Mars Exploration Digest: Issue June 2023

by Dr. Jozef Kozár · Published July 2, 2023 · Updated October 4, 2023

A regular monthly digest of Mars research news for June 2023. PDF: Issue 9, Volume 2, ISSN 2788-225X.

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[SK] Slovenskú verziu článku si môžte prečítať tu: Výber z výskumu Marsu: Jún 2023

It’s the end of the month and with it another issue of Mars Exploration Digest. In this edition, we will again look at the news, or interesting things from the world of planetary science related to the red planet.

The study of the planet Mars is very important for us, especially in order to understand the evolution of the entire planet. Mars is a terrestrial planet, just like Earth. There used to be surface water on it, apparently a lot of water. The question is, where did this water go and, above all, why? This also raises other questions about life that could once have existed on Mars. Will we find evidence of ancient Martian microbial life on present-day Mars? Alternatively, we will be so lucky to find microbial life somewhere under the surface on Mars even today. That would be lucky, it would change many things, it would rewrite philosophy. You can probably imagine it. This is also why we are exploring Mars. It moves us forward as humanity.

Mars Exploration Digest – June 2023

Let’s discover what is new in the Mars exploration for the latest month.

Evidence of an Ancient Wild River on Mars

New images obtained by the Perseverance probe show us essential evidence of an ancient wild river on Mars. This river was deeper and faster than we had ever thought of any ancient river that existed on Mars in the distant past. This river used to be part of a network of waterways flowing into Jezero Crater – an area that Perseverance has been exploring since the start of its mission more than two years ago.

An ancient river on Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Understanding this aquatic environment could help our efforts to search for signs of ancient microbial life that may have been preserved in Martian rock.

The Perseverance probe is exploring the top of a fan-like pile of sedimentary rock that is 820 feet (250 meters) high and has curved layers resembling flowing water. One of the questions we need to answer is whether this water flowed in relatively shallow currents – that is, whether this river was closer to ancient flows than the Curiosity probe once discovered, or whether it is a much more massive river system. If you are interested in a very high-resolution image, click here. [1]

Earth Return Orbiter

The Earth Return Orbiter will be one of the key components of the Mars Sample Return mission. Image credit: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC

The “Earth Return Orbiter” space probe will be one of the key components of the Mars Sample Return mission. It will be a separate probe, which will have the task of capturing a capsule with samples in the orbit of Mars. The sample capsule will be launched from the Martian surface into orbit using a separate rocket system and released in orbit. Its size will be about the size of a volleyball. It will then be captured by the Earth Return Orbiter, which will then transport it back to Earth. The whole mission of delivering samples from Mars to Earth will be a complicated process, which will include several separate components. The Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) probe will be built by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is participating in the mission of delivering samples from Mars to Earth together with NASA. [2]

Curiosity is almost like a “climber”

Currently, the Curiosity probe is “peeking out” over the edge of the ridge, which it has been trying to climb for a few weeks. The view from the ridge is wonderful. However, Curiosity stopped and for a moment scanned the canyon behind it. In the center of the image, you can faintly see Curiosity’s footprints left behind as it slowly ascended the hill. The whole ascent meant a lot of slipping and a bit of sliding on the unstable surface, but the probe managed it in the end. [3]

View from the ridge down into the canyon. Image obtained using the right navigation camera. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

The possibility of contributing to the monthly magazine about Mars

Are you looking for a professional journal or magazine where you could publish your text, research, or scientific-popular article? Do you like planets and space? Are you a student, researcher, astronomer, teacher, or space enthusiast? Here is a unique opportunity for you to publish your text in a new professional periodical.

The cover of the January 2023 edition. Image credit: Jozef Kozar, Ph.D.

Use this opportunity to publish in the new magazine “Mars Exploration Digest” (abbreviation “MXD”). This new monthly magazine is starting its second year. It is available to everyone for free (open access). It is published in PDF format in two languages – English and Slovak (posts in Czech are also welcome).

The focus of this monthly magazine is not commercial. Its goal is not only to provide information from the world of Mars exploration but also to help in education and publishing new knowledge.

And a bonus for you? You can contribute your text for free. You can use this published article as a reference in your list of publications because Mars Exploration Digest is a professional journal. The readership of this magazine is growing rapidly, as it is a very specific periodical. So don’t hesitate and take your chance now. Mars Exploration Digest is registered under ISSN 2788-225X by the Czech National Technical Library in Prague (The Czech Republic, EU).

~ Jozef Kozár, PhD.

PDF: Issue 9, Volume 2, ISSN 2788-225X.

Sources:

[1] NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures View of Mars’ Belva Crater. May 18, 2023; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
[2] NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core – NASA Mars Exploration. NASA Mars Exploration [online]: https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9387/nasa-insight-study-provides-clearest-look-ever-at-martian-core/
[3] NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Gets a Major Software Upgrade – NASA Mars Exploration. NASA Mars Exploration [online]: https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9378/nasas-curiosity-mars-rover-gets-a-major-software-upgrade/

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