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NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a group of spectacular scalloped sand dunes at the edge of a much larger field of dark-toned dunes in Proctor Crater on Mars. | Sometimes, pictures received from Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) are "just plain pretty." This image, taken in early September 2000, shows a group of sand dunes at the edge of a much larger field of dark-toned dunes in Proctor Crater. Located at 47.9°S, 330.4°W, in the 170 km (106 mile) diameter crater named for 19th Century British astronomer Richard A. Proctor (1837-1888), the dunes shown here are created by winds blowing largely from the east/northeast. A plethora of smaller, brighter ripples covers the substrate between the dunes. Sunlight illuminates them from the upper left. | |
This image of central Candor Chasma captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a surface topography called chaos. Chaos is a region of small to medium sized mesas surrounded by valleys that are usually the same elevation. | Context image This image of central Candor Chasma shows a surface topography called chaos. Chaos is a region of small to medium sized mesas surrounded by valleys that are usually the same elevation. In this image sand and sand dunes have accumulated in the valleys near the top of the image, but are not as prevalent towards the bottom of the image.Candor Chasma is one of the largest canyons that make up Valles Marineris. It is approximately 810 km long (503 miles) and has is divided into two regions - eastern and western Candor. Candor is located south of Ophir Chasma and north of Melas Chasma. The border with Melas Chasma contains many large landslide deposits. The floor of Candor Chasma includes a variety of landforms, including layered deposits, dunes, landslide deposits and steep sided cliffs and mesas. Many forms of erosion have shaped Chandor Chasma. There is evidence of wind and water erosion, as well as significant gravity driven mass wasting (landslides).The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69000 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: 26213 Latitude: -7.25478 Longitude: 287.032 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2007-11-11 14:48Please 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 acquired by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on August 20, 1997, when MGS was 5.51 million kilometers (3.42 million miles) and 22 days from encounter. | This image was acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on August 20, 1997, when MGS was 5.51 million kilometers (3.42 million miles) and 22 days from encounter. At this distance, the MOC's resolution is about 20.6 km per picture element, and the 6800 km (4200 mile) diameter planet is about 330 pixels across. North is at the top of the image. The MGS spacecraft pointed the camera at the center of the planet (near the dark, morning sunrise line, or terminator) at 23.6° N, 307.3° W. The irregularity of the terminator seen in this image results from contrast processing. This image shows the prominent dark feature Syrtis Major, believed to be a relatively dust-free area of bedrock outcrop and sand dunes. The large Hellas impact basin (2000 km or 1250 miles across) is seen at the bottom of the picture. Clouds from the south polar region fill the basin. The north polar residual ice cap, surrounded by a dark annulus of sand, is seen at the top of the picture.Launched on November 7, 1996, Mars Global Surveyor will enter Mars orbit on Thursday, September 11 around 6:30 PM PDT. After Mars Orbit Insertion, the spacecraft will use atmospheric drag to reduce the size of its orbit, achieving a circular orbit only 400 km (248 mi) above the surface in March 1998, when mapping operations will begin. At that time, MOC narrow angle images will be 14,000 times higher resolution than this picture, and global wide angle images will be 3 times better.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 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 part of Ariadnes Colles. The term colles means hills or knobs. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Ariadnes Colles. The term colles means hills or knobs. The hills appear brighter than the surrounding lowlands, likely due to relatively less dust cover. Ariadnes Colles is located in Terra Cimmeria.Orbit Number: 92098 Latitude: -33.8934 Longitude: 171.928 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-09-18 15:33Please 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. | |
Meandering Tracks on | This 360-degree, stereo panorama of a section of the "Columbia Hills" shows meandering, crisscrossing wheel tracks that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit left behind while using its scientific instruments to analyze a new class of rocks in Gusev Crater on Mars. Because Spirit has been experiencing a high rate of slip on the sandy, sloped terrain on this flank of "Husband Hill," scientists are directing the rover to check its progress often to avoid getting a rock stuck in one of its wheel wells. Rocks in this region are higher in phosphorus than other rocks that Spirit has examined. This view is a mosaic of frames that Spirit took with its navigation camera during the rover's 358th and 359th martian days, or sols, (Jan. 3 and 4, 2005). It is presented here in a vertical projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This NASA Mars Global Surveyor image shows an undulating scene in the south polar region of Mars. Small, elevated mesas of smooth, relatively homogeneous-appearing material are separated by low-lying regions that are speckled and darkened. | 29 April 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an undulating scene in the south polar region of Mars. Small, elevated mesas of smooth, relatively homogeneous-appearing material are separated by low-lying regions that are speckled and darkened in some local areas. Over the martian summer months, sublimation of solid carbon dioxide -- the bright material in the scene -- contributes to the darkening of the sides of the mesas as well as the low-lying regions between them.Location near: 86.8°S, 341.3°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
This image shows a close-up view of the rock target named Maaz from the SuperCam instrument on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. It was taken by SuperCam's Remote Micro-Imager (RMI). Maaz means Mars in the Navajo language. | This image shows a close-up view of the rock target named "Máaz" from the SuperCam instrument on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. It was taken by SuperCam's Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) on March 2, 2021 (the 12th Martian day, or "sol," Perseverance's mission on Mars). "Máaz" means Mars in the Navajo language.Analysis of SuperCam data shows that Máaz has a basaltic composition. It is either an igneous rock or consists of fine grains of igneous material that were cemented together in a watery environment. The target was 10.4 feet (3.17 meters) from the rover. The image field of view is 2.3 inches (6.0 centimeters) in diameter.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
A variety of diverse morphological features are present in this image located in the southeastern area of the Nili Fossae region and just northeast of Syrtis Major as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionA variety of diverse morphological features are present in this image (21 by 5.5 kilometers) located in the southeastern area of the Nili Fossae region and just northeast of Syrtis Major.This particular region has been studied intensely due to the presence of volcanics from Syrtis Major and impact ejecta from the Isidis Basin. The region is rich in unaltered mafic deposits, in contact with diverse altered deposits rich in clays, carbonates, and sulfates. These deposits make the Nili Fossae region one of the most colorful regions on Mars, which is most distinctive in infrared color composites (IRB). HiRISE IRB color aids in chemical and mineral-type mapping, especially when correlated with other MRO instruments such as CRISM.In this infrared color close-up image (2.6 by 1.2 kilometers), we can see a mesa, along with aeolian dunes and yellow-colored deposits. A mesa is a flat, steep-sloped hill, which was likely eroded by a combination of wind-driven and landslide processes. These are often formed due to differing rock compositions, which vary in their resistance to erosion, e.g., a weaker and softer rock, such as sediments, lies beneath a stronger and more resistant rock. The flat top surfaces of mesas, termed the "cap" rock, are relatively erosion-resistant rock types, such as igneous lavas or intrusive sills. The looser, yellowish deposits that underlie the cap rock contrast nicely with the purplish-blue cap rock.Another closeup (0.7 by 1.2 kilometer) shows an area just north of the mesa that is particularly distinct in this IRB color. Based on a corresponding CRISM image providing spectral data, there is some exposed bedrock in the area that likely contains salt-bearing rocks. This is a stereo pair with ESP_041115_1975.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. | |
This image released on August 17, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows Daedalia Planum, located south of Arsia Mons on Mars. Small hills and craters of various sizes are present. | Released August 17, 2004The THEMIS Image of the Day will be exploring the nomenclature of Mars for the next three weeks.Elysium PlanitiaPlanitia: low plainElysium: the Elysian fields. The Elysian fields are a paradise where the chosen of the gods reside after death; the heaven of heroes.Elysium Planitia is located south of Elysium Mons, a large volcano. Multiple lava flows are evident in the daytime IR image. There are also small hills and craters of various sizes.Nomenclature Fact of the Day: Names with political, military, or religious significance are not allowed, except for names of political figures prior to the 19th century.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude 8.1, Longitude 150.6 East (209.4 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. | |
