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This map shows the topography of the south polar region of Mars. The elevation of the terrain is shown by colors, with purple and blue representing the lowest areas, and orange and red the highest | Annotated VersionThis map shows the topography of the south polar region of Mars. The data were collected by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter between 1997 and 2001. The elevation of the terrain is shown by colors, with purple and blue representing the lowest areas, and orange and red the highest. The total range of elevation shown is about 5 kilometers (3 miles). The black line shows the boundary of the south polar layered deposits, an ice-rich geologic unit that was probed by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. The radar data indicate that the deposit is more than 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles) thick in places, and that the material consists of nearly pure water ice, with only a small component of dust. The MARSIS team also determined that the total volume of ice in the layered deposits is equivalent to a water layer 11 meters (36 feet) deep, if spread evenly across the planet. The boundary of the layered deposits was mapped by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey. The dark circle in the upper center is the area poleward of 87 degrees south latitude, where MARSIS data cannot be collected. The image covers an area 1,670 by 1,800 kilometers (1,035 by 1,115 miles).MARSIS is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter flew on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. | |
This area was designated 'Region D' in the process of evaluating potential landing sites for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. The topographical information is from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. | Color coding indicates the topography in this map of the region of Mars from 65 to 72 degrees north latitude and from 230 to 250 degrees east longitude. This area was designated "Region D" in the process of evaluating potential landing sites for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. The location chosen for safe landing sites is within the box bordered with a heavy black line along the western boundary of this region.Elevation in the region varies from about 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) to 4,400 meters (14,400 feet) below the zero reference point for Martian surface elevation. The topographical information is from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. 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. | |
The mineralogy of | The mineralogy of "Bounce" rock was determined by fitting spectra from a library of laboratory minerals to spectra of Bounce taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Bounce is made-up of 69 percent pyroxene, 20 percent plagioclase, and 11 percent olivine. The pyroxene minerals are primarily calcium-rich varieties, with smaller amounts of a class of minerals called orthopyroxenes. The composition of Bounce is significantly different from that of typical martian basalts seen over much of the surface from orbit by the Mars Global Surveyor thermal emission spectrometer. The rock's composition is, however, similar to that of meteorites thought to have come from Mars. No detectable hematite was found in Bounce. | |
The ancient sinuous river channel shown in this image by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft was likely carved by water early in Mars history. Auqakuh Valles cuts through a remarkable series of rock layers that were deposited and then subsequently eroded. | (Released 7 June 2002)The ScienceThis ancient sinuous river channel, located near 30° N, 299° W (61° E), was likely carved by water early in Mars history. Auqakuh Valles cuts through a remarkable series of rock layers that were deposited and then subsequently eroded. This change from conditions favoring deposition to those favoring erosion indicates that the environment of this region has changed significantly over time. In addition, the different rock layers seen in this image vary in hardness, with some being relatively soft and easily eroded, whereas others are harder and resistant. These differences imply that these layers vary in their composition, physical properties, and/or degree of cementation, and again suggest that major changes have occurred during the history of this region. Similar differences occur throughout the southwest U.S., where hard rock layers, such as the limestones and sandstones in the Grand Canyon, form resistant cliffs, whereas softer mudstones are easily eroded to form broad slopes. The Martian layers, such as the smooth, dark-toned mesas visible in numerous places to the right (east) of the channel, were once continuous across the region. As these layers have eroded, they have produced a wide array of textures, from smooth surfaces, to knobby terrains, to the unusual lobate patterns seen in the upper right of the image.The most recent activity in the region appears to be the formation of mega-ripples by the wind. These ripples, spaced approximately 75 m apart, form perpendicular to the wind direction, and can be seen following the pattern of the channel floor as it curves through this region. This pattern shows that even this relatively small channel, which varies in width from about 500 to 750 m throughout this image, acts to funnel the wind down the channel.The StoryAuqakuh Vallis, an ancient river channel that winds its way down the center of this image, is the "fossil" remains of an earlier, probably more watery time in Martian history. Now, you might think that Auqakuh has something to do with Aqua, the Latin word for water. Instead, Auqakuh is the word for Mars in the Quechuan language of the Incan Empire that once stretched across vast portions of South America.This Inca-honoring river channel cuts through a remarkable series of rock layers that expose a history of climate change in the region. The coarse, rugged, and wildly textured terrain was created as rock layers were first deposited, then eroded over time. Some of the rock layers are soft and easily eroded, while others are clearly harder and more resistant. From these differences, geologists can tell that the layers are made up of different materials, have different physical characteristics, and are either loosely or strongly cemented together. That suggests major environmental changes over time as well, since different kinds of rocks form under different conditions.Similar differences in rock layers occur throughout the Southwest of the United States. The next time you're visiting the Grand Canyon or hiking in similar terrain, notice where hard rock layers, such as limestones and sandstones, form resistant cliffs, whereas softer mudstones are easily eroded to form broad slopes along the canyon.Just in case the river channel in the above image looks more like a raised vein rather than a hollowed out channel, try looking at the half-circle depression on the left-hand side of the image, about a third of the way up. The bright features on the upper half streak down toward the bottom of the bowl. Once you focus on this for a while, your brain figures out that the channel must be depressed as well.Now that you can see that the channel cuts into the surface, click on the image for a closer look at the bottom of the channel. Mega-ripples about 82 yards apart line the channel floor as it curves through the region. This pattern shows that even this relatively small channel, which varies from about one-third to a half of a mile in width, funnels the wind down its curving length, creating perpendicular piles of waving texture on the channel's floor.East of the channel, smooth, dark-toned mesas are visible, providing a scant reminder that they were once continuous across the region. As these layers have eroded, they've produced a wide array of textures, from smooth surfaces, to knobby terrains, to the unusual curved, lobe-like patterns seen in the upper right of the image. | |
This mosaic of images from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows surroundings of the rover's location following an 122.2-meter (401-foot) drive on Oct. 25, 2010. 3D glasses are necessary. | Left-eye view of a color stereo pairRight-eye view of a color stereo pairThis stereo mosaic of images from the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a 90-degree view centered toward the east following a 122.2-meter (401-foot) drive east-northeastward during the 2,401st Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's mission on Mars (Oct. 25, 2010). The view appears three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left.The camera took the component images for this mosaic on Sol 2401 after the drive. The terrain includes light-toned bedrock and darker ripples of wind-blown sand. On the following sol, Opportunity drove an additional 93.6 meters (307 feet) toward its long-term destination: the rim of Endeavour Crater. Portions of the rim, still more than 8 kilometers (5 miles) away, are visible in the horizon of this scene. This view is presented as a cylindrical projection. This panorama combines right-eye and left-eye views presented as cylindrical-perspective projections. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Acheron Fossae. | Context imageThis VIS shows part of Acheron Fossae. Acheron Fossae is the highly fractured, faulted and deformed terrain located 1,050 kilometers (650 miles) north of the large shield volcano Olympus Mons. Lava flows from Olympus Mons at the base of Acheron Fossae show that the fossae predate the flows. The scarps visible in this image are approximately one kilometer (3,300 feet) high.Orbit Number: 79929 Latitude: 37.9951 Longitude: 227.289 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-12-21 16:21Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit taken on Oct 10, 2005 observes the martian moons Phobos and Deimos during a lunar eclipse. Phobos appeared like a crescent, almost completely shrouded in darkness. | 'Mars-shine' CompositeNASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit continues to take advantage of favorable solar power conditions to conduct occasional nighttime astronomical observations from the summit region of "Husband Hill."Spirit has been observing the martian moons Phobos and Deimos to learn more about their orbits and surface properties. This has included observing eclipses. On Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's orbit takes it exactly between the Sun and Earth, casting parts of Earth into shadow. