MRO HiRISE Images - August 6, 2008

MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER HIRISE IMAGES
August 6, 2008

o Deposits in Electris
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_009029_1430

o Valley West of Ganges Chasma
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_009011_1705

o Layered Deposits within Unnamed Crater in Arabia Terra
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_008982_1965

o Dark Lava Flow in Tharsis
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_008710_1710

All of the HiRISE images are archived here:

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/

Information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is online at
http://www.nasa.gov/mro. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, for the NASA
Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Lockheed Martin Space Systems,
of Denver, is the prime contractor and built the spacecraft. HiRISE is operated by t
he University of Arizona. Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., of Boulder, Colo.,
built the HiRISE instrument.

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Cassini Prepares to Swoop by Saturn's Geyser-Spewing Moon

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Carolina Martinez 818-354-9382
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
carolina.martinez@jpl.nasa.gov

NEWS RELEASE: 2008-156 Aug. 7, 2008

Cassini Prepares to Swoop by Saturn's Geyser-Spewing Moon

Fractures, or "tiger stripes," where icy jets erupt on Saturn's moon Enceladus will be the target of
a close flyby by the Cassini spacecraft on Monday, Aug. 11.

Cassini will zoom past the tiny moon a mere 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the surface. Just after
closest approach, all of the spacecraft's cameras -- covering infrared wavelengths, where
temperatures are mapped, as well as visible light and ultraviolet -- will focus on the fissures
running along the moon's south pole. That is where the jets of icy water vapor emanate and erupt
hundreds of miles into space. Those jets have fascinated scientists since their discovery in 2005.

"Our main goal is to get the most detailed images and remote sensing data ever of the
geologically active features on Enceladus," said Paul Helfenstein, a Cassini imaging team
associate at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. "From this data we may learn more about how
eruptions, tectonics, and seismic activity alter the moon's surface. We will get an unprecedented
high-resolution view of the active area immediately following the closest approach."

Seeing inside one of the fissures in high resolution may provide more information on the terrain
and depth of the fissures, as well as the size and composition of the ice grains inside. Refined
temperature data could help scientists determine if water, in vapor or liquid form, lies close to the
surface and better refine their theories on what powers the jets.

Imaging sequences will capture stereo views of the north polar terrain, and high resolution
images of the south polar region will begin shortly after closest approach to Enceladus. The
image resolution will be as fine as 7 meters per pixel (23 feet) and will cover known active spots
on three of the prominent "tiger stripe" fractures.

In addition to mapping the moon's surface in visible light as well as infrared and ultraviolet light,
Cassini will help determine the size of the ice grains and distinguish other elements mixed in
with the ice, such as oxygen, hydrogen, or organics.

"Knowing the sizes of the particles, their rates and what else is mixed in these jets can tell us a
lot about what's happening inside the little moon," said Amanda Hendrix, Cassini ultraviolet
imaging spectrograph team member at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Other instruments will measure the temperatures along the fractures, which happen to be some of
the hottest spots on the moon's surface.

"We'd like to refine our numbers and see which fracture or stripe is hotter than the rest because
these results can offer evidence, one way or the other, for the existence of liquid water as the
engine that powers the plumes," said Bonnie Buratti of JPL, team member on Cassini's visual
and infrared mapping spectrometer.

Cassini discovered evidence for the geyser-like jets on Enceladus in 2005, finding that the
continuous eruptions of ice water create a gigantic halo of ice and gas around Enceladus, which
helps supply material to Saturn's E-ring. This marks Cassini's second flyby of Enceladus this
year. During Cassini's last flyby of Enceladus in March, the spacecraft snatched up precious
samples and tasted comet-like organics inside the little moon. Two more Enceladus flybys are
coming up in October, and they may bring the spacecraft even closer to the moon. The Oct. 9
encounter is complimentary to the March one, which was optimized for sampling the plume. The
Oct. 31 flyby is similar to this August one, and is again optimized for the optical remote sensing
instruments.

For images, videos and a mission blog on the flyby, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/cassini . More information on the Cassini mission is also available at
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

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Phoenix Mars Team Opens Window on Scientific Process

JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Veronica McGregor/Guy Webster 818-354-5011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Veronica.mcgregor@jpl.nasa.gov, guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

NEWS RELEASE: 2008-155 Aug. 5, 2008

Phoenix Mars Team Opens Window on Scientific Process

Phoenix Mars mission scientists spoke today on research in progress concerning an ongoing
investigation of perchlorate salts detected in soil analyzed by the wet chemistry laboratory
aboard NASA's Phoenix Lander.

