3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C.

Lang 1
 Check your knowledge--

Northerners have cold days in January because:

(a) the earth is farthest from the Sun in January

(b) the orbital velocity of Earth is greatest in Jan.

(c) the Sun is lower in the sky in January

(d) El Nino is always strongest in January

ANSWER: (c)
3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 2
 Physical Features of Mars

The Martian Surface as revealed by the Mariners, Vikings

- craters
- volcanoes
- plains

Evidence for Water on Mars

- geological
- chemical

The Martian Atmosphere

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 3

 Fast Facts on Mars:

size = 5974 km/4200 miles

~53% Earths size

mass = 6.5 x 1023 kg or

0.1 Earths mass

density = 3900 kg/m3

(Earths density = 5510 kg/m3)

gravity/physics will be
different on Mars, i.e., mts.,
activity in planets core

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 4

 Changes in surface coloring:
3 Sept 2003 thought
Solar System once to be vegetation!!
- C. C. Lang 5
Mariners 6 and 7

Fly by of Mars on 31 Jul 1969

- came within 2,130 miles of Mars
- pictures of ~20% surface (missed important volcanic features)
- sent back ~80 photos (Mar. 6) and ~120 photos (Mar. 7)
Mariners 6 and 7 had scientfic instruments to study Martian atmosphere:
- composition, pressure, density, and temperature
- two cameras
- infrared spectrometer
3 Sept 2003 - ultraviolet spectrometer
Solar System - C. C. Lang 6
 Martian surface covered with craters!
- surface isnt smooth (as historical observations thought)
- similar to Moon surface (being studied simultaneously)
- must be old: peak in impacts ~3.8 billion years ago
- difficult to see from Earth, but Mars thin atmosphere
3 Sept 2003 - many gave up hope Solarfor seeing
System - C. water/
C. Lang life on Mars 7
Mariner 9 first ORBITER spacecraft!!

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 8

 Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet
- arrived at Mars 14 November 1971
- orbited Mars for more than a year

Major dust storm on Mars when Mariner 9 arrived!

-surface was not visible for an entire month
-however, the cones of major volcanoes (new discovery) were visible

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 9

 Craters werent all that was found on Mars!!

Even though dust

covered, there were
several crater-like
features visible rising
above the dust...

Picture from Mariner 9

during the dust storm
(ignore black dots)

Carl Sagan took a polaroid of the TV screen in the headquarters of Mariner 9 he rushed into a
group of 2003
3 Sept scientists in the next roomSolar
and they realized
System that these were volcanic calderas!!10
- C. C. Lang
Mariner 9s Mars Milestones

349 days in orbit (circled Mars twice daily for a year)

Mariner 9 transmitted 7,329 images, covering over 80% of Mars' surface
lowest altitude images distance of spacecraft ~900 miles above surface
An infrared radiometer was included to detect volcanic activity
Mars' tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, were also photographed.

Channels on the flanks of the

volcano Hecates Tholus. Various
radial channels have been interpreted
as erosional ash channels,
lava channels or channels eroded
by fluvial processes.

Mariner 9 narrow angle camera.

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 11

The images revealed structures
resembling river beds

Extinct volcanic activity!

Olympus Mons 3x as high

3 Sept 2003
as volcanoes on Earth
Solar System - C. C. Lang 12
 Valles Marineris picture from Mariner

Valles Marineris - system of canyons over 4,000 km (2,500 miles)

3 Sept 2003 - revived peoples
Solar System - C. interest
C. Lang in possible water/life13
 Valles Marineris - Grand Canyon of Mars
- streches for at least 2500 miles (NYC LA)
- rift valley region broken by crust motions earlier in Mars history

signs of river erosion in early history of

Mars (3-4 Billion yrs ago) like Grand Canyon
3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 14
 Viking 1 and 2 Orbiter & Lander

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 15

 Viking Orbiter

This image is a mosaic of the

Schiaparelli hemisphere of Mars.
The center of this image is near
the impact crater Schiaparelli,
450 kilometers (280 miles) across!.

Bright white areas to the south,

including the Hellas impact basin
at extreme lower right, are covered
by carbon dioxide frost.

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 16

 Viking Orbiter

This image is a mosaic of the

Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars.

The center is the Valles Marineris

system 3,000 km (1,860 miles) long
and up to 8 km (5 miles) deep.

Many huge ancient river channels

begin from the chaotic terrain and
north-central canyons and run north.

Many of the channels flowed into a

basin called Acidalia Planitia, which
is the dark area in the extreme north.

The three Tharsis volcanoes (dark

red spots), each about 25 kilometers (16
miles) high, are visible to the west.

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 17

 Changes in color across Mars Surface
- first thought to be vegetation!
- changes over seasons (growing seasons?)

now understood physically:

- changes in the surface features

(i.e. plains, volcanoes, crater beds)

- changes in the surface

chemical composition (rock, soil
types e.g., basalt) determined
from spectroscopy (radar) of
reflected light from the surface

- albedo measure of the

reflectivity of a planet
3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 18
Mars Global Surveyor
- NASA launched in December 1996
- 6 instruments including
MOC high resolution camera
MOLA laser altimeter (first 3D look!)
TES high-resolution temperature detector
Magnetic field detector

How do we measure the height of features on Mars?

Laser Altimeter (MOLA)
bounce laser beams off surface
time delay between signals gives height measure

plot of Mars height as a function of position on the planet North to South

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 19

The Face on Mars (Viking Image from 1976)

Mars Global Surveyor (1998)

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 20

Radar map of
Martian Low area:
surface Former Ocean?

MOLA
(Mars Orbiter
Laser
Altimeter)
Color indicates
elevation
(Blue =low,
red= high)

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 21

 Mars Topographic Map
(MOLA radar 1998/99)
Low elevation Northern hemisphere
- Resurfaced by some process?? Volcanoes

Hellas impact
basin (2000 km)

Valles Marineris
(2500km)
High elevation southern hemisphere
Many more craters! Older surface?

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 22

Mars Crustal Dichotomy =
noticeable differences between N and S hemispheres

- Altitudes (N lowlands, S highlands)

- Cratering (age of surfaces?)

Various Explanations:

- large impact (asteroid) on Mars

- plate tectonics (although Mars too small for hot core)
- volcanic eruptions which smoothed parts of the planet

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 23

 Hellas Impact Basin
2000 km diameter, 9 km deep!
Probably formed by asteroid
impact
Debris from collision would cover
US with layer 3 km thick

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 24

Olympus Mons largest volcano in S.S.

rises 15 miles above

surrounding flat plains

three times as tall as

Mt. Everest

hot spot volcanism

like in Hawaiian Islands
(magma lifts up underneath)

caldera is ~70 km across

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 25

 Tharsis Rise cluster of large volcanoes

near Olympus Mons

blue/white clouds often

seen over these volcanoes

these clouds result when:

- warm air (water) rises
- cools at the high altitude
- freezes into cloud

3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 26

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3 Sept 2003 Solar System - C. C. Lang 27