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This view from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander was taken on July 26, 2008 after the lander's scoop sprinkled a soil sample over its Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA). Some of the soil sample can be seen at the bottom of the adjacent pair of doors. | This view from the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on the mission's 60th Martian day, or sol, (July 26, 2008) was taken after the lander's scoop sprinkled a soil sample over Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA).The upper part of the picture shows the robotic arm scoop parked open-face down above the TEGA after delivery. The TEGA doors farthest to the right were open to receive the sample into one of TEGA's eight ovens. Not enough material reached the oven to allow an analysis to begin. Some of the soil sample can be seen at the bottom of the adjacent pair of doors.This view is presented in false color, which makes the reddish color of the soil-sample material easy to see.The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This image, part of THEMIS art month, taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey features a portion of Mars' landscape looking like the face of a greyhound. | Welcome to the second annual THEMIS ART MONTH. From Jan. 31 through March 4 we will be showcasing images for their aesthetic value, rather than their science content. Portions of these images resemble things in our everyday lives, from animals to letters of the alphabet. We hope you enjoy our fanciful look at Mars!Is this the face of a Grey? Or just a domino mask discarded by a careless superhero?Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a hole it drilled into a flat rock dubbed 'Tennessee' on Mars. At least three distinct bands of rock visible in front of the rover. | This false-color image shows the area within "Endurance Crater," currently being investigated by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The rover is inspecting a hole it drilled into a flat rock (center) dubbed "Tennessee," which scientists believe may be made up of the same evaporite-rich materials as those found in "Eagle Crater." The overall geography inside Endurance is more complex than scientists anticipated, with at least three distinct bands of rock visible in front of the rover. Scientists hope to investigate the second and third layers of rock for more clues to Mars' history. This image was taken on sol 133 (June 8, 2004) with the rover's panoramic camera, using the 750-, 530- and 430-nanometer filters. | |
This is an orthographic projection with color-coded elevation contours and shaded relief based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. | The planned landing site for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander lies at a latitude on Mars equivalent to northern Alaska on Earth. It is within the region designated "D" on this global image.This is an orthographic projection with color-coded elevation contours and shaded relief based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. Total vertical relief is about 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the top of the highest volcano (red) to the northern lowlands (blue). North pole is where the longitude lines converge.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows numerous dark slope streaks in this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea. Tikhonravov Crater is east of this crater. | Context image for PIA10870Dark Slope StreaksDark slope streaks are numerous in this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea. Tikhonravov Crater is east of this crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 13.1N, Longitude 40.0E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the eastern end of Valles Marineris on Mars. The terrain changes dramatically from broad chasms to immense regions of chaotic blocks. | Context image for PIA10035Aurorae ChaosAt the eastern end of Valles Marineris the terrain changes dramatically from broad chasms to immense regions of chaotic blocks. Most of the chaos regions contain channels which may be an indication of how the region formed.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 0.0N, Longitude 0.0E. 0 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the northern plains of Mars containing an abundance of different textures and appearances. This region contains mounds separated by channels with an unusual floor pattern. Just how this texture formed is unknown. | Context image for PIA11327Northern PlainsThe northern plains of Mars contain an abundance of different textures and appearances. This region contains mounds separated by channels with an unusual floor pattern. Just how this texture formed is unknown.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 70.0N, Longitude 55.9E. 20 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
The high resolution view taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor on July 23, 2000 crosses one of the troughs of the Sirenum Fossae. | Nirgal Vallis is an ancient valley thought for nearly 3 decades to have been carved, in part, by running water at some time far back in the martian past. Today the valley is, like the rest of Mars, quite dry. However, some of the high resolution Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images reveal small gullies on the walls of this valley system. An example is shown here (above, left), in which more than 14 channels nearly 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) long run down the south-facing slope of the Nirgal Vallis wall. Each narrow channel starts at about the same position below the top of the valley wall, indicating that there is a layer along which a liquid -- most likely, water -- has percolated until it reached the cliff, then ran down hill to form the channels and the fan-shaped aprons at the bottom of the slope. Some of the apron deposits seem to cover the dunes on the floor of the valley (lower 1/3 of the image), suggesting that the channels and aprons formed more recently than the dunes. The fact that neither the dunes nor the aprons and channels have impact craters on them suggests that these features are all geologically young, meaning a few million years at most, a few days or weeks at least.Nirgal Vallis is the one location where martian gullies thought to be related to recent groundwater seepage have been found closer to the equator than 30° latitude. All of the features in Nirgal, however, occur close to 30° -- they are all between 27°S and 30°S. The MOC image is near 29.7°S, 38.6°W, and was obtained July 12, 1999. The MOC picture covers an area approximately 2.3 km (1.4 mi) wide by 2.8 km (1.7 mi) long. Sunlight illuminates the MOC scene from the upper left, and north is up. The context view (right) is a mosaic of Viking orbiter images illuminated from the upper right from the U.S. Geological Survey Mars Digital Mosaic maps. The small white box in the context frame (just below center of image) shows the location of the high resolution MOC view.It is ironic to note that one of the first pictures returned to Earth from MOC, back on September 21, 1997, showed similar small channels and aprons on the wall of Nirgal Vallis -- but their significance was not realized at the time. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows knobs and buttes of an eroded landscape north of the crater, Antoniadi, in far eastern Arabia Terra on Mars. | 2 July 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a 1.4 meters per pixel (~5 ft/pixel) view of an eroded landscape north of the crater, Antoniadi, in far eastern Arabia Terra. Each knob and butte in this image is a remnant of a formerly more-extensive layered rock unit that has been largely eroded away.Location near: 84.2°S, 138.3°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season Southern Spring | |
NASA'S Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this westward view from atop a low plateau where Sprit spent the closing months of 2007. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | NASA'S Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this westward view from atop a low plateau where Sprit spent the closing months of 2007. The view combines a stereo pair and appears three-dimensional when seen through blue-red glasses. After several months near the base of the plateau called "Home Plate" in the inner basin of the Columbia Hills range inside Gusev Crater, Spirit climbed onto the eastern edge of the plateau during the rover's 1,306th Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 5, 2007). It examined rocks and soils at several locations on the southern half of Home Plate during September and October. It was perched near the western edge of Home Plate when it used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to take the images used in this view on sols 1,366 through 1,369 (Nov. 6 through Nov. 9, 2007). With its daily solar-energy supply shrinking as Martian summer turned to fall, Spirit then drove to the northern edge of Home Plate for a favorable winter haven. The rover reached that northward-tilting site in December, in time for the fourth Earth-year anniversary of its landing on Mars. Spirit reached Mars on Jan. 4, 2004, Universal Time (Jan. 3, 2004, Pacific Standard Time). It landed at a site at about the center of the horizon in this image.This panorama covers a scene spanning left to right from southwest to northeast. The western edge of Home Plate is in the foreground, generally lighter in tone than the more distant parts of the scene. A rock-dotted hill in the middle distance across the left third of the image is "Tsiolkovski Ridge," about 30 meters or 100 feet from the edge of Home Plate and about that same distance across. A bump on the horizon above the left edge of Tsiolkovski Ridge is "Grissom Hill," about 8 kilometers or 5 miles away. At right, the highest point of the horizon is "Husband Hill," to the north and about 800 meters or half a mile away. | |
A variegated mottled texture located NW of the volcano Elysium Monsis is readily apparent in the terrain imaged here by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The Hrad Vallis channel system can be seen sauntering across the bumpy landscape of Utopia Planitia. | A variegated mottled texture is readily apparent in this terrain located NW of the volcano, Elysium Mons. The Hrad Vallis (the Armenian word for Mars) channel system can be seen sauntering across the bumpy landscape of Utopia Planitia. The upper branch of Hrad Vallis has a large chunk of material on its floor; this chunk appears to have been rafted away from the material on the far left of the image (moved from left to right). This unusual because the channel flows toward the left. This material may be lava flows. Many craters in this region of the planet have their interiors filled with material. Pedestal craters (craters with ejecta blankets perched higher than the surrounding plains) are also found in these regions. These observations seem to imply that this region was once buried and has now been uncovered (exhumed). The exact causes and timing of these events are unknown.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 40.6, Longitude 134.2 East (225.8 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
The floor of this crater contains a large exposure of rocky material, a field of dark sand dunes, and numerous patches of what is probably fine-grain sand. This image was captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image Located in eastern Arabia is an unnamed crater, 120 kilometers (75 miles) across. The floor of this crater contains a large exposure of rocky material, a field of dark sand dunes, and numerous patches of what is probably fine-grain sand. The shape of the dunes indicate that prevailing winds have come from different directions over the years.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 71,000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 11469 Latitude: 26.6454 Longitude: 63.0499 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-07-15 18:09Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a typical fretted terrain valley floor, located southwest of Moreux Crater on Mars. | 17 April 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a typical fretted terrain valley floor, located southwest of Moreux Crater near 40.3°N, 317.7°W. Prior to the MGS mission, images from the Viking and Mariner 9 orbiters led to speculation that the lineated floors of fretted terrain valleys indicated the results of flowing ice. MGS MOC images have shown that these lineations occur in closed, as well as open, fretted terrain valleys. The lineations might, therefore, have nothing to do with flowing ice. They might instead be an expression of eroded layered material. Studies of fretted terrain landforms are on-going within the Mars science community. This January 2004 image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows multiple channels dissecting the inner rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria. | Context imageMultiple channels dissect the inner rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria.Orbit Number: 82765 Latitude: -40.3953 Longitude: 142.091 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-08-11 04:15Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This image was taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity showing a sinuous trough in the plains of Meridiani Planum with curious dimples. | This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's navigation camera was taken on the rover's 71st sol on the red planet. On the previous sol, the rover drove beside a sinuous trough in the plains of Meridiani Planum to get a closer look at its curious dimples. The rover then approached the pictured trough area referred to as "Anatolia." From a distance, the rocks here resemble those in the "Eagle Crater" outcrop. These rocks will be imaged in greater detail with the rover's cameras. | |
