Exploring Mars: Current and Future Exploration

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Exploring Mars Current and Future Exploration

• Walter S. Kiefer
• Lunar and Planetary Institute

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High Resolution Imaging
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Infrared Spectroscopy
Searching for rocks (such as basalt) and minerals
(such as clays or carbonates) that help to define
the geologic history of a region.
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Subsurface Radar Sounding
Mars South Polar Cap
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Mars Exploration Rovers
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Gusev Crater
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Rocks and Soil from Gusev Crater
Basaltic Rock Adirondack
Silica deposits in rover tracks
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Signs of Water in Meridiani Terra
Hematite Blueberries
Mud cracks in Escher Rock
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Burns Cliff, Endurance Crater
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Victoria Crater
Diameter 800 meters
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Cape St. Vincent, Victoria Crater
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Dust Storms
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Phoenix
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The View From Phoenix
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Future Mars Missions

• Mars Science Laboratory, Launch 2011
• A rover, studies rock and organic chemistry
• MAVEN, Launch 2013
• An orbiter, studies atmospheric chemistry

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Future Mars Exploration