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1. Rover Science Autonomy in Planetary Exploration: Field Analog Tests

Author: Eldar Z. Noe Dobrea, Maria E. Banks, Roger N. Clark, David Wettergreen, Alberto Candela, Amanda Hendrix, Caitlin Ahrens, Ernie Bell, Abigail Breitfeld, Thomas F. Bristow, Sanlyn Buxner, Margaret Hansen, Gregory M. Holsclaw, Paul Knightly, Georgiana Kramer, Nandita Kumari, Melissa D. Lane, Audrey Martin, McKayla L. Meier, Ruby Patterson, Neil Pearson, Thomas Prettyman, Gregg A. Swayze, David Vaniman, Srinivasan Vijayarangan, Faith Vilas, and Shawn P. Wright
Subjects: Rovers, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: A strategy for planetary exploration using a rover capable of science autonomy is presented. We encoded into a rover a set of driving hypotheses pertaining to the geologic origin of a field site and equipped the rover with the instrumentation needed to measure the observables related to the hypotheses, as well as the software tools to analyze them to a relatively high level of confidence. We investigated the effects of different exploration strategies that make use of rover science autonomy and compared the operational efficiency and science yield of three geological exploration scenarios: (1) standard human-directed exploration, (2) rover-directed exploration, and (3) astronaut/rover collaborative exploration. We show that exploration with a rover capable of science autonomy is operationally more efficient than the human-directed strategy, resulting in higher rates of data collection and hence a greater science yield per command cycle. Additionally, we explored and developed astronaut/rover collaborative exploration strategies and present a basic framework for effective planetary exploration that leverages the expertise of a science team, the efficiency of a science-autonomous rover, and the contextual abilities of astronauts.
Published: 2025
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2. Where Is That Crater? Best Practices for Obtaining Accurate Coordinates from LROC NAC Data

Author: Robert V. Wagner, Megan R. Henriksen, Madeleine R. Manheim, Heather M. Meyer, Maria E. Banks, Erick Malaret, Erwan Mazarico, Emerson J. Speyerer, and Mark S. Robinson
Subjects: Lunar geodesy, Pointing accuracy, Remote sensing, The Moon, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images and their derived products make up one of the highest-resolution and most spatially accurate data sets available for the Moon, making them a crucial resource for planners of landed lunar missions. However, it is essential to understand the best uses for each data type and the limits on the accuracy and resolution of the data sets available. With this understanding, users can better interpret and communicate their results. In this paper, we describe what assumptions may be made about the accuracy of LROC NAC images and the various derived products created by the LROC team. NAC digital terrain models and their corresponding orthophotos have the best accuracy of all NAC products, usually better than 10 m horizontally, and should be used where available. Other controlled NAC products usually have accuracies better than 30 m. For areas without controlled products, we describe how to process NAC images to obtain coordinates with the highest possible accuracy. We also recommend best practices for data users interacting with LROC data through online map servers, such as QuickMap or Lunaserv, and for processing LROC data locally using the US Geological Survey Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers.
Published: 2024
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3. The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

Author: Roger N. Clark, Neil C. Pearson, Thomas B. McCord, Deborah L. Domingue, Keith Eric Livo, Joseph W. Boardman, Daniel P. Moriarty, Amanda R. Hendrix, Georgiana Kramer, and Maria E. Banks
Subjects: The Moon, Lunar composition, Lunar maria, Lunar highlands, Lunar regolith, Infrared spectroscopy, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M ^3 ) on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft provided nearly global 0.5–3 μ m imaging-spectroscopy data at 140 m pixel ^–1 in 85 spectral bands. Targeted locations were imaged at 70 m pixel ^–1 and higher spectral resolution. These data enable a detailed look at the mineralogy, hydroxyl, and water signatures exposed on the lunar surface. We find evidence for multiple processes, including probable solar wind implantation, excavation of hydroxyl-poor and water-poor material in cratering events, excavation of hydroxyl and water-rich materials from depth and global trends with rock type and latitude. Some water-rich areas display sharp boundaries with water-poor rocks but have a diffuse halo of hydroxyl surrounding the water-rich rocks indicating a weathering process of destruction of water, probably due to a regolith gardening process. Mapping for specific mineralogy shows evidence for absorptions near 2.2 μ m, probably associated with smectites, and near 1.9 μ m due to water. Lunar swirls are confirmed to be OH-poor, but we also find evidence that swirls are water-poor based on a weak 1.9 μ m water band. Some swirls show enhanced pyroxene absorption. “Diurnal” signatures are found with stable minerals. Pyroxene is shown to exhibit strong band depth changes with the diurnal cycle, which directly tracks the solar incidence angle and is consistent with changing composition and/or grain size with depth. Mapping of M ^3 data for the presence of iron oxides (e.g., hematite and goethite) is found to be a false signature in the M ^3 data due to scattered light in the instrument.
Published: 2024
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4. Candidate Distant Trans-Neptunian Objects Detected by the New Horizons Subaru TNO Survey

Author: Wesley C. Fraser, Simon B. Porter, Lowell Peltier, JJ Kavelaars, Anne J. Verbiscer, Marc W. Buie, S. Alan Stern, John R. Spencer, Susan D. Benecchi, Tsuyoshi Terai, Takashi Ito, Fumi Yoshida, David W. Gerdes, Kevin J. Napier, Hsing Wen Lin, Stephen D. J. Gwyn, Hayden Smotherman, Sebastien Fabbro, Kelsi N. Singer, Amanda M. Alexander, Ko Arimatsu, Maria E. Banks, Veronica J. Bray, Mohamed Ramy El-Maarry, Chelsea L. Ferrell, Tetsuharu Fuse, Florian Glass, Timothy R. Holt, Peng Hong, Ryo Ishimaru, Perianne E. Johnson, Tod R. Lauer, Rodrigo Leiva, Patryk S. Lykawka, Raphael Marschall, Jorge I. Núñez, Marc Postman, Eric Quirico, Alyssa R. Rhoden, Anna M. Simpson, Paul Schenk, Michael F. Skrutskie, Andrew J. Steffl, and Henry Throop
Subjects: Kuiper Belt, Trans-Neptunian objects, Convolutional neural networks, Orbit determination, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: We report the detection of 239 trans-Neptunian objects discovered through the ongoing New Horizons survey for distant minor bodies being performed with the Hyper Suprime-Cam mosaic imager on the Subaru Telescope. These objects were discovered in images acquired with either the r 2 or the recently commissioned EB- gri filter using shift and stack routines. Due to the extremely high stellar density of the search region downstream of the spacecraft, new machine learning techniques had to be developed to manage the extremely high false-positive rate of bogus candidates produced from the shift and stack routines. We report discoveries as faint as r 2 ∼ 26.5. We highlight an overabundance of objects found at heliocentric distances R ≳ 70 au compared to expectations from modeling of the known outer solar system. If confirmed, these objects betray the presence of a heretofore-unrecognized abundance of distant objects that can help explain a number of other observations that otherwise remain at odds with the known Kuiper Belt, including detections of serendipitous stellar occultations, and recent results from the Student Dust Counter on board the New Horizons spacecraft.
Published: 2024
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5. Two Seismic Events from InSight Confirmed as New Impacts on Mars

Author: Ingrid J. Daubar, Benjamin A. Fernando, Raphaël F. Garcia, Peter M. Grindrod, Géraldine Zenhäusern, Natalia Wójcicka, Nicholas A. Teanby, Simon C. Stähler, Liliya Posiolova, Anna C. Horleston, Gareth S. Collins, Constantinos Charalambous, John Clinton, Maria E. Banks, Marouchka Froment, Philippe Lognonné, Mark Panning, and W. Bruce Banerdt
Subjects: Craters, Impact phenomena, Mars, Planetary interior, Collisional processes, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: We report confirmed impact sources for two seismic events on Mars detected by the NASA InSight mission. These events have been positively associated with fresh impact craters identified from orbital images, which match predicted locations and sizes to within a factor of 3, and have formation time constraints consistent with the seismic event dates. They are both of the very high frequency family of seismic events and are present with chirps (dispersed infrasound/acoustic waves). This brings the total number of confirmed Martian impact-related seismic events to eight thus far. All seismic events with chirp signals have now been confirmed as having been caused by impact cratering events. This includes all seismic activity within 100 km of the lander and two out of the four events with source locations between 100 and 300 km distance.
Published: 2023
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6. Mercury’s Hidden Past: Revealing a Volatile-dominated Layer through Glacier-like Features and Chaotic Terrains

Author: J. Alexis P. Rodriguez, Deborah Domingue, Bryan Travis, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Oleg Abramov, Mario Zarroca, Maria E. Banks, John Weirich, Anthony Lopez, Nicholas Castle, Yan Jianguo, and Frank Chuang
Subjects: Mercury (planet), Solar system terrestrial planets, Astronomy, QB1-991
Abstract: The discovery of global elemental volatile compositions, sublimation hollows, and chaotic terrains has significantly reshaped our understanding of Mercury’s geology. These findings suggest the existence of volatile-rich layers (VRLs) extending several kilometers in depth, challenging the traditionally held view of a predominantly volatile-devoid Mercury crust. However, the precise nature and origin of these VRLs remain to be elucidated. The Raditladi basin exhibits morphologies analogous to terrestrial and Martian glaciers. These geomorphological features are potentially derived from impact-exposed VRLs, likely constituted of halite, other semivolatile salts, or organic volatiles. The distinctive rheological traits of substances such as halite substantiate this hypothesis. The inference posits a potential ubiquity of VRLs on a planetary scale, albeit potentially ensconced at considerable depth in specific regions. North polar chaotic terrains elucidate the VRLs’ genesis and temporal evolution. The intense fragmentation of heavily cratered landscapes during their formation indicates a composition dominated by volatiles. This finding postulates a phase of volatile-enriched crustal accretion predating the Late Heavy Bombardment (∼3.9 Ga). Regardless of lost mass, the unaltered basal elevation post-collapse signals a transition to a volatile-free stratum. The exposure of an exhumed lithological substrate within Mercury’s stratigraphy, identifiable in gravimetry as an impacted paleosurface, contests the magma ocean differentiation concept for VRL formation. It infers a grand-scale construct originating from depositional processes, possibly due to the collapse of a transient, hot primordial atmosphere.
Published: 2023
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7. Patterns in Mobility and Modification of Middle‐ and High‐Latitude Southern Hemisphere Dunes on Mars

Author: Maria E. Banks, Lori K. Fenton, Nathan T. Bridges, Paul E. Geissler, Matthew Chojnacki, Kirby D. Runyon, Simone Silvestro, and James R. Zimbelman
Published: 2018
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8. Revised constraints on absolute age limits for Mercury's Kuiperian and Mansurian stratigraphic systems