An iron meteorite is the latest quarry for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Shown here is the left-eye view of a stereo pair of images. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Left-eye viewof a stereo pairRight-eye viewof a stereo pairClick on an individual image for full resolution imageAn iron meteorite is the latest quarry for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.The rover's cameras revealed the meteorite on its trek to its long-term destination, Endeavour crater, in images taken on Sol 2363 (Sept. 16, 2010), the 2,363rd Martian day of the rover's mission on Mars. This view was taken with the navigation camera on Sol 2368 (Sept. 21, 2010), after a drive the preceding sol to get close to the rock. The meteorite is about half a meter (20 inches) long. The scene appears three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left.The science team used two tools on Opportunity's arm -- the microscopic imager and the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer -- to inspect the rock's texture and composition. The team informally named the rock "Oileán Ruaidh" (pronounced ay-lan ruah), which is the Gaelic name for an island off the coast of northwestern Ireland.Opportunity departed Oileán Ruaidh and resumed its journey toward Endeavour on Sol 2374 (Sept. 28, 2010) with a drive of about 100 meters (328 feet). | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows small, bright dunes seen in many regions of Mars. They are typically much smaller than dark dunes. These bright dunes are located in Syria Planum. | Context image for PIA10886Bright DunesSmall, bright dunes are seen in many regions of Mars. They are typically much smaller than dark dunes. These bright dunes are located in Syria Planum.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -12.9N, Longitude 254.3E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a smaller crater containing a multitude of dark slope streaks on the rim of Chia Crater. These features are assumed to represent down slope movements of material. | Context imageLocated on the rim of Chia Crater, this smaller crater contains a multitude of dark slope streaks. These features are assumed to represent down slope movements of material, either a process that removes a dusty top later to reveal dark rocky material below, or one that darkens part of the slope due to surface or near surface flows of a briny volatile.Orbit Number: 72229 Latitude: 0.81902 Longitude: 300.014 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-03-27 12:29Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
White Rock Landform in Pollack Crater | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_002244_1720) shows a portion of a relatively bright landform named "White Rock" on the floor of Pollack crater in the Sinus Sabaeus region of Mars. Data from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) indicates that this landform is not anomalously bright, relative to other bright Martian regions. Further, the apparent brightness seen here is due to contrast with other materials on the crater floor. Dunes and ripples are visible in the dark material between the bright ridges. Their orientations appear to be influenced by wind directionally channeled by the ridges. Material appears to have been shed from the white landform and deposited on the darker bedforms indicating that the light-toned outcrops break down into fine materials. Its high albedo and location in a topographic basin have led to suggestions that White Rock is an erosional remnant of an ancient lacustrine evaporate deposit. Other interpretations include an eroded accumulation of compacted or weakly cemented aeolian sediment.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 1 January 2007Local Mars time: 3:42 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -8.0°Degrees longitude (East): 25.0°Range to target site: 263.1 km (164.4 miles)Original image scale range: 26.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~79 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 1.3°Phase angle: 55.7°Solar incidence angle: 57°, with the Sun about 33° above the horizonSolar longitude: 168.7°, Northern AutumnNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This image acquired on January 15, 2022 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows dune fields across Mars with good views of the bedrock structures and colors. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionHiRISE monitors dune fields across Mars to track how they are changing. The mobile sand also cleans dust off of the bedrock in inter-dune areas, providing good views of the bedrock structures and colors.Here we see subtle color differences between layers, and a dense network of fractures. The dunes, in contrast, are uniformly dark and relatively blue in enhanced color (really grey but less red than the bedrock, so they appear blue here).The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 27.2 centimeters [10.7 inches] per pixel [with 1 x 1 binning]; objects on the order of 82 centimeters [32.3 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took images combined into this polar full-circle view of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and small exposures of lighter-toned bedrock during March 12, 2009. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,825th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's surface mission (March 12, 2009). North is at the top. This view is presented as a polar projection with geometric seam correction. The rover had driven half a meter (1.5 feet) earlier on Sol 1825 to fine-tune its location for placing its robotic arm onto an exposed patch of outcrop including a target area informally called "Cook Islands." On the preceding sol, Opportunity turned around to drive frontwards and then drove 4.5 meters (15 feet) toward this outcrop. The tracks from the SOl 1824 drive are visible near the center of this view at about the 11 o'clock position. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 1 meter (about 40 inches). Opportunity had previously been driving backward as a strategy to redistribute lubrication in a wheel drawing more electrical current than usual.The outcrop exposure that includes "Cook Islands" is visible just below the center of the image. The terrain in this portion of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and lighter-toned bedrock. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 3 January 2004 Excitement builds as the first Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A), Spirit, prepares to land on Mars just after 8:35 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 3 January 2004 (04:35, 4 January 2004 UTC). Today's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture is a mosaic of MOC images of the Spirit landing site. The rover is expected to land somewhere within the approximately 83 km (~52 mi) long by ~10 km (~6 mi) wide ellipse on the floor of Gusev Crater. Clicking on the image above will show a map of the landing site at 25 meters (82 feet) per pixel. MOC has acquired 71 pictures of the landing site over a period spanning 3 Mars years (from July 1999 through December 2003), and more than 85 pictures were acquired within Gusev Crater specifically to support the Mars Exploration Rover landing site selection process. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral, dark dust devil streaks and wind streaks are different from image to image within the mosaic. In areas where no MOC coverage exists, gaps were filled using images from the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visible imager, a lower-resolution camera built by Malin Space Science Systems and operated by Arizona State University. The Gusev Crater landing ellipse is centered near 14.8°S, 184.8°W. Sunlight illuminates each image in the mosaic from the left (in some cases, upper left, in others, lower left).Spirit will land at about 2 p.m. local time on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Spirit's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Spirit after it touches down, see Finding MERs. | |
The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Syrtis Major Planum. | Context imageThe THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Syrtis Major Planum, between Nili Patera and Meroe Patera.Orbit Number: 43352 Latitude: 8.2378 Longitude: 67.7675 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-09-22 22:16Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
Excellent exposures of light-toned layered deposits occur along the northern edge of Hellas Basin as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Excellent exposures of light-toned layered deposits occur along the northern edge of Hellas Basin, like those visible in this enhanced color image.Some of these layered sediments have hydration features in CRISM data, and the various colors visible in this image suggests several different compositions may be present throughout the strata. The sediments may have been emplaced by hydrothermal activity associated with the impact event that created Hellas Basin.Alternatively, they could be younger deposits that formed within this region when a lake existed here. Studies of the deposits using several data sets could distinguish between these two origins and may result in additional hypotheses for their formation.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
Taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey these are the unusual floor deposits in Spallanzani Crater. The wind may have affected the surface of the layered deposit. Small dunes have formed near the southern margin. | Context image for PIA03632Spallanzani Cr. FloorThis image was taken by one of the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) teams. Their target is the unusual floor deposits in Spallanzani Crater. The wind may have affected the surface of the layered deposit. Small dunes have formed near the southern margin.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 57.9S, Longitude 86.5E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
Layers in Gale Crater | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_001897_1745) covers a portion of the layered deposits in Gale crater, but is located to the southeast of the main stack of the deposits and is perhaps revealing a lower part of the section.The deposits are remarkably uniform at submeter scales and are not comprised of loose sediment, as evidenced by numerous fractures and scarps that run through and along some layers.Though there are a few impact craters preserved, wind erosion has stripped and etched the surface of the layers, producing few large blocks and little in the way of talus or other debris. The deposit's uniform character -- and the manner of erosion -- suggests it is comprised of fine-grained sediments, perhaps an accumulation of dust or volcanic ash blown in by the wind. Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 12 December 2006Local Mars time: 3:38 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -5.3°Degrees longitude (East): 138.3°Range to target site: 267.3 km (167.1 miles)Original image scale range: 26.7 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~80 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 2.5°Phase angle: 54.4°Solar incidence angle: 57°, with the Sun about 33° above the horizonSolar longitude: 154.3°, Northern SummerNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 21 January 2004 This January 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a dark wind streak in the lee of a small meteor impact crater in Daedalia Planum. The dominant winds responsible for this streak blew from the east (right). This picture is located near 17.1°S, 138.8°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on April 8, 2004 shows old volcanic flows from Meroe Patera on Mars, recognizable only by the flow fronts (rounded lobes). Dust and erosion have covered or removed the rough lava surface. | Released 8 April 2004The Odyssey spacecraft has completed a full Mars year of observations of the red planet. For the next several weeks the Image of the Day will look back over this first mars year. It will focus on four themes: 1) the poles - with the seasonal changes seen in the retreat and expansion of the caps; 2) craters - with a variety of morphologies relating to impact materials and later alteration, both infilling and exhumation; 3) channels - the clues to liquid surface flow; and 4) volcanic flow features. While some images have helped answer questions about the history of Mars, many have raised new questions that are still being investigated as Odyssey continues collecting data as it orbits Mars.This daytime infrared image was collected Jan. 23, 2003 during northern summer. The old volcanic flows from Meroe Patera are recognizable only by the flow fronts (rounded lobes). Dust and erosion have covered or removed the rough lava surface seen in yesterday's image.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude 8, Longitude 64.3 East (295.7 West). 100 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Syrtis Major face of Mars in mid-June 2005. | 21 June 2005This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 230° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 230° occurs in mid-June 2005. The picture shows the Syrtis Major face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn.Season: Northern Autumn/Southern Spring | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the southern cliff face of Ius Chasma. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the southern cliff face of Ius Chasma.The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image.Orbit Number: 61753 Latitude: -7.27471 Longitude: 274.245 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-11-15 12:03Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This map shows the single area under continuing evaluation as the InSight mission's Mars landing site, as of a year before the mission's May 2016 launch of flat-lying Elysium Planitia. | This map shows the single area under continuing evaluation as the InSight mission's Mars landing site for the mission's May 2018 launch. The finalist ellipse marked within the northern portion of flat-lying Elysium Planitia is centered at about 4.5 degrees north latitude and 136 degrees east longitude.