This image demonstrates how engineers place the drill carried by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity onto rock targets. They first set down the drill's two stabilizing prongs near the target, as shown by the dashed line. | Annotated ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image demonstrates how engineers place the drill carried by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity onto rock targets. They first set down the drill's two stabilizing prongs near the target, as shown by the dashed line. From there, they assess the placement of the prongs in relation to the target to determine the correct, final placement of the drill. This approach allows for higher accuracy, both to hit the target and avoid placing a prong on unstable areas or pebbles.This image of the "Cumberland" drill target was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the 279th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (May 19, 2013), from a distance of 9.8 inches (25 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.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This 360-degree panorama taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit highlights the bumpy terrain surrounding the rover. Spirit's shadow can be seen in a small hollow lying between the rover and its intended target, the eastern-lying 'Columbia Hills.' | This 360-degree panorama taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit highlights the bumpy terrain surrounding the rover. Spirit's shadow can be seen in a small hollow lying between the rover and its intended target, the eastern-lying "Columbia Hills." Spirit's longest drive so far covered about 88.5 meters (about 290 feet) and took place on sol 113. This image was taken on sol 112 (April 26, 2004). | |
While the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit was taking exposures with different color filters on May 27, 2009), dust devils moved across the field of view. | While the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit was taking exposures with different color filters during the 1,919th Martian day of the rover's mission (May 27, 2009), dust devils moved across the field of view. Because several seconds intervened between shots with different filters, the location of the dust devils changed between the exposures. The three grayscale images stacked from the bottom of this four-part view are the separate exposures through filters centered on wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers. Contrast has been stretched to emphasize the dust devils on the horizon. At the top is a composite image combining those exposures to yield a color scene of the Martian ground. The time intervals between the exposures result in the darker dust devil appearing blue at its first location, violet at its second location and yellow at its third location. A second dust devil was consolidating during the first two exposures and appears orange at its location when the third exposure was taken. In the foreground is the northern end of a ridge called "Tsiolkovsky," about 25 meters (about 80 feet) from Troy.Dust devils occur on both Mars and on Earth when solar energy heats the surface, resulting in a layer of warm air just above the surface. Since the warmed air is less dense than the cooler atmosphere above it, it rises, making a swirling thermal plume that picks up the fine dust from the surface and carries it up into the atmosphere. This plume of dust moves with the local wind. | |
This image, acquired on June 10, 2019 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows sedimentary rock and sand within Danielson Crater, located in the southwest Arabia Terra region of Mars. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThis image shows sedimentary rock and sand within Danielson Crater, an impact crater 67 kilometers in diameter, located in the southwest Arabia Terra region of Mars. The rock was formed millions or billions of years ago when loose sediments settled into the crater, one layer at a time, and were later cemented in place. Cyclical variations in the sediment properties made some layers more resistant to erosion than others. After eons, these tougher layers protrude outward like stair steps. Across these steps, the winds have scattered sand (typically appearing darker and less red, i.e. "bluer" in contrast-enhanced color), giving rise to the zebra stripe-like patterns visible here. This image completes a stereo pair over this location, which will allow measurement of the thicknesses of these sedimentary layers. The layer thicknesses and how they vary through time can provide some insight into the processes, possibly linked to ancient climate, that deposited the layers so long ago.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 57.2 centimeters [22.5 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 172 centimeters [67.7 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.This is a stereo pair with ESP_055360_1520.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. | |
This image acquired on July 6, 2021 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows impact craters in the northern middle latitudes with wind-blown (aeolian) ripples in their interiors. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThese impact craters in the northern middle latitudes have interesting interiors: all of them have wind-blown (aeolian) ripples.Outside of the craters and along the crater floors, the ripples are all oriented in the same direction. However, along the walls of some of the larger craters, the ripples are situated radially away from the center, indicating the winds moving inside the larger craters can be influenced by the topography of the crater wall.Additionally, many of the larger craters have layered mesas along their floors that are likely sedimentary deposits laid down after the craters formed but prior to the development of the aeolian ripples.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 58.6 centimeters [23.1 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 176 centimeters [69.3 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a field of sand dunes on the floor of an unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a field of sand dunes on the floor of an unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria.Orbit Number: 89604 Latitude: -7.58904 Longitude: 119.349 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-02-25 07:08Please 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. | |
Exposure of Polar Layered Deposits | Image PSP_001398_2615 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 13, 2006. The complete image is centered at 81.5 degrees latitude, 47.3 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 315.5 km (197.2 miles). At this distance the image scale is 31.6 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~95 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 2:17 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 65 degrees, thus the sun was about 25 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 134.7 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a martian landscape of many different surface textures, including grooves, chaos, and impact craters of different states of erosion. | Context image for PIA08818Multiple TexturesThis image contains many different surface textures, including grooves, chaos, and impact craters of different states of erosion.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -0.2N, Longitude 319.2E. 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 a dust devil and a plethora of streaks created by previous dust devils, on the eastern floor of Mendel Crater on Mars. | 20 January 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a dust devil (right center) and a plethora of streaks created by previous dust devils, on the eastern floor of Mendel Crater. Dust devils are common at middle to high latitudes in the southern hemisphere during the spring and summer seasons.Location near: 59.0°S, 198.4°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took images combined into this vertical full-circle view of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and small exposures of lighter-toned bedrock during March 7-9, 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 1,818th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's surface mission (March 5, 2009). South is at the center; north at both ends. This view is presented as a vertical projection with geometric seam correction. North is at the top.The rover had driven 80.3 meters (263 feet) southward earlier on that sol. Tracks from the drive recede northward in this view. The terrain in this portion of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and lighter-toned bedrock. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a channel in the Tempe Fossae region, just west of Sytinskaya Crater. | Context image for PIA11295ChannelThe channel in this VIS image is in the Tempe Fossae region, just west of Sytinskaya Crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 43.1N, Longitude 305.2E. 19 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. | |
ForeSight, a fully functional, full-size model of NASA's InSight lander, grasps a model of the lander's Wind and Thermal Shield. This testing was done at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. | ForeSight, a fully functional, full-size model of NASA's InSight lander, grasps a model of the lander's Wind and Thermal Shield while engineer Maggie Williams looks on. This testing was done at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.Williams is wearing sunglasses to block the bright yellow lights in the test space, which mimic sunlight as it appears on Mars.JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/insight. | |
Surface composition in 'Endurance Crater' is mapped with color-coded interpretation of data from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The information has been overlaid onto a view of a crater on Mars. | Surface composition in "Endurance Crater" is mapped with color-coded interpretation of data from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The information has been overlaid onto a view of the crater from Opportunity's panoramic camera. Green, such as on some slopes, indicates material rich in the mineral hematite. Blue and purple, such as on some cliffs of exposed rock, indicate the presence of basalt. Basaltic material is volcanic in origin, but the basalt may have been broken down into sand by weathering, then re-deposited by wind or water. Red indicates areas covered by martian dust. | |
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 the plains of Arabia Terra. | 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 the plains of Arabia Terra.Orbit Number: 36367 Latitude: -11.7556 Longitude: 357.529 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-02-24 17:34Please 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 Exploration Rover Spirit took this grey-scale panoramic camera image on sol 100, April 14, 2004. It captures Spirit's the highlands informally named 'Columbia Hills.' | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this grey-scale panoramic camera image on sol 100, April 14, 2004. It captures Spirit's future destination at the highlands informally named "Columbia Hills." In this image, the hills are approximately 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) to the southeast.Scientists believe the hills may consist of different and potentially older rock units than the basalts that Spirit has observed so far. | |