Author: Maria E. Banks, Zhiyong Xiao, Sarah E. Braden, Nadine G. Barlow, Clark R. Chapman, Caleb I. Fassett, and Simone S. Marchi
Published: 2017
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9. Terrestrial Single-Station Analog for Constraining the Martian Core and Deep Interior: Implications for InSight

Author: Angela G Marusiak, Nicholas C. Schmerra, Maria E. Banks, and Ingrid J. Daubar
Subjects: Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Abstract: We used a terrestrial single-station seismometer to quantify the uncertainty of InSight (INterior explorations using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) data for determining Martian core size. To mimic Martian seismicity, we formed a catalog using 917 terrestrial earthquakes, from which we randomly selected events. We stacked ScS amplitudes on modeled arrival times and searched for where ScS produced coherent seismic amplitudes. A core detection was defined by a coherent peak with small offset between predicted and user-selected arrival times. Iterating the detection algorithm with varying signal-to-noise (SNR) ranges and quantity of events determined the selection frequency of each model and quantified core depth uncertainty. Increasing the quantity of events reduced core depth uncertainty while increasing the recovery rate, while increasing event SNR had little effect. Including ScS2 multiples increased the recovery rate and reduced core depth uncertainty when we used low quantities of events. The most-frequent core depths varied by back azimuth, suggesting our method is sensitive to the presence of mantle heterogeneities. When we added 1° in source distance errors, core depth uncertainty increased by up to 11 km and recovery rates decreased by <5%. Altering epicentral distances by 25% added ~35 km of uncertainty and reduced recovery rates to <50% in some cases. From these experiments, we estimate that if InSight can detect five events with high location precision (< 10% epicentral distance errors), that there is at least an 88% chance of core depth recovery using ScS alone with uncertainty in core depth approaching 18 km and decreasing as more events are located.
Published: 2019
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10. Wrinkle ridges on Mercury and the Moon within and outside of mascons

Author: Lisa S. Schleicher, Thomas R. Watters, Aaron J. Martin, and Maria E Banks
Subjects: Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Abstract: Found on all terrestrial planets, wrinkle ridges are anticlines formed by thrust faulting and folding resulting from crustal shortening. The MErcury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER)spacecraft's orbital phase returned high resolution images and topographic data of the previously unimaged northern high latitudes of Mercury where there are large expanses of smooth plains deformed by wrinkle ridges. Concurrently, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is obtaining high resolution images and topographic data covering lunar mare wrinkle ridges. These data allow quantitative comparison of the scale of wrinkle ridges in smooth plains volcanic units on Mercury with mare wrinkle ridges. We evaluate the topographic relief of 300 wrinkle ridges within and outside of mascon basins on the Moon and Mercury. Measured wrinkle ridges range from ~112 to 776 min relief with a mean of ~350m (median=~340m, n=150) on Mercury and from ~47 to 678 min relief with a mean of ~198 m (median=~168m, n=150) on the Moon. Wrinkle ridges on Mercury thus are approximately twice as large in mean relief compared to their counterparts on the Moon. The larger scale of Mercury's wrinkle ridges suggests that their formation can be attributed, in part, to global contraction. As global contraction on the Moon is estimated to be an order of magnitude smaller than on Mercury, the smaller scale of lunar wrinkle ridges suggests they most likely form primarily by load induced subsidence of the mare basalt. Wrinkle ridges located in lunar mascon basins and in the Caloris mascon on Mercury are not statistically significantly different in relief than ridges in non-mascon regions, suggesting comparable levels of contractional strain. The fact that mascon basins do not host wrinkle ridges with greater structural relief relative to non-mascon units may indicate the critical role lithospheric thickness plays in controlling subsidence and contraction of thick volcanic sequences on the Moon and Mercury.
Published: 2019
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11. Comparative Planetology – Comparing Cirques on Mars and Earth Using a Cnn

Author: Joshua Williams, Louis Scuderi, Timothy P. McClanahan, Maria E. Banks, and David M. H. Baker
Published: 2023
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12. Widespread effusive volcanism on Mercury likely ended by about 3.5 Ga

Author: Paul K. Byrne, Lillian R. Ostrach, Caleb I. Fassett, Clark R. Chapman, Brett W. Denevi, Alexander J. Evans, Christian Klimczak, Maria E. Banks, James W. Head, and Sean C. Solomon
Published: 2016
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13. Boundary Condition Controls on the High-Sand-Flux Regions of Mars

Author: Matthew Chojnacki, Maria E Banks, Lori K Fenton, and Anna C Urso
Subjects: Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Abstract: Wind has been an enduring geologic agent throughout the history of Mars, but it is often unclear where and why sediment is mobile in the current epoch. We investigated whether eolian bed-form (dune and ripple) transport rates are depressed or enhanced in some areas by local or regional boundary conditions (e.g., topography, sand supply/availability). Bedform heights, migration rates, and sand fluxes all span two to three orders of magnitude across Mars, but we found that areas with the highest sand fluxes are concentrated in three regions: Syrtis Major, Hellespontus Montes, and the north polar erg. All regions are located near prominent transition zones of topography (e.g., basins, polar caps) and thermophysical properties (e.g., albedo variations); these are not known to be critical terrestrial boundary conditions. The two regions adjacent to major impact basins (Hellas and Isidis Planitia) showed radially outward upslope winds driving sand movement, although seasonally reversing wind regimes were also observed. The northern polar dunes yielded the highest known fluxes on the planet, driven by summer katabatic winds modulated by the seasonal CO2 cap retreat—processes not known to affect terrestrial dunes. In contrast, southern dune fields (<45°S) were less mobile, likely as a result of seasonal frost and ground ice suppressing sand availability. Results suggest that, unlike on Earth, large-scale topographic and thermophysical variabilities play a leading role in driving sand fluxes on Mars.
Published: 2019
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14. Evidence for recent and ancient faulting at Mare Frigoris and implications for lunar tectonic evolution

Author: Nathan R. Williams, James F. Bell III, Thomas R. Watters, Maria E. Banks, Katie Daud, and Renee A. French
Subjects: Geosciences (General)
Abstract: Nearside basin-related extensional tectonism on the Moon was thought to have ended by about 3.6 billion years ago and mare basin-localized contractional deformation ended by about 1.2 billion years ago. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) high resolution (50–200 cm/pixel) images show the Moon's surface in unprecedented detail and have enabled us to find many previously unidentified tectonic landforms, forcing a reassessment of our views of tectonism in the maria. The morphology and stratigraphic relationships of these newly identified populations of tectonic landforms imply a more complex and longer-lasting history of deformation. We selected Mare Frigoris as an ideal location to perform a mapping survey where excellent imaging conditions, abundant tectonic landforms, and restricted mascon allow us to unravel the mare's tectonic evolution. Similar to previous surveys, we find that tectonism in the eastern portion of Mare Frigoris was controlled by ancient mascon induced flexure. In the western portion, however, we identify a parallel set of ancient compressional wrinkle ridges across the mare that is inconsistent with an origin by mare basin-centric mascon flexure or influence from the Mare Imbrium mascon. Instead, our results imply an ancient, regional, non-isotropic stress field over western Mare Frigoris. We also identify young wrinkle ridges and show that they have likely been active within the last 1 billion years, and some ridges as recently as within 40 million years. Finally, we identify a 300 km long series of lobate scarps coincident with one of the shallow moonquakes recorded during Apollo and use geodetic strain from the mapped global population of young lobate scarps to predict a level of seismicity consistent with the shallow moonquakes recorded during Apollo. In tandem with similarly young lobate scarps and small graben, as well as recorded shallow moonquakes, these young wrinkle ridges imply that some tectonism in and around Mare Frigoris has occurred in the geologically recent past and likely still continues today.
Published: 2019
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15. Duration of activity on lobate‐scarp thrust faults on Mercury

Author: Maria E. Banks, Zhiyong Xiao, Thomas R. Watters, Robert G. Strom, Sarah E. Braden, Clark R. Chapman, Sean C. Solomon, Christian Klimczak, and Paul K. Byrne
Published: 2015
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16. Distribution of large‐scale contractional tectonic landforms on Mercury: Implications for the origin of global stresses

Author: Thomas R. Watters, Michelle M. Selvans, Maria E. Banks, Steven A. Hauck, Kris J. Becker, and Mark S. Robinson
Published: 2015
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17. Global Map and Parameter Catalog of Shortening Structures on Mercury Using Novel High-Resolution Topography Data

