Mars Express finds evidence of active volcanism
Posted: Thu, Dec 23, 2004, 12:29 PM ET (1729 GMT)
Images by ESA's Mars Express spacecraft suggest that volcanic activity may still be taking place on Mars. In a paper published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, planetary scientists said high-resolution stereo images taken by the orbiter revealed lava flows without any evidence of impact craters. The lack of craters implies that the flows must be very young, likely no more than about two million years old. Scientists believe that volcanic activity, once thought to have died out hundreds of millions or even billions of years ago, may still be possible on the planet today, taken place during very brief, intermittent periods. The Mars Express images also reveal evidence of glacial activity within the last few million years on the slopes of Olympus Mons, the planet's tallest mountain.
Images by ESA's Mars Express spacecraft suggest that volcanic activity may still be taking place on Mars. In a paper published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, planetary scientists said high-resolution stereo images taken by the orbiter revealed lava flows without any evidence of impact craters. The lack of craters implies that the flows must be very young, likely no more than about two million years old. Scientists believe that volcanic activity, once thought to have died out hundreds of millions or even billions of years ago, may still be possible on the planet today, taken place during very brief, intermittent periods. The Mars Express images also reveal evidence of glacial activity within the last few million years on the slopes of Olympus Mons, the planet's tallest mountain.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
SpaceX sets Nov. 18 launch date for sixth Starship test flight
Posted: Sat, Nov 9 9:57 AM ET (1457 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, November 21
TRISH to conduct space health research on New Shepard space missions
Baylor College of Medicine — 1:13 am ET (0613 GMT) Sierra Space’s Commercial Space Station Technology Nears Certification
Sierra Space — 1:12 am ET (0612 GMT) Sen. Tommy Tuberville confident Space Command will move to Huntsville once Trump in office
WAAY-TV Huntsville, AL — 1:11 am ET (0611 GMT) Bengaluru Tech Summit: Draft Karnataka Space Tech policy launched
Business Standard — 1:06 am ET (0606 GMT) Working together in space can enhance worldly ties between Australia and Japan
The Interpreter — 1:06 am ET (0606 GMT) |