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is exactly between the Sun and the Moon, casting the Moon into shadow and often giving it a ghostly orange-reddish color. This color is created by sunlight reflected through Earth's atmosphere into the shadowed region. The primary difference between terrestrial and martian eclipses is that Mars' moons are too small to completely block the Sun from view during solar eclipses.Recently, Spirit observed a "lunar" eclipse on Mars. Phobos, the larger of the two martian moons, was photographed while slipping into the shadow of Mars. Jim Bell, the astronomer in charge of the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam), suggested calling it a "Phobal" eclipse rather than a lunar eclipse as a way of identifying which of the dozens of moons in our solar system was being cast into shadow.With the help of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's navigation team, the Pancam team planned instructions to Spirit for acquiring the views shown here of Phobos as it entered into a lunar eclipse on the evening of the rover's 639th martian day, or sol (Oct. 20, 2005) on Mars. This image is a time-lapse composite of eight Pancam images of Phobos moving across the martian sky. The entire eclipse lasted more than 26 minutes, but Spirit was able to observe only in the first 15 minutes. During the time closest to the shadow crossing, Spirit's cameras were programmed to take images every 10 seconds.In the first three images, Phobos was in sunlight, moving toward the upper right. After a 100-second delay while Spirit's computer processed the first three images, the rover then took the fourth image, showing Phobos just starting to enter the darkness of the martian shadow. At that point, an observer sitting on Phobos and looking back toward the Sun would have seen a spectacular sunset! In the fifth image, Phobos appeared like a crescent, almost completely shrouded in darkness.In the last three images, Phobos had slipped entirely into the shadow of Mars. However, as with our own Moon during lunar eclipses on Earth, it was not entirely dark. The small amount of light still visible from Phobos is a kind of "Mars-shine" -- sunlight reflected through Mars' atmosphere and into the shadowed region.Rover scientists took some images later in the sequence to try to figure out if this "Mars-shine" made Phobos colorful while in eclipse, but they'll need more time to complete the analysis because the signal levels are so low. Meanwhile, they will use the information on the timing of the eclipse to refine the orbital path of Phobos. The precise position of Phobos will be important to any future spacecraft taking detailed pictures of the moon or landing on its surface. In the near future it might be possible for one of the rovers to take images of a "Deimal" eclipse to learn more about Mars' other enigmatic satellite, Deimos, as well. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a region, south of Eos Chasma, where the mesas have eroded down into small hills, as well as large, steep sided mesas. | Context imageChaos terrain is typified by regions of blocky, often steep sided, mesas interspersed with deep valleys. With time and erosion the valleys widen and the mesas become smaller. In this region south of Eos Chasma there are regions where the mesas have eroded down into small hills (top of the image), as well as large, steep sided mesas (center to bottom of the image).Orbit Number: 82921 Latitude: -16.8648 Longitude: 318.197 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-08-24 00:40Please 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 topography map of the Tharsis province and the Hellas impact basin. | Map of Mars' topography with zonal spherical harmonic degree 1 (COM/COF offset along the polar z-axis) removed. The projection is rectangular to show topography from pole to pole. Note the general similarity in elevation between the northern and southern hemispheres. The figure highlights the two other significant components of martian topography: the Tharsis province and the Hellas impact basin. Here we have not removed shorter-wavelength topographic features, including those comprising the dichotomy boundary scarp. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a dust-covered landscape in northern Tharsis, including several troughs formed by faults as the crust in the region expanded, long ago. | 25 June 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a dust-covered landscape in northern Tharsis, including several troughs formed by faults as the crust in the region expanded, long ago.Location near: 25.8°N, 98.2°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season Northern Autumn | |
This view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit taken on Oct 7, 2005 looked back at the long and winding trail of twin wheel tracks the rover created to get to the top of 'Husband Hill' perched on a lofty, rock-strewn incline. | Before moving on to explore more of Mars, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit looked back at the long and winding trail of twin wheel tracks the rover created to get to the top of "Husband Hill." Spirit spent several days in October 2005 at this location, perched on a lofty, rock-strewn incline next to a precarious outcrop nicknamed "Hillary." Researchers helped the rover make several wheel adjustments to get solid footing before conducting scientific analysis of the rock outcrop. The rock turned out to be similar in appearance and composition to a rock target called "Jibsheet" PIA07979 that the rover had studied several months earlier and hundreds of meters away.To the west are the slopes of the "Columbia Hills," so named for the astronauts of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Beyond the hills are the flat plains and rim of Gusev Crater.Spirit took this 360-degree panorama of images with its navigation camera on the 627th Martian day, or sol, (Oct. 7, 2005) of its exploration of Gusev Crater on Mars. This view is presented in a vertical projection with geometric seam correction. | |
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 Eridania Planitia. | 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 images shows part of Eridania Planitia.Orbit Number: 58832 Latitude: -35.6929 Longitude: 128.662 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-03-19 22:29Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This right image of a stereo image pair of the rock 'Chimp' was taken by NASA's Sojourner rover's front cameras on Sol 72 (September 15). Fine-scale texture on 'Chimp' and other rocks is clearly visible. Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | This right image of a stereo image pair of the rock "Chimp" was taken by the Sojourner rover's front cameras on Sol 72 (September 15). Fine-scale texture on "Chimp" and other rocks is clearly visible. Wind tails, oriented from lower right to upper left, are seen next to small pebbles in the foreground. These were most likely produced by wind action.This image and PIA01574 (left eye) make up a stereo pair.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 an operating 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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a small portion of the lava flows that comprise Daedalia Planum. The flows originated at Arsia Mons, the youngest of the three Tharsis volcanoes. | Context image Today's VIS image shows a small portion of the lava flows that comprise Daedalia Planum. The flows originated at Arsia Mons, the youngest of the three Tharsis volcanoes. The Tharsis volcanoes are aligned in a northeast trending system. The majority of the Daedalia Planum flows can be traced back to the southern flank of Arsia Mons along the extension of the controlling alignment.Orbit Number: 71932 Latitude: -24.5979 Longitude: 235.782 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-03-03 01:09Please 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. | |
Lozenge-shaped crystals are evident in this magnified view of a Martian rock target called 'Mojave,' taken on Nov. 15, 2014, by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. These features record concentration of dissolved salts, possibly in a drying lake. | Lozenge-shaped crystals are evident in this magnified view of a Martian rock target called "Mojave," taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) instrument on the arm of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. These features record concentration of dissolved salts and precipitation of the salts as minerals with distinctive crystal shapes. This likely resulted from the evaporation of lake or river water during a dry period following a wet period.The view is a mosaic of four focus-merge products created aboard Curiosity from 40 images acquired at four camera positions by MAHLI on the 809th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Nov. 15, 2014). The mosaic covers an area approximately 2 inches (5 centimeters) across that had been brushed by Curiosity's dust removal tool to remove a coating of dust. The exposures were acquired at night with MAHLI's white-light LEDs (light-emitting diodes) illuminating the scene.The penny inset at lower left is shown to scale. The scale bar at lower right indicates 5 millimeters (about 0.2 inch).The Mojave target is in the "Pink Cliffs" area of the "Pahrump Hills" outcrop in the Murray formation at the base of Mount Sharp. The location of Pink Cliffs within the outcrop is indicated in an earlier view at PIA19039. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates MAHLI.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This scene captured by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the 'Spirit Point' area of the rim, including a small crater, 'Odyssey' on the rim, and the interior of Endeavour beyond. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour crater on Aug. 9, 2011, after a trek of more than 13 miles (21 kilometers) lasting nearly three years since departing the rover's previous major destination, Victoria crater, in August 2008.After arrival, Opportunity used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to record the images combined into this mosaic view. The view scene shows the "Spirit Point" area of the rim, including a small crater, "Odyssey" on the rim, and the interior of Endeavour beyond. | |
This anaglyph, acquired by NASA's Phoenix Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on June 19, 2008, shows a view of the Martian surface near the lander. The trench shown here is informally called 'Snow White 1.' 3D glasses are necessary. | This anaglyph, acquired by NASA's Phoenix Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 22, the 22nd Martian day of the mission (June 16, 2008), shows a stereoscopic 3D view of the Martian surface near the lander. The trench shown here is informally called "Snow White." The hole to the left of the trench, seen in the upper left of the image, is informally called "Burned Alive."The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the northern cliff face of Melas Chasma and the large landslide deposits at the base of the cliff face. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of the northern cliff face of Melas Chasma and the large landslide deposits at the base of the cliff face. The landslide deposits are called Ophir Labes. The descriptor term labes means landslide.Orbit Number: 74275 Latitude: -9.66666 Longitude: 290.547 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-09-12 01:22Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows an unnamed channel located in northern Terra Sabaea. | Context imageThis VIS image shows an unnamed channel located in northern Terra Sabaea. Many channels dissect this complex region between the higher elevations of Terra Sabaea and the lowlands of the northern plains.Orbit Number: 79773 Latitude: 40.1128 Longitude: 47.4749 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-12-08 20:04Please 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. | |
