Mars surface diversity as revealed by the OMEGA/Mars Express observations.
The Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces, et l'Activité (OMEGA) investigation, on board the European Space Agency Mars Express mission, is mapping the surface composition of Mars at a 0.3- to 5-kilometer resolution by means of visible-near-infrared hyperspectral reflectance imagery. The data acquired during the first 9 months of the mission already reveal a diverse and complex surface mineralogy, offering key insights into the evolution of Mars. OMEGA has identified and mapped mafic iron-bearing silicates of both the northern and southern crust, localized concentrations of hydrated phyllosilicates and sulfates but no carbonates, and ices and frosts with a water-ice composition of the north polar perennial cap, as for the south cap, covered by a thin carbon dioxide-ice veneer.
Bibring
Jean-Pierre
JP
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Bâtiment 121, 91405 Orsay Campus, France. bibring@ias.u-psud.fr
Langevin
Yves
Y
Gendrin
Aline
A
Gondet
Brigitte
B
Poulet
François
F
Berthé
Michel
M
Soufflot
Alain
A
Arvidson
Ray
R
Mangold
Nicolas
N
Mustard
John
J
Drossart
P
P
D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D004367:Dry Ice; D019419:Evolution, Planetary; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D007053:Ice; D058085:Iron Compounds; D017616:Magnesium Compounds; D018535:Mars; D008903:Minerals; D017640:Silicates; D018531:Spacecraft; D014867:Water
D004367:Dry Ice; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D007053:Ice; D058085:Iron Compounds; D017616:Magnesium Compounds; D008903:Minerals; D017640:Silicates; C060346:basalt; D014867:Water; C092478:pyroxene; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; C000499:ferric oxide; C034475:olivine