"Finding perchlorates is neither good nor bad for life, but it does make us reassess how we think
about life on Mars," said Michael Hecht of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.,
lead scientist for the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA), the
instrument that includes the wet chemistry laboratory.

If confirmed, the result is exciting, Hecht said, "because different types of perchlorate salts have
interesting properties that may bear on the way things work on Mars if -- and that's a big 'if ' --
the results from our two teaspoons of soil are representative of all of Mars, or at least a
significant portion of the planet."

The Phoenix team had wanted to check the finding with another lander instrument, the Thermal
and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA), which heats soil and analyzes gases driven off. But as that
TEGA experiment was underway last week, speculative news reports surfaced claiming the team
was holding back a major finding regarding habitability on Mars.

"The Phoenix project has decided to take an unusual step" in talking about the research when its
scientists are only about half-way through the data collection phase and have not yet had time to
complete data analysis or perform needed laboratory work, said Phoenix principal investigator
Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Scientists are still at the stage where they are
examining multiple hypotheses, given evidence that the soil contains perchlorate.

"We decided to show the public science in action because of the extreme interest in the Phoenix
mission, which is searching for a habitable environment on the northern plains of Mars," Smith
added. "Right now, we don't know whether finding perchlorate is good news or bad news for
possible life on Mars."

Perchlorate is an ion, or charged particle, that consists of an atom of chlorine surrounded by four
oxygen atoms. It is an oxidant, that is, it can release oxygen, but it is not a powerful one.
Perchlorates are found naturally on Earth at such places as Chile's hyper-arid Atacama Desert.
The compounds are quite stable and do not destroy organic material under normal circumstances.
Some microorganisms on Earth are fueled by processes that involve perchlorates, and some
plants concentrate the substance. Perchlorates are also used in rocket fuel and fireworks.

Perchlorate was discovered with a multi-use sensor that detects perchlorate, nitrate and other
ions. The MECA team saw the perchlorate signal in a sample taken from the Dodo-Goldilocks
trench on June 25, or Sol 30, or the 30th Martian day of the mission after landing, and again in
another sample taken from the Snow White trench on July 6, or Sol 41.

When TEGA heated a sample of soil dug from the Dodo-Goldilocks trench on Sol 25 to high
temperature, it detected an oxygen release, said TEGA lead scientist William Boynton of the
University of Arizona. Perchlorate could be one of several possible sources of this oxygen, he
said.

Late last week, when TEGA analyzed another sample, this one from the Snow White trench, the
TEGA team looked for chlorine gas. The instrument detected none.

"Had we seen it, the identification of perchlorate would be absolutely clear, but in this run we did
not see any chlorine gas. We may have been analyzing a perchlorate salt that doesn't release
chlorine gas upon heating," Boynton said. "There's nothing in the TEGA data that contradicts
MECA's finding of perchlorates."

As the Phoenix team continues its investigation of the artic soil, the TEGA instrument will
attempt to validate the perchlorate discovery and determine its concentration and properties.

More information on Phoenix is at http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix .

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith with project management at JPL, and development
partnership at Lockheed Martin, located in Denver. International contributions come from the
Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of
Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark; the Max Planck Institute in Germany; and the Finnish
Meteorological Institute. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for
NASA.

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Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images: July 28 - August 1, 2008

MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
July 28 - August 1, 2008

o Candor Chasma (Released 28 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080728a

o Dark Streaks (Released 29 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080729a

o Channels (Released 30 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080730a

o Polar Winds (Released 31 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080731a

o Asymmetric Ejecta (Released 01 August 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080801a

All of the THEMIS images are archived here:

http://themis.asu.edu/latest.html

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission
for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission
Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University,
Tempe, in co.oration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing.
The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State
University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor
for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission
operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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NASA Spacecraft Analyzing Martian Soil Data

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Veronica McGregor/Guy Webster 818-354-5011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
veronica.mcgregor@jpl.nasa.gov/guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Sara Hammond 520-626-1974
University of Arizona, Tucson
shammond@lpl.arizona.edu

NEWS RELEASE: 2008-154 Aug. 4, 2008

NASA Spacecraft Analyzing Martian Soil Data

PASADENA, Calif. -- Scientists are analyzing results from soil samples delivered several weeks ago
to science instruments on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander to understand the landing site's soil
chemistry and mineralogy.