On its 256th orbit of Mars, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft successfully observed the vicinity of Pathfinder's landing site. | On its 256th orbit of Mars, the camera on-board the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft successfully observed the vicinity of the Pathfinder landing site. The images shown above include a Viking image at roughly 30 m (100 feet) scale, and a portion of the MOC image reproduced at a scale of 6.6 m (21.5 feet) per pixel.The resolution of the MOC image that covered the Pathfinder landing site (MOC 25603) was about 3.3 m or 11 feet per pixel. The Pathfinder lander and airbags form a roughly equilateral triangle 5 m on a side. Noting that the camera has not yet been focussed (it needs to be in the stable temperature conditions of the low altitude, circular mapping orbit in order to achieve best focus) and the hazy atmospheric conditions, the effective scale of the image is probably closer to 5 m (16.4 feet). Thus, the scale of the image was insufficient to resolve the lander (more than one pixel is needed to resolve a feature). In addition, the relatively high sun angle of the image (the sun was 40° above the horizon) reduced the length of shadows (for example, only a few boulders are seen), also decreasing the ability to discriminate small features. Work continues to locate intermediate-scale features in the lander and orbiter images in the hope of identifying the precise landing site based on these comparisons.Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the eastern portion of the Hellas basin on Mars. It has gullies and arcuate ridges on its north, pole-facing interior wall. | Click on the imagefor larger versionThe lower portion of this image from the Thermal Emission Imaging System camera (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter shows a crater about 16 kilometers (10 miles) in diameter with features studied as evidence of deposition or erosion. The crater is centered at 40.32 degrees south latitude and 132.5 degrees east longitude, in the eastern portion of the Hellas basin on Mars. It has gullies and arcuate ridges on its north, pole-facing interior wall. This crater is in the center of a larger (60-kilometer or 37-mile diameter) crater with lobate flows on its north, interior wall. The image, number V07798008 in the THEMIS catalog, covers a swath of ground 17.4 kilometers (10.8 miles) wide.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science. THEMIS was developed by Arizona State University 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 rover Curiosity shows a small bright object on the ground beside the rover at the 'Rocknest' site. The rover team has assessed this object as debris from the spacecraft, possibly from the events of landing on Mars. | This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a small bright object on the ground beside the rover at the "Rocknest" site. The object is just below the center of this image. It is about half an inch (1.3 centimeters) long. The rover team has assessed this object as debris from the spacecraft, possibly from the events of landing on Mars. The image was taken during the mission's 65th Martian day, or sol (Oct. 11, 2012).JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This telescopic view from orbit around Mars catches a Martian dust devil in action in the planet's southern hemisphere. The swirling vortex of dust can be seen near the center of the image. | This telescopic view from orbit around Mars catches a Martian dust devil in action in the planet's southern hemisphere. The swirling vortex of dust can be seen near the center of the image. The shadow cast by this column of dust can be seen in the upper left while the dark track left by the passage of the dust devil is evident in the lower right.This is a cutout from an image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on June 15, 2009. The scene is at 68.6 degrees south latitude, 11.4 degrees east longitude. Dust devils on Mars form the same way that they do on Earth. The ground heats up during the daytime, warming the air immediately above the surface. This hot layer of air rises and the cooler air above falls, creating vertical convection cells. A horizontal gust of wind causes the convection cells to rotate, resulting in a dust devil. As the dust devil moves across the surface of Mars it can pick up and disturb loose dust, leaving behind a track. Full-frame images from this HiRISE observation, catalogued as ESP_013545_1110, are at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_013545_1110. The image was taken at 3:07 p.m. local Mars time, with the sun 37 degrees above the horizon. The season was summer in the southern hemisphere of Mars. 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 & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove about 70 feet (about 21 meters) on the mission's 21st Martian day, or sol (Aug. 30, 2012) and then took images with its Navigation Camera that are combined into this scene, which inclues the fresh tracks. | NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove about 70 feet (about 21 meters) on the mission's 21st Martian day, or sol (Aug. 30, 2012) and then took images with its Navigation Camera that are combined into this scene, which includes the fresh tracks. This full-circle view is centered toward the south, with north at both ends.JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
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 south polar cap. | Context image The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the south polar cap.Orbit Number: 57444 Latitude: -85.7941 Longitude: 73.3166 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-11-25 15:57Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the intersection of channels formed by collapse on the northeastern flank of Ascraeus Mons on Mars. | 10 March 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the intersection of channels formed by collapse on the northeastern flank of Ascraeus Mons.Location near: 14.2°N, 100.7°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Summer | |
We now begin a traverse across Mt. Sharp moving from east to west. The layering of the material that comprises Mt. Sharp is visible in the bottom third of this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft; showing the weathering that has affected Mt. Sharp. | Context imageDuring the month of April Mars will be in conjunction relative to the Earth. This means the Sun is in the line-of-sight between Earth and Mars, and communication between the two planets is almost impossible. For conjunction, the rovers and orbiting spacecraft at Mars continue to operate, but do not send the data to Earth. This recorded data will be sent to Earth when Mars moves away from the sun and the line-of-sight between Earth and Mars is reestablished. During conjunction the THEMIS image of the day will be a visual tour of Gale Crater, the location of the newest rover Curiosity.We now begin a traverse across Mt. Sharp moving from east to west. The layering of the material that comprises Mt. Sharp is visible in the bottom third of this image. This image also shows the weathering that has affected Mt. Sharp.Orbit Number: 33941 Latitude: -5.32425 Longitude: 138.404 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2009-08-08 23:45Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows its rock abrasion tool after it had ground off the surface of a patch 1.8 inches in diameter on a rock called Adirondack; history's first grinding of a rock on Mars. | The round, shallow depression in this image resulted from history's first grinding of a rock on Mars. The rock abrasion tool on NASA's Spirit rover ground off the surface of a patch 45.5 millimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter on a rock called Adirondack during Spirit's 34th sol on Mars, Feb. 6, 2004. The hole is 2.65 millimeters (0.1 inch) deep, exposing fresh interior material of the rock for close inspection with the rover's microscopic imager and two spectrometers on the robotic arm. This image was taken by Spirit's panoramic camera, providing a quick visual check of the success of the grinding. The rock abrasion tools on both Mars Exploration Rovers were supplied by Honeybee Robotics, New York, N.Y. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows steep slopes of light-toned rock and dark windblown sand in eastern Candor Chasma, part of the vast Valles Marineris trough system on Mars. | 29 October 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows steep slopes of light-toned rock and dark windblown sand in eastern Candor Chasma, part of the vast Valles Marineris trough system. The rock is probably sedimentary. In a few places, rock has broken down and slid downslope to create a narrow chute and a pile of talus where the slope meets the adjacent dark, dune-covered plain. This image is located near 7.8°S, 64.9°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the extensive and complex valley system of Ganicus Valles. These are lava channels related to the Elysium Volcanic complex to the east. | Context image for PIA11322Granicus VallesThis image shows the extensive and complex valley system of Ganicus Valles. These are lava channels related to the Elysium Volcanic complex to the east of this image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 27.1N, Longitude 135.9E. 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. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows a cleaned off portion of the rock dubbed Adirondack. In preparation for grinding into the rock, Spirit wiped off a fine coat of dust with a stainless steel brush located on its rock abrasion tool. | This microscopic image shows a cleaned off portion of the rock dubbed Adirondack. In preparation for grinding into the rock, Spirit wiped off a fine coat of dust with a stainless steel brush located on its rock abrasion tool. Some of this dust coating can be seen to the left of the image. Scientists plan to analyze the newly-exposed patch of rock with the rover's suite of science instruments, both before and after the top layer is removed. The image was taken by the rover's microscopic imager. The observed area is 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across. | |