InSight -- an acronym for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport -- will study the interior of Mars to improve understanding of the processes that formed and shaped rocky planets, including Earth.
The landing ellipse on this map covers an area within which the spacecraft has about 99 percent chance of landing when targeted for the center of the ellipse. It is about 81 miles (130 kilometers) long, generally west to east, and about 17 miles (27 kilometers) wide. This ellipse covers the case of a launch at the start of the launch period. If the launch occurs later in the period, orientation of the landing ellipse would shift slightly clockwise.
Four semifinalist sites in Elysium Planitia were evaluated as safe for InSight landing. This one was selected as having the largest proportion of its area classified as smooth terrain. If continuing analysis identifies unexpected problems with this site, another of the semifinalists could be reconsidered before final selection later this year.
The InSight lander will deploy two instruments directly onto the ground using a robotic arm. One is a seismometer contributed by France's space agency (CNES) with components from Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The seismometer will measure microscopic ground motions, providing detailed information about the interior structure of Mars. The other instrument to be deployed by the arm is a heat-flow probe contributed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), designed to hammer itself three to five meters (about 10 to 16 feet) deep. It will monitor heat coming from the planet's interior. The mission will also track the lander's radio to measure wobbles in the planet's rotation that relate to the size of its core. A suite of environmental sensors will monitor the weather and variations in the magnetic field.
The base map is a mosaic of daytime thermal images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. THEMIS was developed and is operated by Arizona State University, Tempe.
JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission. They also built the Odyssey orbiter.
A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument, with significant contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Switzerland, Imperial College and Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument.
Photojournal Note: This caption was updated on Oct. 31, 2018. | |
This diagram illustrates an interpretation for the origin of some deposits in the Eridania basin of southern Mars as resulting from seafloor hydrothermal activity more than 3 billion years ago. | This diagram illustrates an interpretation for the origin of some deposits in the Eridania basin of southern Mars as resulting from seafloor hydrothermal activity more than 3 billion years ago.The ground level depicted is an exaggerated topography of a transect about 280 miles (450 kilometers) long. Blue portions of the diagram depict water-depth estimates and the possibility of ice covering the ancient sea. Thick, clay-rich deposits (green) formed through hydrothermal alteration of volcanic materials in deep water, by this model. Notations indicate deep-water reactions of iron and magnesium ions with silicates, sulfides and carbonates. Deep-seated structural discontinuities could have facilitated the ascent of magma from a mantle source. Chloride deposits formed from evaporation of seawater at higher elevations in the basin.This graphic was included in a 2017 report "Ancient hydrothermal seafloor deposits in Eridania basin on Mars" in Nature Communications. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 29 February 2004 Flowing lava can make leveed channels--that is, channels with raised-rimmed walls. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example from the lower north flank of the giant volcano, Olympus Mons. The channels today are filled with a blanket of dust. The image is located near 23.0°N, 135.9°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left; the picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Ariadnes Colles. The term colles means hills or knobs. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Ariadnes Colles. The term colles means hills or knobs. In this false color combination the hills stand out against the darker surrounding plains. This difference is due to the amount of dust covering the hills versus the plains.Orbit Number: 83519 Latitude: -34.9749 Longitude: 173.766 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-10-12 05:41Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
Landslide deposits cover part of the floor of this unnamed crater in Tyrrhena Terra as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image
Landslide deposits cover part of the floor of this unnamed crater in Tyrrhena Terra.
Orbit Number: 45612 Latitude: -3.01486 Longitude: 83.1451 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-03-26 20:47
Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the large crater, Stickney, on Mars' moon, Phobos. Grooves, or troughs, radiate outward. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-362, 16 May 2003Mars has two satellites, Phobos and Deimos. In August and September, 1998, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) had four opportunities for close fly-bys of the inner moon, Phobos. This spectacular view, taken from the MOC archives of over 123,000 images, shows the large crater, Stickney, toward the upper right. Grooves, or troughs, radiate outward from Stickney and are known from Viking and Mariner 9 images to be prevalent all over the surface of Phobos. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper right. Another view of Phobos from 1998 can be seen in: MOC2-66, 11 September 1998, "Phobos." | |
The numerous layers of Mars' south polar cap are shown in cross-section in this image from 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA11902Polar LayersThe numerous layers of the south polar cap are shown in cross-section in this VIS image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -85.9N, Longitude 102.8E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows lava flows at the southeast base of the giant volcano, Olympus Mons on Mars. The flat plain in the south-southeast portion of the image is younger than and cuts off the ends of many of the lava flows. | 19 October 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows lava flows at the southeast base of the giant volcano, Olympus Mons. The flat plain in the south-southeast (bottom/lower right) portion of the image is younger than and cuts off the ends of many of the lava flows that came from the northwest (upper left). Many of the lava flows in this image exhibit channels with levees bounding their margins. As each lava flow was advancing, its outer margins cooled and hardened, forming a channel or tube through which the molten rock continued to advance.Location near: 17.2°N, 129.0°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Winter | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows some beautiful lava flows in Amazonis Planitia. Lava isn't moving around on Mars today, but it certainly once did, and images like this one are evidence of that. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image shows some beautiful lava flows in Amazonis Planitia. Lava isn't moving around on Mars today, but it certainly once did, and images like this one are evidence of that.A thick lava flow came in from the west, and you can see the cooled flow lobes and wrinkled upper surface. East of the flow margin, this most recent flow also coursed over an older lava surface which shows some long, north-south breaks, and in the southeast corner, an arrowhead-shaped set of ridges. These textures are most likely from rafted slabs of lava. Under certain conditions, a large piece of lava can cool, but then detach and move like an iceberg over a cushion of still-molten lava.The long, narrow north-south smooth areas are probably where two of these plates rafted away from one another exposing the lava below. The arrowhead-shaped ridges are probably from when one of these plates pushed up against another one and caused a pile-up before cooling.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
Bright Soil Near 'McCool' | While driving eastward toward the northwestern flank of "McCool Hill," the wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit churned up the largest amount of bright soil discovered so far in the mission. This image from Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam), taken on the rover's 788th Martian day, or sol, of exploration (March 22, 2006), shows the strikingly bright tone and large extent of the materials uncovered.Several days earlier, Spirit's wheels unearthed a small patch of light-toned material informally named "Tyrone." In images from Spirit's panoramic camera, "Tyrone" strongly resembled both "Arad" and "Paso Robles," two patches of light-toned soils discovered earlier in the mission. Spirit found "Paso Robles" in 2005 while climbing "Cumberland Ridge" on the western slope of "Husband Hill." In early January 2006, the rover discovered "Arad" on the basin floor just south of "Husband Hill." Spirit's instruments confirmed that those soils had a salty chemistry dominated by iron-bearing sulfates. Spirit's Pancam and miniature thermal emission spectrometer examined this most recent discovery, and researchers will compare its properties with the properties of those other deposits.These discoveries indicate that salty, light-toned soil deposits might be widely distributed on the flanks and valley floors of the "Columbia Hills" region in Gusev Crater on Mars. The salts, which are easily mobilized and concentrated in liquid solution, may record the past presence of water. So far, these enigmatic materials have generated more questions than answers, however, and as Spirit continues to drive across this region in search of a safe winter haven, the team continues to formulate and test hypotheses to explain the rover's most fascinating recent discovery.This view is an approximately true-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows some of the lava flows located east of the large Tharsis volcanoes. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows some of the lava flows located east of the large Tharsis volcanoes.Orbit Number: 54145 Latitude: 17.9142 Longitude: 275.981 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-02-27 04:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