Author: Hannes Bernhardt, Jaclyn D. Clark, Frank Preusker, Christian Klimczak, Maria E. Banks, David A. Williams, David Nelson, and Thomas R. Watters
Abstract: Introduction: The global distribution of shortening structures on Mercury as well as geographic and temporal trends of any of their morphometric and structural parameters are key to better understand the planets’ history of contraction, tidal despinning, and lithologic/rheologic variations in its current crust [1–4]. Previous global cataloging of ~6000 shortening structures on Mercury by [1] was based on preliminary, ~250 m/pixel data by MESSENGER’s Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) and included no morphometric analyses other than displacement-length (D/L) assessments on 665 m/pixel digital terrain models (DTMs) [5]. Furthermore, as recently elaborated on by [6], the association of shortening structures with larger tectonic complexes needs to be assessed to derive a more realistic inventory of actually implied faults. We provide such assessments without interpolating between geographically disconnected structures while maintaining optional association of structural complexes, thereby offering a more versatile dataset (Fig. 1). Data: Our mapping is carried out on high- and low-incidence angle, ~166 m/pixel mosaics of MDIS images as well as on 222 m/pixel digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from photogrammetric analysis of MDIS-Near-Angle Camera stereo images. While four quadrangles of these DTMs have been released [7–9], we have since finished the remaining 11 quadrangles. Hillshade models and slopemaps derived from these DTMs are also used for feature identification and mapping to minimize any residual illumination bias (especially at certain longitudinal bands) that likely affected previous efforts [1,6] that lacked fully global hi-res topographic data. Methodology: We established a thorough step-by-step procedure to map and parametrize each identified shortening structure: Digitization at scale 1:1,000,000 using streaming method at constant vertex placement every 2 km. Midpoint coordinates and lengths will be automatically recorded. Check whether feature had been (entirely or partially) recognized by [1]. Interpretive assignment to a complex (or none). Nomenclature "[LobateScarp or WrinkleRidge]_Quadrangle name_[closest named feature or official scarp name]#", e.g., "WR_H-03_Brahms01" (quadrangle based on where majority of complex is). All compound scarps associated with a wrinkle ridge are mapped as scarp-like slope breaks but assigned to an according complex with prefix WR. Measure maximum width and width at point of maximum offset, i.e., extent of scarp backarc until it reassumes background elevation or distance between front- and backscarp. Measure maximum relief (in steps of 50 m, which is the vertical accuracy of the DTMs) Determine shape of throw (topographic trend along scarp or ridge crest; only for lengths >20 km). Orientations are determined in bulk after completion of a quadrangle. Will be done per entire line feature (avg. orientation) and per 2 km-vertex segment (weighted orientation). Lobateness (i.e., ratio between line connecting endpoints and actual feature length) will be determined in bulk after completion of a quadrangle. Segmentation (i.e., sum of gap length divided by sum of segment lengths) will be determined per assigned complex. Depth of faulting, displacement-length ratios (D/L), and horizontal shortening will be derived per line feature according to methods by[10–15] in bulk after completion of a quadrangle. Maximum values per complex will be recorded. D/L per complex (i.e., max. offset/entire complex length) will also be offered. Minimum model ages will be dereived for subset of shortening structures from crater size-frequency distribution measurements on underlying units, e.g., sufficiently large smooth crater floors. Initial assessments indicate 5 to 10 such locations per quadrangle. Applications: The geographic and temporal distribution of the structural parameters listed above will be used to test a variety of predictions made by several hypotheses, e.g., regarding global contraction, tidal despinning, thermal weakening, mascon subsidence, as well as lithologic/rheologic variations [1,2,6,15–21]. Figure 1: Portion of H-11 quadrangle showing the region between Matisse and Rude craters as preliminary sample area of our structural mapping project. A) Current state of our structural map superposed on low incidence MDIS mosaic. Compared to the linework in (B), we were able to trace the scarp more coherently, also identifying segments on the floor of Rude crater and new structural features elsewhere. The blue-green arrow points to the feature highlighted in (E). B) Same as (A) but with the map by [1]. C) New color-coded DTM over derived hillshade model. D) Same as (C) but using topography data by the USGS [5]. E) Attribute table of our scarp-like slope break linework (blue lines in (A)), including the highlighted one in blue-green (marked by arrow in (A)). Columns show parameters for each line feature. Orientation and lobateness will be derived in bulk at a later point using ArcToolbox plugins. Ages will only be determined for scarps whose formation age can be constrained with CSFD measurements, e.g., when they transect a smooth, sufficiently large crater floor. References: [1] P. K. Byrne et al., Nat. Geosci. 1 (2014). [2] K. T. Crane and C. Klimczak, Icarus 317, 66 (2019). [3] M. E. Banks et al., J. Geophys. Res. Planets 122, 1010 (2017). [4] M. E. Banks et al., J. Geophys. Res. Planets 120, 1751 (2015).[5] K. J. Becker et al., in LPSC (2016), p. 2959.[6] T. R. Watters, Commun. Earth Environ. 2, 9 (2021).[7] F. Preusker et al., Planet. Space Sci. 142, 26 (2017).[8] A. Stark et al., in LPSC (2017), p. 2287.[9] J. Oberst et al., in LPSC (2017), p. 1442.[10] T. R. Watters et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 29, 1542 (2002).[11] I. Egea-González et al., Planet. Space Sci. 60, 193 (2012).[12] G. A. Peterson et al., in LPSC (2017), p. 2315.[13] S. F. Wojtal, J. Struct. Geol. 18, 265 (1996).[14] T. R. Watters, R. A. Schultz, and M. S. Robinson, Geophys. Res. Lett. 27, 3659 (2000).[15] P. K. Byrne, C. Klimczak, and A. M. Celâl Şengör, in Mercur. - View after MESSENGER (2018), pp. 249–286.[16] T. R. Watters et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 42, 3755 (2015).[17] S. A. Hauck et al., in Mercur. - View after MESSENGER (2018), pp. 516–543.[18] R. G. Strom, N. J. Trask, and J. E. Guest, J. Geophys. Res. 80, 2478 (1975).[19] T. R. Watters et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 31, L04701 (2004).[20] R. J. Phillips et al., in Mercur. - View after MESSENGER (2018), pp. 52–84.[21] T. R. Watters et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 285, 309 (2009).
Published: 2022
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18. How old are lunar lobate scarps? 1. Seismic resetting of crater size-frequency distributions

Author: Carolyn H. van der Bogert, Jaclyn D. Clark, Harald Hiesinger, Maria E. Banks, Thomas R. Watters, and Mark S Robinson
Subjects: Geosciences (General)
Abstract: Previous studies have estimated the ages of lunar lobate scarps, some of the youngest tectonic landforms on the Moon, based on the estimated life-times of their fresh morphologies and associated small graben, using crater degradation ages, or via buffered and traditional crater size-frequency distribution (CSFD) measurements. Here, we reexamine five scarps previously dated by Binder and Gunga (1985) with crater degradation ages to benchmark the evaluation of both the buffered and traditional CSFD approaches for determination of absolute model ages (AMAs) at scarps. Both CSFD methods yield similar ages for each individual scarp, indicating that fault activity not only can be measured on the scarp itself, but also in the surrounding terrain –an indication that tectonic activity causes surface renewal both adjacent to and even kilometers distant from scarps. Size-frequency variations in the regions surrounding the scarps are thus useful for studying the extent and severity of the ground motion caused by coseismic slip events during scarp formation. All age determination approaches continue to indicate that lunar lobate scarps were active in the late Copernican, with some scarps possibly experiencing activity within the last 100 Ma.
Published: 2018
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19. Recently Formed Crater Clusters on Mars

Author: Maria E. Banks, Nicholas Schmerr, Matthew P. Golombek, and Ingrid Daubar
Subjects: Orbital elements, Meteoroid, Fragmentation (computing), Elevation, Mars Exploration Program, Geophysics, Atmosphere of Mars, Physics::Geophysics, Impact crater, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, Physics::Space Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Cluster (physics), Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Geology
Abstract: This study maps and measures assorted properties of new dated crater clusters that formed recently when impactors fragmented in the atmosphere of Mars. We report these statistics for 77 clusters: number of craters, size of cluster, dispersion of cluster, direction (azimuth) from which the impactor approached, and an estimate of the angle from vertical of the impact. Clusters range from a few to hundreds of craters, with most containing tens of craters. They are most commonly dispersed over hundreds of meters, with extents ranging from a few meters to a few kilometers. We find that dispersion generally does not correlate with topographic elevation. However, when the highest elevations are disregarded, clusters are more dispersed at lower elevations, as expected. Impact azimuths are randomly distributed and do not express a clear directionality of incoming meteoroids. Results suggest impacts occur closer to horizontal than expected, which could be due to observational effects. The characteristics we report here provide important constraints for future work in understanding atmospheric fragmentation processes; properties of the impactors themselves, such as density and orbital parameters; and the seismic detectability of impacts. These are critical aspects to understand, as approximately half of current impacts are observed to be clusters.
Published: 2019
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20. Vortex‐Dominated Aeolian Activity at InSight's Landing Site, Part 1: Multi‐Instrument Observations, Analysis, and Implications

Author: Alexander E. Stott, L. M. Sotomayor, Constantinos Charalambous, John A. Grant, Sebastien Rodriguez, Nicholas H. Warner, Veronique Ansan, Don Banfield, William T. Pike, Naomi Murdoch, Aymeric Spiga, Maria E. Banks, Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras, William B. Banerdt, P. H. Lognonné, Ernst Hauber, Jorge Pla-Garcia, Matthew P. Golombek, Clément Perrin, Ralph D. Lorenz, Justin N. Maki, T. Warren, Anna Mittelholz, Claire E. Newman, Antoine Lucas, Matthew E. Baker, Catherine L. Johnson, J. B. Garvin, Ingrid Daubar, Mark T. Lemmon, Sara Navarro, Catherine M. Weitz, J. B. McClean, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-IPG PARIS-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering [London] (DEEE), Imperial College London, MIT Haystack Observatory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Space Science Institute [Boulder] (SSI), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences [UMR_C 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Nantes université - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (Nantes univ - UFR ST), Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie, Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie, Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), Planetary Science Institute [Tucson] (PSI), Smithsonian Institution, State University of New York at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo), State University of New York (SUNY), Brown University, German Aerospace Center (DLR), University of British Columbia (UBC), Institute of Geophysics [ETH Zürich], Department of Earth Sciences [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zürich] (D-ERDW), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)- Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), University of Oxford, Centro de Astrobiologia [Madrid] (CAB), Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP (UMR_7154)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Cornell University [New York], Aeolis Research, ANR-19-CE31-0008,MAGIS,MArs Geophysical InSight(2019), Rodriguez, Sébastien, and MArs Geophysical InSight - - MAGIS2019 - ANR-19-CE31-0008 - AAPG2019 - VALID
Subjects: Convection, Seismometer, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP], [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP], Mars, 01 natural sciences, Wind speed, Physics::Geophysics, aeolian changes at the InSight landing site on Mars, convective vortices as a primary driver of particle motion, dust lifting and saltation, multi-instrument measurements constrain the timing and atmospheric conditions of aeolian changes, passing vortices lifting dust are correlated with magnetic signatures, surface creep, surface tracks, particle transport, Geochemistry and Petrology, Planet, 0103 physical sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), wind, 14. Life underwater, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Physics::Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, InSight, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Mars landing, Mars Exploration Program, Geophysics, Vortex, Planetengeologie, [PHYS.ASTR.EP] Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP], 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Aeolian processes, Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Geology, camera
Abstract: International audience; We report the aeolian changes observed in situ by NASA's InSight lander during the first 400 sols of operations: Granule creep, saltation, dust removal, and the formation of dark surface tracks. Aeolian changes are infrequent and sporadic. However, on sols, when they do occur, they consistently appear between noon to 3 p.m., and are associated with the passage of convective vortices during periods of high vortex activity. Aeolian changes are more frequent at elevated locations, such as the top surfaces of rocks and lander footpads. InSight observed these changes using, for the first time, simultaneous insitu and orbital imaging and high-frequency meteorological, seismological, and magnetic measurements. Seismometer measurements of ground acceleration constrain the timing and trajectory of convective vortex encounters, linking surface changes to source vortices. Magnetometer measurements show perturbations in magnetic field strength during the passage of convective vortices consistent with chargedparticle motion. Detachment of sand-scale particles occurs when high background winds and vortexinduced turbulence provide a peak surface friction wind speed above the classic saltation fluid threshold. However, detachment of dust-and granule-scale particles also occurred when the surface friction wind speed remained below this threshold. This may be explained by local enhancement of the surface roughness and other effects described here and further studied in Part 2 (Baker et al., 2021). The lack of saltation and bright dust-coated surfaces at the InSight landing site implies surface stability and the onset of particle motion may be suppressed by dust "cushioning." This differentiates the InSight landing site from other areas on Mars that exhibit more aeolian activity. Plain Language Summary Aeolian activity, the movement of dust and sand by the wind, is common on Earth and has been observed on other planets, including Mars. A new Mars lander, InSight, has for the first time monitored aeolian changes by combining imaging with weather, seismic and CHARALAMBOUS ET AL.
Published: 2021
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21. Vortex‐Dominated Aeolian Activity at InSight's Landing Site, Part 2: Local Meteorology, Transport Dynamics, and Model Analysis