Within the last month, two samples have been analyzed by the Wet Chemistry Lab of the
spacecraft's Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer, or MECA, suggesting one of
the soil constituents may be perchlorate, a highly oxidizing substance. The Phoenix team has been
waiting for complementary results from the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, which
also is capable of detecting perchlorate. TEGA is a series of ovens and analyzers that "sniff" vapors
released from substances in a sample.

NASA will hold a media teleconference on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT), to
discuss these recent science activities. Participants will be introduced at the start of the briefing. To
participate in the teleconference, reporters should contact Steve Cole at 202-358-0918 for dial-in and
passcode information.

Confirmation of the presence of perchlorate and supporting data is important prior to scientific peer
review and subsequent public announcements. The results from Sunday's TEGA experiment, which
analyzed a sample taken directly above the ice layer, found no evidence of this compound.

"This is surprising since an earlier TEGA measurement of surface materials was consistent with but
not conclusive of the presence of perchlorate," said Peter Smith, Phoenix's principal investigator at
the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Scientists at the Phoenix Science Operations Center at the University of Arizona are specifically
looking at the data from these instruments to provide information on the composition of Martian soil.

"We are committed to following a rigorous scientific process. While we have not completed our
process on these soil samples, we have very interesting intermediate results," said Smith, "Initial
MECA analyses suggested Earth-like soil. Further analysis has revealed un-Earthlike aspects of the
soil chemistry."

The team also is working to totally exonerate any possibility of the perchlorate readings being
influenced by terrestrial sources which may have migrated from the spacecraft, either into samples
or into the instrumentation.

"When surprising results are found, we want to review and assure our extensive pre-launch
contamination control processes covered this potential," said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project
manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Since landing on May 25, Phoenix has been studying Martian soil with MECA's wet chemistry lab,
two microscopes and a conductivity probe, TEGA's ovens and two cameras.

MECA's robotic wet chemistry lab studies soluble chemicals in the soil by mixing a soil sample with
a water-based solution with several reagents brought from Earth. The inner surface of each cell's
beaker has 26 sensors that give information about the acidity or alkalinity and concentrations of
elements such as chloride or perchlorate. The beaker also can detect concentrations of magnesium,
calcium and potassium, which form salts that are soluble in water.

With continuing results and the spacecraft in good condition, the mission has been extended through
Sept. 30. The original prime mission of three months ends in late August. The mission extension
adds five weeks to the 90 days of the prime mission.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and development partnership at Lockheed
Martin in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University
of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark; the Max Planck
Institute in Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For information about Phoenix, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix .

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MRO HiRISE Images - July 30, 2008

MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER HIRISE IMAGES
July 30, 2008

o Layers Exposed Near the Mouth of Ladon Valles
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_008931_1590

o Stair-Stepped Mounds in Meridiani Planum
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_008930_1880

o Dunes and Polygons
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_008839_2575

o The Head of Athabasca Valles
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_008779_1905

All of the HiRISE images are archived here:

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/

Information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is online at
http://www.nasa.gov/mro. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, for the NASA
Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Lockheed Martin Space Systems,
of Denver, is the prime contractor and built the spacecraft. HiRISE is operated by t
he University of Arizona. Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., of Boulder, Colo.,
built the HiRISE instrument.

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Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images: July 21-25, 2008

MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
July 21-25, 2008

o THEMIS ART #94 (Released 21 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080721a

o THEMIS ART #95 (Released 22 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080722a

o THEMIS ART #96 (Released 23 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080723a

o THEMIS ART #97 (Released 24 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080724a

o THEMIS ART #98 (Released 25 July 2008)
http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20080725a

All of the THEMIS images are archived here:

http://themis.asu.edu/latest.html

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission
for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission
Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University,
Tempe, in co.oration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing.
The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State
University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor
for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission
operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Sara Hammond 520-626-1974
University of Arizona, Tucson
shammond@lpl.arizona.edu

RELEASE: 2008-153 July 31, 2008

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a
soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies
vapors produced by the heating of samples.

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal
and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations
by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is
the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."