The Tharsis region of Mars; north toward top. This scene shows the Tharsis bulge, a huge ridge covered by the 3 large aligned Tharsis Montes shield volcanoes (from lower l to r): Arsia, Pavonis, and Ascraeus Mons as seen by NASA's Viking spacecraft. | A color image of the Tharsis region of Mars; north toward top. The scene shows the Tharsis bulge, a huge ridge covered by the 3 large aligned Tharsis Montes shield volcanoes (from lower left to right): Arsia, Pavonis, and Ascraeus Mons. To the left of the Tharsis Montes lies the huge Olympus Mons shield volcano, followed clockwise by Alba Patera (north center), several smaller volcanoes, and the linear depressions of Mareotis and Tempe Fossae (upper right).This image is a composite of Viking medium-resolution images in black and white and low-resolution images in color. The image extends from latitude 50 degrees N. to 20 degrees S. and from longitude 85 degrees to 150 degrees. Mercator projection is used between latitudes 20 degrees S. and 30 degrees N.; Lambert projection is used above latitude 30 degrees N.The Tharsis bulge encompasses the most intensely and most recently active volcanic region of the planet. Each Tharsis Montes volcano is 350-400 km in diameter and about 17 km above the surrounding plain. The volcanoes are about 700 km apart and appear to be above a major northeast-trending fracture zone along the bulge, now buried by volcanic deposits. Olympus Mons (left center) is the largest known volcano in the Solar System. It is 27 km high, over 600 km at the base, and is surrounded by a well-defined scarp that is up to 6 km high. The summit calderas (central depressions) of all four volcanoes probably formed from recurrent collapse following drainage of magma resulting from flank eruptions. 1,600-km-diameter Alba Patera (north center) far exceeds any other known volcano in areal extent; it covers eight times the area of Olympus Mons but reaches only about 6 km in height. Fossae (linear depressions) of the Tharsis area are fault-bound graben formed by upwarping of the Tharsis bulge. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows southwestern Candor Chasma on Mars. The most striking feature is the filled channel. | This is a sub-frame taken from near the center of PIA02843. Like the larger image, it is oriented with north toward the lower left. This area shows the thinly-bedded lower units of the Gale Crater mound. The lower part of the mound has hundreds of thin (2-5 meters; 2-5 yards thick) beds of similar thickness and properties--in this regard, the lower units are similar to the beds observed elsewhere on Mars, such as in southwestern Candor Chasma. The most striking feature in this sub-frame, however, is the area labeled "filled channel." This is interpreted to be a channel that was cut into the layered rock some time in the past. Perhaps it was cut by running water. Later, the channel was filled and then completely buried by additional sediment. At an even later time (closer to the present, but still very ancient), the material that buried the channel was stripped away, leaving a filled channel that, at its lower end (from center toward lower right) actually stands as a ridge higher than the surrounding terrain. This channel attests to the possible erosion of the layered rock by running water. It also indicates that there was a period in the past when the rock was eroded before being covered-up again. Such evidence and interpretations are pieces of the story of this area.Note: This is a subframe of PIA02843 | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows sand dunes and small gullies, possibly carved by water, on the slopes of some of the peaks in Hale Crater on Mars. | The seasons on Mars and Earth are anti-correlated at present: days are getting shorter and shadows are getting longer as autumn ends and the beginning of winter draws nearer in the martian southern hemisphere, just as the same is occurring in Earth's northern hemisphere. Long shadows are especially prominent in this high resolution view of mountains forming part of the central peaks of Hale Crater (left), a 136 kilometer-(85 mile)-diameter impact crater at 36°S, 37°W. The two pictures were taken simultaneously by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera on November 10, 2000. The sun illuminates the scene from the northwest (upper left) about 22° above the horizon. Knowing the sun angle and the length of the longest shadow (~1.6 km; ~1.0 mi), the height of the largest peak in the high resolution view (right) is about 630 meters (~2,070 ft) above the crater floor. Sand dunes blanket the middle portion of the high resolution view, and small gullies--possibly carved by water--can be seen on the slopes of some of the peaks at the upper left. Winter in the southern hemisphere will begin in mid-December 2000. The high resolution view covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide at a full-resolution scale of 3 meters (9.8 ft) per pixel. | |
Northern Plains | Image PSP_001333_2485 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 8, 2006. The complete image is centered at 68.2 degrees latitude, 33.6 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 312.9 km (195.5 miles). At this distance the image scale is 31.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~94 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:04 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 58 degrees, thus the sun was about 32 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 132.3 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft image shows the dissection of the rim of Holden Crater by numerous channels on Mars. Darker materials in the image are cooler than the surrounding material. | Context image for PIA11901Holden CraterThis daytime infrared image shows the dissection of the rim of Holden Crater by numerous channels. Darker materials in the image are cooler than the surrounding material.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -26.6N, Longitude 325.0E. 111 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Mawrth Vallis. | Context image The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Mawrth Vallis.Orbit Number: 46064 Latitude: 22.2964 Longitude: 342.796 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-05-03 03:31Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This NASA Mars Odyssey image shows the transition zone between maze-like troughs of Noctis Labyrinthus and the main Valles Marineris canyon system. This huge system of troughs near the equator of Mars was most likely created by tectonic forces. | (Released 27 May 2002)The ScienceThe transition zone between maze-like troughs of Noctis Labyrinthus and the main Valles Marineris canyon system are shown in this THEMIS visible camera image. This huge system of troughs near the equator of Mars was most likely created by tectonic forces which pulled apart the crust. In the top third of the image, on the western side of the northernmost trough, a buildup of relatively bright material on the plateau has led to an overflow into the trough. Most of the bottom of this trough is covered by sediment deposited from the plateau above. On the right-hand side of this same trough, on the southern wall, there is a thin streak of darker material that also seems to originate from the plateau above. This is most likely a gully formation. This feature could also be a dust avalanche, but because no other similar features are seen, this is unlikely. Other dark material deposited by some unknown process can also be seen all around the easternmost ridge in the trough. Near the bottom of the canyon, layers from the center ridges and the canyon wall can be matched, indicating that the ridges are made of the same material as the wall.Near the bottom of the image, there is yet another depression. This trough is filled with sediment deposited from erosion of the trough wall and possibly from the plateau above. All around the walls of this trough a layer of rocky material can be also be seen. It appears that the areas directly below the rocky ledges are "shielded" from landslide material from above. Finally, in the northwestern wall of this trough, there is an irregular pattern of very bright material not seen anywhere else in the image. Identifying similar formations in other THEMIS visible camera images could provide some context for its occurrence and help us understand how it was formed.The StoryTectonic forces wrenched apart the crust on Mars long ago, forming deep troughs at the Martian equator like the ones seen here. They occur in a transition zone between the maze-like region of Noctis Labyrinthus and the deep canyon system of Valles Marineris, the largest and "grandest" canyon in the solar system. These cracks in the crust can give geologists a good idea of what has happened over the course of the planet's history.Find out a little yourself by taking a closer look at the western side of the trough in the top third of the image. Can you see how the bright sediment from the plateau above has been whisked over the side, overflowing and building up on the floor below? Follow the south wall of this same trough, and you'll come across a dark streak running down (toward the right side of the image). One possibility is that it could be a dust avalanche, but if that were so, you'd think it would have occurred much more often, in more places than just that one spot. Since it didn't, scientists believe it probably isn't a dust avalanche, but could be a gully instead.There's also some more dark material deposited all around the easternmost ridge in the trough as well. No one is quite sure how it formed there or exactly what it's made of. At the least, what geologists can tell is that the ridges in the trough are made of the same material as the canyon walls, since the layers in each of them match. Finding similarities like these can help piece together the story of Martian geology here.When scientists study THEMIS images, however, they are also on the lookout for anything that looks unusual. Try studying the dark depression that carves out the bottom of this image. It too is filled soft-looking sediments, probably deposited from erosion of the trough wall and possibly from the plateau above. Rocky outcrops all around the walls of this trough shield the areas directly below them from landslides from above.But all that seems pretty regular. Do you see anything that stands out? How about the odd pattern of brighter material that seems almost pasted on the northwestern wall of the trough like dried up glue? This material isn't found elsewhere in this image. Sights like this pose a geological mystery, and one of the only ways to solve it is to seek more clues. Do similar formations occur elsewhere on Mars? Stay tuned with THEMIS researchers, because they'll be looking, trying to understand how and how often such features form. | |
The channel at the top of this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft runs between Galilaei Crater and the main channel on the northeastern side of Hydaspis Chaos. | Context imageThe channel at the top of this image of Hydaspis Chaos is running between Galilaei Crater and the main channel on the northeastern side of the chaos.Orbit Number: 41945 Latitude: 4.40713 Longitude: 332.012 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-05-30 02:22Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-521, 22 October 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a cluster of impact craters in northwest Arabia Terra near 30.4°N, 13.7°W. This group of craters may have formed either by secondary impact of debris thrown out of a larger meteor crater, or by the break-up and impact of many fragments from a single incoming object. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. | |
In the area between Crommelin and Firsoff craters, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter saw heavily cratered terrain with deposits that record Martian geologic history and stratigraphy. | In the area between Crommelin and Firsoff craters, we see heavily cratered terrain with deposits that record Martian geologic history and stratigraphy.With HiRISE resolution, we might be able to decipher what materials are in the ridges of the inverted channels in this region and what the flows are: lava or sediment?This caption is based on the original science rationale.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
