные дюны Марса.

На снимке, сделанном 30 декабря 2013 года, видны большие черные, неестественно смотрящиеся на фоне поверхности планеты, песчаные дюны, которые словно стая перелетных птиц, «ползут» по равнинам Марса. При увеличении видно, что поверхность дюн имеет необычный рисунок, похожий на плетение углеродных нитей в куске углепластика.

Разумеется, песчаные дюны не имеют никакого отношения к разумной деятельности, животному или растительному миру Марса – это лишь горы песка, которые сформированы очень сильными ветрами. V-образная форма обусловлена движением воздушных потоков, которые «вырезают» из песка обтекаемую структуру, похожую на наконечник копья. Вогнутость на одной из сторон дюн объясняется завихрениями воздуха.

[Александр Ч.]

Заснеженные дюны Марса

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 Martian Sand Dunes in Spring
 
 
Mars' northern-most sand dunes are beginning to emerge fr om their winter cover of seasonal carbon dioxide (dry) ice. Dark, bare south-facing slopes are soaking up the warmth of the sun.
The steep lee sides of the dunes are also ice-free along the crest, allowing sand to slide down the dune. Dark splotches are places wh ere ice cracked earlier in spring, releasing sand. Soon the dunes will be completely bare and all signs of spring activity will be gone.
This image was acquired by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Jan. 16, 2014. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

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[Виктор Петров]

На Марсе нашли самый крупный свежий ударный кратер, образовавшийся только в 2012 году.

Подробнее.

http://za-neptunie.livejournal.com/12816.html

[Старый]

Виктор Петров пишет:
На Марсе нашли самый крупный свежий ударный кратер, образовавшийся только в 2012 году.

Подробнее.

 http://za-neptunie.livejournal.com/12816.html

Такое ощущение что это не кратер а провал.

[Сергио]

Старый пишет:

Виктор Петров пишет:
На Марсе нашли самый крупный свежий ударный кратер, образовавшийся только в 2012 году.

Подробнее.

 http://za-neptunie.livejournal.com/12816.html

Такое ощущение что это не кратер а провал.

не успел я с постом!
http://mars.nasa.gov/mro/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1640
вы читаете мои мысли, не ударный это кратер.

[che wi]

Ancient Lake Sediments in a Crater
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_037122_2165

 

This image shows some interesting fractured materials on the floor of an impact crater in Arabia Terra. There is a channel entering the crater and exiting it. This channel, along with an unusual deposit on the lowest part of the floor, suggests that there was once an ancient lake that deposited sediments here.

Our enhanced-color sample shows layered deposits, some with polygonal patterns, as might be expected from lake sediments. The fracturing of these deposits might have resulted from the sudden breaching of the crater rim, draining the lake.

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Траектория орбитеров корректируется для минимизации последствий сближения кометы с Марсом.

NASA Mars Spacecraft Prepare for Close Comet Flyby

July 25, 2014

NASA is taking steps to protect its Mars orbiters, while preserving opportunities to gather valuable scientific data, as Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring heads toward a close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19.

The comet's nucleus will miss Mars by about 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers), shedding material hurtling at about 35 miles (56 kilometers) per second, relative to Mars and Mars-orbiting spacecraft. At that velocity, even the smallest particle -- estimated to be about one-fiftieth of an inch (half a millimeter) across -- could cause significant damage to a spacecraft.

NASA currently operates two Mars orbiters, with a third on its way and expected to arrive in Martian orbit just a month before the comet flyby. Teams operating the orbiters plan to have all spacecraft positioned on the opposite side of the Red Planet when the comet is most likely to pass by.

"Three expert teams have modeled this comet for NASA and provided forecasts for its flyby of Mars," explained Rich Zurek, chief scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "The hazard is not an impact of the comet nucleus, but the trail of debris coming from it. Using constraints provided by Earth-based observations, the modeling results indicate that the hazard is not as great as first anticipated. Mars will be right at the edge of the debris cloud, so it might encounter some of the particles -- or it might not."

During the day's events, the smallest distance between Siding Spring's nucleus and Mars will be less than one-tenth the distance of any known previous Earthly comet flyby. The period of greatest risk to orbiting spacecraft will start about 90 minutes later and last about 20 minutes, when Mars will come closest to the center of the widening dust trail from the nucleus.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) made one orbit-adjustment maneuver on July 2 as part of the process of repositioning the spacecraft for the Oct. 19 event. An additional maneuver is planned for Aug. 27. The team operating NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter is planning a similar maneuver on Aug. 5 to put that spacecraft on track to be in the right place at the right time, as well.

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is on its way to the Red Planet and will enter orbit on Sept. 21. The MAVEN team is planning to conduct a precautionary maneuver on Oct. 9, prior to the start of the mission's main science phase in early November.

In the days before and after the comet's flyby, NASA will study the comet by taking advantage of how close it comes to Mars. Researchers plan to use several instruments on the Mars orbiters to study the nucleus, the coma surrounding the nucleus, and the tail of Siding Spring, as well as the possible effects on the Martian atmosphere. This particular comet has never before entered the inner solar system, so it will provide a fresh source of clues to our solar system's earliest days.

MAVEN will study gases coming off the comet's nucleus into its coma as it is warmed by the sun. MAVEN also will look for effects the comet flyby may have on the planet's upper atmosphere and observe the comet as it travels through the solar wind.

Odyssey will study thermal and spectral properties of the comet's coma and tail. MRO will monitor Mars' atmosphere for possible temperature increases and cloud formation, as well as changes in electron density at high altitudes. The MRO team also plans to study gases in the comet's coma. Along with other MRO observations, the team anticipates this event will yield detailed views of the comet's nucleus and potentially reveal its rotation rate and surface features.

Mars' atmosphere, though much thinner than Earth's, is thick enough that NASA does not anticipate any hazard to the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers on the planet's surface, even if dust particles from the comet hit the atmosphere and form into meteors. Rover cameras may be used to observe the comet before the flyby, and to monitor the atmosphere for meteors while the comet's dust trail is closest to the planet.

Observations from Earth-based and space telescopes provided data used for modeling to make predictions about Siding Spring's Mars flyby, which were in turn used for planning protective maneuvers. The three modeling teams were headed by researchers at the University of Maryland in College Park, the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and JPL.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-244

[Дмитрий Виницкий]

This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater.
At this time of year, only south-facing slopes retain the frost, while the north-facing slopes have melted. Gullies are not the only active geologic process going on here. A small crater is visible at the bottom of the slope.
The image was acquired on Nov. 30, 2014, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
http://www.nasa.gov/content/frosty-slopes-on-mars/#.VJv4osgPA

[Анатолий Ревзин]

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Дмитрий Виницкий пишет:

 http://www.nasa.gov/content/frosty-slopes-on-mars/#.VJv4osgPA

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