Author: Kevin W. Lewis, Aymeric Spiga, Don Banfield, Maria E. Banks, Claire E. Newman, Sharon A. Wilson, Ralph D. Lorenz, James B. Garvin, Matthew E. Baker, John A. Grant, Sebastien Rodriguez, Constantinos Charalambous, Nicholas H. Warner, Matthew P. Golombek, Mark T. Lemmon, V. Ansan, and Catherine M. Weitz
Subjects: Geophysics, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, Transport dynamics, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Aeolian processes, Vorticity, Geology, Vortex
Published: 2021
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22. Solar-System-Wide Significance of Mars Polar Science

Author: J. J. Plaut, Colman Gallagher, Stephen R. Lewis, J. Bapst, C. Andres, John F. Mustard, S. F. A. Cartwright, Lauren A. Edgar, Susan J. Conway, Alan D. Howard, Michael Mischna, Gareth A. Morgan, Maria E. Banks, S. Diniega, Mark L. Skidmore, A. Van Brenen, Carol R. Stoker, Ralf Jaumann, Charity M. Phillips-Lander, Ali M. Bramson, Jennifer L. Whitten, Michael Daly, Michael H. Hecht, Solmaz Adeli, Manish R. Patel, N. Oliveira, S. Mukherjee, Matthew Chojnacki, Kimberly D. Seelos, F. Foss, S. Nerozzi, John E. Moores, Patricio Becerra, Nathaniel E. Putzig, Michael T. Mellon, Vince Eke, Margaret E. Landis, P. B. James, U. Gayathri, F. Bernardini, John Wilson, J. M. Widmer, J. Chesal, Alexey A. Pankine, Klaus-Michael Aye, C. Stuurman, Andrea Coronato, Z. Yoldi, C. Rezza, L. E. McKeown, Edwin S. Kite, B. Hartmann, Ákos Kereszturi, Melinda A. Kahre, Kennda Lynch, M. M. Sori, Alain Khayat, A. Kleinboehl, Matteo Crismani, Scott D. Guzewich, L. R. Lozano, Daniel J. McCleese, Norbert Schorghofer, O. Karatekin, Cynthia L. Dinwiddie, Gordon R. Osinski, Lori K. Fenton, Luca Montabone, Andreas Johnsson, Roberto Orosei, Peter C. Thomas, J. P. Knightly, Matthew R. Balme, Claire E. Newman, Eldar Noe Dobrea, Joseph A. MacGregor, Ernst Hauber, A. C. Pascuzzo, Jennifer Hanley, Bryana L. Henderson, Oded Aharonson, German Martinez, Timothy N. Titus, M. R. Perry, Tanguy Bertrand, P. A. Johnson, Maurizio Pajola, Shane Byrne, Matthew A. Siegler, Anya Portyankina, Nicolas Thomas, R. Karimova, C. Orgel, Michelle Koutnik, Leslie K. Tamppari, Amy McAdam, James A. Whiteway, Briony Horgan, Frances E. G. Butcher, E. Vos, François Forget, Christine S. Hvidberg, Vincent Chevrier, Travis F. Hager, Roland M. B. Young, T. G. Cave, Peter L. Read, M. R. Elmaary, Shannon M. Hibbard, C. J. Hansen, Paul O. Hayne, David A. Crown, J. C. Stern, J. C. Echaurren, I. Mishev, P. Russell, Roger N. Clark, Hanna G. Sizemore, J. W. Holt, F. Chuang, Adrian J. Brown, Colin M. Dundas, S. Ulamsec, G. Luizzi, Isaac B. Smith, Anna Łosiak, Peter Fawdon, David L. Goldsby, Alfred S. McEwen, C. Amos, S. E. Wood, C. Cesar, David E. Stillman, R. W. Obbard, Ralph D. Lorenz, A. Svensson, Ryan C. Ewing, Aymeric Spiga, B. S. Tober, T. Meng, P. Acharya, S. M. Milkovich, Paul Streeter, Kris Zacny, P. Sinha, Joseph S. Levy, Don Banfield, Eric I. Petersen, K. E. Herkenhoff, J. L. Eigenbrode, S. Piqueux, Mackenzie Day, Renyu Hu, Gregory Michael, James W. Head, Alejandro Soto, Richard Massey, A. R. Khuller, P. B. Buhler, S. Clifford, Samuel P. Kounaves, Daniel C. Berman, K. E. Mesick, Bernard Schmitt, Wendy M. Calvin, J. C. Johnson, David A. Fisher, C. Neisch, Robert L. Staehle, C. Herny, D. E. Lalich, Edgard G. Rivera-Valentín, David E. Smith, Anshuman Bhardwaj, Jorge Rabassa, Anna Grau Galofre, Alice Lucchetti, Lydia Sam, A. M. Rutledge, and A. J. Cross
Subjects: polar science, geology, Solar System, Habitability, water, ice, Mars, Mars Exploration Program, Astrobiology, missions, Planetary science, Planet, Polar, Climate record, climate, Geology
Abstract: Mars Polar Science is an integrated, compelling system that serves as a nearby analogue to numerous other planets, supports human exploration, and habitability. Mars possesses the closest and most easily accessible layered ice deposits outside of Earth, and accessing those layers to read the climate record would be a triumph for planetary science.
Published: 2021
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23. Mission to Characterize Volatiles in Old, Cold, Permanently Shadowed Regions on the Moon

Author: Julie Brisset, Charles A. Hibbitts, David T. Blewett, J. T. S. Cahill, Anthony Colaprete, B. T. Greenhagen, Mona Delitsky, Jessica Flahaut, Orenthal J. Tucker, Richard C. Elphic, Ariel N. Deutsch, D. H. Needham, Shuai Li, Nandita Kumari, Shashwat Shukla, Cesare Grava, Matthew A. Siegler, Kris Zacny, A. M. Stickle, Eliot Sefton-Nash, William M. Farrell, Leslie S. Gertsch, W. R. Patterson, S. S. Bhiravarasu, N. L. Chabot, Jessica Barnes, R. L. Klima, Paul G. Lucey, Devanshu Jha, Dana M. Hurley, Jonathan Grandidier, Maria E. Banks, Julie L. Mitchell, Prabal Saxena, Jorge I. Nunez, Timothy A. Livengood, Parvathy Prem, David Lawrence, Mehdi Benna, Jared Atkinson, Sona Hosseini, Georgiana Y. Kramer, Yang Liu, D. C. Barker, Simeon Barber, Amanda R. Hendrix, Michael J. Poston, Kurt D. Retherford, Paul O. Hayne, Kathleen Mandt, George Sowers, and Julie Stopar
Published: 2021
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24. The Importance of Field Studies for Closing Key Knowledge Gaps in Planetary Science

Author: Jeffrey E. Moersch, S. D. Dibb, David A. Crown, Michael T. Thorpe, Jennifer G. Blank, Maria E. Banks, Christopher W. Hamilton, Rutu Parekh, Kevin Hubbard, J. D. Clark, Amy McAdam, Timothy A. Goudge, S. E. Kobs-Nawotniak, David A. Williams, Steven Semken, K. N. Paris, H. Bernhardt, Catherine D. Neish, Nicholas Schmerr, Amber L. Gullikson, Chuanfei Dong, Graham Lau, Lauren A. Edgar, Laura Kerber, Stephen P. Scheidt, C. I. Honniball, Rodrigo Romo, Larry S. Crumpler, Cherie N. Achilles, Ernest Bell, E. L. Patrick, Laszlo P. Kestay, Kirby Runyon, A. M. Rutledge, Paul J. van Susante, Jon Zaloumis, Jacob Richardson, Trevor G. Graff, James R. Zimbelman, Ingrid Ukstins, Alison Graettinger, Nicole Whelley, Jake W. Dean, Jessica L Swann, Janice L. Bishop, Ashly Davies, Sarah A. Fagents, Sarah S. Sutton, K. E. Young, B. Shiro, S. Czarnecki, D. M. Bower, Timothy D. Glotch, Alexandra Matiella-Novak, Shane Byrne, Emily Law, Einat Lev, A. M. Baldridge, J. R. Skok, Everett L. Shock, Gordon R. Osinski, R. Aileen Yingst, Elizabeth B. Rampe, Andrew P. de Wet, Melissa D. Lane, Patrick Whelley, and M. Elise Rumpf
Subjects: Engineering, Planetary science, business.industry, Field (Bourdieu), media_common.quotation_subject, Closing (real estate), Key (cryptography), business, Data science, media_common
Published: 2021
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25. The scientific rationale for deployment of a long-lived geophysical network on the Moon

Author: José M. Hurtado, Francis Nimmo, Robert E. Grimm, Lon L. Hood, Jackie Clark, Renee Weber, Maria E. Banks, S. Indyk, Thomas R. Watters, Ryuhei Yamada, Matthias Grott, Sean C. Solomon, Catherine L. Johnson, Kris Zacny, Steve Hauck, J. T. Keane, L. T. Elkins-Tanton, Philippe Lognonné, Ceri Nunn, Raphaël F. Garcia, Krishan K. Khurana, Kerri Donaldson Hanna, Jan Harms, D. C. Barker, Yosio Nakamura, Devanshu Jha, Mark A. Wieczorek, Tilman Spohn, Andrew J. Dombard, Seth A. Jacobson, Seiichi Nagihara, Slava G. Turyshev, D. N. DellaGiustina, Sonia M. Tikoo, Valentin Tertius Bickel, H. Haviland, Clive R. Neal, Ian Garrick-Bethell, Laurent G. J. Montési, Sharon Kedar, Dany Waller, Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun, Juan M. Lorenzo, Peter Chi, Maria T. Zuber, Douglas G. Currie, Marshall Eubanks, Deanna Phillips, Martin Knapmeyer, S. Hop Bailey, Mark P. Panning, Simone Dell'Agnello, Lillian R. Ostrach, Nicholas Schmerr, Noah E. Petro, Eléonore Stutzmann, Walter S. Kiefer, Charles K. Shearer, Bruce Banerdt, Jesse-Lee Dimech, Caroline Beghein, Amir Khan, P. J. McGovern, Taichi Kawamura, H. Bernhardt, James D. Williams, Jacob Richardson, Angela G. Marusiak, J. T. S. Cahill, Jared Espley, Catherine Elder, Krista M. Soderlund, and Matthew A. Siegler
Subjects: Engineering, Software deployment, business.industry, Network on, Systems engineering, business
Published: 2021
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26. A New Crater Near InSight: Implications for Seismic Impact Detectability on Mars