This landslide occurred in Coprates Chasma on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA03582LandslideThis landslide occurred in Coprates Chasma.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 12.6S, Longitude 296.9E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image, taken Jan. 26, 2012, shows NASA's no-longer-active Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft after its second Martian arctic winter. | This image, taken Jan. 26, 2012, shows NASA's no-longer-active Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft after its second Martian arctic winter. The lander has the same appearance as it did after its first winter, as seen in an image from May 2010, at PIA13158.Both views are from monitoring frost patterns at the Phoenix landing site in far-northern Mars, using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.In August 2008, Phoenix completed its three-month mission studying Martian ice, soil and atmosphere. The lander worked for two additional months before reduced sunlight caused energy to become insufficient to keep the lander functioning. The solar-powered robot was not designed to survive through the dark and cold conditions of a Martian arctic winter. The lander is at the center of this image, which is one product from HiRISE observation ESP_025786_2485. Other products from the same observation can be found at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_025786_2485. A view of the Phoenix Lander taken by the lander's own Surface Stereo Imager is at PIA13804.HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument 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.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. | |
The style of erosion along the highlands-lowlands boundary of southern Elysium Planitia has produced a strange pattern of troughs that look like the skin of a reptile, as seen in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | The style of erosion along the highlands-lowlands boundary of southern Elysium Planitia has produced a strange pattern of troughs that look like the skin of a reptile. In reality, a very clear process of landscape degradation is evident in this image. Some process has produced polygon-shaped troughs that create zones of weakness in the uppermost crust. It is likely that wind-blown particles deepen and widen the troughs, producing isolated knobs and mesas. Ultimately, the erosional reworking of the landscape is so complete that all signs of the upper layer are removed, leaving the smooth lowland surface to the north.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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the sand sheet and dunes on the floor of Rabe Crater. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the sand sheet and dunes on the floor of Rabe Crater.Orbit Number: 52231 Latitude: -43.6577 Longitude: 34.2642 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-09-22 14:29Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover took this image of regolith – broken rock and dust – on Dec. 2, 2022. This regolith will be considered for deposit on the Martian surface as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. | This image of Martian regolith – broken rock and dust – was captured Dec. 2, 2022, by the Sampling and Caching System Camera (known as CacheCam) on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. The regolith, contained inside a metal tube, is one of two samples that will be considered for deposit on the Martian surface this month as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign.The sample was collected in Mars' Jezero Crater from a pile of wind-blown sand and dust called a "mega-ripple" – a feature similar to but smaller than a dune.Studying regolith with powerful lab equipment back on Earth will allow scientists to better understand the processes that have shaped the surface of Mars and help engineers design future missions as well as equipment used by future Martian astronauts.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.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.For more about Perseverance:mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
This cylindrical-projection mosaic was created by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 93 (April 7, 2004). It reveals the martian view from Spirit's position during the four-sol flight software update that began on sol 94. | This left eye cylindrical-perspective mosaic was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 93 (April 7, 2004). It reveals the martian view from Spirit's position during the four-sol flight software update that began on sol 94.See PIA05765 for 3-D view and PIA05767 for right eye view of this left eye cylindrical-perspective mosaic. | |
This 360-degree panorama from the Navigation Camera (Navcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the surroundings of a site on lower Mount Sharp where the rover spent its 1,000th Martian day, or sol, on Mars. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionThis 360-degree panorama from the Navigation Camera (Navcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the surroundings of a site on lower Mount Sharp where the rover spent its 1,000th Martian day, or sol, on Mars. Sol 1,000 of Curiosity's Mars-surface mission corresponded to May 30, 2015. The component images for this scene were taken on Sol 997 (May 27, 2015). The site is a valley just below "Marias Pass" on lower Mount Sharp. A map of the area is at http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/images/Curiosity_Location_Sol997-full.jpg. The center of the scene is toward the south, with north at both ends. This panorama uses images from Navcam's left-eye camera. Figure 1 is the same scene from Navcam's right eye. A stereo version combining the left-eye and right-eye views is at PIA19678. Tracks from the rover's drive to this site are visible at right. The rover team chose this location near Marias Pass because images from orbit showed what appeared to be a contact between two types of bedrock. The two types are evident in this panorama. The bedrock close to the rover is pale mudstone similar to what Curiosity examined in 2014 and early 2015 at "Pahrump Hills." The darker, finely bedded bedrock above it is sandstone that the rover team calls the "Stimson" unit. The largest-looking slab of Stimson sandstone in the image, in the lower left quadrant, is a target called "Ronan," selected for close-up inspection.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Curiosity project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL built the rover and Navcam. More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows an early autumn dust storm sweeping east-northeast across the northern plains of Acidalia Planitia on Mars. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-374, 28 May 2003Northern Acidalia Planitia was engulfed in a continent-sized dust storm in mid-May 2003. This composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images shows the early autumn dust storm (top 1/4 of the picture) sweeping east-northeast (toward upper right) across the northern plains. Dust storms like these are common in early autumn and generally last about a day or two.This simple cylindrical view of Mars covers regions from eastern Kasei Valles/northeast Tempe Terra (in the upper left), to central Arabia Terra (center right), Argyre Basin (lower left), Noachis Terra (lower right), and the northern edge of the retreating south polar seasonal frost cap (bottom). Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. | |
This false-color image shows paper-thin layers of light-toned, jagged-edged rocks; a light gray rock with smooth, rounded edges atop and drifts; and several dark gray to black, angular rocks with vesicles typical of hardened lava scattered across the sand | At least three different kinds of rocks await scientific analysis at the place where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit will likely spend several months of Martian winter. They are visible in this picture, which the panoramic camera on Spirit acquired during the rover's 809th sol, or Martian day, of exploring Mars (April 12, 2006). Paper-thin layers of light-toned, jagged-edged rocks protrude horizontally from beneath small sand drifts; a light gray rock with smooth, rounded edges sits atop the sand drifts; and several dark gray to black, angular rocks with vesicles (small holes) typical of hardened lava lie scattered across the sand.This view is a false-color rendering that combines images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. | |
NASA's Sojourner was still latched to one of the lander's petals, waiting for the command sequence that would execute its descent off of the lander's petal. 3-D glasses are necessary to identify surface detail. | Mars Pathfinder's forward rover ramp can be seen successfully unfurled in this image, taken in stereo by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. 3D glasses are necessary to identify surface detail. This ramp was not used for the deployment of the microrover Sojourner, which occurred at the end of Sol 2. When this image was taken, Sojourner was still latched to one of the lander's petals, waiting for the command sequence that would execute its descent off of the lander's petal.The image helped Pathfinder scientists determine whether to deploy the rover using the forward or backward ramps and the nature of the first rover traverse. The metallic object at the lower left of the image is the lander's low-gain antenna. The square at the end of the ramp is one of the spacecraft's magnetic targets. Dust that accumulates on the magnetic targets will later be examined by Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer instrument for chemical analysis.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 an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.Click below to see the left and right views individually.LeftRight