The blue areas on this map of Mars are regions where NASA missions have detected subsurface water ice. Scientists can use the map to decide where the first astronauts to set foot on the Red Planet should land. | The blue areas on this map of Mars show regions where NASA missions have detected subsurface water ice. Scientists can use the map – part of the Subsurface Water Ice Mapping project, or SWIM – to decide where the first astronauts to set foot on the Red Planet should land. Triangles on the map are past and present Mars missions; circles are ice-exposing impact craters.Mars has both water ice and carbon dioxide ice (dry ice); water ice would be a critical resource for the first astronauts to step foot on Mars, who can use it for drinking, rocket fuel, and other purposes. The more water ice these astronauts land next to, the less they need to bring with them.Because the Martian atmosphere is so thin – less than 1% the pressure experienced at sea level on Earth – liquid water is unstable on the Red Planet and will vaporize unless it's frozen. But water ice on the planet's surface is only stable at high latitudes that are far too cold for astronauts and robots to survive. So SWIM attempts to locate water ice preserved within the subsurface in the mid-latitudes, where landing would be feasible. Such regions are far enough toward the pole for water ice to be plentiful, but close enough to the equator to avoid the coldest temperatures seen on Mars.SWIM combines data from several NASA missions, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), 2001 Mars Odyssey, and the now-inactive Mars Global Surveyor. The project mapped the area from the equator to 60 degrees north latitude.SWIM is led by the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages MRO for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of a central pit crater located in Hesperia Planum. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of a central pit crater located in Hesperia Planum. The dark patterns on the floor of the crater are the shadows being cast by the crater rim in the early morning sun. This is a fairly young crater, and the rim is still very rough. Shadow lengths can sometimes be used to calculate the height of the object casting the shadow if the sun angle is known.Orbit Number: 88007 Latitude: -14.5681 Longitude: 113.654 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-10-16 19:07Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This image from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows inclined layering known as cross-bedding in an outcrop called 'Shaler.' | Annotated ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows inclined layering known as cross-bedding in an outcrop called "Shaler" on a scale of a few tenths of meters, or decimeters (1 decimeter is nearly 4 inches). The superimposed scale bar is 50 centimeters (19.7 inches).This stratigraphic unit is called the Shaler Unit. Decimeter-scale cross-bedding in the Shaler Unit is indicative of sediment transport in stream flows. Currents mold the sediments into small underwater dunes that migrate downstream. When exposed in cross-section, evidence of this migration is preserved as strata that are steeply inclined relative to the horizontal -- thus the term "cross-bedding." The grain sizes here are coarse enough to exclude wind transport. This cross-bedding occurs stratigraphically above the Gillespie Unit in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Mars' Gale Crater, and is therefore geologically younger. Mastcam obtained the image on the 120th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's surface operations (Dec. 7, 2012). The image has been white-balanced to show what the rock would look like if it were on Earth. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the eastern region of Aram Chaos. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of the eastern region of Aram Chaos.Orbit Number: 39686 Latitude: 2.40847 Longitude: 340.428 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-11-25 02:19Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on April 19, 2004 shows gray hematite and rampart craters near the Aram Chaos Region on Mars. | Released 19 April 2004This image was acquired by the Madison #1 MSIP Team in order to answer the following question: In a cratered region, roughly where hematite was discovered, is there a larger percentage of rampart craters than in another cratered region with the same area and latitude (not longitude) where hematite was not found. The image is located at 10.1 degrees North and 342 degrees East. The site is located near the Aram Chaos Region. We were looking for rampart craters within the image and we compared the percentage of rampart craters in the site to the percentage of ramparts in other control sites to see if there is a relationship between gray hematite and rampart craters.The Madison #1 MSIP Team (5th through 8th graders) from Phoenix, Arizona was led by a sixth grade science and math teacher.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 9.6, Longitude 342.1 East (17.9 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.NASA and Arizona State University's Mars Education Program is offering students nationwide the opportunity to be involved in authentic Mars research by participating in the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP). Teams of students in grades 5 through college sophomore level have the opportunity to work with scientists, mission planners and educators on the THEMIS team at ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility, to image a site on Mars using the THEMIS visible wavelength camera. For more information go to the MSIP website: http://msip.asu.edu.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a contact line between two distinct layers of rock inside 'Endurance Crater.' The layers are defined by subtle color and texture variations and represent separate chapters in Mars' history. | Figure 1
June 25, 2004Turning the Pages of 'Endurance Crater's' History
This image mosaic made up of four images from the microscopic imager
on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a contact line between
two distinct layers of rock (A and B in figure 1) inside "Endurance Crater."
The layers are defined by subtle color and texture variations and represent
separate chapters in Mars' history. Contact lines between the layers therefore
represent periods of geologic time when significant environmental changes
occurred. Data from Opportunity's scientific instruments indicate that both of
the shown layers are rich in sulfates. Each microscopic image shows an area
of about 3 centimeters by 3 centimeters (1.2 inches by 1.2 inches). | |
The channel in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is part of Hebrus Vallis, located on the western margin of the Elysium volcanic complex. | Context imageThe channel in this VIS image is part of Hebrus Vallis, located on the western margin of the Elysium volcanic complex.Orbit Number: 46421 Latitude: 20.2772 Longitude: 126.997 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-06-01 12:46Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on March 31, 2004 shows part of the Tinia Vallis region on Mars. The image shows a small channel with a delta. | Released 31 March 2004The Odyssey spacecraft has completed a full Mars year of observations of the red planet. For the next several weeks the Image of the Day will look back over this first mars year. It will focus on four themes: 1) the poles - with the seasonal changes seen in the retreat and expansion of the caps; 2) craters - with a variety of morphologies relating to impact materials and later alteration, both infilling and exhumation; 3) channels - the clues to liquid surface flow; and 4) volcanic flow features. While some images have helped answer questions about the history of Mars, many have raised new questions that are still being investigated as Odyssey continues collecting data as it orbits Mars.The channel shown on the image is part of the Tinia Vallis region. It was collected July 11, 2002 during southern autumn season. The local time is 4pm. The image shows a small channel with a delta.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -4.8, Longitude 211 East (149 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This image released on Sept 2, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows small portion of the extensive region of the martian north pole covered by sand dunes of Olympia Undae. Undae means dunes. | Released September 2, 2004The THEMIS Image of the Day will be exploring the nomenclature of Mars for the next three weeks.Olympia UndaeUndae: dunesOlympia: The most ancient sanctuary of Greece, home of the Olympic Games. Olympia is located in the valley of Alpheias in the western region of the Peloponnese.This VIS image shows a small portion of the extensive region of the north polar covered by sand dunes.Nomenclature Fact of the Day: Assistance in producing this three week theme on planetary nomenclature was provided by Jenny Blue of the USGS in Flagstaff Arizona. THANKS JENNY!Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 81.4, Longitude 180.6 East (179.4 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
A false-color self-portrait of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam) shows effects of recent winds removing much of the dust from the solar arrays. | This self-portrait of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows effects of wind events that had cleaned much of the accumulated dust off the rover's solar panels. It combines multiple frames taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam) through three different color filters March 22 through March 24, 2014, the 3,611th through 3,613th Martian days, or sols, of Opportunity's work on Mars.This image is presented in false color to make differences in surface materials more easily visible, and as a vertical projection. The mast on which the Pancam is mounted does not appear in the image, though its shadow does. A version of this self-portrait in approximately true color is online at PIA18079 and http://www.nasa.gov/rovers .With the cleaner arrays and lengthening winter days, Opportunity's solar arrays are generating more than 620 watt-hours per day in mid-April 2014, compared to less than 375 watt-hours per day in January 2014.JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about Spirit and Opportunity, visit http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov.Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA18080_lg.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. | |
Mars digital-image mosaic merged with color of the MC-6 quadrangle, Casius region of Mars. This image is from NASA's Viking Orbiter 1. | Mars digital-image mosaic merged with color of the MC-6 quadrangle, Casius region of Mars. Except for the highly dissected southwestern part, which contains faults, mesas, and buttes of Nilosyrtis Mensae, the Casius region is dominated by light-colored and dark, relatively smooth plains. Latitude range 30 to 65 degrees, longitude range -120 to -60 degrees. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a field of dunes located of the floor of an unnamed crater north of Proctor Crater. | Context image for PIA09289DunesThis field of dunes in located of the floor of an unnamed crater north of Proctor Crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -45.0N, Longitude 29.1E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Noctis Labyrinthus located at the western end of Valles Marineris on Mars. This maze-like feature of deep intersecting valleys was formed by tectonic forces and extensive faulting. | Context image for PIA09469More NoctisThe major Martian dust storm of 2007 filled the sky with dust and produced conditions that prevented the THEMIS VIS camera from being able to image the surface. With no new images being acquired, we've dug into the archive to highlight some interesting areas on Mars. The this week's region is Noctis Labyrinthus. Noctis Labyrinthus is located at the western end of Valles Marineris. This maze-like feature of deep intersecting valleys was formed by tectonic forces and extensive faulting.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -6.8N, Longitude 258.5E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows linear texture of Aeolis Planum created by wind erosion on Mars. | Context image for PIA10064Aeolis PlanumThe linear texture of Aeolis Planum in this VIS image was created by wind erosion.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 1.4N, Longitude 141.1E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