The Robotic Arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander released a sample of Martian soil onto a screened opening of the lander's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) during the 12th Martian day, or sol, since landing (June 6, 2008). | The Robotic Arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander released a sample of Martian soil onto a screened opening of the lander's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) during the 12th Martian day, or sol, since landing (June 6, 2008). TEGA did not confirm that any of the sample had passed through the screen.The Robotic Arm Camera took this image on Sol 12. Soil from the sample delivery is visible on the sloped surface of TEGA, which has a series of parallel doors. The two doors for the targeted cell of TEGA are the one positioned vertically, at far right, and the one partially open just to the left of that one. The soil between those two doors is resting on a screen designed to let fine particles through while keeping bigger ones from clogging the interior of the instrument. Each door is about 10 centimeters (4 inches) long.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. | |
Named for a great river in Africa, the martian version is a system of eroding channels that empties into the Hellas impact basin as seen in this image captured by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft in September 2003. | Released 24 September 2003Named for a great river in Africa, the martian version is a system of eroding channels that empties into the Hellas impact basin. One style of erosion is evident in this image, where the upper branches of the Niger are merging. Some process weakens the crust until it founders, producing large slump blocks that continue to erode. This process enlarges the channels and ultimately may lead to a single upper channel.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -34.7, Longitude 92.6 East (267.4 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. | |
This channel and its tributaries are a part of Nanedi Vallis on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08035Nanedi VallisThis channel and its tributaries are a part of Nanedi Vallis.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 0.7N, Longitude 310.6E. 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 rover Curiosity drove 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) during the 100th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Nov. 16, 2012). The rover used its Navigation Camera after the drive to record the images combined into this 3-D panoramic view. | Left-eye viewRight-eye viewClick on an individual image for full resolution figures imageNASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) during the 100th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Nov. 16, 2012). The rover used its Navigation Camera after the drive to record the images combined into this stereo, panoramic view. The scene appears three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left. The view spans from north at the left to south-southeast at the right. It is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection.Figure 1 is the left-eye member of the pair of images combined into the stereo view. Figure 2 is the right-eye view.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 rover. More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a dark dune deposit resembling a howling animal. | Context imageDo you see what I see? The dark dune deposit resembles a howling animal.Orbit Number: 16905 Latitude: -79.7121 Longitude: 212.905 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2005-10-06 06:20Please 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. | |
Hummocky, textured terrain within lava flows northwest of Pavonis Mons, one of the Tharsis volcanoes, is shown in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Released 14 April 2003Hummocky, textured terrain within lava flows northwest of Pavonis Mons, one of the Tharsis volcanoes.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 6.9, Longitude 243.7 East (116.3 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
Although this may look like a hostile alien life form, it's actually a complex line of sand dunes near the northern ice cap of Mars. This image is from NASA's Mars Odyssey, one of an 'All Star' set. | Although this may look like a hostile alien life form, it's actually a complex line of sand dunes near the northern ice cap of Mars. The image covers an area about 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide. It was taken in April 2006 by the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. It is part of a special set of images marking the occasion of Odyssey becoming the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history. The pictured location on Mars is 82.4 degrees north latitude, 314.5 degrees east longitude.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 streamlined islands in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey are located in Maja Valles. | Context imageThe streamlined islands in this VIS image are located in Maja Valles.Orbit Number: 39051 Latitude: 9.56867 Longitude: 300.847 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-10-03 19:24Please 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 Mars Odyssey shows a section of Mamers Valles. The channel is nearly 1000 km long (600 miles). | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a section of Mamers Valles. The channel is nearly 1000 km long (600 miles). Mamers Valles originates near Cerulli Crater in northern Arabia Terra, and after a short section near the crater where flow is to the south, flows northward to empty in Deuteronilus Mensae. The steep walls of Mamers Valles can reach heights of 1200 m (4000 feet).Orbit Number: 80685 Latitude: 31.7182 Longitude: 18.531 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-02-21 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a portion of a dark sand dune field in a crater in the Noachis Terra region. Martian dunes are darker than their typical terrestrial counterparts as they contain minerals with a higher abundance of iron and magnesium. | 2 January 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of a dark sand dune field in a crater in the Noachis Terra region. Martian dunes are darker than their typical terrestrial counterparts because they contain minerals with a higher abundance of iron and magnesium, and somewhat lower amounts of silica.Location near: 45.4°S, 331.1°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring | |
Terrain Southeast of Thaumasia Highlands | Image PSP_001482_1515 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 19, 2006. The complete image is centered at -28.3 degrees latitude, 304.1 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 251.9 km (157.4 miles). At this distance the image scale is 25.2 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~76 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:37 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 69 degrees, thus the sun was about 21 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 137.9 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. | |
The THEMIS VIS 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 Iani Chaos. | 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 Iani Chaos.Orbit Number: 10336 Latitude: -0.097308 Longitude: 342.604 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-04-13 11:31Please 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 image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a region of dunes near Mars' north polar cap that are individual dune forms. | Context image for PIA11256Polar DunesThis VIS image shows a region of dunes near the north polar cap that are individual dune forms.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 74.3N, Longitude 308.2E. 19 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 large fracture in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is located on the margin of Aurorae Chaos. | Context imageThe large fracture in this VIS image is located on the margin of Aurorae Chaos.Orbit Number: 50173 Latitude: -11.8697 Longitude: 327.007 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-04-06 06:02Please 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 Mars Odyssey shows part of Claritas Fossae. The linear features (fossae) are flaults. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of Claritas Fossae. The linear features (fossae) are flaults. This region of Mars had very active tectonism and volcanism, resulting in the huge volcanos like Arsia Mons and deep chasmata of Valles Marineris. Claritas Fossae is located between the lava plains of Solis and Daedalia Planums.Orbit Number: 74950 Latitude: -27.3141 Longitude: 253.463 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-11-06 15:36Please 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. | |
Large Lava Fan on the Northwestern Flank of Olympus Mons | Click on image for larger versionOlympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System is a shield volcano built up by lava flow after lava flow. Like the larger shield volcanoes Mauna Loa and Etna on Earth, many of these lava flows carried the liquid lava in open channels.In some places these channels break down and the lava spills out, forming a broad fan. In the center of this HiRISE image (PSP_003331_2005), you can see a lava channel that has fed many overflows to both sides. The lava was traveling from the southeast toward the north and northwest. When viewed at full-resolution, the HiRISE image shows a very irregular surface. This is caused by a thick layer of very small particles that are being moved around by the wind. The linear features that could be mistaken for dunes in lower resolution images turn out to look more like wind-eroded ridges, called "yardangs" by geologists.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 4 April 2007Local Mars time: 3:29 PMDegrees latitude (centered): 20.4°Degrees longitude (East): 224.7°Range to target site: 270.5 km (169.1 miles)Original image scale range: 54.1 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~162 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 50 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 6.6°Phase angle: 68.8°Solar incidence angle: 63°, with the Sun about 27° above the horizonSolar longitude: 218.0°, 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 temperature figure shows the change in the mean and variance of the temperature fluctuations at NASA's Mars Pathfinder landing site. The science team suspects that a cold front has past of the landing sight between Sols 80 and 81, Sept. 25 & 26, 1997 | This temperature figure shows the change in the mean and variance of the temperature fluctuations at the Pathfinder landing site. Sol 79 and 80 are very similar, with a significant reduction of the mean and variance on Sol 81. The science team suspects that a cold front has past of the landing sight between Sols 80 and 81.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).
