New Online Map Reveals Evidence of the Forces that Once Shaped Mars (Forwarded)

Applied Physics Laboratory
Johns Hopkins University
Laurel, Maryland

Media Contacts:
J. Huergo
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
240-228-5618 or 443-778-5618

April 21, 2008

New Online Map Reveals Evidence of the Forces that Once Shaped Mars

A new online map lets visitors explore Mars' past through a collection of
high-resolution observations from one of the most powerful spectrometers
ever sent to the Red Planet. Evidence of ancient bodies of water, flowing
rivers and groundwater peeks out from beneath layers of hardened magma and
dust -- testaments to Mars' progression through wet, volcanic and dry
eras.

The data come from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for
Mars (CRISM), on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. CRISM's primary
mission is to search for signs that liquid water once existed on Mars by
identifying minerals that form only in the presence of water. Molecules of
water trapped in these minerals leave particular patterns in the sunlight
that reflects off of them and into CRISM, which senses up to 544 "colors,"
or wavelengths, of light.

A team of researchers at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory (APL), which built and operates the instrument, has converted
the complex CRISM data into easy-to-understand composite images. "The
images clearly show the distribution of certain minerals, which tells us
about the planet's history," says Scott Murchie of APL, CRISM's principal
investigator. "This map moves the information out of the domain of
specialists and makes the very latest Mars research accessible to anyone
with an interest in the planet." The online collection currently includes
more than 900 observations, and more are being added as the team prepares
them.

The high-resolution map can be found on the "CRISM Data Products: Viewing
Features on Mars" Web site, at
http://crism-map.jhuapl.edu/
and is best viewed with Firefox 2.0, Netscape 7.2, or Internet Explorer
7.0, or better.

Visitors to the site choose from a selection of global background maps
made by instruments on NASA's Viking, Mars Global Surveyor and Mars
Odyssey spacecraft. They can zoom in, click on particular CRISM
observations that dot the maps, and access a variety of images constructed
from the 544-color data. These include versions of each observation that
show the locations of water and carbon dioxide ice; iron-containing
igneous minerals formed by volcanic activity or cratering; iron minerals
that have been altered by oxygen in the atmosphere; and clay-like and
sulfate minerals that were formed by past liquid water.

"The images provide good indication of where there are mineral signatures
of volcanic deposits or past wet environments," says APL's Frank Seelos,
CRISM's science operations lead. "Researchers can browse the map to
identify interesting sites and then download the full data from NASA's
Planetary Data System, an archive of data products from NASA planetary
missions. Non-scientists can get a sense of the variety of geologic
features on Mars, and the variety of processes that created them."

"This is the first time that these simplified versions of complex
spectrometer data have been made easily available to both the science
community and public," says Olivier Barnouin-Jha, a member of the CRISM
operations team at APL. "The techniques we used were developed by
scientists working on CRISM and a similar instrument, called OMEGA, on the
European Space Agency's Mars Express. OMEGA's team pioneered some of the
techniques that we use, and CRISM provides unprecedented resolution for an
imaging spectrometer at Mars."

APL has built more than 150 spacecraft instruments over the past four
decades. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, Colo., is the prime contractor for
the project and built the spacecraft.

The Applied Physics Laboratory, a division of the Johns Hopkins
University, meets critical national challenges through the innovative
application of science and technology. For more information, visit
http://www.jhuapl.edu
For more information on CRISM, visit
http://crism.jhuapl.edu


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