Author: Domenico Giardini, Philippe Lognonné, Carene Larmat, Maria E. Banks, Jeremie Vaubaillon, Taichi Kawamura, Foivos Karakostas, L. Posiolova, Gareth S. Collins, Raphaël F. Garcia, Aymeric Spiga, Bruce Banerdt, K. Onodera, Michael C. Malin, Maren Böse, Sebastien Rodriguez, Ross Maguire, Savas Ceylan, Nicholas Schmerr, T. Pike, John Clinton, N. Wójcicka, M. van Driel, Quancheng Huang, Alfred S. McEwen, James Wookey, Benjamin Fernando, Kuangdai Leng, A. Rajsic, Antoine Lucas, Nicholas A Teanby, Lucie Rolland, Ingrid Daubar, Simon Stähler, Anna Horleston, Katarina Miljković, Jennifer Stevanović, Ludovic Margerin, Constantinos Charalambous, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, School of Earth Sciences [Bristol], University of Bristol [Bristol], Department of Earth Science and Engineering [Imperial College London], Imperial College London, Swiss Seismological Service, Institute of Geophysics [ETH Zürich], Department of Earth Sciences [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zürich] (D-ERDW), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)- Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-IPG PARIS-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), Géoazur (GEOAZUR 7329), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Ephémérides (IMCCE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Lille-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), National Institute of Standards and Technology [Gaithersburg] (NIST), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Laboratoire de Génie Civil et Génie Mécanique (LGCGM), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Rennes (INSA Rennes), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA), Department of Geology [College Park], University of Maryland [College Park], University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System, Centre d'Etude de Saclay, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement (CEREGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Collège de France (CdF (institution))-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), DP180100661 and DE180100584, Australian Research Council, ST/S000615/1 and ST/S001514/1, Science and Technology Facilities Council, ETH‐06 17‐02, International Foundation for Ethical Research, ST/R002096/1, UK Space Agency, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP (UMR_7154)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Swiss Seismological Service [ETH Zurich] (SED), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)- Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)-Department of Earth Sciences [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zürich] (D-ERDW), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), University of Arizona, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-19-CE31-0008,MAGIS,MArs Geophysical InSight(2019), Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace - ISAE-SUPAERO (FRANCE), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Rennes (INSA Rennes), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA), ANR-14-CE36-0012,SEISMARS,Seismology on Mars(2014), and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Subjects: Seismometer, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP], [SDU.STU.GP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph], Mars, Context (language use), seismology, 01 natural sciences, [SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology, Impact crater, Geochemistry and Petrology, impact cratering, Martian surface, 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), 0402 Geochemistry, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Event (probability theory), InSight, crater, Mars Exploration Program, Geophysics, Amplitude, Mars cratering, 0403 Geology, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Seismology, Geology, Noise (radio)
Abstract: A new 1.5 m diameter impact crater was discovered on Mars only ~40 km from the InSight lander. Context camera images constrained its formation between 21 February and 6 April 2019; follow‐up High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment images resolved the crater. During this time period, three seismic events were identified in InSight data. We derive expected seismic signal characteristics and use them to evaluate each of the seismic events. However, none of them can definitively be associated with this source. Atmospheric perturbations are generally expected to be generated during impacts; however, in this case, no signal could be identified as related to the known impact. Using scaling relationships based on the terrestrial and lunar analogs and numerical modeling, we predict the amplitude, peak frequency, and duration of the seismic signal that would have emanated from this impact. The predicted amplitude falls near the lowest levels of the measured seismometer noise for the predicted frequency. Hence, it is not surprising this impact event was not positively identified in the seismic data. Finding this crater was a lucky event as its formation this close to InSight has a probability of only ~0.2, and the odds of capturing it in before and after images are extremely low. We revisit impact‐seismic discriminators in light of real experience with a seismometer on the Martian surface. Using measured noise of the instrument, we revise our previous prediction of seismic impact detections downward, from ~a few to tens, to just ~2 per Earth year, still with an order of magnitude uncertainty. ISSN:0148-0227 ISSN:2169-9097 ISSN:2169-9100
Published: 2020
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27. Aeolian Changes at the InSight Landing Site on Mars: Multi-instrument Observations

Author: John A. Grant, Sebastien Rodriguez, Naomi Murdoch, Catherine M. Weitz, Mark T. Lemmon, Nicholas H. Warner, William B. Banerdt, T. Pike, Aymeric Spiga, Jorge Pla-Garcia, J. B. McClean, Philippe Lognonné, M. M. Baker, Alexander E. Stott, Ralph D. Lorenz, Catherine Johnson, Don Banfield, Tristram Warren, Veronique Ansan, Constantinos Charalambous, Ingrid Daubar, Antoine Lucas, Matthew P. Golombek, Clément Perrin, Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras, Sara Navarro Lopez, Luis Mora Sotomayor, Ernst Hauber, Justin N. Maki, Anna Mittelholz, Maria E. Banks, and Claire E. Newman
Subjects: Aeolian processes, Mars Exploration Program, Geology, Astrobiology
Abstract: Orbital and surface observations demonstrate that aeolian activity is occurring on Mars. Here we report the aeolian changes observed in situ by NASA's InSight lander during the first 400 sols of op...
Published: 2020
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28. An Impact Crater Origin for the InSight Landing Site at Homestead Hollow, Mars: Implications for Near Surface Stratigraphy, Surface Processes, and Erosion Rates

Author: T. Pike, Matthew P. Golombek, M. M. Baker, Sharon A. Wilson, Fred Calef, M. Kopp, Catherine M. Weitz, M. Deahn, Veronique Ansan, Nathan R. Williams, H. Lethcoe, Constantinos Charalambous, Maria E. Banks, J. A. Grant, Nicholas H. Warner, Ernst Hauber, L. Berger, and A. DeMott
Subjects: erosion rates, landing site, Homestead hollow, Mars Exploration Program, Geophysics, impact craters, Stratigraphy, Impact crater, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Erosion, mars, Geomorphology, Geology, InSight
Published: 2020
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29. Wind-Driven Erosion and Exposure Potential at Mars 2020 Rover Candidate-Landing Sites

Author: Matthew Chojnacki, Anna Urso, and Maria E. Banks
Subjects: 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Gale crater, Mars Exploration Program, 01 natural sciences, Article, Abrasion (geology), Wind driven, Geophysics, Impact crater, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, 0103 physical sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Aeolian processes, Physical geography, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract: Aeolian processes have likely been the predominant geomorphic agent for most of Mars' history and have the potential to produce relatively young exposure ages for geologic units. Thus, identifying local evidence for aeolian erosion is highly relevant to the selection of landing sites for future missions, such as the Mars 2020 Rover mission that aims to explore astrobiologically relevant ancient environments. Here we investigate wind-driven activity at eight Mars 2020 candidate-landing sites to constrain erosion potential at these locations. To demonstrate our methods, we found that contemporary dune-derived abrasion rates were in agreement with rover-derived exhumation rates at Gale crater and could be employed elsewhere. The Holden crater candidate site was interpreted to have low contemporary erosion rates, based on the presence of a thick sand coverage of static ripples. Active ripples at the Eberswalde and southwest Melas sites may account for local erosion and the dearth of small craters. Moderate-flux regional dunes near Mawrth Vallis were deemed unrepresentative of the candidate site, which is interpreted to currently be experiencing low levels of erosion. The Nili Fossae site displayed the most unambiguous evidence for local sand transport and erosion, likely yielding relatively young exposure ages. The downselected Jezero crater and northeast Syrtis sites had high-flux neighboring dunes and exhibited substantial evidence for sediment pathways across their ellipses. Both sites had relatively high estimated abrasion rates, which would yield young exposure ages. The downselected Columbia Hills site lacked evidence for sand movement, and contemporary local erosion rates are estimated to be relatively low.
Published: 2018
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30. Aeolian Changes at the Insight Landing Site on Mars: Multi-instrument Observations

Author: Constantinos Charalambous, Justin N. Maki, Naomi Murdoch, M. M. Baker, Alexander E. Stott, Mark T. Lemmon, Anna Mittelholz, Maria E. Banks, Aymeric Spiga, Catherine M. Weitz, T. Pike, Matthew P. Golombek, J. B. McClean, Catherine Johnson, Veronique Ansan, John A. Grant, Sebastien Rodriguez, Nicholas H. Warner, Ingrid Daubar, and Ralph D. Lorenz
Subjects: Aeolian processes, Mars Exploration Program, Geology, Astrobiology
Abstract: The InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission landed in western Elysium Planitia on November 26, 2018. Because of its stationary position and a multi-instrument package, InSight offers the unique opportunity of detecting changes induced by aeolian activity and constraining the atmospheric conditions responsible for particle motion.In this work, we present the most significant changes from aeolian activity as detected by the InSight lander during its first 400 Martian days of operations. We will show that particle entrainment by wind activity around InSight is a subtle process and report simultaneous measurements observed across multiple instruments. The changes observed are episodic and are seen correlated with excursions in both seismic and magnetic signals, which will be discussed further. Our observations show that all aeolian movements are consistent with the passage of deep convective vortices between noon to 3 pm local time. These vortices may be the primary initiators for aeolian transportation at InSight, inducing episodic particulate motion of grains up to 3 mm in diameter.
Published: 2020
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31. The Chaotic Terrains of Mercury Reveal a History of Planetary Volatile Retention and Loss in the Innermost Solar System

Author: Maria E. Banks, Mario Zarroca, Mark V. Sykes, Rogelio Linares, Deborah L. Domingue, Gregory J. Leonard, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Simone Marchi, Daniel C. Berman, J. Alexis P. Rodriguez, Kevin D. Webster, and Victor R. Baker
Subjects: geography, Solar System, Multidisciplinary, geography.geographical_feature_category, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Landform, Earth science, lcsh:R, lcsh:Medicine, Terrain, Geomorphology, Structural basin, 01 natural sciences, Article, Impact crater, Inner planets, 0103 physical sciences, lcsh:Q, Altimeter, lcsh:Science, Ejecta, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geothermal gradient, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract: Mercury’s images obtained by the 1974 Mariner 10 flybys show extensive cratered landscapes degraded into vast knob fields, known as chaotic terrain (AKA hilly and lineated terrain). For nearly half a century, it was considered that these terrains formed due to catastrophic quakes and ejecta fallout produced by the antipodal Caloris basin impact. Here, we present the terrains’ first geologic examination based on higher spatial resolution MESSENGER (MErcury Surface Space ENvironment GEochemistry and Ranging) imagery and laser altimeter topography. Our surface age determinations indicate that their development persisted until ~1.8 Ga, or ~2 Gyrs after the Caloris basin formed. Furthermore, we identified multiple chaotic terrains with no antipodal impact basins; hence a new geological explanation is needed. Our examination of the Caloris basin’s antipodal chaotic terrain reveals multi-kilometer surface elevation losses and widespread landform retention, indicating an origin due to major, gradual collapse of a volatile-rich layer. Crater interior plains, possibly lavas, share the chaotic terrains’ age, suggesting a development associated with a geothermal disturbance above intrusive magma bodies, which best explains their regionality and the enormity of the apparent volume losses involved in their development. Furthermore, evidence of localized, surficial collapse, might reflect a complementary, and perhaps longer lasting, devolatilization history by solar heating.
Published: 2020