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 part of a crater located north of Hecates Tholus. The radial grooves in the ejecta blanket are still visible around the crater rim. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of a crater located north of Hecates Tholus. The radial grooves in the ejecta blanket are still visible around the crater rim.Orbit Number: 72022 Latitude: 37.7291 Longitude: 149.387 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-03-10 11:26Please 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 image shows layers exposed by erosion in a trough within the north polar residual cap of Mars, diving beneath a younger covering of polar materials. | 3 July 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows layers exposed by erosion in a trough within the north polar residual cap of Mars, diving beneath a younger covering of polar materials. The layers have, since the Mariner 9 mission in 1972, been interpreted to be composed of a combination of dust and ice in unknown proportions. In this scene, a layer of solid carbon dioxide, which was deposited during the previous autumn and winter, blankets the trough as well as the adjacent terrain. Throughout northern spring, the carbon dioxide will be removed; by summer, the layers will be frost-free.Location near: 81.4°N, 352.2°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Spring | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the western flank of Alba Mons. This region is highly dissected by channels. | Context imageToday's VIS image is located on the western flank of Alba Mons. This region is highly dissected by channels. Alba Mons is a broad volcano, surrounded by graben features created by a huge volcanic eruption followed by the collapse of the volcano into the underlying empty magma chamber.Orbit Number: 93786 Latitude: 44.5605 Longitude: 241.615 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-02-04 16:13Please 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. | |
Slipping and Sliding in Coprates Chasma | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_001970_1655) shows a landslide in the Coprates Chasma region of Valles Marineris that occurred when a large unstable area of rock broke away from the cliffs along the top of the image.This mass of falling rock broke into many small pieces as it slid downhill and came to rest at the base of the cliff, forming the lobate (curved) mound in the lower part of the image. The smooth textured ripples that are in the central part of the image are sand dunes. Sand dunes form as wind-blown particles roll across the surface and accumulate. Since the air on Mars is very thin, sand dunes take much longer to form on Mars than they do on Earth. The presence of large sand dunes, along with many small impact craters, on top of this landslide indicates that movement of the slide occurred a very long time ago, perhaps hundreds of millions of years. This landslide was probably caused by a strong earthquake. A nearby meteorite impact may have generated an earthquake that was sufficiently strong to cause this landslide. Alternatively, movement along nearby faults may have triggered the landslide. The Valles Marineris region is cut by many faults and in fact contains many more landslides such as this one. Some scientists believe that these landslides represent a record of earthquake activity in this area. Understanding the history of earthquake activity in the region may help scientists to predict the likelihood that such earthquakes occur on Mars today.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 12 December 2006Local Mars time: 3:42 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -14.2°Degrees longitude (East): 306.7°Range to target site: 266.1 km (166.3 miles)Original image scale range: 26.6 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: 7.0°Phase angle: 53.9°Solar incidence angle: 60°, with the Sun about 30° above the horizonSolar longitude: 157.3°, 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. | |
Part of this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has lingering seasonal frost, which serves to accentuate Mars' noth polar layered deposit comprising a thick stack of icy layers. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionMars' north polar layered deposits comprise a thick stack of icy layers. Part of this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has lingering seasonal frost, which serves to accentuate those layers.An additional rationale for this observation is to document new activity in scarp erosion.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 63.7 centimeters (25.1 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 191 centimeters (75.2 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.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 Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows layers of wall rock, windblown drifts, and landslide deposits can be seen in this view of the wall of Tithonium Chasma in the Valles Marineris trough system. | Layers of wall rock, windblown drifts, and landslide deposits can be seen in this new [sic] view of the wall of Tithonium Chasma in the Valles Marineris trough system. The picture covers an area 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide by about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) long and is illuminated from the lower right. The Mars Orbiter Camera on board the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft acquired this dramatic picture in early April 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 large pits, troughs, and 'swiss cheese' of Mars' south polar residual cap which appear to have been formed in the upper 4 or 5 layers of the polar material. | This image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. The two prominent bright stripes at the left/center of the image are covered with bright frost and thus create the illusion that they are sunlit from the lower left.The large pits, troughs, and "swiss cheese" of the south polar residual cap appear to have been formed in the upper 4 or 5 layers of the polar material. Each layer is approximately 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick. Some Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images of this terrain show examples in which older pitted and eroded layers have been previously buried and are now being exhumed. The example shown here includes two narrow, diagonal slopes that trend from upper left toward lower right at the left/center portion of the frame. Along the bottoms of these slopes are revealed a layer that underlies them in which there are many more pits and troughs than in the upper layer. It is likely in this case that the lower layer formed its pits and troughs before it was covered by the upper layer. This observation suggests that the troughs, pits, and "swiss cheese" features of the south polar cap are very old and form over long time scales.The picture is located near 84.6°S, 45.1°W, and covers an area 3 km by 5 km (1.9 x 3.1 mi) at a resolution of about 3.8 meters (12 ft) per pixel. The image was taken during southern spring on August 29, 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. | |
Crater Rim Path, Sol 1,215 | The route followed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during its exploration partway around the rim of Victoria Crater is marked on this map. The rover first reached the edge of the crater on it's 951st Martian day, or sol (Sept. 26, 2006). This map shows travels through sol 1,215 (June 24, 2007). The underlying image is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows fractures of Nectaris Fossae filled with small bright dunes. The dunes often look like tractor tread marks running along the bottom of the fractures. | Context image for PIA09423Fractures & DunesMany of the fractures of Nectaris Fossae are filled with small bright dunes. At this resolution the dunes often look like tractor tread marks running along the bottom of the fractures.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -27.2N, Longitude 301.6E. 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 view shows the terrain that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is crossing in a flat area called 'Botany Bay' on the way toward 'Solander Point,' which is visible on the horizon. | This view shows the terrain that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is crossing in a flat area called "Botany Bay" on the way toward "Solander Point," which is visible on the horizon.The rover used its rear hazard-identification camera to record this southward view at the end of a southward drive covering about 387 feet (118 meters) during the 3,355th Martian day of Opportunity's work on Mars (July 2, 2013). Rover planners have been driving Opportunity in reverse to mitigate wear on wheel actuators. For scale, the distance between the two rear wheels visible in the foreground is about 3.3 feet (1 meter). The underside of Opportunity's deck appears at the top of the image.The surface Opportunity is driving upon while crossing Botany Bay has a mosaic pavement of fractured, light-toned bedrock. A mixture of darker-toned basaltic soil and small spherules nicknamed "blueberries" fills cracks between the bedrock pieces and thinly covers some of the bedrock. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.For more information about Opportunity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rovers and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. | |
A Year's Worth of Tracks in the Dust | A cable-tie no more than several centimeters (a few inches) long, resembling the wires used to fasten bags around loaves of bread, has left a trail of streaks in a fine layer of dust on the deck of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. It is the light-toned squiggle shape against a dark background slightly below and to the right of the center of this image. The tie has been sliding around in a containment bowl created by the solar array and the base of the Pancam Mast Assembly since landing day on Jan. 3, 2004. A low-resolution image [see PIA07267] from a few hours after landing shows the tie present on the deck. Engineers speculate that the tie may have sprung loose from the bridle that lowered the rover to the surface of Mars or from the rover, lander, backshell, or parachute can. Together, those components used more than 1,000 cable ties, all sterilized like the rover itself to prevent transfer of contaminants from Earth to Mars. Close inspection of the marks in the dust left by the tie reveals that, much like pictographs on a rock wall, older streaks have been covered with dust, while newer streaks are superimposed on the dust that covers the older streaks. Spirit took this picture with its navigation camera on martian day, or sol, 358 (Jan. 3, 2005). | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a mound of layered sedimentary rock that stands higher than the rim of Gale crater on Mars. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-439, 1 August 2003Gale Crater, located in the Aeolis region near 5.5°S, 222°W, contains a mound of layered sedimentary rock that stands higher than the rim of the crater. This giant mound suggests that the entire crater was not only once filled with sediment, it was also buried beneath sediment. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows some of the eroded remains of the sedimentary rock that once filled Gale Crater. The layers form terraces; wind has eroded the material to form the tapered, pointed yardang ridges seen here. The small circular feature in the lower right quarter of the picture is a mesa that was once a small meteor impact crater that was filled, buried, then exhumed from within the sedimentary rock layers exposed here. This image is illuminated from the left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a small volcano located southwest of the giant volcano, Pavonis Mons on Mars. Lava flows emanate from the summit region into an irregularly-shaped collapse pit, or caldera. A blanket of dust mantles this volcano. | 30 August 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a small volcano located southwest of the giant volcano, Pavonis Mons, near 2.5°S, 109.4°W. Lava flows can be seen to have emanated from the summit region, which today is an irregularly-shaped collapse pit, or caldera. A blanket of dust mantles this volcano. Dust covers most martian volcanoes, none of which are young or active today. This picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across; sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 21 June 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the results of a process that is underway in the Memnonia uplands near 12.9°S, 152.7°W, to strip away one layer of material and reveal a formerly-buried landscape from beneath. All of the area shown here was once covered by a material that has been eroded by wind to form the sharp-crested, nearly-parallel ridges that run diagonally from the upper left toward lower right in this image. These ridges are a classic wind erosion form, known as a yardang. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the left/upper left. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows dunes on the margin of Olympia Undae, a large dune field near the north pole. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows dunes on the margin of Olympia Undae, a large dune field near the north pole.Orbit Number: 54716 Latitude: 78.7802 Longitude: 182.831 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-04-15 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. | |
An exotic terrain of wind-eroded ridges and residual smooth surfaces is seen in images acquired October 18, 1997 by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and by the Viking Orbiter 1 twenty years earlier. | An exotic terrain of wind-eroded ridges and residual smooth surfaces are seen in one of the highest resolution images ever taken of Mars from orbit. The Medusae Fossae formation is believed to be formed of the fragmental ejecta of huge explosive volcanic eruptions. When subjected to intense wind-blasting over hundreds of millions of years, this material erodes easily once the uppermost tougher crust is breached. In the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shown on the right, the crust, or cap rock, can be seen in the upper right part of the picture. The finely-spaced ridges are similar to features on Earth called yardangs, which are formed by intense winds plucking individual grains from, and by wind-driven sand blasting particles off, sedimentary deposits.The MOC image was taken on October 30, 1997 at 11:05 AM PST, shortly after the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft's 31st closest approach to Mars. The image covers an area 3.6 X 21.5 km (2.2 X 13.4 miles) at 3.6 m (12 feet) per picture element--craters only 11 m (36 feet, about the size of a swimming pool) across can be seen. The context image (left; the best Viking view of the area; VO 1 387S34) has a resolution of 240 m/pixel, or 67 times lower resolution than the MOC frame.Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) 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 scene from NASA's Opportunity rover shows 'Lunokhod 2 Crater,' which lies south of 'Solander Point' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. Lunokhod 2 Crater is approximately 20 feet (6 meters) in diameter. | This scene from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows "Lunokhod 2 Crater," which lies south of "Solander Point" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. Lunokhod 2 Crater is approximately 20 feet (6 meters) in diameter.Each day's drive by Opportunity sets a new record for longest travel on wheels on a world other than Earth. The previous record holder was the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 rover, which landed on Earth's moon on Jan. 15, 1973.The view was obtained was obtained during Opportunity's 3,644th Martian day (sol) of exploration (April 24, 2014). Part of the rover is visible at bottom, including its rear solar arrays and it panoramic camera, or Pancam, calibration target.The view merges exposures taken through three of the Pancam's color filters, centered on wavelengths of 601 nanometers (orange), 535 nanometers (green) and 482 nanometers (blue).JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about the projects twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, visit http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. | |
In this figure from NASA's Mars Pathfinder, you can see a significant increase in pressure on Sol 81, Sept. 25 1997. This is an indication of a frontal system has moved across the landing sight. | In this figure you can see a significant increase in pressure on Sol 81. This is an indication of a frontal system has moved across the landing sight.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).
