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Science & Exploration

Mars mineral globe

31/05/2013 8318 views 44 likes 292272 ID 00:02:29
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This unique atlas comprises a series of maps showing the distribution and abundance of minerals formed in water, by volcanic activity, and by weathering to create the dust that makes Mars red.
Together the maps provide a global context for the dominant geological processes that have defined the planet’s history.

The maps were built from ten years of data collected by the OMEGA visible and infrared mineralogical mapping spectrometer on Mars Express.

The animation cycles through maps showing: individual sites where a range of minerals that can only be formed in the presence of water were detected; maps of olivine and pyroxene, minerals that tell the story of volcanism and the evolution of the planet’s interior; and ferric oxide and dust. Ferric oxide is a mineral phase of iron, and is present everywhere on the planet: within the bulk crust, lava outflows and the dust oxidised by chemical reactions with the martian atmosphere, causing the surface to ‘rust’ slowly over billions of years, giving Mars its distinctive red hue.

The map showing hydrated minerals includes detections made by both ESA’s Mars Express and by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

  • Hydrated mineral map: ESA/CNES/CNRS/IAS/Université Paris-Sud, Orsay; NASA/JPL/JHUAPL; Olivine, pyroxone, ferric dust & dust maps: ESA/CNES/CNRS/IAS/Université Paris-Sud, Orsay Orsay; Video production: ESA.
  • Animation
  • Space Science
  • Mars Express
  • Mars Reconnaissance orbiter Spacecraft OMEGA Instrument
  • Analyzing Mapping
  • Mars Mars material Mineral deposits Water
Ferric oxide distribution on Mars
Science & Exploration

Mars ferric oxide map

Image 1005 views 4 likes
Dust distribution on Mars
Science & Exploration

Mars dust map

Image 903 views 4 likes
Pyroxene distribution on Mars
Science & Exploration

Mars pyroxene map

Image 948 views 4 likes
Hydrated mineral sites on Mars
Science & Exploration

Mars hydrated mineral map

Image 1393 views 6 likes
Mars mineralogy
Science & Exploration

Mars mineralogy

Image 3519 views 23 likes