Mars: The Story of the Red Planet

ISBN-13: 9789401050180 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 224 str.

P. Cattermole

Opis

As I write this short preface, the red orb of Mars is high in the eastern sky, and is brighter than it has been for many years. Last night my telescope again revealed the strange polar hood which is a feature of the planet at this time in its cycle. Because of its current prominence in the night sky, it is a very appropriate time to bring together and reappraise what we know of Mars and look forward to the next wave of planetary exploration. The initial notion of writing a book about Mars is an exciting one; the practicalities involved in working through and completing the project are, however, more than a trifle exacting. The first problem I encountered was the sheer vastness of the library of information about Mars which now exists. The second was the natural extension of the first, that is, how best to analyse it and reach widely acceptable interpretations. I have tried to write the story of Mars in a logical and unbiased way, however, we all have our individual prejudices, and I would be less than truthful if I did not admit to personal bias here and there. With this in mind, I apologise to any authors who may feel either misinterpreted or less than adequately acknowledged. The project is now completed and has been superbly prepared by Chapman & Hall.

Spis treści

1 Mars in the Solar System.- 1.1 The orbit and movements of Mars.- 1.2 Dimensions and mass.- 1.3 The Martian seasons.- 1.4 The pattern of discovery.- 1.5 Albedo markings.- 2 Spacecraft Exploration Of The Red Planet.- 2.1 Early Mars missions.- 2.2 Mariner 9.- 2.3 Soviet Mars exploration.- 2.4 The Viking missions.- 2.5 The Soviet Phobos mission.- 3 The Present Face of Mars.- 3.1 The topography of Mars.- 3.2 Physiographic provinces.- 3.3 Thermal inertia mapping.- 3.4 The stratigraphy of Mars.- 3.5 Summary.- 4 The Atmosphere and Weather.- 4.1 The composition of the atmosphere.- 4.2 Atmospheric pressure variations.- 4.3 Isotopic abundances in the atmosphere.- 4.4 Atmospheric circulation pattern.- 4.5 Clouds.- 5 The Interior of Mars.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 The figure and gravity of Mars.- 5.3 Internal density profile.- 5.4 Composition of the interior.- 5.5 Differentiation of the Martian crust.- 6 The Ancient Cratered Terrain.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 The Martian cratering record.- 6.3 Martian impact basins.- 6.4 Morphology of impact craters.- 6.5 Crater ejecta morphology.- 6.6 Channelling on the cratered plateau.- 6.7 Intercrater plains.- 6.8 Volcanoes of the cratered plateau.- 6.9 The geological story as revealed by the upland rocks.- 7 The Central Volcanoes of Mars.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Volcano distribution.- 7.3 Classification of volcano types.- 7.4 Volcano ages.- 7.5 Highland paterae.- 7.6 Shield volcanoes and paterae.- 7.7 Martian shields.- 7.8 Older Tharsis volcanoes.- 7.9 Alba Patera.- 7.10 The shield volcanoes of Elysium.- 7.11 Apollinaris Patera.- 7.12 Central volcanism on Mars.- 8 The Plains of Mars.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 Noachian and Early Hesperian plains.- 8.3 Hesperian-age flow plains.- 8.4 The Medusae Fossae plains.- 8.5 Tempe Terra plains province.- 8.6 Volcanic plains of Amazonian age.- 8.7 Plains deposits of Hellas.- 8.8 The northern plains.- 8.9 Plains and major resurfacing events in Martian history.- 9 The Equatorial Canyons.- 9.1 General features of Valles Marineris.- 9.2 Details of canyon physiography.- 9.3 General form of canyon walls.- 9.4 Wall retreat and landslide deposits.- 9.5 Wall retreat - tributary canyon development.- 9.6 Interior deposits.- 9.7 Formation of the canyon system.- 10 Martian Channels and Chaotic Terrain.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 Valley networks in the ancient cratered terrain.- 10.3 Outflow channels.- 10.4 Fretted channels.- 10.5 Chaotic terrain.- 11 The Polar Regions, Wind And Volatile Activity.- 11.1 Introduction.- 11.2 Nature of the polar caps.- 11.3 Laminated polar deposits.- 11.4 High-latitude plains and dune fields.- 11.5 Wind activity on Mars.- 12 The Geological History of Mars.- 12.1 Introduction.- 12.2 The tectonic history of Mars.- 12.3 The evolution of Tharsis.- 12.4 Some final thoughts concerning Tharsis.- 12.5 The crustal dichotomy.- 12.6 The geological development of Mars.- 12.7 Climatic and volatile history.- 13 The Next Steps.- 13.1 Future Mars missions.- 13.2 Climate and the search for life.- 13.3 Epilogue.- Appendices.- A Astronomical Data.- B Phobos and Deimos.- C Model Chronologies for Mars.- D Stratigraphy of Martian Geological Features and Units.