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#600 by Dalhousie on 23 May, 2023 01:10
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LIBS paper
Zhao et al. 20023 In situ analysis of surface composition and meteorology at the Zhurong landing site on Mars.
The Zhurong rover of the Tianwen-1 mission landed in southern Utopia Planitia, providing a unique window into the evolutionary history of the Martian lowlands. During its first 110 sols, Zhurong investigated and categorized surface targets into igneous rocks, lithified duricrusts, cemented duricrusts, soils and sands. The lithified duricrusts, analysed by using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy onboard Zhurong, show elevated water contents and distinct compositions from those of igneous rocks. The cemented duricrusts are likely formed via water vapor–frost cycling at the atmosphere–soil interface, as supported by the local meteorological conditions. Soils and sands contain elevated magnesium and water, attributed to both hydrated magnesium salts and adsorbed water. The compositional and meteorological evidence indicates potential Amazonian brine activities and present-day water vapor cycling at the soil–atmosphere interface. Searching for further clues to water-related activities and determining the water source by Zhurong are critical to constrain the volatile evolution history at the landing site.
https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/10/6/nwad056/7069347
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#601 by FutureSpaceTourist on 06 Jun, 2023 06:41
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https://twitter.com/shujianyang/status/1665957876240621568Quote
Images from Zhurong rover just released by CNSA/PEC/GRAS. All taken in December 2021.
https://twitter.com/shujianyang/status/1665959152726822915
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#602 by FutureSpaceTourist on 11 Jun, 2023 09:19
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https://twitter.com/cnsawatcher/status/1667766617642606593Quote
Upper Kasei Valles on Mars, shot by Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter. Pictures processed by @WLR_2678
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#603 by Dalhousie on 27 Jun, 2023 06:51
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First results from the ground magnetometer survey are just out.
A joint research team led by Prof. Du Aimin from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) has found extremely weak magnetic fields during the Zhurong rover's first 1-km traverse on Mars. This indicates no detectable magnetization anomalies below Zhurong's landing site.
https://phys.org/news/2023-06-zhurong-rover-extremely-weak-magnetic.html?fbclid=IwAR0xEnxVYZddcLwR7KbK38I5et57it3uBDDx-oWlf30_fhTFgtValDCnfMY -
#604 by Dalhousie on 27 Jun, 2023 06:52
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The magnetometer paper is open access and can be viewed at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-02008-7
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#605 by Dalhousie on 10 Jul, 2023 08:03
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The climate of Mars changed dramatically 400,000 years ago
https://www.space.com/mars-climate-shift-china-mars-rover-zhurong?fbclid=IwAR0zKx-z4QWZ0zGONXlSBHJWzCQp1FRyy6XzZ73vf1MmfwP2o45wA6Zn0_g
Open access paper can be found at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06206-1
Paper explains the reasons why both light and dark dunes are present in the Zhurong rover images.
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#606 by Phil Stooke on 11 Jul, 2023 03:31
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#607 by Dalhousie on 17 Jul, 2023 07:55
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The climate of Mars changed dramatically 400,000 years ago
https://www.space.com/mars-climate-shift-china-mars-rover-zhurong?fbclid=IwAR0zKx-z4QWZ0zGONXlSBHJWzCQp1FRyy6XzZ73vf1MmfwP2o45wA6Zn0_g
Open access paper can be found at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06206-1
Paper explains the reasons why both light and dark dunes are present in the Zhurong rover images.
Figure 2K shows very nice mud cracks and what appears to be a sliding pebble. Perhaps similar to what we find on Race Track playa, Death Valley, albeit on a much smaller scale (https://geology.com/articles/racetrack-playa-sliding-rocks.shtml)
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#608 by Vahe231991 on 20 Jul, 2023 02:29
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#609 by FutureSpaceTourist on 06 Aug, 2023 05:58
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https://twitter.com/cnsawatcher/status/1688055557976981504Quote
Martian surface aeolian wind erosion around 65.4E, 5.1N, taken by Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter. Source: buff.ly/3OHTQnS
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#610 by deadman1204 on 06 Aug, 2023 15:49
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https://twitter.com/cnsawatcher/status/1688055557976981504
Thats a pretty awesome pictureQuoteMartian surface aeolian wind erosion around 65.4E, 5.1N, taken by Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter. Source: buff.ly/3OHTQnS
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#611 by FutureSpaceTourist on 17 Sep, 2023 05:05
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Edit to add:
https://twitter.com/cnsawatcher/status/1703312362437042552QuoteZhurong Mars rover has a "hot water bottle". Two skylights, known as heat-collecting windows, are covered with a high-transparency film. Beneath, a material called Undecane melts by day, absorbing heat, and solidifies at night, releasing warmth. Full HD: buff.ly/3LqIp1D
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#612 by FutureSpaceTourist on 31 Oct, 2023 05:44
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Quote
Mars is near 173.4° W 13.9° S, taken by the Tianwen-1 medium resolution camera on 2022-03-04 ~
(Data thanks to CAS/NAOC/GRAS)
https://twitter.com/segeryu/status/1719233087371202924QuoteMars is near 25.1° W 20.9° S, taken by the Tianwen-1 medium resolution camera on 2022-03-07 ~
(Data thanks to CAS/NAOC/GRAS)QuoteMars is near 39.1° W 24.6° S, taken by the Tianwen-1 medium resolution camera on 2022-03-13 ~
(Data thanks to CAS/NAOC/GRAS)
https://twitter.com/segeryu/status/1719235413544673421QuoteNear Mars 109.1° E 26.2° S, taken by the Tianwen-1 medium-resolution camera on 2022-03-16~
(Data thanks to CAS/NAOC/GRAS)QuoteMars near 10.7° E 31.1° N, taken by the Tianwen-1 medium resolution camera on 2022-03-14 ~
(Data thanks to CAS/NAOC/GRAS)
https://twitter.com/segeryu/status/1719242859671646288QuoteMars is near 102.7° W 27.8° S, taken by the Tianwen-1 medium resolution camera on 2022-03-18~
(Data thanks to CAS/NAOC/GRAS)
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#613 by Dalhousie on 27 Nov, 2023 21:07
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Buried palaeo-polygonal terrain detected underneath Utopia Planitia on Mars by the Zhurong radar
Lei Zhang et al., Nature Astronomy, November 23, 2023
As the largest basin on Mars, Utopia Planitia has both experienced and recorded variations of the Martian palaeoclimate. Layered subsurface structures have been identified by ground-penetrating radar in southern Utopia Planitia but lateral variations of the subsurface, potentially linked to the Martian palaeoclimatic evolution, have not been investigated. Here we report the lateral frequency-variation patterns of Zhurong radar reflections and interpret them as buried polygonal terrain below a depth of 35 m. Sixteen polygonal wedges were identified within ∼1.2 km distance, suggesting a wide distribution of such terrain under Utopia Planitia. The contrast above and below ∼35 m depth represents a notable transformation of aqueous activity or thermal conditions in the Late Hesperian–Early Amazonian. The interpreted buried polygons, possibly generated by freeze–thaw cycles, imply that there was a strong palaeoclimatic variability at low-to-mid latitudes (∼25° N), potentially due to the high obliquity of ancient Mars.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-02117-3#Fig1 -
#614 by Dalhousie on 25 Mar, 2024 22:03
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Tianwen-1 images dust storm on Mars with the MoRIC Camera. Location is probably Lycus Sulci near Olympus Mons.
Source https://www.space.com/china-tianwen-1-mars-dust-storm-olympus-mons