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. | |
The numerous valleys in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecra are dissecting part of Aonia Terra. | Context imageThe numerous valleys in this VIS image are dissecting part of Aonia Terra.Orbit Number: 51073 Latitude: -48.9491 Longitude: 294.943 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-06-19 07:41Please 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Euripus Mons, a hill surrounded by debris flow. Euripus Mons is located just east of Hellas Basin, in a region where most of the hills are shedding material and forming debris flows. | Context image for PIA09450Debris FlowThis hill, called Euripus Mons, is surrounded by debris flow. Euripus Mons is located just east of Hellas Basin, in a region where most of the hills are shedding material and forming debris flows.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -44.5N, Longitude 104.6E. 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 part of Terra Sirenum. | 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 Terra Sirenum.Orbit Number: 75250 Latitude: -40.2626 Longitude: 238.511 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-12-01 08:32Please 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 Global Surveyor image shows a plain southeast of Hebrus Valles that is cut by a network of intersecting troughs. Large, windblown -- and perhaps wind-eroded -- ripples occur on the trough floors. | 28 April 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a plain southeast of Hebrus Valles that is cut by a network of intersecting troughs. Large, windblown -- and perhaps wind-eroded -- ripples occur on the trough floors.Location near: 14.9°N, 229.8°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Winter | |
Dune Field in Nili Pateria | The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) took this image of the southeastern edge of a large dune field within Nili Patera, an irregularly shaped volcanic caldera that is about 65 kilometers (40 miles) in diameter. The image was acquired at 1333 UTC (8:33 a.m. EST) on Feb. 1, 2007, near 8.8 degrees north latitude, 67.3 degrees east longitude. CRISM's image was taken in 544 colors covering 0.36-3.92 micrometers, and shows features as small as 20 meters (66 feet) across. The region covered by the image is just over 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide at its narrowest point.The top image was constructed from three visible wavelengths that correspond to what our eyes would see; the colors are stretched to bring out subtle color contrast. The bottom image is a spectral map constructed using three infrared wavelengths that usually highlight compositional variations. Areas with high concentrations of iron- and magnesium-rich igneous minerals appear red.The entire dune field, covering about 500 square kilometers, resides mainly in the southwest quadrant of the caldera, occupying approximately 15% of its floor. Some of the dune forms seen here are "barchans" -- individual, crescent shaped dunes that form when winds come primarily from one direction, resulting in one slipface. The orientation of the slipfaces indicates that primary winds were coming from the east-northeast. Using images from Mars Global Surveyor's narrow-angle camera, researchers measured approximately 400 slipfaces throughout the dune field and calculated an average azimuth of 245 degrees. Some of the barchans have elongated horns, suggesting that they experienced a slight secondary wind, or that the primary wind direction varied a little. When sufficient sand is available, barchans will coalesce, losing their individual crescentic shape. The resulting dune form, referred to as barchanoid, describes the vast majority of dunes in this image. In the lower left portion of the image, where the dune pattern is most regular, the distance from dune crest to dune crest is about 400 meters (437 yards). The relationship shown here, with barchans at the margin of a barchanoid dune field, is common on Mars.CRISM's mission: Find the spectral fingerprints of aqueous and hydrothermal deposits and map the geology, composition and stratigraphy of surface features. The instrument will also watch the seasonal variations in Martian dust and ice aerosols, and water content in surface materials -- leading to new understanding of the climate.The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) is one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Led by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the CRISM team includes expertise from universities, government agencies and small businesses in the United States and abroad. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows seven very dark holes on the north slope of the Martian volcano Arsia Mons which have been proposed as possible cave skylights. | Figure 1Seven very dark holes on the north slope of a Martian volcano have been proposed as possible cave skylights, based on day-night temperature patterns suggesting they are openings to subsurface spaces. These six excerpts of images taken in visible-wavelength light by the Thermal Emission Imaging System camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter show the seven openings. Solar illumination comes from the left in each frame. The volcano is Arsia Mons, at 9 degrees south latitude, 239 degrees east longitude.The features have been given informal names to aid comparative discussion (see figure 1). They range in diameter from about 100 meters (328 feet) to about 225 meters (738 feet). The candidate cave skylights are (A) "Dena," (B) "Chloe," (C) "Wendy," (D) "Annie," (E) "Abby" (left) and "Nikki," and (F) "Jeanne." Arrows signify north and the direction of illumination.Mars Odyssey is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing, Santa Barbara, Calif., and is operated by Arizona State University. | |
This 3-D, microscopic imager mosaic of a target area on a rock called 'Diamond Jenness' was taken after NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity ground into the surface with its rock abrasion tool for a second time. 3D glasses are necessary. | This 3-D, microscopic imager mosaic of a target area on a rock called "Diamond Jenness" was taken after NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity ground into the surface with its rock abrasion tool for a second time.Opportunity has bored nearly a dozen holes into the inner walls of "Endurance Crater." On sols 177 and 178 (July 23 and July 24, 2004), the rover worked double-duty on Diamond Jenness. Surface debris and the bumpy shape of the rock resulted in a shallow and irregular hole, only about 2 millimeters (0.08 inch) deep. The final depth was not enough to remove all the bumps and leave a neat hole with a smooth floor. This extremely shallow depression was then examined by the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer.On Sol 178, Opportunity's "robotic rodent" dined on Diamond Jenness once again, grinding almost an additional 5 millimeters (about 0.2 inch). The rover then applied its Moessbauer spectrometer to the deepened hole. This double dose of Diamond Jenness enabled the science team to examine the rock at varying layers. Results from those grindings are currently being analyzed.The image mosaic is about 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across. | |
This image released on August 23, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows Apollinaris Patera, the remains of a caldera located on the top of an old volcano near Gusev Crater on Mars. Patera is an irregular crater, or a complex one with scalloped edges. | Released August 23, 2004The THEMIS Image of the Day will be exploring the nomenclature of Mars for the next three weeks.Apollinaris PateraPatera: an irregular crater, or a complex one with scalloped edgesApollinaris: The Aquae Apollinares is a hot springs northwest of Rome in Etruria. This hot springs location was known to both the Etruscans and the Romans.Apollonaris Patera is the remains of a caldera located on the top of an old volcano near Gusev Crater. The image above is a mosaic of daytime IR frames.Nomenclature Fact of the Day: On Europa, another moon of Jupiter, linear features are named for Celtic stone rows, while ring features are named for Celtic stone circles.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -9.8, Longitude 174.4 East (185.6 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. | |
This right-eye mosaic was created from images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired May 6, 2004. Continuing its trek toward the 'Columbia Hills,' Spirit broke its record for the longest distance traveled in one Martian day. | This right eye of a stereo pair of views in a cylindrical-perspective projection was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 121 (May 6, 2004). Continuing its trek toward the "Columbia Hills," Spirit drove 96.8 meters (318 feet) -- half of which was performed in auto-navigation mode -- and broke its record for the longest distance traveled in one sol. That drive brought the mission total to 1,669 meters (1.04 miles), flipping the rover's odometer over the one-mile mark.See PIA05883 for 3-D view and PIA05884 for left eye view of this right eye cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Eos Chasma. | 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 Eos Chasma.Orbit Number: 18300 Latitude: -14.9443 Longitude: 312.7 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2006-01-29 02:31Please 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. | |
Shown in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are alluvial fans, fan-shaped deposits emerging from regions of steep topography. Alluvial fans on Mars are thought to be ancient and record past episodes of flowing water. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionShown in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) are alluvial fans, fan-shaped deposits emerging from regions of steep topography. Alluvial fans on Mars are thought to be ancient and record past episodes of flowing water. This image shows part of one of those fans, which has been eroded.The old stream channels now stand above the rest of the fan as ridges, mostly in the southern (bottom) part of the image. This can occur because the channel materials are more resistant to erosion; perhaps they had larger grains (gravel) or because minerals deposited from the water cemented together.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 52.4 centimeters (20.6 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 157 centimeters (61.8 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.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 Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a target dubbed 'Drammensfjorden' on a rock called 'Millstone' in 'Endurance Crater.' Opportunity dug a hole into the target with its rock abrasion tool. | This image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a target dubbed "Drammensfjorden" on a rock called "Millstone" in "Endurance Crater." Opportunity dug a hole into the target with its rock abrasion tool, then captured this picture with its microscopic imager on sol 162 (July 8, 2004). The image mosaic is about 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across. | |