This NASA Mars Odyssey image shows several 'fretted' channels within Deuteronilus Mensae in the northern plains of Mars. These linear troughs appear to have been extensively modified by surficial processes. | (Released 8 July 2002)This THEMIS visible image shows several "fretted" channels within Deuteronilus Mensae in the northern plains of Mars. These linear troughs appear to have been extensively modified by surficial processes. Their floors contain knobby or "scabby" materials that have been modified to produce a pitted, knobby surface. This type of surface is common in the northern highlands of Mars, and its location and pitted texture has been suggested to indicate that these materials once contained ice that has since been removed to form the pits (devolatization). Many of the sloping surfaces in this region image have unusual deposits of material that occur preferentially on the cold, north-facing slopes. These deposits are seen frequently at mid-northern and southern latitudes, and have a distinct, rounded boundary that typically occurs at approximately the same distance below the ridge crest. It has been suggested that these deposits once draped the entire surface and have since been removed from all but the north-facing slopes. In some regions these deposits have ridges that parallel the cliff, suggestive of downslope movement and compression, possibly aided by ice. In some areas these slope deposits are darker than the material on the floor of the channel, and appear to sit on top of the pitted channel-floor materials. This relationship indicates that the slope materials have slightly different properties, leading to their darker tone, and are younger (and thus on top of) the channel floors. The presence of water ice in the surface in this area is a likely possibility to account for many of the features observed. This ice may still be present near the surface and this region may still be undergoing modification today. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey is from the Meridiani region of Mars. Several craters at different stages of modification. At the upper right is a crater with its rim forming a thin circular ridge surrounding a filled crater floor. | This image is from the Meridiani region of Mars. Several craters at different stages of modification are visible in this image. At the upper right is a crater with its rim forming a thin circular ridge surrounding a filled crater floor. Diagonally down from the first crater is a circular feature which may be a completly filled crater. On the left side is a crater with visible ejecta and a partially filled floor. The rim interior wall is almost completly exposed on this crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 0.4, Longitude 5.8 East (354.2 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
Spring storms are common near the north pole. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a storm front over the extensive dune field which surrounds part of the polar cap. | Context imageSpring storms are common near the north pole. Today's VIS image shows a storm front over the extensive dune field which surrounds part of the polar cap.Orbit Number: 45697 Latitude: 82.389 Longitude: 153.345 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-04-02 22:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This early-morning view from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover covers a field of view of about 130 degrees of the inner wall of Gale Crater. The rover's location was on the 'Naukluft Plateau' of lower Mount Sharp. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger viewDownload the full resolution TIFF fileThis early-morning view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover covers a field of view of about 130 degrees of the inner wall of Gale Crater. It was acquired during a period when there was very little dust or haze in the atmosphere, so conditions were optimal for long-distance imaging. The right side of the image fades into the glare of the rising sun. Mastcam's right-eye camera, which has a telephoto lens, took the component images on March 16, 2016, during the 1,284th sol, or Martian day, of Curiosity's work on Mars. The rover's location was on the "Naukluft Plateau" of lower Mount Sharp, inside Gale Crater. The view spans from west-northwest on the left to northeast on the right. Details of the morphology (shape and pattern of features) on the wall, which include gullies, channels and debris fans help geologists understand the processes that have shaped the crater and transported sediments -- sand, pebbles and larger rocks -- down to the floor of the crater. Some of the foothills show layers morphologically not unlike the layers Curiosity is exploring near the base of Mount Sharp, suggesting that the crater was filled along the north wall with sediments that have in large part now been eroded away, much as happened closer to Mount Sharp.The scene is presented with a color adjustment that approximates white balancing, to resemble how the terrain would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth.Figure 1 includes labels on three peaks of the crater wall, for scale and position reference. The peak labeled "A," near the left end of the panorama, is at azimuth 291.8 degrees east of north and 18.1 miles (29.1 kilometers) away from the rover's position. It rises about 6,200 feet (1,900 meters) above the closest point on the floor of the crater. Peak "B," at azimuth 357.2 degrees east of north (or 2.8 degrees from north), is about 17.6 miles (28.4 kilometers) away and rises about 3,900 feet (1,200 meters) above the base of its foothills. Peak "C," at azimuth 33.6 degrees east of north, is about 27.3 miles (45.5 kilometers) distant and rises about 6,200 feet (1,900 meters) above the base of its foothills.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover and its Navcam. For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl.Photojournal Note: The main image is also available in full resolution TIFF file PIA20333_full.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Ariadnes Colles. The term colles means hills or knobs. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Ariadnes Colles. The term colles means hills or knobs. In this false color combination the hills stand out against the darker surrounding plains. This difference is due to the amount of dust covering the hills versus the plains. This image is on the margin between Ariadnes Colles and the surrounding plains of Terra Cimmeria.Orbit Number: 83625 Latitude: -34.4641 Longitude: 171.09 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-10-20 23:45Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This view from the navigation camera near the top of the mast on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the tracks left by the rover as it drove southward and backward, dragging its inoperable right-front wheel. | This view from the navigation camera near the top of the mast on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the tracks left by the rover as it drove southward and backward, dragging its inoperable right-front wheel, to the location where the rover broke through a crust in April 2009 and became embedded in soft sand.The rover team's chosen strategy for beginning the attempt to extricate Spirit from the sand trap is to follow these tracks out, heading north. Spirit took this image during the 2,092nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Nov. 21, 2009). Spirit performed the third planned drive of the extrication attempt on that sol.For scale, the distance between the right and left wheel tracks is about 1 meter (3 feet). The rover team began commanding extrication drives in November after months of Earthbound testing and analysis to develop a strategy for attempting to drive Spirit out of this soft-soil site, called "Troy." The extrication drives are expected to make slow, if any, progress in coming weeks, and the probability of success in escaping from Troy is uncertain. | |
Science in Motion: Isolated Araneiform Topography | Figure 1Have you ever found that to describe something you had to go to the dictionary and search for just the right word?The south polar terrain is so full of unearthly features that we had to visit Mr. Webster to find a suitable term. "Araneiform" means "spider-like." These are channels that are carved in the surface by carbon dioxide gas. We do not have this process on Earth.The channels are somewhat radially organized (figure 1) and widen and deepen as they converge. In the past we've just refered to them as "spiders." "Isolated araneiform topography" means that our features look like spiders that are not in contact with each other.Observation GeometryImage PSP_003087_0930 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on 24-Mar-2007. The complete image is centered at -87.1 degrees latitude, 126.3 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 244.4 km (152.8 miles). At this distance the image scale is 24.5 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~73 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel . The image was taken at a local Mars time of 08:22 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 81 degrees, thus the sun was about 9 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 206.4 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Autumn.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
In the upper central portion of this image is a patch of ground paler than its surroundings as seen by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity after reaching the top of a rise called 'Panorama Point.' | NASA's Mars rover Curiosity captured this view using its Navigation Camera (Navcam) after reaching the top of a rise called "Panorama Point" with a drive during the 388th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Sept. 8, 2013). The view is southwestward and spans approximately from south to west, left to right.In the upper central portion of the image is a patch of ground paler than its surroundings. This pale-toned patch had been mapped from orbit and selected as the first of a few waypoints for the rover to study for a few days during pauses in the mission's multi-month trek from the "Glenelg" area to the lower layers of Mount Sharp. The outcrop that is exposed at this "Waypoint 1" site has been informally named "Darwin." It is about 245 feet (75 meters) from the rover's Sol 388 position on Panorama Point. Curiosity finished more than six months of investigations in the Glenelg area in early July 2013 and began the drive of about 5.3 miles (8.6 kilometers) from Glenelg to the Mount Sharp entry point. Waypoint 1 is about one fifth of the way along the route plotted from examining orbiter images.JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a small portion of Ares Vallis. With the different elevations within the broad channel, it is thought that multiple periods of flow successively eroded lower and lower into the surface. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a small portion of Ares Vallis. With the different elevations within the broad channel, it is thought that multiple periods of flow successively eroded lower and lower into the surface.Orbit Number: 62225 Latitude: 12.3461 Longitude: 332.085 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-12-24 09:06Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
These dunes are located on the floor of Galle Crater on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA03637Galle Cr. DunesThese dunes are located on the floor of Galle Crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 51.5S, Longitude 329.0E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows two image with the remains of layered material inside craters in southwestern Utopia Planitia. These remnant layers indicate that the craters were once buried beneath a deposit that has since been eroded away. | Images from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) dramatically illustrate that many places on the red planet have outcrops of layered geologic materials. The two pictures above show the remains of layered material inside craters in southwestern Utopia Planitia (see inset for detailed view). These remnant layers indicate that the craters--and perhaps the plains that surround them--were once buried beneath a deposit that has since been eroded away. This theme of layered outcrops and exhumed craters appears to be one of the dominant observations that MGS MOC has made--to date--about Mars. The origin and composition of the layered material--and its ultimate fate once it was largely eroded away--are unknown.Each of the two pictures shown here covers an area about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) by 6.3 kilometers (3.9 miles). Illumination is from the lower right. These are subframes of a single MOC image acquired in July 1998 during the MGS Science Phasing Orbits imaging campaign. This figure was presented at the 30th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, March 1999.Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-519, 20 October 2003This April 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) high resolution image shows a depression in the martian southern cratered highlands near 1.3°S, 244.3°W. The floor of the depression and some nearby craters are covered by large windblown ripples or small sand dunes. This image of ancient martian terrain covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. | |
