C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Boldly Going Where No Geographer Has Gone Before: The Martian Classroom The Los Angeles Geographical Society (7 September 2007) Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue California State University, Long Beach Former President of the LAGS (1988)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars Imagined  How have you imagined Mars?

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars Imagined  How has science imagined Mars?  Schiaparelli’s canali ( )

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars Imagined  How has science imagined Mars?  Lowell’s canals

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars Imagined  How has science imagined Mars?  Viking’s dead, dry Mars ( )

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars Imagined  How has science imagined Mars?  1990s/2000s: could Mars once have been warm and soggy?

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  The tallest volcano in the solar system  Olympus Mons: 24 km tall, 500 km wide, a 6 km cliff at its base: Everest is not quite 9 km tall! (Viking)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  The longest and deepest canyon in the solar system  Valles Marineris: 4,000 km long, 2-7 km deep (Viking)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  The mother of all impact craters  Hellas Planitia: 6 km deep, 2,500 km in diameter (MGS MOLA)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  Some spectacularly old impact-battered surfaces  Some of these may be older than 3.5 billion years old  Mariner flyby (Sinus Sabaeus & Deucalionis Regio)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  Unpleasant atmosphere  Density varies: less than one half of one percent of Earth’s

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  Unpleasant atmosphere  Windy, dusty place

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  Unpleasant atmosphere  Really COLD place (MGS TES)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars Geographers  A few of the many geographers active in the study of Mars  Mary C. Bourke, Oxford Geography Department  M. Buchroithner, Inst für Kartographie, Dresden  Ed Cloutis, Geography, University of Winnipeg  Bethany L. Ehlmann, Oxford Geography M.Sc. 2007, going on for Ph.D. in Geology at Brown University  Julie Laity, Geography, CSUN  K. Maria D. Lane, Geography, UT Austin  Ruth Mugford, Ph.D. student, Cambridge Geography  Richard J. Pike, M.A. Geography, Ph.D. Geology, U.S.G.S.  John Pitlick, University of Colorado, Boulder  Wayne H. Pollard, McGill University  Andrew J. Russell, Physical Geography, Keele University, UK  Richard Soare, Concordia University

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Course Outline  In this class, we went over:  What does GEOgraphy have to do with Mars?  The history of Mars exploration  The basics of remote sensing  Spacecraft and their sensors  Mars as a planet in the solar system  The landscapes of Mars  The climates and weather of Mars  Mars as it affects human imagination

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB So, on to Mars!

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars in Space  Size  Mars’ and Earth’s relative sizes compared  Radius: ~3,400 km Mars vs. 6,400 km Earth  Volume: Mars is ~ 15% of Earth  Mass: Mars is ~ 10% of Earth  Gravity: Mars has ~38% of Earth's

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars in Space  Orbital Characteristics  Mars’ and Earth’s distance from the Sun  Mars is about 227,936,640 km from the Sun averaged along the semi-major axis  Earth is 149,597,890 km 22  Solar irradiance at Mars is about 590 W/m 2 versus 1,350 W/m 2 at Earth (~44%)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Vastitas (vastitates) : An extensive, vast plain

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Planum (plana) : A plateau or high plain  Meridiani Planum seen from Opportunity’s Pancam

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Planitia (planitiæ) : A low-lying plain or lowland  Elysium Planitia (ESA Mars Express HRSC): pack ice?

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Terra (terræ) : An extensive land mass  Arabia Terra (NASA Marsoweb server)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Chaos: an area of broken or blocky terrain  Aram Chaos (ESA Mars Express HRSC)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Chasma (chasmata): a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression  Ganges Chasma: eastern end of Valles Marineris system NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS nighttime temperature image)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Vallis (valles): a valley or canyon  Ma’adim Vallis (Viking image)  (and Gusev Crater, where Spirit landed)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Fossa (fossæ): a long, narrow depression  Claritas Fossæ, in Solis Planum (ESA Mars Express HRSC)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Labes: landslide  Valles Marineris (Viking)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Labyrinthus (labyrinthi): complex of intersecting valleys or ridges  Noctis Labyrinthus map (west of Valles Marineris, east of Pavonis Mons)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Crater: a circular depression or impact feature  Crater with ice in Vastitas Borealis, Mars Express  Hellas, MOLA  Phobos, Stickney Crater

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Catena (catenæ): a line or chain of craters  Coprates Catenæ: impacts or pitting? (Mars Express HRSC)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Mensa (mensæ): mesa or flat-topped prominence with steep sides  Ausonia Mensa in southwest Hesperia Planum (Mars Express HRSC)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Colles: small hills or knobs  Ariadnes Colles in Cimmeria, MGS MOC, possibly eroded remnants of deposits on crater floor

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Tholus, tholi: small conical mountain or hill  Uranius Tholus, Tharsis (Viking)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Mons (montes): large mountain (as in really large, on Mars)  Olympus Mons (Viking)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Patera (pateræ): an irregular crater or volcano with scalloped edges  Alba Patera (MGS MOLA)  Apollinaris Patera (MGS MOC)

C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Nomenclature  Mars Features  Undæ: dunes  Sand Hills of Nili Patera, Syrtis Major (MGS Mars Orbiter Camera or MOC)