32. The Seismic Signatures of Recently Formed Impact Craters on Mars

Author: Nicholas Schmerr, Maria E. Banks, and Ingrid Daubar
Subjects: Martian, Source function, Seismometer, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Attenuation, Mars, Mars Exploration Program, seismology, 01 natural sciences, Article, Geophysics, Impact crater, impact craters, Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, Bolide, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Seismogram, Seismology, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract: The following dataset consists of the seismic waveforms created for studying impact crater clusters on Mars., We investigated the seismic signatures of recent impact crater clusters on Mars that would be recorded by the InSight Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) seismometers. We used a database of 77 measured and dated impact sites, with craters with effective diameters between 2.1 and 33.8 m, along with inferred impact angle, bolide trajectory, and varying target material properties to empirically scale for the momentum, expected seismic source function, and radiation pattern of impacts. The impact source is simulated in a local 3-D finite difference wave propagation code and coupled to teleseismic distances by scaling the spectra of 1-D global synthetic seismograms. We use the SEIS noise floors to estimate seismic detectability of impact(s) across azimuth and distance. Our experiments reveal that impact clusters have a higher peak corner frequency resulting from energy contributed by smaller craters to the power spectrum. We also find that the time separation between individual impacts in a cluster is small (< 10-15 milliseconds) and a require a seismometer closely situated to the source (< 10 km) and a high sampling rate (> 100 Hz) to resolve individual impacts within the cluster. Two of the clusters in our database (> 20 m effective diameter) would have been detectable by InSight, with the assumptions that the martian background noise and background attenuation are both low. Joint detection of surface changes from newly formed crater(s) in images and by SEIS will provide precise source locations that are crucial for constraining the internal structure of Mars.
Published: 2020

33. Geology of the InSight landing site on Mars

Author: Jeffery L. Hall, R. Hausmann, Claire E. Newman, Sharon A. Wilson, Nathan R. Williams, L. Berger, H. Abarca, Matthew P. Golombek, Constantinos Charalambous, Justin N. Maki, Paul M. Andres, Matthias Grott, Maria E. Banks, Sylvain Piqueux, A. DeMott, Philippe Lognonné, M. Kopp, François Forget, T. J. Parker, Ehouarn Millour, Niclas S. Mueller, M. M. Baker, Fred Calef, James B. Garvin, Aymeric Spiga, E. Hauber, Eloise Marteau, Veronique Ansan, William T. Pike, Christos Vrettos, John A. Grant, Clément Perrin, Sebastien Rodriguez, Naomi Murdoch, Nicholas H. Warner, N. Ruoff, William B. Banerdt, A. Trussell, Don Banfield, H. Lethcoe-Wilson, Suzanne E. Smrekar, Ingrid Daubar, Tilman Spohn, Robert G. Deen, S. Le Maistre, William M. Folkner, Catherine M. Weitz, Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace - ISAE-SUPAERO (FRANCE), UCL - SST/ELI/ELIC - Earth & Climate, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), State University of New York at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo), State University of New York (SUNY), Smithsonian Institution, DLR Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Planetary Science Institute [Tucson] (PSI), Department of Mechanical Engineering [Imperial College London], Imperial College London, Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TU Kaiserslautern), Royal Observatory of Belgium [Brussels] (ROB), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-IPG PARIS-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Cornell University [New York], and Aeolis Research
Subjects: geology, landing site, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Science, General Physics and Astronomy, Mars, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Mass wasting, 01 natural sciences, Article, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Elysium, Planetenphysik, Impact crater, 0103 physical sciences, Planetary science, Traitement du signal et de l'image, Petrology, lcsh:Science, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Duricrust, InSight, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Multidisciplinary, Geomorphology, Geology, Mars Exploration Program, General Chemistry, 15. Life on land, Regolith, Planetengeologie, General Biochemistry, Aeolian processes, lcsh:Q, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]
Abstract: The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft landed successfully on Mars and imaged the surface to characterize the surficial geology. Here we report on the geology and subsurface structure of the landing site to aid in situ geophysical investigations. InSight landed in a degraded impact crater in Elysium Planitia on a smooth sandy, granule- and pebble-rich surface with few rocks. Superposed impact craters are common and eolian bedforms are sparse. During landing, pulsed retrorockets modified the surface to reveal a near surface stratigraphy of surficial dust, over thin unconsolidated sand, underlain by a variable thickness duricrust, with poorly sorted, unconsolidated sand with rocks beneath. Impact, eolian, and mass wasting processes have dominantly modified the surface. Surface observations are consistent with expectations made from remote sensing data prior to landing indicating a surface composed of an impact-fragmented regolith overlying basaltic lava flows., The InSight spacecraft landed on Mars on November 2018. Here, the authors characterize the surficial geology of the landing site and compare with observations and models derived from remote sensing data prior to landing and from ongoing in situ geophysical investigations of the subsurface.
Published: 2020
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34. SURVEYING MEGA-RIPPLE MIGRATION ON MARS

Author: David A. Vaz, Matthew Chojnacki, Simone Silvestro, and Maria E. Banks
Subjects: Ripple, Mars Exploration Program, Mega, Seismology, Geology
Published: 2020
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35. Initial results from the New Horizons exploration of 2014 MU 69 , a small Kuiper Belt object

Author: J. Fischetti, S. Bhaskaran, Matthias Hahn, Karl Whittenburg, Derek S. Nelson, G. A. Griffith, Amanda M. Zangari, B. J. Buratti, James T. Keane, E. J. Lessac-Chenen, Ralph L. McNutt, Tiffany J. Finley, J. Scherrer, M. A. Ritterbush, M. M. Saina, G. Dunn, T. A. Hill, J. Van Eck, T. Stryk, J. M. Albers, D. C. Reuter, C. M. Dalle Ore, H. A. Elliott, D. J. Schultz, J. Andrews, Douglas P. Hamilton, M. H. Versteeg, Orkan M. Umurhan, Matthew E. Hill, Hai Nguyen, M. Simon, L. Gabasova, D. E. Jennings, D. J. Katz, J. E. Riedel, N. Behrooz, M. N. Fosbury, Henry B. Throop, A. J. Verbiscer, E. Bernardoni, Ross A. Beyer, C. Engelbrecht, Francesca Scipioni, H. L. Winters, Thomas H. Zurbuchen, Carey M. Lisse, Veronica J. Bray, M. G. Ryschkewitsch, Stuart J. Robbins, S. E. Jaskulek, M. C. Kochte, Thomas Mehoke, M. S. Lahr, M. J. Salinas, V. A. Mallder, S. P. Williams, B. H. May, D. M. Mages, C. C. Deboy, Simon B. Porter, Gerhard Kruizinga, Marc W. Buie, Jorge I. Nunez, John Hayes, Peter Kollmann, P. Dharmavaram, J. M. Moore, Darrell F. Strobel, John Stansberry, R. P. Binzel, H. M. Hart, Jillian Redfern, E. W. Stahlheber, H. K. Kang, James L. Green, Anthony F. Egan, Carly Howett, Fran Bagenal, Dale Stanbridge, Chris B. Hersman, C. L. Chavez, Debi Rose, J. Y. Pelgrift, Maria E. Banks, D. C. Schurr, Matthew R. Buckley, L. S. Turner, Ivan Linscott, Kaj E. Williams, J. Eisig, Mihaly Horanyi, Matthew Jones, Mark R. Showalter, William B. McKinnon, Leslie A. Young, E. J. Colwell, Daniel T. Britt, Kirby Runyon, David J. McComas, G. Weigle, Bernard Schmitt, Susan D. Benecchi, Alissa M. Earle, M. J. Kinczyk, Tod R. Lauer, M. R. Piquette, Lori S. Glaze, Carver J. Bierson, L. M. Burke, Brian Carcich, O. S. Custodio, A. Harch, Harold A. Weaver, Dale P. Cruikshank, Oliver L. White, L. E. Brown, William M. Grundy, G. K. Oxton, Chelsea L. Ferrell, David E. Kaufmann, Mohamed Ramy El-Maarry, K. A. Harmon, W. R. Schlei, Eric Quirico, Derek C. Richardson, J. M. Freeze, Jennifer Hanley, R. G. Shelton, Andrew J. Steffl, Mike Bird, H. W. Taylor, Harold J. Reitsema, Stamatios M. Krimigis, D. R. Boone, E. D. Fattig, A. L. Regiec, D. J. Rodgers, Jason D. Hofgartner, D. Velez, Catherine B. Olkin, Kelsi N. Singer, Brian Bauer, Carl J. Ercol, Martin Pätzold, Nicole Martin, Stewart Bushman, J. Firer, Allen W. Lunsford, R. W. Webbert, A. L. Chaikin, Alex Parker, C. A. Conrad, M. P. Conner, S. B. Cooper, Chloe B. Beddingfield, William M. Folkner, J. E. Lee, M. B. Tapley, G. R. Gladstone, D. A. Aguilar, Glen H. Fountain, Emma Birath, Rebecca Sepan, Jeremy Bauman, J. Wm. Parker, S. Weidner, J. R. Jensen, Jason C. Cook, Alan D. Howard, William M. Owen, Andrew F. Cheng, B. L. Enke, Sarah A. Hamilton, Tom Andert, K. B. Beisser, K. E. Bechtold, J. R. Wendel, Rajani D. Dhingra, Paul M. Schenk, Michael E. Summers, J. R. Spencer, D. W. Hals, Silvia Protopapa, A. C. Ocampo, Mark E. Holdridge, S. A. Stern, A. Taylor, R. M. Tedford, G. P. Keleher, Gabe Rogers, Frederic Pelletier, Jj Kavelaars, Yanping Guo, Jon Pineau, Steven J. Conard, Alice Bowman, A. Hosadurga, B. G. Williams, Michael Vincent, David Y. Kusnierkiewicz, Paul E. Rosendall, G. B. Lawrence, J. R. Stuart, M. M. Stothoff, Jr. D. S. Mehoke, Southwest Research Institute [Boulder] (SwRI), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), Lowell Observatory [Flagstaff], Space Physics Research Laboratory [Ann Arbor] (SPRL), University of Michigan [Ann Arbor], University of Michigan System-University of Michigan System, SwRI Planetary Science Directorate [Boulder], Universitat de Lleida, Institut für Raumfahrttechnik, Universität der Bundeswehr München [Neubiberg], Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics [Boulder] (LASP), University of Colorado [Boulder], Department of Space Studies [Boulder], Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Institute of Hydrology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology [Linköping] (IFM), Linköping University (LIU), Africa Rice Center [Bénin] (AfricaRice), Africa Rice Center [Côte d'Ivoire] (AfricaRice), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR)-Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR), Yonsei University, Galaxies, Etoiles, Physique, Instrumentation (GEPI), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM), Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM), Princeton University, Reed College, Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE), Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research (RIU), University of Cologne, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences [Manchester] (SEAES), University of Manchester [Manchester], ESA, Southwest Research Institute [San Antonio] (SwRI), NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), Laboratoire pour l'utilisation du rayonnement électromagnétique (LURE), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-MENRT-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson] (LPL), University of Arizona, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (FZU / CAS), Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS), Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique Bio-Inorganique et Environnement (LCABIE), Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Warmia and Mazury [Olsztyn], California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), University of Warmia and Mazury, Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Ephémérides (IMCCE), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), inconnu temporaire UPEMLV, Inconnu, INGENIERIE (INGENIERIE), Institut de recherches sur la catalyse et l'environnement de Lyon (IRCELYON), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés Plasmas et Traitement de Surface (ENSCP), PARIS, Africa Rice Center, Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Institut de pharmacologie moléculaire et cellulaire (IPMC), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015 - 2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015 - 2019) (COMUE UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institute of Physics of Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, and Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (ASCR)
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Solar System, Multidisciplinary, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Spacecraft, business.industry, [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP], FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy, Coma (optics), Contact binary, Albedo, 01 natural sciences, Object (philosophy), Solar wind, 13. Climate action, 0103 physical sciences, Pebble, business, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Geology, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract: The Kuiper Belt is a distant region of the Solar System. On 1 January 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft flew close to (486958) 2014 MU69, a Cold Classical Kuiper Belt Object, a class of objects that have never been heated by the Sun and are therefore well preserved since their formation. Here we describe initial results from these encounter observations. MU69 is a bi-lobed contact binary with a flattened shape, discrete geological units, and noticeable albedo heterogeneity. However, there is little surface color and compositional heterogeneity. No evidence for satellites, ring or dust structures, gas coma, or solar wind interactions was detected. By origin MU69 appears consistent with pebble cloud collapse followed by a low velocity merger of its two lobes., 43 pages, 8 figure
Published: 2019
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36. Recent tectonic activity on Mercury revealed by small thrust fault scarps