With enticing results so far and the spacecraft in good shape, NASA also announced operational
funding for the mission will extend through Sept. 30. The original prime mission of three months
ends in late August. The mission extension adds five weeks to the 90 days of the prime mission.

"Phoenix is healthy and the projections for solar power look good, so we want to take full advantage
of having this resource in one of the most interesting locations on Mars," said Michael Meyer, chief
scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The soil sample came from a trench approximately 2 inches deep. When the robotic arm first reached
that depth, it hit a hard layer of frozen soil. Two attempts to deliver samples of

icy soil on days when fresh material was exposed were foiled when the samples became stuck inside
the scoop. Most of the material in Wednesday's sample had been exposed to the air for two days,
letting some of the water in the sample vaporize away and making the soil easier to handle.

"Mars is giving us some surprises," said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University
of Arizona. "We're excited because surprises are where discoveries come from. One surprise is how
the soil is behaving. The ice-rich layers stick to the scoop when poised in the sun above the deck,
different from what we expected from all the Mars simulation testing we've done. That has presented
challenges for delivering samples, but we're finding ways to work with it and we're gathering lots of
information to help us understand this soil."

Since landing on May 25, Phoenix has been studying soil with a chemistry lab, TEGA, a microscope,
a conductivity probe and cameras. Besides confirming the 2002 finding from orbit of water ice near
the surface and deciphering the newly observed stickiness, the science team is trying to determine
whether the water ice ever thaws enough to be available for biology and if carbon-containing
chemicals and other raw materials for life are present.

The mission is examining the sky as well as the ground. A Canadian instrument is using a laser beam
to study dust and clouds overhead.

"It's a 30-watt light bulb giving us a laser show on Mars," said Victoria Hipkin of the Canadian Space
Agency.

A full-circle, color panorama of Phoenix's surroundings also has been completed by the spacecraft.

"The details and patterns we see in the ground show an ice-dominated terrain as far as the eye can
see," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, lead scientist for Phoenix's Surface Stereo
Imager camera. "They help us plan measurements we're making within reach of the robotic arm and
interpret those measurements on a wider scale."

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and development partnership at Lockheed
Martin in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University
of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark; the Max Planck
Institute in Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

For more about Phoenix, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix

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NASA Confirms Liquid Lake on Saturn Moon

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Carolina Martinez 818-354-9382
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
carolina.martinez@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Lori Stiles 520-360-0574
University of Arizona, Tucson
lstiles@u.arizona.edu

NEWS RELEASE: 2008-152 July 30, 2008

NASA Confirms Liquid Lake on Saturn Moon

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA scientists have concluded that at least one of the large lakes observed
on Saturn's moon Titan contains liquid hydrocarbons, and have positively identified the presence of
ethane. This makes Titan the only body in our solar system beyond Earth known to have liquid on its
surface.

Scientists made the discovery using data from an instrument aboard the Cassini spacecraft. The
instrument identified chemically different materials based on the way they absorb and reflect infrared
light. Before Cassini, scientists thought Titan would have global oceans of methane, ethane and other
light hydrocarbons. More than 40 close flybys of Titan by Cassini show no such global oceans exist,
but hundreds of dark, lake-like features are present. Until now, it was not known whether these
features were liquid or simply dark, solid material.

"This is the first observation that really pins down that Titan has a surface lake filled with liquid,"
said Bob Brown of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Brown is the team leader of Cassini's visual
and mapping instrument. The results will be published in the July 31 issue of the journal Nature.

Ethane and several other simple hydrocarbons have been identified in Titan's atmosphere, which
consists of 95 percent nitrogen, with methane making up the other fiver percent. Ethane and other
hydrocarbons are products from atmospheric chemistry caused by the breakdown of methane by
sunlight.

Some of the hydrocarbons react further and form fine aerosol particles. All of these things in Titan's
atmosphere make detecting and identifying materials on the surface difficult, because these particles
form a ubiquitous hydrocarbon haze that hinders the view. Liquid ethane was identified using a
technique that removed the interference from the atmospheric hydrocarbons.

The visual and mapping instrument observed a lake, Ontario Lacus, in Titan's south polar region
during a close Cassini flyby in December 2007. The lake is roughly 20,000 square miles (7,800
square miles) in area, slightly larger than North America's Lake Ontario.