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 Oct. 25, 2016, image shows the area where the European Space Agency's Schiaparelli test lander reached the surface of Mars. This image was taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionThis Oct. 25, 2016, image shows the area where the European Space Agency's Schiaparelli test lander reached the surface of Mars, with magnified insets of three sites where components of the spacecraft hit the ground. It is the first view of the site from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter taken after the Oct. 19, 2016, landing event. The Schiaparelli test lander was one component of ESA's ExoMars 2016 project, which placed the Trace Gas Orbiter into orbit around Mars on the same arrival date. This HiRISE observation adds information to what was learned from observation of the same area on Oct. 20 by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Context Camera (CTX). Of these two cameras, CTX covers more area and HiRISE shows more detail. A portion of the HiRISE field of view also provides color information. The impact scene was not within that portion for the Oct. 25 observation, but an observation with different pointing to add color and stereo information is planned.This Oct. 25 observation shows three locations where hardware reached the ground, all within about 0.9 mile (1.5 kilometer) of each other, as expected. The annotated version includes insets with six-fold enlargement of each of those three areas. Brightness is adjusted separately for each inset to best show the details of that part of the scene. North is about 7 degrees counterclockwise from straight up. The scale bars are in meters.At lower left is the parachute, adjacent to the back shell, which was its attachment point on the spacecraft. The parachute is much brighter than the Martian surface in this region. The smaller circular feature just south of the bright parachute is about the same size and shape as the back shell, (diameter of 7.9 feet or 2.4 meters).At upper right are several bright features surrounded by dark radial impact patterns, located about where the heat shield was expected to impact. The bright spots may be part of the heat shield, such as insulation material, or gleaming reflections of the afternoon sunlight. According to the ExoMars project, which received data from the spacecraft during its descent through the atmosphere, the heat shield separated as planned, the parachute deployed as planned but was released (with back shell) prematurely, and the lander hit the ground at a velocity of more than 180 miles per hour (more than 300 kilometers per hour).At mid-upper left are markings left by the lander's impact. The dark, approximately circular feature is about 7.9 feet (2.4 meters) in diameter, about the size of a shallow crater expected from impact into dry soil of an object with the lander's mass -- about 660 pounds (300 kilograms) -- and calculated velocity. The resulting crater is estimated to be about a foot and a half (half a meter) deep. This first HiRISE observation does not show topography indicating the presence of a crater. Stereo information from combining this observation with a future one may provide a way to check. Surrounding the dark spot are dark radial patterns expected from an impact event. The dark curving line to the northeast of the dark spot is unusual for a typical impact event and not yet explained. Surrounding the dark spot are several relatively bright pixels or clusters of pixels. They could be image noise or real features, perhaps fragments of the lander. A later image is expected to confirm whether these spots are image noise or actual surface features. Figure 1 is an unannotated version of the full scene, which covers an area about 0.9 mile (1.5 kilometers) wide. It is a portion of HiRISE observation ESP_048041_1780.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 Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image was taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during the rover's grinding of the rock dubbed 'Mazatzal' with its rock abrasion tool. The picture shows the untouched rock, which is covered in a light-toned coating and red dust particles. | This image was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera during the rover's grinding of the rock dubbed "Mazatzal" with its rock abrasion tool. The picture shows the untouched rock on sol 78, which is covered in a light-toned coating and red dust particles. This approximate true-color image was created using the panoramic camera's red, green and blue filters. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a tributary channel that empties into the main Ares Vallis channel. | Context imageThis false color image shows a tributary channel that empties into the main Ares Vallis channel. This tributary channel is located east of Ares Vallis. Located in Margaritifer Terra, Ares Vallis is part of a large system of channels that arise from Vallis Marineris and empty into Chryse Planitia.The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image.Orbit Number: 63809 Latitude: 4.17241 Longitude: 343.459 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-05-02 20:09Please 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. | |
This is the first image taken by the Robotic Arm Camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, one day after landing. The scoop is in the stowed position, awaiting deployment of the robotic arm. | This is the first image taken by the Robotic Arm Camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, one day after landing. In the center of the image is the robotic scoop the lander will use to dig into the surface, collect samples and touch water ice on Mars for the first time. The scoop is in the stowed position, awaiting deployment of the robotic arm. 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. | |
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this color image on March 9, 2011, of 'Santa Maria' crater, showing NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity perched on the southeast rim. The rover is the bluish speck on the crater rim (arrow). | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionThe High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this color image on March 9, 2011, of "Santa Maria" crater, showing NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity perched on the southeast rim.The rover is the bluish speck at about the four o'clock position on the crater rim (with indicator arrow on Figure 1). North is up. Rover tracks are visible to the west of the crater. Opportunity has been studying this relatively fresh, 90-meter-diameter (295-foot-diemeter) crater to better understand how crater excavation occurred during the impact and how it has been modified by weathering and erosion since. Note the bright blocks and rays of ejecta surrounding the crater. Spectral information from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), which is also on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, indicates a hydrated sulfate at this location. Opportunity will soon resume a long-term trek toward a much larger crater, Endeavour. Santa Maria is about 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) from the rim of Endeavour crater, where CRISM indicates both hydrated sulfates as well as phyllosilicates that formed in a wetter past.This view is one product from the HiRISE observation catalogued as ESP_021536_1780. Comparisons with earlier HiRISE images of Santa Maria crater (PIA13706 and PIA13754) show the site before and shortly after the rover's arrival. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument 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 and Mars Exploration Rover projects for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is NASA's industry partner for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project and built that spacecraft. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity shows the rover's view of Meridiani Planum as it headed to Endurance Crater on Mars. | This cylindrical-perspective projection was constructed from a sequence of three images taken by the left navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The images were acquired on sol 94 (April 29, 2004) of Opportunity's mission to Meridiani Planum. The camera acquired the images at approximately 12:40 local solar time, or around 9:15 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The images were taken from the rover's new location about 20 meters (65 feet) away from the rim of Opportunity's next target, "Endurance Crater."See PIA05853 for 3-D view and PIA05855 for right eye view of this left eye cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a small meteor crater on the surface of Mars. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-502, 3 October 2003This May 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image provides a high resolution view (1.5 meters--5 feet--per pixel) of a small meteor crater near 28.0°N, 182.8°W. This crater is about 300 m (~980 feet) across, just under one-third the size of the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona, U.S.A. Boulders ejected by the impact dot the scene. Sunlight illuminates the crater from the lower left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face of Mars in mid-February 2005. | This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 160° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 160° occurred in mid-February 2005. The picture shows the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°--the start of northern spring and southern summer. Season: Northern Summer/Southern Winter | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this microscopic image of the drift dubbed 'Serpent' on Mars after successfully digging into the side of the drift. The drift is dominated by larger pea-shaped particles. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this microscopic imager picture of the drift dubbed "Serpent" on Spirit's 73rd martian day on Mars after successfully digging into the side of the drift. The image is the first-ever microscopic look inside a drift. It captures only the scuffed interior of the Serpent drift and is dominated by larger pea-shaped particles. These grains are not natural to the inside of the drift, but are crust particles that have tumbled into the scuffed area as a result of the digging. These grains lost their dust cover in the process of falling into the scuff, giving scientists clues about the strength -- or lack of strength -- of the bond between the dust and sand particles.Most interesting to scientists are the fine grains making up the interior of Serpent drift. The grains of sand found within drifts or dunes on Earth are usually about 200 micrometers (.008 inches) in diameter -- much like sand on a beach. On Earth, dunes are formed when sand particles of this size are bounced across a surface by wind and collect together as drifts. Smaller particles, like the ones making up Serpent drift, would not necessarily collect into a dune on Earth, but would more likely be distributed across the surface like dust. The fine grains making up the interior of Serpent drift are no larger than 50 or 60 micrometers (.002 inches) and can be compared to silt on Earth.How did this very fine material manage to accumulate into a drift? Earth-based tests that simulate the wind speed and atmospheric density of Mars have found it difficult to reproduce dunes with grain particles as small as those found in the Serpent drift. However, Earth-based tests cannot duplicate the gravity of Mars, which is one-third that of the gravity on Earth. This environmental factor is a likely contributor to the diminutive material making up Serpent drift. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the bright and dark portions ejecta blanket of a small crater on Mars. | This nighttime IR image is of a small crater. Note the bright and dark portions of it's ejecta blanket. With ballistic emplacement of ejecta, larger (heavier) material falls closer to the crater rim than smaller material. This is clearly represented in the nighttime IR, where rockier material is warmer/brighter and finer material is darker/cooler.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -6.5, Longitude 24 East (336 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. | |