In this stereo image, a rock outcrop with a view of the surrounding landscape beckons NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 203. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | In this stereo image, a rock outcrop with a view of the surrounding landscape beckons NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 203 (July 29, 2004) of its journey of exploration on the red planet. This view is a mosaic of images taken by the rover's navigation camera at a position labeled as Site 80, near the top of the "West Spur" portion of the "Columbia Hills." Directly ahead are rock outcrops that scientists will examine for clues that might indicate the presence of water in the past. In the upper right-hand corner is the so-called "sea of basalt," consisting of lava flows that lapped onto the flanks of the hills. The view is toward the south. The field of view is approximately 170 degrees from right to left and is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometrical seam correction.See PIA06737 for left eye view and PIA06738 for right eye view of this 3-D cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the Kasei Vallis complex on Mars which contains two main channels that run east-west across Tempe Terra and empty into Chryse Planitia. | Kasei Vallis is our topic for the weeks of April 18 and 25. Originating on the margin of Lunae Planum, the Kasei Vallis complex contains two main channels that run east-west across Tempe Terra and empty into Chryse Planitia. During the week of April 18th we will concentrate on the northern branch of Kasei Vallis. The week of April 25 will be devoted to the southern branch.The formation of Kasei Vallis is still being studied and several theories exist. It is thought that volcanic subsurfaceing heating in the Tharsis/Lunae Planum region resulted in a release of water, which carved the channels and produced the landforms seen within the channels. One theory is that this was a one-time catastropic event, another theory speculates that several flooding events occurred over a long time period. Others have proposed that some of the landforms (especially scour marks and teardrop shaped "islands") are the result of glacial flow rather than liquid flow. Teardrop shaped islands are common in terrestrial rivers, where the water is eroding material in the channel. A glacial feature called a drumlin has the exact same shape, but is formed by deposition beneath continental glaciers.This VIS image shows evidence of water flow long after the main channel was formed. The steep walls of the main channel have shed material covering the channel floor. Enough time passed for many craters to form prior to the incision of the final central channel. Note the small craters being erased along the rough margins above and below the small channel. Within the small channel the layers of deposit filling the main channel are visible.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 20.7 Longitude 287.4 East (72.6 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 view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows part of 'Marathon Valley,' a destination on the western rim of Endeavour Crater, as seen from an overlook north of the valley. | This view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows part of "Marathon Valley," a destination on the western rim of Endeavour Crater, as seen from an overlook north of the valley. The scene spans from east, at left, to southeast. It combines four pointings of the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam) on March 13, 2015, during the 3,958th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars. The rover team selected Marathon Valley as a science destination because observations of this location using the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter yielded evidence of clay minerals, a clue to ancient wet environments. By the time Opportunity explores Marathon Valley, the rover will have exceeded a total driving distance equivalent to an Olympic marathon. Opportunity has been exploring the Meridiani Planum region of Mars since January 2004.This version of the image is presented in approximate true color by combining exposures taken through three of the Pancam's color filters at each of the four camera pointings, using filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near-infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet).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. | |
This image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the great diversity of grains found on the surface of a Martian rock. | Annotated ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the great diversity of grains found on the surface of a Martian rock. The rock, called "Gillespie Lake," was imaged by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager on Dec. 19, 2012, the 132nd sol, or Martian day, of operations.The grains highlighted in the annotated version of this image are about 1 to 2 millimeters (0.04 to 0.08 inches) long and the full frame is about 3 to 5 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) across. Some grains look similar to clear crystal in appearance while others are darker and duller in appearance. | |
This image, taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, of dunes in the north polar region was collected in early spring. Frost still covers the dunes. | Context imageThis VIS image of dunes in the north polar region was collected in early spring. Frost still covers the dunes.Orbit Number: 36039 Latitude: 76.6244 Longitude: 91.6311 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-01-28 18:54Please 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 polar projection view shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity along the eastern rim of 'Endurance Crater' before reaching the beginning of the 'Karatepe' area on Mars. | This polar-projection view was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity acquired on sol 103 (May 8, 2004). Opportunity traversed approximately 13 meters (about 43 feet) farther south along the eastern rim of "Endurance Crater" before reaching the beginning of the "Karatepe" area. Scientists believe this layered band of rock may be a good place to begin studying Endurance because it is less steep and more approachable than the rest of the crater's rocky outcrops. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a possible cave skylight, informally called Annie, found on the northern slope of a high martian volcano named Arsia Mons which has a diameter about double the length of a football field. | Figure 1Each of the three images in this set covers the same patch of Martian ground, centered on a possible cave skylight informally called "Annie," which has a diameter about double the length of a football field. The Thermal Emission Imaging System camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter took all three, gathering information that the hole is cooler than surrounding surface in the afternoon and warmer than the surrounding surface at night. This is thermal behavior that would be expected from an opening into an underground space.The left image was taken in visible-wavelength light (figure 1). The other two were taken in thermal infrared wavelengths, indicating the relative temperatures of features in the image. The center image is from mid-afternoon. The hole is warmer than the shadows of nearby pits to the north and south, while cooler than sunlit surfaces. The thermal image at right was taken in the pre-dawn morning, about 4 a.m. local time. At that hour, the hole is warmer than all nearby surfaces.Annie and six other features with similar thermal behavior are on the northern slope of a high Martian volcano named Arsia Mons, which is at 9 degrees south latitude, 239 degrees east longitude.Mars Odyssey is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing, Santa Barbara, Calif., and is operated by Arizona State University. | |
The color coding on this CRISM composite image of an area on Mars is based on infrared spectral information interpreted as evidence of various minerals present. Carbonate, which is indicative of a wet and non-acidic history, occurs in very small patches. | The color coding on this composite image of an area about 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide on Mars is based on infrared spectral information interpreted as evidence of various minerals present. Carbonate, which is indicative of a wet and non-acidic history, occurs in very small patches of exposed rock appearing green in this color representation, such as near the lower right corner.The scene is heavily eroded terrain to the west of a small canyon in the Nili Fossae region of Mars. It was one of the first areas where researchers on the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) science team detected carbonate in Mars rocks. The spectral information comes from infrared imaging by CRISM, one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. That coloring is overlaid on a grayscale image from the same orbiter's Context Camera.The uppermost capping rock unit (purple) is underlain successively by banded olivine-bearing rocks (yellow) and rocks bearing iron-magnesium smectite clay (blue). Where the olivine is a greenish hue, it has been partially altered by interaction with water. The carbonate and olivine occupy the same level in the stratigraphy, and it is thought that the carbonate formed by aqueous alteration of olivine. The channel running from upper left to lower right through the image and eroding into the layers of bedrock testifies to the past presence of water in this region. That some of the channels are closely associated with carbonate (lower right) indicates that waters interacting with the carbonate were neutral to alkaline because acidic waters would have dissolved the carbonate.Information for the color coding came from CRISM images catalogued as FRT0000B438, FRT0000A4FC, and FRT00003E12. This composite was made using 2.38-micrometer-wavelenghth data as red, 1.80 micrometer as green and 1.15 micrometer as blue.The base black-and-white image, acquired at a resolution of 5 meters (16 feet) per pixel, is catalogued as CTX P03_002176_2024_XI_22N283W_070113 by the Context Camera science team.