A science paper released today and available for download [pdf]<\/a> cites evidence from about two dozen deep impact craters located from the equator to 37 degrees north latitude that Mars has a ground ice table at an elevation that also corresponds to other shoreline features.<\/em><\/p>\n …<\/em><\/p>\n The third take-away from this paper however is possibly the most important. The evidence suggests that this deep groundwater water table (as ice) almost certainly still exists at all latitudes, though almost entirely underground. From a future explorer\u2019s perspective, this data reinforces the possibility that water will be accessible across much of the Martian surface. All you will have to do is dig a well, something humans have been doing on Earth for eons.<\/em><\/p>\n ** Curiosity on the move<\/a><\/strong>:\u00a0 The Curiosity rover continues its long slow methodical trek up Mount Sharp – Curiosity Says Farewell to Mars’ Vera Rubin Ridge | NASA<\/a><\/p>\n NASA’s Curiosity rover has taken its last selfie on Vera Rubin Ridge and descended toward a clay region of Mount Sharp. The twisting ridge on Mars has been the rover’s home for more than a year, providing scientists with new samples \u2014 and new questions \u2014 to puzzle over.<\/em><\/p>\n On Dec. 15, Curiosity drilled its 19th sample at a location on the ridge called Rock Hall. On Jan. 15, the spacecraft used its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the end of its robotic arm to take a series of 57 pictures, which were stitched together into this selfie. The “Rock Hall” drill hole is visible to the lower left of the rover; the scene is dustier than usual at this time of year due to a regional dust storm.<\/em><\/p>\n Curiosity has been exploring the ridge since September of 2017. It’s now headed into the “clay-bearing unit,” which sits in a trough just south of the ridge. Clay minerals in this unit may hold more clues about the ancient lakes that helped form the lower levels on Mount Sharp.<\/em><\/p>\n ** Last hope for Opportunity<\/strong>: NASA JPL will try some new techniques in hopes of awakening the long silent Opportunity rover – Rover Team Beaming New Commands to Opportunity on Mars – NASA JPL<\/a><\/p>\n Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have begun transmitting a new set of commands to the Opportunity rover in an attempt to compel the 15-year-old Martian explorer<\/a> to contact Earth. The new commands, which will be beamed to the rover during the next several weeks, address low-likelihood events that could have occurred aboard Opportunity, preventing it from transmitting.<\/em><\/p>\n The rover’s last communication with Earth was received June 10, 2018, as a planet-wide dust storm<\/a> blanketed the solar-powered rover’s location on Mars.<\/em><\/p>\n “We have and will continue to use multiple techniques in our attempts to contact the rover,” said John Callas, project manager for Opportunity at JPL. “These new command strategies are in addition to the ‘sweep and beep’ commands we have been transmitting up to the rover since September.” With “sweep and beep,” instead of just listening for Opportunity, the project sends commands to the rover to respond back with a beep.<\/em><\/p>\n ** Juno midway in Jupiter mission<\/strong>: The Juno spacecraft<\/a> in December completed its 16th orbit of Jupiter, halfway to the 32 orbit target to complete its primary mission – NASA’s Juno Mission Halfway to Jupiter Science | NASA<\/a><\/p>\n “With our 16th<\/sup> science flyby, we will have complete global coverage of Jupiter, albeit at coarse resolution, with polar passes separated by 22.5 degrees of longitude,” said Jack Connerney, Juno deputy principal investigator from the Space Research Corporation in Annapolis, Maryland. “Over the second half of our prime mission \u2014 science flybys 17 through 32 \u2014 we will split the difference, flying exactly halfway between each previous orbit. This will provide coverage of the planet every 11.25 degrees of longitude, providing a more detailed picture of what makes the whole of Jupiter tick.”<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/groundwater01a1.png\")
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