Author: Katie Daud, M. M. Selvans, Maria E. Banks, Clark R. Chapman, Carolyn M. Ernst, and Thomas R. Watters
Subjects: geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Landform, chemistry.chemical_element, 010502 geochemistry & geophysics, Fault scarp, 01 natural sciences, Mercury (element), Graben, Tectonics, Impact crater, chemistry, Planet, General Earth and Planetary Sciences, Thrust fault, Seismology, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract: The planet Mercury has contracted over its history. The identification of small thrust fault scarps suggests the occurrence of tectonic activity on Mercury within the past 50 million years and thus a slow-cooling planetary interior. Large tectonic landforms on the surface of Mercury, consistent with significant contraction of the planet, were revealed by the flybys of Mariner 10 in the mid-1970s1. The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission confirmed that the planet’s past 4 billion years of tectonic history have been dominated by contraction expressed by lobate fault scarps that are hundreds of kilometres long2,3,4,5. Here we report the discovery of small thrust fault scarps in images from the low-altitude campaign at the end of the MESSENGER mission that are orders of magnitude smaller than the large-scale lobate scarps. These small scarps have tens of metres of relief, are only kilometres in length and are comparable in scale to small young scarps on the Moon6,7,8. Their small-scale, pristine appearance, crosscutting of impact craters and association with small graben all indicate an age of less than 50 Myr. We propose that these scarps are the smallest members of a continuum in scale of thrust fault scarps on Mercury. The young age of the small scarps, along with evidence for recent activity on large-scale scarps, suggests that Mercury is tectonically active today and implies a prolonged slow cooling of the planet’s interior.
Published: 2016
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37. The 1997 Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft Landing Site : Spillover Deposits from an Early Mars Inland Sea

Author: Daniel C. Berman, Mark V. Sykes, Rogelio Linares, Tao Liu, Maria E. Banks, Jeffrey S. Kargel, J. A. P. Rodriguez, Mario Zarroca, T. Hui, Goro Komatsu, Victor R. Baker, and B. Travis
Subjects: 0301 basic medicine, Martian, Spillway, Solar System, Multidisciplinary, Flood myth, lcsh:R, Fluvial, lcsh:Medicine, Geomorphology, Mars Exploration Program, Structural basin, Article, 03 medical and health sciences, Paleontology, 030104 developmental biology, 0302 clinical medicine, Outflow, lcsh:Q, Hydrology, lcsh:Science, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Geology
Abstract: The Martian outflow channels comprise some of the largest known channels in the Solar System. Remote-sensing investigations indicate that cataclysmic floods likely excavated the channels ~3.4 Ga. Previous studies show that, in the southern circum-Chryse region, their flooding pathways include hundreds of kilometers of channel floors with upward gradients. However, the impact of the reversed channel-floor topography on the cataclysmic floods remains uncertain. Here, we show that these channel floors occur within a vast basin, which separates the downstream reaches of numerous outflow channels from the northern plains. Consequently, floods propagating through these channels must have ponded, producing an inland sea, before reaching the northern plains as enormous spillover discharges. The resulting paleohydrological reconstruction reinterprets the 1997 Pathfinder landing site as part of a marine spillway, which connected the inland sea to a hypothesized northern plains ocean. Our flood simulation shows that the presence of the sea would have permitted the propagation of low-depth floods beyond the areas of reversed channel-floor topography. These results explain the formation at the landing site of possible fluvial features indicative of flow depths at least an order of magnitude lower than those apparent from the analyses of orbital remote-sensing observations.
Published: 2019

38. AN IMPACT ORIGIN FOR HOMESTEAD HOLLOW, THE LANDING LOCATION OF THE INSIGHT LANDER ON MARS

Author: A. DeMott, Sharon A. Wilson, Nathan R. Williams, John A. Grant, Nicholas H. Warner, Maria E. Banks, M. Kopp, Constantinos Charalambous, Veronique Ansan, William T. Pike, Matthew P. Golombek, Ernst Hauber, and Catherine M. Weitz
Subjects: Mars Exploration Program, Geology, Astrobiology
Published: 2019
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39. MODIFICATION OF HOMESTEAD HOLLOW AT THE INSIGHT LANDING SITE

Author: John A. Grant, Nicholas H. Warner, Maria E. Banks, Catherine M. Weitz, A. DeMott, Matthew P. Golombek, M. Kopp, Fred Calef, H. Lethcoe-Wilson, Ernst Hauber, Constantinos Charalambous, Veronique Ansan, William T. Pike, Sharon A. Wilson, and Nathan R. Williams
Published: 2019
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40. SURFACE ALTERATION FROM LANDING INSIGHT ON MARS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR SHALLOW REGOLITH STRUCTURE

Author: A. DeMott, W. Thomas Pike, Robert G. Deen, Rachel Hausmann, Maria E. Banks, Nicolas A. Ruoff, Matthew P. Golombek, Fred Calef, Veronique Ansan, James B. Garvin, Catherine M. Weitz, Ingrid Daubar, T. J. Parker, Nathan R. Williams, H. Lethcoe-Wilson, Constantinos Charalambous, Sharon A. Wilson, Hallie Gengl, Lauren Berger, Justin Maki, Ralph D. Lorenz, John A. Grant, Nicholas H. Warner, Ernst Hauber, and M. Kopp
Subjects: Surface (mathematics), Mars Exploration Program, Regolith, Geology, Astrobiology
Published: 2019
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41. AEOLIAN CHANGE DETECTION FROM THE INSIGHT LANDER

Author: Kevin W. Lewis, Veronique Ansan, M. M. Baker, Aymeric Spiga, James B. Garvin, Maria E. Banks, Claire Newman, Don Banfield, Constantinos Charalambous, and Matthew P. Golombek
Subjects: Earth science, Aeolian processes, Change detection, Geology
Published: 2019
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42. EOLIAN BEDFORMS IN THE REGION SURROUNDING THE INSIGHT LANDING SITE, MARS

Author: Ralph D. Lorenz, Nathan R. Williams, Nicholas H. Warner, Maria E. Banks, M. M. Baker, Claire E. Newman, and Matthew P. Golombek
Subjects: Paleontology, Bedform, Aeolian processes, Mars Exploration Program, Geology
Published: 2019
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43. GLOBAL DATABASE OF AEOLIAN BEDFORM ACTIVITY ON MARS

Author: Paul E. Geissler, Maria E. Banks, Kirby Runyon, Matthew Chojnacki, Simone Silvestro, Lori K. Fenton, and James R. Zimbelman
Subjects: Bedform, Aeolian processes, Mars Exploration Program, Geomorphology, Geology
Published: 2019
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44. STUDYING IMPACT PROCESSES WITH THE INSIGHT MISSION

Author: Maria E. Banks, Ingrid Daubar, Nicholas A Teanby, Katarina Miljković, Simon Stähler, Matthew P. Golombek, L. Posiolova, Gareth S. Collins, John Clinton, and Philippe Lognonné
Published: 2019
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45. Impact-Seismic Investigations of the InSight Mission

Author: Foivos Karakostas, James Wookey, Jennifer Stevanović, Matthew P. Golombek, Philippe Lognonné, Veronique Ansan, W. Bruce Banerdt, Stéphane May, Antoine Lucas, Maria E. Banks, Mark P. Panning, Nicholas Schmerr, Jeremie Vaubaillon, Sharon Kedar, Sebastien Rodriguez, Mélanie Drilleau, Nicholas A Teanby, Eleanor K. Sansom, Justin N. Maki, James E. Richardson, Taichi Kawamura, C. Yana, John Clinton, Maren Böse, Mark T. Lemmon, Ingrid Daubar, Gareth S. Collins, Raphaël F. Garcia, Balthasar Kenda, Hiroo Kanamori, Nobuaki Fuji, Katarina Miljković, Simon Stähler, Suzanne E. Smrekar, Don Banfield, Tamara Gudkova, Martin van Driel, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-IPG PARIS-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Ephémérides (IMCCE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Lille-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES), Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace - ISAE-SUPAERO (FRANCE), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université de Lille-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Subjects: Seismometer, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Mars, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Autre, Impact crater, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Seismology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, InSight, Physical model, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Acoustic wave, Mars Exploration Program, Atmosphere of Mars, 0201 Astronomical And Space Sciences, Planetary science, Amplitude, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Impact cratering, [SDU.OTHER]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Other, Geology
Abstract: Impact investigations will be an important aspect of the InSight mission. One of the scientific goals of the mission is a measurement of the current impact rate at Mars. Impacts will additionally inform the major goal of investigating the interior structure of Mars. In this paper, we review the current state of knowledge about seismic signals from impacts on the Earth, Moon, and laboratory experiments. We describe the generalized physical models that can be used to explain these signals. A discussion of the appropriate source time function for impacts is presented, along with spectral characteristics including the cutoff frequency and its dependence on impact momentum. Estimates of the seismic efficiency (ratio between seismic and impact energies) vary widely. Our preferred value for the seismic efficiency at Mars is $5 \times 10^{- 4}$ , which we recommend using until we can measure it during the InSight mission, when seismic moments are not used directly. Effects of the material properties at the impact point and at the seismometer location are considered. We also discuss the processes by which airbursts and acoustic waves emanate from bolides, and the feasibility of detecting such signals. We then consider the case of impacts on Mars. A review is given of the current knowledge of present-day cratering on Mars: the current impact rate, characteristics of those impactors such as velocity and directions, and the morphologies of the craters those impactors create. Several methods of scaling crater size to impact energy are presented. The Martian atmosphere, although thin, will cause fragmentation of impactors, with implications for the resulting seismic signals. We also benchmark several different seismic modeling codes to be used in analysis of impact detections, and those codes are used to explore the seismic amplitude of impact-induced signals as a function of distance from the impact site. We predict a measurement of the current impact flux will be possible within the timeframe of the prime mission (one Mars year) with the detection of ∼ a few to several tens of impacts. However, the error bars on these predictions are large. Specific to the InSight mission, we list discriminators of seismic signals from impacts that will be used to distinguish them from marsquakes. We describe the role of the InSight Impacts Science Theme Group during mission operations, including a plan for possible night-time meteor imaging. The impacts detected by these methods during the InSight mission will be used to improve interior structure models, measure the seismic efficiency, and calculate the size frequency distribution of current impacts.
Published: 2018
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46. The Argyre Region as a Prime Target forin situAstrobiological Exploration of Mars