This image taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a classic example of a Martian impact crater with a central peak. Central peaks are common in large, fresh craters on both Mars and the Moon. | (Released 14 June 2002)The ScienceThis THEMIS visible image shows a classic example of a martian impact crater with a central peak. Central peaks are common in large, fresh craters on both Mars and the Moon. This peak formed during the extremely high-energy impact cratering event. In many martian craters the central peak has been either eroded or buried by later sedimentary processes, so the presence of a peak in this crater indicates that the crater is relatively young and has experienced little degradation. Observations of large craters on the Earth and the Moon, as well as computer modeling of the impact process, show that the central peak contains material brought from deep beneath the surface. The material exposed in these peaks will provide an excellent opportunity to study the composition of the martian interior using THEMIS multi-spectral infrared observations. The ejecta material around the crater can is well preserved, again indicating relatively little modification of this landform since its initial creation. The inner walls of this approximately 18 km diameter crater show complex slumping that likely occurred during the impact event. Since that time there has been some downslope movement of material to form the small chutes and gullies that can be seen on the inner crater wall. Small (50-100 m) mega-ripples composed of mobile material can be seen on the floor of the crater. Much of this material may have come from the walls of the crater itself, or may have been blown into the crater by the wind.The StoryWhen a meteor smacked into the surface of Mars with extremely high energy, pow! Not only did it punch an 11-mile-wide crater in the smoother terrain, it created a central peak in the middle of the crater. This peak forms kind of on the "rebound." You can see this same effect if you drop a single drop of milk into a glass of milk. With craters, in the heat and fury of the impact, some of the land material can even liquefy.Central peaks like the one above are common in large, fresh craters on both Mars and the Moon. In many older Martian craters, however, the central peak has either been eroded or was buried by later deposits of sand, dust, and "dirt" on the terrain. With the pronounced, non-eroded peak in this crater, you can tell that it hasn't been around for a long time. Its youth is also apparent because of the ejected material around the crater that spreads out from it in an almost flame-or petal-like pattern with little evidence of erosion.Observations of large craters on the Earth and the Moon, as well as computer modeling of the impact process, show that central peaks contain material brought from deep beneath the surface. The material exposed in these peaks will provide an excellent opportunity to study what the interior of Mars is made of. In addition to providing images of Mars like the one above, the THEMIS camera system has the capability to analyze the mineral composition of the surface. That means it will be able to look at this area and "see" both the composition of the top surface, as well as the exposed interior that is uplifted in the central peak. Stay tuned for more news later from this crater!Until then, take a closer look at the walls of this crater. Particularly on the western side, you can see how whole portions of the wall have slid or "slumped" downward, probably sometime during the impact event. Since then, smaller amounts of material have slid downslope as well, forming small chutes and gullies that streak down the inner crater wall.On the floor of the crater, you can also see small, mobile mega-ripples that extend up to a football field in length. (Look for the tiny, bright, white ripples especially to the north of the crater floor.) These ripples were probably created from material coming down from the wall of the crater or alternatively from dust and "dirt" that was blown into the crater by the wind. | |
At the center of this image from NASA's Curiosity rover is the hole in a rock called 'John Klein' where the rover conducted its first sample drilling on Mars. | At the center of this image from NASA's Curiosity rover is the hole in a rock called "John Klein" where the rover conducted its first sample drilling on Mars. The drilling took place on Feb. 8, 2013, or Sol 182, Curiosity's 182nd Martian day of operations. Several preparatory activities with the drill preceded this operation, including a test that produced the shallower hole on the right two days earlier, but the deeper hole resulted from the first use of the drill for rock sample collection.The image was obtained by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Sol 182. The sample-collection hole is 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) in diameter and 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) deep. The "mini drill" test hole near it is the same diameter, with a depth of 0.8 inch (2 centimeters).Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates MAHLI. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey is overhead view comparing the crater nicknamed 'Thira' on the top right with a crater on Mars that is buried by possible lava or debris flows. | Figure 1This regional overhead view compares the crater nicknamed "Thira" on the top right with a crater on the bottom left that is buried by possible lava or debris flows. Thira Crater seems to have formed more recently due to its defined edges and features. The other crater exhibits edges that appear to have been buried. The "Columbia Hills" are seen to the left of Thira Crater for context. The blurriness in the lower right portion of this image is a result of missing data. This image was taken by the thermal emission imaging system on NASA's orbiting Mars Odyssey. | |
This image captured by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) on Aug. 2, 1999, shows some of the surface of the residual south polar cap has a pattern that resembles that of sliced, swiss cheese. | This image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.Some of the surface of the residual south polar cap has a pattern that resembles that of sliced, swiss cheese. Shown here at the very start of southern spring is a frost-covered surface in which there are two layers evident--a brighter upper layer into which are set swiss cheese-like holes, and a darker, lower layer that lies beneath the "swiss cheese" pattern. Nothing like this exists anywhere on Mars except within the south polar cap.This is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image acquired on August 2, 1999. It is located near 84.8°S, 71.8°W, and covers an area 3 km across and about 6.1 km long (1.9 by 3.8 miles).Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. This crater has a pit in the center of the floor of the crater. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. This crater has a pit in the center of the floor of the crater. Craters can have several different features at this location, including a peak, a pit, a peak with a pit, or a smooth floor.Orbit Number: 91055 Latitude: -26.3233 Longitude: 20.9293 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-06-24 18:28Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the slope of 'Endurance Crater' where the rover cut three holes. | This enhanced-color panoramic camera image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity features three holes created by the rock abrasion tool between sols 143 and 148 (June 18 and June 23, 2004) inside "Endurance Crater." The enhanced image makes the red colors a little redder and blue colors a little bluer, allowing viewers to see differences too subtle to be seen without the exaggeration. When compared with an approximately true color image, the tailings from the rock abrasion tool and the interior of the abraded holes are more prominent in this view. Being able to discriminate color variations helps scientists determine rocks' compositional differences and texture variations. This image was created using the 753-, 535- and 432-nanometer filters. | |
Radial Ridge in Deposit Near Pavonis Mons | This HiRISE image shows an enigmatic ridge within a broad deposit west of Pavonis Mons, oriented roughly radial to the volcano. The origin of the deposit is uncertain; one possibility is that it formed during an episode of cold-based glaciation in a different Martian climate. In other areas (outside the region shown here) it forms a series of arcuate concentric ridges which may be moraines. The textured appearance shown here of the surface is common in much of the deposit. The large ridge in the left part of the image appears to have trapped some dust, as it has a smooth, mantled appearance. There are also many wind-blown ripples in the western part of the image. The ridge itself may be due to a volcanic eruption along a fissure system, possibly under ice if Pavonis Mons was once glaciated.Unfortunately, the mantling at this site has obscured most underlying details of the ridge which could clarify the conditions under which it formed.Observation GeometryImage PSP_001682_1845 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on 05-Dec-2006. The complete image is centered at 4.3 degrees latitude, 244.8 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 265.1 km (165.7 miles). At this distance the image scale is 53.1 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~159 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 50 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 03:35 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 54 degrees, thus the sun was about 36 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 145.7 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
It is unclear what process has eroded the surface in this part of the Tharsis region. Wind is likely, but it could also be a record of water erosion. This image was captured by NASA's Mars Odyssey. | Context imageIt is unclear what process has eroded the surface in this part of the Tharsis region. Wind is likely, but it could also be a record of water erosion.Orbit Number: 40164 Latitude: 3.51166 Longitude: 230.802 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-01-03 10:55Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a relief model of the topography of the North Polar Region on Mars showing the form of the ice cap and its surroundings. | Relief model of the topography of the North Polar Region showing the form of the ice cap and its surroundings. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the linear depressions that are some of the graben that comprise Cerberus Fossae. | Context imageThe linear depressions at the top of the VIS image are some of the graben that comprise Cerberus Fossae. Graben form where extensional tectonic forces allows blocks of material to subside between paired faults. Cerberus Fossae are located in Elysium Planitia, southeast of the Elysium Mons volcanic complex. The graben were also the source of significant volcanic flows, creating the deposits seen at the lower part of the image.Orbit Number: 77985 Latitude: 9.97726 Longitude: 157.285 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-07-14 14:21Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