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory led the effort to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, provided and operates the Context Camera. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dozens of layers of similar thickness and physical properties in a wedding cake-like stack in the middle of an old meteor impact crater in northwestern Schiaparelli Basin on Mars. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-403, 26 June 2003Some of the most important high resolution imaging results of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) experiment center on discoveries about the presence and nature of the sedimentary rock record on Mars. This old meteor impact crater in northwestern Schiaparelli Basin exhibits a spectacular view of layered, sedimentary rock. The 2.3 kilometer (1.4 miles) wide crater may have once been completely filled with sediment; the material was later eroded to its present form. Dozens of layers of similar thickness and physical properties are now expressed in a wedding cake-like stack in the middle of the crater. Sunlight illuminating the scene from the left shows that the circle, or mesa top, at the middle of the crater stands higher than the other stair-stepped layers. The uniform physical properties and bedding of these layers might indicate that they were originally deposited in a lake (it is possible that the crater was at the bottom of a much larger lake, filling Schiaparelli Basin); alternatively, the layers were deposited by settling out of the atmosphere in a dry environment. This picture was acquired on June 3, 2003, and is located near 0.9°S, 346.2°W. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 1,687th Martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (Oct. 22, 2008). Opportunity had driven 133 meters (436 feet) that sol, crossing sand ripples up to about 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall. The tracks visible in the foreground are in the east-northeast direction.Opportunity's position on Sol 1687 was about 300 meters southwest of Victoria Crater. The rover was beginning a long trek toward a much larger crater, Endeavour, about 12 kilometers (7 miles) to the southeast.This view is presented as a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows portions of the lobes of several landslide deposits in Ganges Chasma on Mars. Dark material near the bottom of the image is windblown sand. | This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a high resolution view of portions of the lobes of several landslide deposits in Ganges Chasma. Dark material near the bottom (south) end of the image is windblown sand. Location near: 8.2°S, 44.3°W Image width: ~3.0 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Winter | |
This pair of images from NASA's Perseverance shows close-up views of two rock types the rover investigated in the delta area of Mars' Jezero Crater. | This pair of images from NASA's Perseverance shows close-up views of two rock types the rover investigated in the delta area of Mars' Jezero Crater, which scientists consider one of the best places on the Red Planet to search for potential signs of ancient microbial life. The image on the left shows a circular patch Perseverance abraded on a rocky outcrop called "Skinner Ridge," while the image on the right shows an abrasion patch on a rocky outcrop called "Wildcat Ridge." Under each image is the abrasion patch's name the mission team has provided them for identification purposes.Perseverance grinds circular patches into rocks so its science instruments can analyze the rocks' composition. The images were taken by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera on the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) instrument on June 29 and July 21, 2022, the 482nd and 504th Martian days, or sols, of the mission. The camera that took these images, located at the end of Perseverance's robotic arm, was about 3 inches (7 centimeters) away from each rock surface.The Skinner Ridge rock is sandstone and composed of much larger grains than the Wildcat Ridge rock. The rock and mineral fragments at Skinner Ridge – which are the detritus of larger rocks – have a diversity of compositions and were transported by water from possibly hundreds of miles outside of Jezero Crater. The Wildcat Ridge rock is a more finely grained sedimentary rock, a sulfate-bearing mudstone. It has a more homogeneous composition than Skinner Ridge and appears to have formed in saltwater in the distant past, possibly as ancient lake water evaporated.Scientists believe both rocks formed in, and preserve information about, potentially habitable environments in Mars' ancient past. The verification of ancient life on the Red Planet carries an enormous burden of proof.Perseverance collected rock samples beside these abrasion patches (see PIA24927 and PIA24929) and sealed them in ultra-clean sample tubes.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover. WATSON was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) in San Diego and is operated jointly by MSSS and JPL.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/For more about the Mars Sample Return campaign: mars.nasa.gov/msr | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a portion of the northern flank of Ascreaus Mons. Multiple linear depressions cut across the surface lava flows, having formed after the surface in this region. | This VIS image shows a portion of the northern flank of Ascreaus Mons. Multiple linear depressions cut across the surface lava flows, having formed after the surface in this region. The chains of oval depressions typically form when a subsurface void is filled by collapse of the 'roof' above it.Orbit Number: 73141 Latitude: 14.9784 Longitude: 255.874 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-06-10 15:37Please 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 acquired on January 27, 2019 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the inside of Kaiser Crater. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionHiRISE has often imaged inside Kaiser Crater to monitor active sand dunes and gullies. Surrounding these dunes, we often find clean bedrock exposures, because the actively moving sand clears off the dust.Kaiser Crater is 207 kilometers wide and was named after Frederik Kaiser, a Dutch astronomer (1808-1872).The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 50.6 centimeters [19.9 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 152 centimeters [59.8 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. | |
This image shows more of the channel network that comprises Arda Valles on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows more of the channel network that comprises Arda Valles.Orbit Number: 49661 Latitude: -20.3688 Longitude: 327.216 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-02-23 02:50 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. | |
Late last night, in the morning hours of Aug. 6, as NASA's Curiosity rover fell to the surface of Mars, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured an image of the rover gliding on its parachute. | Late last night, in the morning hours of Aug. 6, as NASA's Curiosity rover fell to the surface of Mars, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured an image of the rover gliding on its parachute. The image was taken with the orbiter's High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera.Today, the MRO team located another object in this image -- not present in prior images of the same region -- which is the right size to be the rover's heat shield. The heat shield was ejected from the rover and its back shell before this image was taken. The team thinks the heat shield is still in free flight, because, if it were to have already hit the surface, it would have kicked up a dust cloud. The HiRISE image of NASA's Phoenix lander on its parachute also captured the heat shield in free fall.Other image products from the same observation are, or will be, at http://uahirise.org/releases/msl-descent.php .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 NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small portion of the immense lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small portion of the immense lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the three large aligned volcanoes in the Tharsis region. Arsia Mons' last eruption was 10s of million years ago. The different surface textures are created by differences in the lava viscosity and cooling rates. The lobate margins of each flow can be traced back to the start of each flow — or to the point where they are covered by younger flows. Flows in Daedalia Planum can be as long as 180 km (111 miles). For comparison the longest Hawaiian lava flow is only 51 km (˜31 miles) long. The total area of Daedalia Planum is 2.9 million square km – more than four times the size of Texas.Orbit Number: 91422 Latitude: -13.8077 Longitude: 231.424 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-07-24 23:46Please 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. | |
The hills in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are part of Protonilus Mensae, located on the northern margin of Terra Sabaea. | Context imageThe hills in this VIS image are part of Protonilus Mensae, located on the northern margin of Terra Sabaea.Orbit Number: 54746 Latitude: 45.7125 Longitude: 53.6208 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-04-17 14:35Please 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 wind erosion has created yardang ridges and revealed the location of a formerly-buried meteor crater in in the Apollinaris Sulci region of Mars. | 12 July 2004Wind erosion has created yardang ridges and revealed the location of a formerly-buried meteor crater (see lower left corner) in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image. This scene is located in the Apollinaris Sulci region near 11.4°S, 181.6°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the landforms from the left/upper left. | |