Author: Victor R. Baker, H. James Cleaves, Richard J. Soare, Esther R. Uceda, James M. Dohm, Stuart J. Robbins, Jianguo Yan, Dorothy Z. Oehler, Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Goro Komatsu, Wolfgang Fink, J. Alexis P. Rodriguez, Elhoucine Essefi, Alberto G. Fairén, Shigenori Maruyama, Hideaki Miyamoto, Jeffrey S. Kargel, and Maria E. Banks
Subjects: Extraterrestrial Environment, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Geochemistry, Mars, Structural basin, 01 natural sciences, Paleontology, Exobiology, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, Water, Geology, Glacier, Robotics, Mars Exploration Program, Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous), Basement (geology), Space and Planetary Science, Upwelling, Sedimentary rock, Volatilization, Energy source, Mud volcano
Abstract: At the time before ∼3.5 Ga that life originated and began to spread on Earth, Mars was a wetter and more geologically dynamic planet than it is today. The Argyre basin, in the southern cratered highlands of Mars, formed from a giant impact at ∼3.93 Ga, which generated an enormous basin approximately 1800 km in diameter. The early post-impact environment of the Argyre basin possibly contained many of the ingredients that are thought to be necessary for life: abundant and long-lived liquid water, biogenic elements, and energy sources, all of which would have supported a regional environment favorable for the origin and the persistence of life. We discuss the astrobiological significance of some landscape features and terrain types in the Argyre region that are promising and accessible sites for astrobiological exploration. These include (i) deposits related to the hydrothermal activity associated with the Argyre impact event, subsequent impacts, and those associated with the migration of heated water along Argyre-induced basement structures; (ii) constructs along the floor of the basin that could mark venting of volatiles, possibly related to the development of mud volcanoes; (iii) features interpreted as ice-cored mounds (open-system pingos), whose origin and development could be the result of deeply seated groundwater upwelling to the surface; (iv) sedimentary deposits related to the formation of glaciers along the basin's margins, such as evidenced by the ridges interpreted to be eskers on the basin floor; (v) sedimentary deposits related to the formation of lakes in both the primary Argyre basin and other smaller impact-derived basins along the margin, including those in the highly degraded rim materials; and (vi) crater-wall gullies, whose morphology points to a structural origin and discharge of (wet) flows.
Published: 2016
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47. Global thrust faulting on the Moon and the influence of tidal stresses

Author: Thomas R. Watters, Katie Daud, Geoffrey C. Collins, Mark S. Robinson, M. M. Selvans, Nathan R. Williams, and Maria E. Banks
Subjects: Graben, Current (stream), Tectonics, geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, Impact crater, Geology, Thrust fault, Crust, Fault (geology), Fault scarp, Seismology
Abstract: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera images reveal a vast, globally distributed network of over 3200 lobate thrust fault scarps, making them the most common tectonic landform on the Moon. Based on their small scale and crisp appearance, crosscutting relations with small-diameter impact craters, and rates of infilling of associated small, shallow graben, these fault scarps are estimated to be younger than 50 Ma and may be actively forming today. The non-random distribution of the scarp orientations is inconsistent with isotropic stresses from late-stage global contraction as the sole source of stress. We propose that tidal stresses contribute significantly to the current stress state of the lunar crust. Orbital recession stresses superimposed on stresses from global contraction with the addition of diurnal tidal stresses result in non-isotropic compressional stress and thrust faults consistent with lobate scarp orientations. The addition of diurnal tidal stresses at apogee result in peak stresses that may help trigger coseismic slip events on currently active thrust faults on the Moon.
Published: 2015
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48. Geological and hydrological histories of the Argyre province, Mars

Author: Alberto G. Fairén, Jianguo Yan, Maria E. Banks, Goro Komatsu, H.J. Cleaves, Alfonso F. Davila, James M. Dohm, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Stuart J. Robbins, Brian M. Hynek, Jean-Pierre Williams, Susan J. Conway, Shigenori Maruyama, Hideaki Miyamoto, William C. Mahaney, Trent M. Hare, Wolfgang Fink, Debra Buczkowski, Richard J. Soare, Mohamed Ramy El-Maarry, Robert C. Anderson, Dawson College, Physikalisches Institut [Bern], Universität Bern [Bern], Open University (School of Physical Sciences), Washington State University (WSU), Center for Human Genetics, University of Leuven School of Medicine, SCHOOL of MEDICINE [Louvain], Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain (UCL)-Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), aucun, Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik (ZAMG), Institute of Fluid Sciences [Sendai] (IFS), and Tohoku University [Sendai]
Subjects: geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Geochemistry, Drainage basin, Fluvial, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 15. Life on land, Structural basin, 01 natural sciences, [SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology, Impact crater, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, 0103 physical sciences, Sedimentary rock, Glacial period, Ice sheet, [SDU.STU.AG]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Applied geology, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Geology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Tharsis
Abstract: The geologic history of the multi-ringed Argyre impact basin and surroundings has been reconstructed on the basis of geologic mapping and relative-age dating of rock materials and structures. The impact formed a primary basin, rim materials, and a complex basement structural fabric including faults and valleys that are radial and concentric about the primary basin, as well as structurally-controlled local basins. Since its formation, the basin has been a regional catchment for volatiles and sedimentary materials as well as a dominant influence on the flow of surface ice, debris flows, and groundwater through and over its basement structures. The basin is interpreted to have been occupied by lakes, including a possible Mediterranean-sized sea that formed in the aftermath of the Argyre impact event. The hypothesized lakes froze and diminished through time, though liquid water may have remained beneath the ice cover and sedimentation may have continued for some time. At its deepest, the main Argyre lake may have taken more than a hundred thousand years to freeze to the bottom even absent any heat source besides the Sun, but with impact-induced hydrothermal heat, geothermal heat flow due to long-lived radioactivities in early martian history, and concentration of solutes in sub-ice brine, liquid water may have persisted beneath thick ice for many millions of years. Existence of an ice-covered sea perhaps was long enough for life to originate and evolve with gradually colder and more hypersaline conditions. The Argyre rock materials, diverse in origin and emplacement mechanisms, have been modified by impact, magmatic, eolian, fluvial, lacustrine, glacial, periglacial, alluvial, colluvial, and tectonic processes.\ud \ud Post-impact adjustment of part of the impact-generated basement structural fabric such as concentric faults is apparent. Distinct basin-stratigraphic units are interpreted to be linked to large-scale geologic activity far from the basin, including growth of the Tharsis magmatic–tectonic complex and the growth into southern middle latitudes of south polar ice sheets. Along with the migration of surface and sub-surface volatiles towards the central part of the primary basin, the substantial difference in elevation with respect to the surrounding highlands and Tharsis and the Thaumasia highlands result in the trapping of atmospheric volatiles within the basin in the form of fog and regional or local precipitation, even today. In addition, the impact event caused long-term (millions of years) hydrothermal activity, as well as deep-seated basement structures that have tapped the internal heat of Mars, as conduits, for far greater time, possibly even today. This possibility is raised by the observation of putative open-system pingos and nearby gullies that occur in linear depressions with accompanying systems of faults and fractures. Long-term water and heat energy enrichment, complemented by the interaction of the nutrient-enriched primordial crustal and mantle materials favorable to life excavated to the surface and near-surface environs through the Argyre impact event, has not only resulted in distinct geomorphology, but also makes the Argyre basin a potential site of exceptional astrobiological significance.
Published: 2015
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49. Bedform migration on Mars: Current results and future plans

Author: Maria E. Banks, Paul E. Geissler, Nathan P. Bridges, and Simone Silvestro
Subjects: geography, Bedform, geography.geographical_feature_category, Geology, Mars Exploration Program, Latitude, Erg (landform), Martian surface, Aeolian processes, Digital elevation model, Geomorphology, Change detection, Earth-Surface Processes
Abstract: With the advent of high resolution imaging, bedform motion can now be tracked on the Martian surface. HiRISE data, with a pixel scale as fine as 25 cm, shows displacements of sand patches, dunes, and ripples up to several meters per Earth year, demonstrating that significant landscape modification occurs in the current environment. This seems to consistently occur in the north polar erg, with variable activity at other latitudes. Volumetric dune and ripple changes indicate sand fluxes up to several cubic meters per meter per year, similar to that found in some dune fields on Earth. All “transverse aeolian ridges” are immobile. There is no relationship between bedform activity and coarse-scale global circulation models, indicating that finer scale topography and wind gusts, combined with the predicted low impact threshold on Mars, are the primary drivers. Several techniques have been developed to measure bedform changes and are largely dependent on dataset availability and the type of questions being pursued. Qualitative visual inspection can determine whether or not changes have occurred. Offsets registered to fixed tie points yield approximate migration rates of nearby crests and dune lee fronts. To compute volumetric sand flux requires precise orthorectification and registration using a digital elevation model base. Using this technique combined with sophisticated change detection software has the potential to detect changes as fine as 1/3 of a pixel (∼8 cm) or less.
Published: 2013
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50. SEISMIC RESETTING OF THE CRATER RECORD AROUND LUNAR LOBATE-SCARP THRUST FAULTS

Author: Thomas R. Watters, J. D. Clark, Mark S. Robinson, Maria E. Banks, Carolyn H. van der Bogert, and Harald Hiesinger
Subjects: Impact crater, Thrust fault, Fault scarp, Geology, Seismology
Published: 2017
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