The materials in this region are cracked into individual pieces that with time weather into chaos terrain. This image is located on the southernmost border of Elysium Planitia on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08641Cracks to ChaosThe materials in this region are cracked into individual pieces that with time weather into chaos terrain. This image is located on the southernmost border of Elysium Planitia.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -0.8N, Longitude 172.5E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows impact craters and wind streaks in Daedalia Planum on Mars. | 2 April 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows impact craters and wind streaks in Daedalia Planum.Location near: 14.6°S, 131.9°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Winter | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows yardangs. These features are created by long term winds scouring a poor cemented surface material into linear ridges and valleys. | Context imageYardangs are present at the top of this VIS image. These features are created by long term winds scouring a poor cemented surface material into linear ridges and valleys. These yardangs are part of the Medusa Fossae Formation. It has been suggested that this region of Mars provides a large percentage of the surface dust seen around the planet. Ash falls from nearby volcanoes may have been the source of the surface materials eroded into these and other wind eroded landforms.Orbit Number: 77922 Latitude: -12.7644 Longitude: 177.96 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-07-09 09:43Please 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 the eastern side of Coprates Chasma, near Capri Chasma. | Context imageThis VIS image is located on the eastern side of Coprates Chasma, near Capri Chasma. The image shows a large lobe shaped landslide deposit at the bottom of the canyon cliff face. Sand dunes are visible both on the landslide deposit and other parts of the canyon floor. Coprates Chasma is one of the numerous canyons that make up Valles Marineris. The chasma stretches for 960 km (600 miles) from Melas Chasma to the west and Capri Chasma to the east. Landslide deposits, layered materials and sand dunes cover a large portion of the chasma floor.Orbit Number: 88225 Latitude: -15.0285 Longitude: 304.496 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-11-03 17:56Please 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 of Moreux Crater shows part of the multitude of sand dunes that are found on the floor of the crater. The central peak of the crater is at the top left corner of this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image This image of Moreux Crater shows part of the multitude of sand dunes that are found on the floor of the crater. The central peak of the crater is at the top left corner of the image. The crater rim is visible at the bottom right corner. The part of the peak with a pitted surface texture and curvilinear ridges has been interpreted to be created by glacial flows. Moreux Crater is located in northern Arabia Terra and has a diameter of 138 kilometers.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: 38798 Latitude: 41.3214 Longitude: 44.6303 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-09-12 23:15Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Taken on March 5, 2021, this color-calibrated image from a Navigation Camera aboard NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover shows tracks from the rover's first drive and an area scoured by the Mars 2020 mission's descent stage rockets. | Taken on March 5, 2021, this color-calibrated image from a Navigation Camera aboard NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover shows tracks from the rover's first drive (darker marks in the foreground) and an area scoured by the Mars 2020 mission's descent stage rockets (lighter-colored area in the middle ground). 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/ | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows that Arsia Mons flows that have surrounded a large crater. At some point the flows broke through the crater rim and then filled the interior of the crater with lava. | Today's VIS image shows Arsia Mons flows that have surrounded a large crater. At some point the flows broke through the crater rim and then filled the interior of the crater with lava.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -20.3, Longitude 242.9 East (117.1 West). 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The drive by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the mission's 43rd Martian day ended with this rock front of the rover. The rover team has assessed it as a suitable target for the first use of Curiosity's contact instruments on a rock. | The drive by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the mission's 43rd Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 19, 2012) ended with this rock about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in front of the rover. The rock is about 10 inches (25 centimeters) tall and 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide. The rover team has assessed it as a suitable target for the first use of Curiosity's contact instruments on a rock. The image was taken by the left Navigation camera (Navcam) at the end of the drive.
The rock has been named "Jake Matijevic." This commemorates Jacob Matijevic (1947-2012), who was the surface operations systems chief engineer for the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the project's Curiosity rover. He was also a leading engineer for all of the previous NASA Mars rovers: Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity.
Curiosity's contact instruments are on a turret at the end of the rover's arm. They are the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer for reading a target's elemental composition and the Mars Hand Lens Imager for close-up imaging. | |
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used one of its navigation cameras to take this image of the location where three of its 10 sample tubes will be deposited. | Figure ANASA's Perseverance Mars rover used one of its navigation cameras to take this image of the location where three of its 10 sample tubes will be deposited.Figure A is annotated version of the image showing the three specific spots where tubes will be dropped.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.JPL, 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/ | |
This crater on Mars is located south of Agassiz Crater. It is likely that the polar freeze/thaw/frost cycle is responsible for unusual appearance of the ejecta region around the crater as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA03583Southern CraterThis crater is located south of Agassiz Crater. It is likely that the polar freeze/thaw/frost cycle is responsible for unusual appearance of the ejecta region around the crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 76.2S, Longitude 247.8E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Tharsis face of Mars in mid-March 2005. | 1 March 2005 This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 176° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 176° occurs in mid-March 2005. The picture shows the Tharsis face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn.Season: Northern Summer/Southern Winter | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a cluster of old, small impact craters on Mars. The group of craters was probably formed by secondary impacts following a much larger impact that occurred some distance away. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-431, 24 July 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a cluster of old, small impact craters near 36.3°N, 281.9°W. The group of craters was probably formed by secondary impacts following a much larger impact that occurred some distance away; the material that created these craters would have been the ejecta from the larger crater, rather than meteoroids from outer space. The craters cluster is considered to be relatively old because none of the craters have ejecta blankets any more, and each was filled, or partially filled, with layered material that was later eroded to form the terraced mounds found in their floors. This picture is illuminated from the lower left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows streaks and scratch marks made in a thin coating of dust on the martian surface in the southern hemisphere made by passing dust devils during the summer season. | 31 August 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows streaks and scratch marks made in a thin coating of dust on the martian surface in the southern hemisphere. These streaks were made by passing dust devils during the summer season.Location near: 62.6°S, 89.0°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
This is the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside NASA's Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on Feb. 18, 2021. | This is the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on Feb. 18, 2021. 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 (the European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a portion of Hydraotes Chaos. The individual hills on the left side of the image also appear to be layered. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a portion of Hydraotes Chaos. The individual hills on the left side of the image also appear to be layered.Orbit Number: 45715 Latitude: 2.28289 Longitude: 324.739 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-04-04 10:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Fresh Crater in North Polar Layered Deposit | Image PSP_001462_2630 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 18, 2006. The complete image is centered at 83.0 degrees latitude, 94.8 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 317.2 km (198.3 miles). At this distance the image scale is 31.7 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 1:51 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 67 degrees, thus the sun was about 23 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 137.2 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 HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped this series of pictures of sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars. Each panel shows ice cracks releasing dark sand as spring progresses. | The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped this series of false-color pictures of sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars. The area covered in each of the five panels is about 0.8 mile (1.3 kilometers) wide.The progression begins at left (Panel A) in early spring, when the ground is covered by a seasonal layer of carbon dioxide ice (dry ice) about 2 feet thick. As spring progresses the ice cracks (Panel B), releasing dark sand from the dune below. When pressurized gas trapped below the ice layer is released, it carries along sand and dust to the top of the ice layer, where it is dropped in fan-shaped deposits downhill and downwind (panels C and D). The final panel shows more and more of the dark dunes as the overlying layer of seasonal ice evaporates back into the atmosphere. The location in this series of images is at 80 degrees north latitude, 122.5 degrees east longitude.