CRISM Uncovering Clues of Martian Surface Composition (Forwarded)

Applied Physics Laboratory
Johns Hopkins University
Laurel, Maryland

Media Contact:
Michael Buckley, (240) 228-7536

For Immediate Release: February 16, 2007

CRISM Uncovering Clues of Martian Surface Composition

Reaching its first 100 days of operations, the powerful mineral-detector
aboard the newest satellite to circle Mars is changing the way scientists
view the history of water on the red planet.

The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), designed
and built by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in
Laurel, Md., has teamed with the five other cameras and sensors aboard
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) to provide new clues about where
water could have existed on or near the Martian surface.

"We're finding that Mars has even more compositional diversity and
complicated geology than had been revealed by instruments on other Mars
orbiters," says Dr. Scott Murchie, CRISM principal investigator from the
Applied Physics Laboratory. "With CRISM's help, this mission is going to
rewrite our understanding of the planet."

"CRISM's high spatial resolution provides the means to not only identify a
greater range of minerals on Mars but also to associate them with small
scale geologic features," says Dr. Sue Smrekar, deputy MRO project
scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "The
result is a tremendous leap forward in interpreting the geologic processes
and volatile environments that created different rocks throughout the
history of Mars."

Since beginning its primary science phase in November 2006, the orbiter
has sent home enough data to fill nearly 1,000 compact discs -- quickly
matching the record for Mars data returned over nine years by NASA's Mars
Global Surveyor. About 30 percent of MRO's data has come from CRISM;
through its telescopic scanners the instrument has taken more than 700
images of specific targets, including more than 250 at high resolution
that pinpoints areas down to 15 meters -- or 48 feet -- in 544 "colors" of
reflected sunlight. The camera has also mapped nearly a quarter of the
planet at lower resolution -- showing areas as small as 200 meters (660
feet) in 72 colors -- and monitored abundances of atmospheric gases and
particulates in the atmosphere, returning over 500 separate measurements
that track seasonal variations.

"We started mapping in northern Martian summer, so we're able to compile a
nearly complete map of the ices and minerals present in and around the
north polar cap," says Dr. Frank Seelos, CRISM science operations lead
from the Applied Physics Laboratory.

Some CRISM images reveal unprecedented details of geologic processes on
Mars, such as intricate compositional layering of the polar caps, and
ancient rocks from Mars' earliest history that record a time when liquid
water was pervasive and long-lasting. Its coverage of the north polar
region is providing new insight into the vast field of gypsum-rich sand
dunes that surrounds the polar cap. Over the past three months the CRISM
team has placed several of these images on the Web at
http://crism.jhuapl.edu ; team members also plan to discuss details of the
data in papers to be published this spring.

CRISM's resolution in near-infrared wavelengths is about 20 times sharper
than any previous look at Mars at these wavelengths. The instrument is
searching for areas that were wet long enough to leave a mineral signature
on the surface, looking for the spectral traces of aqueous and
hydrothermal deposits, and mapping the geology, composition and
stratigraphy of surface features. By identifying sites most likely to have
contained water, CRISM data will help determine the best potential landing
sites for future Mars missions seeking fossil traces of past life.

NASA's Phoenix mission team is using data from CRISM and other
high-resolution MRO instruments to support landing-site selection for its
spacecraft, scheduled to touch down in the northern Martian plains in May
2008. Phoenix will determine the composition of both dry surface soil and
ice-rich subsurface soil; CRISM's infrared sensitivity to the ice and
salts typically found on Mars has proven valuable in helping the team find
sites with ready access to both features.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), which has built more than 150
spacecraft instruments over the past four decades, led the effort to
develop, integrate, and test CRISM. The CRISM team includes experts from
universities, government agencies and small businesses in the United
States and abroad; visit http://crism.jhuapl.edu for more information.

Information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is available online at
http://www.nasa.gov/mro . The mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, for the
NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor and built the MRO spacecraft.


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