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Modern Exploration Mars Global Surveyor

Modern Exploration Mars Global Surveyor.

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Modern Exploration Mars Global Surveyor

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  1. Modern ExplorationMars Global Surveyor • “The mission will provide a global portrait of Mars as it exists today…This new view will help planetary scientists to better understand the history of Mars' evolution, and will provide clues about the planet's interior and surface evolution. With this information, we will have a better understanding of the history of all of the inner planets of the solar system, including our home planet, Earth.” Glenn E. Cunningham, Project Manager

  2. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor • Objectives: • High resolution imaging of the surface • Study the topography and gravity • Study the role of water and dust on the surface and in the atmosphere • Study the weather and climate of Mars • Study the composition of the surface and atmosphere • Study the existence and evolution of the Martian magnetic field

  3. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor • Objectives: • High resolution imaging of the surface • Study the topography and gravity • Study the role of water and dust on the surface and in the atmosphere • Study the weather and climate of Mars • Study the composition of the surface and atmosphere • Study the existence and evolution of the Martian magnetic field

  4. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor • Launched November 7, 1996; arrived at Mars on September 12, 1997 • Spent the next 16 months “aerobraking”, began mapping the surface in March 1997

  5. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor • Instruments • Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC); capture high-resolution images of the surface (1.5 meters per pixel) • Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES); investigate thermal properties of rocks and soils, collect mineralogy data • Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA); elevation data • Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer; search for evidence of a planetary magnetic field

  6. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor • Instruments • Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC); capture high-resolution images of the surface (1.5 meters per pixel) • Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES); investigate thermal properties of rocks and soils, collect mineralogy data • Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA); elevation data • Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer; search for evidence of a planetary magnetic field

  7. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor

  8. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor Credit: Malin Space Science Systems – www.msss.com Credit: Malin Space Science Systems – www.msss.com

  9. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor Credit: Malin Space Science Systems – www.msss.com Credit: Malin Space Science Systems – www.msss.com

  10. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor Credit: Malin Space Science Systems – www.msss.com Credit: Malin Space Science Systems – www.msss.com

  11. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor Credit: Malin Space Science Systems – www.msss.com

  12. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

  13. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

  14. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor • Notable results from Global Surveyor • The northern hemisphere is probably just as cratered as the southern hemisphere, but the craters are mostly buried. • High-resolution imagery shows modifications to the surface have taken place over the past decade. • Hundreds of gullies were discovered that were formed from liquid water, possibly in recent times. • The Thermal Emission Spectrometer found that just about all of the surface of Mars is covered with volcanic rock.

  15. Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor • How did Global Surveyor advance scientific understanding of Mars? • Smoking gun evidence that liquid water was stable on the surface for long periods of time • Mars exhibits a “global dichotomy” in terms of topography • Spectral ID of the global surface composition • What technological advance(s) did Global Surveyor carry? • Highest-resolution camera, for the time • Laser altimeter • TES; lithology, mineralogy

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