The Kasei Valles region is very complex. This image captured by NASA's Mars Odyssey illustrates that complexity with features created by fluvial action (channels) and tectonic processes (fractures). | Context imageThe Kasei Valles region is very complex. This VIS image illustrates that, with features created by fluvial action (channels) and tectonic processes (fractures).Orbit Number: 39064 Latitude: 26.9464 Longitude: 288.238 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-10-04 21:00Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Sojourner rover is seen next to the rock 'Shark,' in this image taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) near the end of daytime operations on Sol 52. The rover's APXS is deployed against the rock. The rock 'Wedge' is in the foreground. | The Sojourner rover is seen next to the rock "Shark," in this image taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) near the end of daytime operations on Sol 52. The rover's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer is deployed against the rock. The rock "Wedge" is in the foreground.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a large linear depression in the center of an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. This crater and the nearby Maunder and Asimov craters share this odd morphology. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a large linear depression in the center of an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. This crater and the nearby Maunder and Asimov craters share this odd morphology. The crater floors have been filled to the rim and then depressions have occurred in that fill material. In the case of Maunder and Asimov, the depressions occur along the inner rim of each crater. In this crater, the depression is located in the middle of the crater fill.Orbit Number: 74360 Latitude: -50.0031 Longitude: 3.76045 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-09-19 01:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
This annotated image depicts the multiple flights – and two different routes – NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter could take on its trip to Jezero Crater's delta. | This annotated overhead image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) depicts the multiple flights – and two different routes – the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter could take on its way to Jezero Crater's delta. The location of Ingenuity as of March 14, 2022, is indicated by the red dot. This map is made using images from MRO's High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera.The first flight in this series (indicated by the number 1 in blue) occurred on March 10, 2022. After the next flight – which includes a sharp bend in the course to avoid a large hill – the helicopter team will consider which of two routes to take. The first option requires two flights to reach the base of the delta. The second option is more direct, necessitating only one final flight to reach the same location.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which also manages the technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science, Aeronautics Research, and Space Technology mission directorates. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the flank of Arsia Mons. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the flank of Arsia Mons. The three large aligned Tharsis volcanoes are Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons and Ascreaus Mons (from south to north). There are collapse features on all three volcanoes, on the southwestern and northeastern flanks. This alignment may indicate a large fracture/vent system was responsible for the eruptions that formed all three volcanoes. This VIS image shows part of the eastern flank of Arsia Mons, west of the aligned fracture system.Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes. It is 270 miles (450km) in diameter, almost 12 miles (20km) high, and the summit caldera is 72 miles (120km) wide. For comparison, the largest volcano on Earth is Mauna Loa. From its base on the sea floor, Mauna Loa measures only 6.3 miles high and 75 miles in diameter. A large volcanic crater known as a caldera is located at the summit of all of the Tharsis volcanoes. These calderas are produced by massive volcanic explosions and collapse. The Arsia Mons summit caldera is larger than many volcanoes on Earth.The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, because each single-filter image is contrast enhanced before inclusion in the three-color image, the apparent color variation of the scene is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the color variation that does appear is representative of some change in color, however subtle, in the actual scene. Note that the long edges of THEMIS color images typically contain color artifacts that do not represent surface variation.Orbit Number: 94404 Latitude: -8.85515 Longitude: 242.188 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-03-27 12:39Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration 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. | |
A delta is a pile of sediment dumped by a river where it enters a standing body of water. Evidence for deltas that formed billions of years ago on Mars has been mounting in recent years. This image is from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionA delta is a pile of sediment dumped by a river where it enters a standing body of water. Evidence for deltas that formed billions of years ago on Mars has been mounting in recent years.One line of evidence not yet investigated is to search for what are called clinoforms. In geology, a clinoform refers to a steep slope of sediment on the outer margin of a delta. This image seeks to test whether those features are visible and help confirm that Mars in ancient times had a standing body of water in this location.For a bit more information on what a clinform looks like, see this page.This caption is based on the original science rationale.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took this 360-degree panorama in 2005 after Opportunity had driven 64 meters (209 feet) on sol 381 to arrive at this location close to a small crater dubbed 'Alvin.' | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera on the rover's 381st and 382nd martian days, or sols, (Feb. 18 and 19, 2005) to take the images combined into this 360-degree panorama. Opportunity had driven 64 meters (209 feet) on sol 381 to arrive at this location close to a small crater dubbed "Alvin." The location is catalogued as Opportunity's Site 43. This view is presented in a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows dissected surface located in highlands between Solis Planum and Aonia Terra. These channels were likely carved by running water. | Context image for PIA09308Channels GaloreThis dissected surface is located in highlands between Solis Planum and Aonia Terra. These channels were likely carved by running water.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -41.6N, Longitude 269.5E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the south polar residual cap of Mars. Patterns are formed by erosion and sublimation of multiple layers of frozen carbon dioxide. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-456, 18 August 2003Nature has created some interesting artwork on the south polar residual cap of Mars. This July 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example. The patterns in this picture are formed by erosion and sublimation of multiple layers of frozen carbon dioxide. The artwork is ephemeral and changing with each passing summer. By the end of the coming southern summer, the scarps in this area will have retreated an average of 3 meters (3.3 yards); some of the smaller buttes and ridges will have vanished. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is located near 86.6°S, 358.2°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on April 20, 2004 shows a crater on Mars near Elysium Mons. | Released 20 April 2004The image of a crater near Elysium Mons was captured from the 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft, at 16:47 Mars Local Time, on November 23, 2002. The image is 18km x 54km, Lat. 21.6N, Long. 137.21E, Sun Angle of 64.13 degrees, 6,746.4 seconds into orbit, and with a camera filter centered at about 650nm.The Westview Astronomy Research Team is a group of 25 students from Westview High School who wrote a scientific proposal to NASA, JPL, and Arizona State University Mars Flight Research Facility. The proposal was accepted and we worked for several months researching the background of exploration for water and life on the planet Mars. The team conducted trial experiments involving rock propulsion and several activities identifying surface features on Mars. We worked with Mars scientists to target and upload an image from the 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft. The image was successfully acquired and viewed for the first time ever by our team. The image was dedicated to Westview High School in the name MSIP.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 18.1, Longitude 136.3 East (223.7 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.NASA and Arizona State University's Mars Education Program is offering students nationwide the opportunity to be involved in authentic Mars research by participating in the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP). Teams of students in grades 5 through college sophomore level have the opportunity to work with scientists, mission planners and educators on the THEMIS team at ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility, to image a site on Mars using the THEMIS visible wavelength camera. For more information go to the MSIP website: http://msip.asu.edu.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.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 collaboration 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows several north mid-latitude meteor impact craters on Mars with bouldery ejecta deposits. Each of the craters was once buried and later exhumed. | 5 July 2004Burial and exhumation is a theme that repeats itself, all over the surface of Mars. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows several north mid-latitude meteor impact craters with bouldery ejecta deposits. Each of the craters was once buried and later exhumed. Mesas on the floors of these craters are remnants of the materials that once filled and covered them. The craters are located near 39.7°N, 206.0°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity front left hazard-avoidance camera shows a pebble caught in rover's front right wheel. | This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity front left hazard-avoidance camera shows a pebble caught in rover's front right wheel. The image from sol 63 of the mission was taken as the rover approached the rock dubbed "Bounce" for analysis. | |
The dark, narrow streaks flowing downhill on Mars at sites such as this portion of Horowitz Crater are inferred to be formed by seasonal flow of water on modern-day Mars in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | The dark, narrow streaks flowing downhill on Mars at sites such as this portion of Horowitz Crater are inferred to be formed by seasonal flow of water on modern-day Mars. The streaks are roughly the length of a football field.The imaging and topographical information in this processed view come from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.These dark features on the slopes are called "recurring slope lineae" or RSL. Planetary scientists using observations with the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer on the same orbiter detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Horowitz Crater, corroborating the hypothesis that the streaks are formed by briny liquid water.The image was produced by first creating a 3-D computer model (a digital terrain map) of the area based on stereo information from two HiRISE observations, and then draping an image over the land-shape model. The vertical dimension is exaggerated by a factor of 1.5 compared to horizontal dimensions. The draped image is a red waveband (monochrome) product from HiRISE observation PSP_005787_1475, taken on Oct. 21, 2007, at 32 degrees south latitude, 141 degrees east longitude. Other image products from this observation are at http://www.uahirise.org/PSP_005787_1475.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. |
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