"Detection of liquid ethane confirms a long-held idea that lakes and seas filled with methane and
ethane exist on Titan," said Larry Soderblom, a Cassini interdisciplinary scientist with the U.S.
Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz. "The fact we could detect the ethane spectral signatures of the
lake even when it was so dimly illuminated, and at a slanted viewing path through Titan's
atmosphere, raises expectations for exciting future lake discoveries by our instrument."

The ethane is in a liquid solution with methane, other hydrocarbons and nitrogen. At Titan's surface
temperatures, approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, these substances can exist as both
liquid and gas. Titan shows overwhelming evidence of evaporation, rain, and fluid-carved channels
draining into what, in this case, is a liquid hydrocarbon lake.

Earth has a hydrological cycle based on water and Titan has a cycle based on methane. Scientists
ruled out the presence of water ice, ammonia, ammonia hydrate and carbon dioxide in Ontario Lacus.
The observations also suggest the lake is evaporating. It is ringed by a dark beach, where the black
lake merges with the bright shoreline. Cassini also observed a shelf and beach being exposed as the
lake evaporates.

"During the next few years, the vast array of lakes and seas on Titan's north pole mapped with
Cassini's radar instrument will emerge from polar darkness into sunlight, giving the infrared
instrument rich opportunities to watch for seasonal changes of Titan's lakes," Soderblom said.

More information is available at: http://www.nasa.gov/cassini, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and
http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu .

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the
Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The
Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona.

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Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 Begins Mapping Oceans

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Alan Buis (818) 354-0474
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Alan.Buis@jpl.nasa.gov

Steve Cole 202-358-0918
NASA Headquarters, Washington
Stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov

NEWS RELEASE: 2008-151 July 30, 2008

Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 Begins Mapping Oceans

PASADENA, Calif. – Less than a month after launch, the NASA-French space agency Ocean Surface
Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason 2 oceanography satellite has produced its first complete maps of
global ocean surface topography, surface wave height and wind speed.

The new data will help scientists monitor changes in global sea level and the distribution of heat in the
ocean. This information is used to monitor climate change and ocean circulation, and to enable more
accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts. The data reveal patterns of sea level anomalies, which
are used by scientists to calculate the speed and direction of ocean surface currents.

The new mission extends a 16-year continuous record of global sea level measurements begun in 1992
by the NASA/Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Topex/Poseidon mission and continued by
the two agencies on Jason 1, launched in 2001. Data from Topex/Poseidon and Jason 1 show that mean
sea level has been rising by about three millimeters (.12 inches) a year since 1993.

The new maps were generated from the first 10 days of data collected once the new satellite,
OSTM/Jason 2, reached its operational orbit of 1,336 kilometers (830) miles on July 4. The new
satellite and its predecessor, Jason 1, are now flying in formation in the same orbit approximately 55
seconds apart, making nearly simultaneous measurements that are allowing scientists to precisely
calibrate the new satellite's instruments. Comparisons of data from the two satellites on sea-level
anomalies, significant wave height and ocean wind speed all show very close correlation of all
measured parameters.

"These initial observations from OSTM/Jason 2 compare very closely to those of Jason 1," said Lee-
Lueng Fu, OSTM/Jason 2 project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "To
be able to collect such high-quality science data within a month of launch breaks previous records. It is
also a direct reflection of how mature the field of satellite altimetry has become and of the seamless
cooperation of our international team."

The satellite's first radar altimeter data were acquired just 48 hours after its launch on June 20 from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a Delta II rocket. The French space agency processed the first
test results, followed by more advanced data results a week after launch. The more advanced results
came after calculating the precise location of the satellite's preliminary orbits. The satellite, its
instruments and ground segment are all functioning properly. Once it has been fully calibrated and
validated, the satellite will begin providing oceanographic products to users around the world.

OSTM/Jason 2 is an international endeavor, with responsibilities for satellite development and launch
shared between NASA and CNES. CNES provided the OSTM/Jason 2 spacecraft, NASA provided the
launch, and NASA and CNES jointly provided the primary payload instruments. CNES and the U.S.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are responsible for satellite operations,
while JPL is managing the mission for NASA. Data processing is being carried out by CNES, the
European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and NOAA,
depending on the type of product.

Once on-orbit commissioning of OSTM/Jason 2 is completed, CNES will hand over mission
operations and control to NOAA, which will then join with EUMETSAT to generate, archive and
distribute data products to users worldwide.

For more information about OSTM/Jason 2, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ostm .

JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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