This 360-degree, stereo panorama of a section of the 'Columbia Hills' shows meandering, crisscrossing wheel tracks that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit left behind. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Figure 1Figure 2This 360-degree, stereo panorama of a section of the "Columbia Hills" shows meandering, crisscrossing wheel tracks that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit left behind while using its scientific instruments to analyze a new class of rocks in Gusev Crater on Mars. Because Spirit has been experiencing a high rate of slip on the sandy, sloped terrain on this flank of "Husband Hill," scientists are directing the rover to check its progress often to avoid getting a rock stuck in one of its wheel wells. Rocks in this region are higher in phosphorus than other rocks that Spirit has examined. This view is a mosaic of frames that Spirit took with its navigation camera during the rover's 358th and 359th martian days, or sols, (Jan. 3 and 4, 2005). It is presented here in a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction.Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair. | |
This image shows an engineering model of NASA's InSight lander during a rehearsal for instrument deployment in a Mars-like testbed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. | This is an image taken by an engineering model of NASA's InSight lander during a rehearsal for instrument deployment in a Mars-like testbed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. A flight version of the Instrument Context Camera (ICC) that took this image is expected to take InSight's first image on Mars. The aspect or geometry of the image will look similar to what is seen here. The initial image on Mars will not be as sharp as this one because the dust cover will still be on. Dust is likely to be kicked up during entry, descent and landing.JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/insight. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows that several small mesas and buttes have vanished, holes grew larger, and more cracks and pits appeared as carbon dioxide was removed from Mars' polar cap. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-367, 21 May 2003Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images acquired in 1999 and 2001 suggested that each Mars year, for the past several hundred years (if not thousands), the layered carbon dioxide ice of the south polar residual cap has been disappearing. Scarps formed by sublimation of these icy layers retreat at an average rate of about 3 meters (~3 yards) per Martian year.MOC is now in its third Mars year of detailed exploration of the red planet. Recently, southern spring began, and the south polar cap emerged from winter darkness. The first picture shown here (top) was obtained by MOC less than a week ago (May 2003). The second picture shows the same area of the south polar residual cap, as it appeared 2 Mars years earlier in August 1999. Comparison shows that, between 1999 and 2003, several small mesas and buttes vanished, holes grew larger, and more cracks and pits appeared as carbon dioxide was removed from the polar cap.The image pair is located near 86.8°S, 109.0°W. Sunlight illuminates both from the upper right. One Mars year is about 687 Earth days long. | |
NASA's Mars Odyssey captured this unnamed channel is west of Flammarion Crater in Terra Sabaea on July 23, 2010. | Context imageThis unnamed channel is west of Flammarion Crater in Terra Sabaea.Orbit Number: 38174 Latitude: 28.546 Longitude: 45.0342 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-07-23 14:09Please 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. | |
Lobate Apron in Deuteronilus Mensae | Image PSP_001426_2200 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 15, 2006. The complete image is centered at 39.8 degrees latitude, 23.1 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 297.0 km (185.7 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 29.7 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 59.4 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:22 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 49 degrees, thus the sun was about 41 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.8 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. | |
Narrow Trough in Tartarus Colles | Figure 1Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image shows a narrow trough running down the center of a valley that lies between two hills in the Tartarus Colles region of Mars. Lower resolution images acquired by earlier spacecraft showed that a platy-ridged flow, perhaps of lava, ran through this valley before solidifying. However at HiRISE resolution, the dominant textures on the valley floor are not rafted plates and arcuate ridges but scallops in the dust that blankets the surface and rocky knobs that poke through much of the dust. Several of the knobs are boulders that tumbled downhill in a process known as mass wasting, which has widened the valley over time. The prominent trough in the middle of the valley is about 40 m (130 feet) wide, and it is not entirely continuous. In the upper part of the sub-image (see figure 1), two trough segments terminate in blunt ends that are separated by a natural bridge or wall of material 23 meters (75 feet) wide. Given the broader geologic context, it is likely that this trough formed as a lava tube and that its roof has mostly caved in over time, leaving only a small section standing. Lava tubes form when the top and sides of a "river" of lava freeze while molten rock continues to flow through its interior. After the eruption ceases, molten lava flows out of the tube leaving it empty. Tubes require a steady and sustained flow of lava to form, and they allow the lava to be transported a considerable distance without losing too much heat. HiRISE images like this one are helping to decipher the different types of volcanism that have occurred on Mars.Image PSP_001420_2045 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 15, 2006. The complete image is centered at 24.5 degrees latitude, 188.1 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 288.9 km (180.6 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 28.9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 57.8 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here [below] has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:23 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 48 degrees, thus the sun was about 42 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.6 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 image from the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows details of the coating on a rock called 'Chocolate Hills,' which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called 'Concepción.' | This image from the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows details of the coating on a rock called "Chocolate Hills," which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called "Concepción." The rover took this image during the 2,150th Martian day, or sol, of its mission on Mars (Feb. 9. 2010). This target patch on Chocolate Hills is called "Aloya."The view covers an area about 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across. The color comes from imaging the same area with the panoramic camera and is false color to highlight differences in materials. The coating includes a layer in which peppercorn-size spheres nicknamed "blueberries" are packed densely. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the complex region where Ladon Valles enters a topographic low in Margaritifer Terra. | Context imageThis VIS image shows the complex region where Ladon Valles enters a topographic low in Margaritifer Terra.Orbit Number: 49561 Latitude: -20.9097 Longitude: 330.385 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-02-14 21:19 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. | |
This area at the base of Mount Sharp on Mars includes a pale outcrop, called 'Pahrump Hills,' that NASA's Curiosity Mars rover investigated from September 2014 to March 2015. | This area at the base of Mount Sharp on Mars includes a pale outcrop on the right, "Pahrump Hills," where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover worked for nearly six months, and the "Artist's Drive" route toward higher layers of the mountain.The map covers an area about 300 yards (275 meters) across. North is up. The yellow lines indicate the route driven by Curiosity between Sol 751 (the 751st Martian day of the mission, on Sept. 16, 2014) and Sol 903 (Feb. 19, 2015). The rover stayed at the Sol 903 location for three weeks, during drilling of rock target "Telegraph Peak" and analysis of a short circuit that occurred during transfer of rock powder acquired during that drilling. The mission's investigation of Pahrump Hills included three passes up the outcrop. The first was a "walkabout" scouting pass using the remote-sensing instruments on Curiosity's mast. The second pass used instruments on the arm for more detailed assessments of selected targets. In the final pass, the rover drilled into two rock targets to collect samples for onboard laboratory analysis. Sample powder from Telegraph Peak was delivered to an onboard laboratory on Sol 922 (March 11, 2015), and the rover drove about 33 feet (10 meters) southwestward on Sol 933 (March 12, 2015). The rover team plans to take Curiosity through the Artist's Drive valley to reach higher geological layers of Mount Sharp. The base map uses imagery from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows enigmatic, shallowly incised valleys, found in some mid- to low-latitude regions on Mars. | Enigmatic, shallowly incised valleys are found in some mid- to low-latitude regions on Mars. These valleys are very different in appearance compared to the very old, large, and well-developed valley networks on Mars.The effects of liquid water or ice on a landscape are a distinctive indicator of past climate, and further insight into the age and origin of these shallow valleys may help advance our understanding of the environment in which they formed and potential late-stage habitability of Mars.The shallow valley has been filled with small, transverse aeolian ripples (TARS) oriented perpendicular to the valley walls. 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. |
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