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 many of the channel segments of Granicus Valles. Granicus Valles is a complex channel system located west of Elysium Mons. | Context imageThis VIS image shows many of the channel segments of Granicus Valles. Granicus Valles is a complex channel system located west of Elysium Mons. The system is approximately 750km long. It is likely that both water and lava played a part in creation of the feature.Orbit Number: 93896 Latitude: 28.5809 Longitude: 132.256 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-02-13 16:59Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's ultimate destination -- the 'Columbia Hills.' | This image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's ultimate destination -- the "Columbia Hills." It was acquired on sol 89 with the camera's green filter. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a cross section of Hebes Chasma. Hebes Chasma is a closed basin located north of Valles Marineris. | 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 a cross section of Hebes Chasma. Hebes Chasma is a closed basin located north of Valles Marineris. It measures 126km wide north/south (78 miles), 315 km long east/west (196 miles), and 8 km (5 miles) at its deepest point.Orbit Number: 69810 Latitude: -1.17427 Longitude: 284.446 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-09-09 05:33Please 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. | |
This image released on Nov 30, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows small unnamed channel just west of the large outflow region of Ares, Simud, and Tiu Valles on Mars. | This small unnamed channel is just west of the large outflow region of Ares, Simud, and Tiu Valles. Note the interaction of the channel and the small crater that it has cut through. This channel is likely fluvial in origin.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 9.6, Longitude 313.7 East (46.3 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Gale Crater. Gale Crater is the home of the Curiosity Rover. | 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 Gale Crater. Gale Crater is the home of the Curiosity Rover.The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, because each single-filter image is contrast enhanced before inclusion in the three-color image, the apparent color variation of the scene is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the color variation that does appear is representative of some change in color, however subtle, in the actual scene. Note that the long edges of THEMIS color images typically contain color artifacts that do not represent surface variation.Orbit Number: 87507 Latitude: -6.02215 Longitude: 137.01 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-09-05 15:06Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the football-sized rock was dubbed Adirondack because of its mountain-shaped appearance after the rover's first post-egress drive on Mars Sunday, Jan. 15, 2004. | This image was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit front hazard-identification camera after the rover's first post-egress drive on Mars Sunday, Jan. 15, 2004. Engineers drove the rover approximately 3 meters (10 feet) from the Columbia Memorial Station toward the first rock target, seen in the foreground. The football-sized rock was dubbed Adirondack because of its mountain-shaped appearance. Scientists have begun using the microscopic imager instrument at the end of the rover's robotic arm to examine the rock and understand how it formed. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows small bright dunes present in almost every depression and channel bottom on Mars. These dunes look like tank treads rolling up channel floors. The dunes here are in the depressions of Melas Fossae. | Small bright dunes are present in almost every depression and channel bottom on Mars. Just at the limit of THEMIS resolution, these dunes look like tank treads rolling up channel floors. The dunes here are in the depressions of Melas Fossae.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -28.3N, Longitude 290.6E. 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. | |
Clouds are common near the north polar caps throughout the spring and summer. The clouds typically cause a haze over the extensive dune fields. This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the edge of the cloud front. | Context imageClouds are common near the north polar caps throughout the spring and summer. The clouds typically cause a haze over the extensive dune fields. This VIS image shows the edge of the cloud front.Orbit Number: 38381 Latitude: 80.9555 Longitude: 214.788 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-08-09 14:56Please 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 Olympia Undae during north polar spring. | Context imageThis VIS image of Olympia Undae was collected during north polar spring. The dune crests are losing the winter frosts, revealing the dark sand beneath. The density of dunes and the alignments of the dune crests varies with location, controlled by the amount of available sand and the predominant winds over time.Olympia Undae is a vast dune field in the north polar region of Mars. It consists of a broad sand sea or erg that partly rings the north polar cap from about 120° to 240°E longitude and 78° to 83°N latitude. The dune field covers an area of approximately 470,000 km2 (bigger than California, smaller than Texas). Olympia Undae is the largest continuous dune field on Mars. Olympia Undae is not the only dune field near the north polar cap, several other smaller fields exist in the same latitude, but in other ranges of longitude, e.g. Abolos and Siton Undae. Barchan and transverse dune forms are the most common. In regions with limited available sand individual barchan dunes will form, the surface beneath and between the dunes is visible. In regions with large sand supplies, the sand sheet covers the underlying surface, and dune forms are found modifying the surface of the sand sheet. In this case transverse dunes are more common. Barchan dunes "point" down wind, transverse dunes are more linear and form parallel to the wind direction. The "square" shaped transverse dunes in Olympia Undae are due to two prevailing wind directions.Orbit Number: 94504 Latitude: 81.3452 Longitude: 209.327 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-04-04 18:46Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows a small portion of the complex channel system, Kasei Valles. In this image, secondary channeling has cut down deeper into the main channel. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a small portion of the complex channel system, Kasei Valles. In this image, secondary channeling has cut down deeper into the main channel.Orbit Number: 36743 Latitude: 17.9656 Longitude: 285.82 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-03-27 18:23Please 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 vertical-projection mosaic was created by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 93 (April 7, 2004). It reveals the martian view from Spirit's position during the four-sol flight software update that began on sol 94. | This vertical-projection mosaic was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 93 (April 7, 2004). It reveals the martian view from Spirit's position during the four-sol flight software update that began on sol 94. | |
The small, individual dunes in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are located in an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. | Context imageThe small, individual dunes in this VIS image are located in an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra.Orbit Number: 42868 Latitude: -49.3213 Longitude: 7.16552 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-08-14 00:25Please 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 bright triangle seen in these images is NASA's Mars Exploration rover Spirit's lander resting at the Gusev Crater landing site on Mars after a nerve-wracking entry, descent and landing process on Jan. 3, 2004. | The bright triangle seen in these images is Spirit's lander resting at the Gusev Crater landing site on Mars after a nerve-wracking entry, descent and landing process on Jan. 3, 2004. The left image was taken by the camera on board the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor on Jan. 19, 2004. The right image is the same image enhanced to show the contrast between the lander and the martian surface. The rover is not visible in this image due to the bright glare of the lander. | |
This plot segregates various minerals examined by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity according to their different compositions; for example, those with more iron and magnesium oxides are located in the lower right corner. | This plot shows how planetary geologists are narrowing in on the composition of a rock target on Mars, known as "Esperance," located in a fracture that cuts through the Matijevic formation on the "Matijevic Hill" region on the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The plot segregates various minerals examined by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity according to their different compositions; for example, those with more iron and magnesium oxides are located in the lower right corner.Opportunity's examination of the Esperance rock used the rover's rock abrasion tool to sequentially grind deeper and deeper into the target, with intervening compositional measurements. The measured samples are closest on this plot to a known mineral called montmorillonite, which belongs to the smectite clay family. Montmorillonite has more aluminum than other clays. Its presence indicates that substantial groundwater flowed through the fracture and was only mildy acidic as well as reducing, meaning the mineral donates electrons to other chemicals. | |
This image taken on Sept. 25, 1977 from NASA's Viking Lander 2 shows late-winter frost on the ground on Mars around the lander. The view is southeast over the top of Lander 2, and shows patches of frost around dark rocks. | Photo from Viking Lander 2 shows late-winter frost on the ground on Mars around the lander. The view is southeast over the top of Lander 2, and shows patches of frost around dark rocks. The surface is reddish-brown; the dark rocks vary in size from 10 centimeters (four inches) to 76 centimeters (30 inches) in diameter. This picture was obtained Sept. 25, 1977. The frost deposits were detected for the first time 12 Martian days (sols) earlier in a black-and-white image. Color differences between the white frost and the reddish soil confirm that we are observing frost. The Lander Imaging Team is trying to determine if frost deposits routinely form due to cold night temperatures, then disappear during the warmer daytime. Preliminary analysis, however, indicates the frost was on the ground for some time and is disappearing over many days. That suggests to scientists that the frost is not frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) but is more likely a carbon dioxide clathrate (six parts water to one part carbon dioxide). Detailed studies of the frost formation and disappearance, in conjunction with temperature measurements from the lander's meteorology experiment, should be able to confirm or deny that hypothesis, scientists say. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows clouds common in late spring over martian terrain located southwest of the Arsia Mons volcano. Arsia Mons is the dark, oval feature near the limb. | Annotated image ofTharsis Limb Cloud7 September 2005This composite of red and blue Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired on 6 July 2005 shows an isolated water ice cloud extending more than 30 kilometers (more than 18 miles) above the martian surface. Clouds such as this are common in late spring over the terrain located southwest of the Arsia Mons volcano. Arsia Mons is the dark, oval feature near the limb, just to the left of the "T" in the "Tharsis Montes" label. The dark, nearly circular feature above the "S" in "Tharsis" is the volcano, Pavonis Mons, and the other dark circular feature, above and to the right of "s" in "Montes," is Ascraeus Mons. Illumination is from the left/lower left.Season: Northern Autumn/Southern Spring | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Mars' south pole has different surface textures and darker depression. Layering is visible in the plateau at the top of the image. | Context image for PIA09271South PoleThis image of the south pole shows different surface textures and darker depression. Layering is visible in the plateau at the top of the image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -86.9N, Longitude 274.8E. 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 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Aspledon Undae, one of several dune fields near the north pole. The term Undae means dunes. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Aspledon Undae, one of several dune fields near the north pole. The term Undae means dunes.Orbit Number: 54150 Latitude: 72.4562 Longitude: 307.913 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-02-27 13:33Please 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. | |
This image taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey shows chaos on Candor Chasma on Mars. Chaos is typically interpreted to be a collapse terrain; it is the blocky landscape after the transport and removal of subsurface support. | The topic for the Image of the Day for the weeks of March 7-18 will be mountains on Mars.This is some chaos terrain located on the floor of Candor Chasma. Chaos is typically interpreted to be a collapse terrain; it is the blocky landscape after the transport and removal of subsurface support.A good diagram showing the structural difference between simple and complex craters is here: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/science/craterstructure.htmlImage information: VIS instrument. Latitude -6.7, Longitude 287.7 East (72.3 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a pedestal a 'pancake' or 'pedestal' crater on the martian northern plains. The rocky ejecta from the crater protected the underlying material from being stripped away by wind. | 31 July 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a "pancake" or "pedestal" crater on the martian northern plains. The rocky ejecta from the crater protected the underlying material from being stripped away by wind, leaving the ejecta standing higher than the surrounding terrain. The rocks in the ejecta are not too clearly seen today, especially at the 6 meters (~20 feet) per pixel scale of this image, in part because they have been covered up by later, mantling material.Location near: 60.0°N, 265.6°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Spring | |
This image of a U.S. penny on a calibration target was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) aboard NASA's Curiosity rover in Gale Crater on Mars. At 14 micrometers per pixel, this is the highest-resolution image that MAHLI can acquire. | This image of a U.S. penny on a calibration target was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) aboard NASA's Curiosity rover in Gale Crater on Mars. At 14 micrometers per pixel, this is the highest-resolution image that MAHLI can acquire. This image was obtained as part of a test on the 411th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Oct. 2, 2013), the first time the rover's robotic arm placed MAHLI close enough to a target to obtain the camera's highest-possible resolution. It shows that, during the penny's 14 months (so far) on Mars, it has accumulated Martian dust and clumps of dust, despite its vertical mounting position on the calibration target for MAHLI.The previous highest-resolution MAHLI images, which were pictures of Martian rocks, were at 16 to 17 micrometers per pixel. A micrometer, also known as a micron, is about 0.000039 inch.The penny is a 1909 VDB penny minted in Philadelphia during the first year that Lincoln cents became available. More information about its inclusion on the MAHLI calibration target is available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-033.The gold medal for highest resolution photographs on Mars goes to NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's optical microscope. As a microscope, though, fine-grained samples had to be delivered to it, whereas MAHLI can be deployed to look at geologic materials in their natural setting.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/. | |
The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple many ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows dunes of the floor of Keeler Crater in 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 dunes of the floor of Keeler Crater in Terra Sirenum.Orbit Number: 9917 Latitude: -60.2955 Longitude: 208.203 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-03-09 21:56Please 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 Olympia Undae, a vast dune field in the north polar region of Mars. | Context imageThis VIS image of Olympia Undae was collected at the start polar spring. As the season changes into springtime, the dune crests are just starting to shed the winter frosts which completely hide the darker sand beneath. The density of dunes and the alignments of the dune crests varies with location, controlled by the amount of available sand and the predominant winds over time.Olympia Undae is a vast dune field in the north polar region of Mars. It consists of a broad sand sea or erg that partly rings the north polar cap from about 120° to 240°E longitude and 78° to 83°N latitude. The dune field covers an area of approximately 470,000 km2 (bigger than California, smaller than Texas). Olympia Undae is the largest continuous dune field on Mars. Olympia Undae is not the only dune field near the north polar cap, several other smaller fields exist in the same latitude, but in other ranges of longitude, e.g. Abolos and Siton Undae. Barchan and transverse dune forms are the most common. In regions with limited available sand individual barchan dunes will form, the surface beneath and between the dunes is visible. In regions with large sand supplies, the sand sheet covers the underlying surface, and dune forms are found modifying the surface of the sand sheet. In this case transverse dunes are more common. Barchan dunes "point" down wind, transverse dunes are more linear and form parallel to the wind direction. The "square" shaped transverse dunes in Olympia Undae are due to two prevailing wind directions.Orbit Number: 85826 Latitude: 80.894 Longitude: 222.032 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-04-20 05:51Please 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. | |
In Ares Vallis, teardrop mesas extend like pennants behind impact craters, where the raised rocky rims diverted the floods and protected the ground from erosion. This image is from NASA's Mars Odyssey, one of an 'All Star' set. | In Ares Vallis, teardrop mesas extend like pennants behind impact craters, where the raised rocky rims diverted the floods and protected the ground from erosion. Scientists estimate the floods had peak volumes many times the flow of today's Mississippi River. This image was taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter and posted in a special December 2010 set marking the occasion of Odyssey becoming the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history. The pictured location on Mars is 15.9 degrees north latitude, 330 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 29 January 2004 This January 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a chain of pits formed in a trough of the Tractus Fossae region near 24.1°N, 103.4°W. The troughs are graben, which are formed by faults cutting rock as the crust is stretched and extended, in this case toward the east and toward the west (right and left). As the rocks broke and moved along the fault lines that create the sharp cliffs on either side of the troughs, some materials between the trough walls collapsed along the fault trend to form the chain of pits. The picture covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows hills on Mars surrounded by strange radial ridges resembling a group of jellyfish. | Context imageDo you see what I see? The hills in this image are surrounded by strange radial ridges, creating a group of jellyfish.Orbit Number: 45372 Latitude: -4.94802 Longitude: 164.193 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-03-07 02:41 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 image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small section on Margaritifer Chaos. The term chaos is applied to regions where the surface is being eroded to form mesas. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small section on Margaritifer Chaos. The term chaos is applied to regions where the surface is being eroded to form mesas. As the surface processes continue individual mesas become more isolated and take on the appearance of regions of hills. At the top of the image is Margaritifer Terra, which is being dissected into large mesas. Towards the bottom of the image the mesas have been eroded into smaller hills.Orbit Number: 89010 Latitude: -7.22948 Longitude: 336.24 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-01-07 09:17Please 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. | |
Northern Plains | Image PSP_001413_2495 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 14, 2006. The complete image is centered at 69.3 degrees latitude, 10.8 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 314.2 km (196.4 miles). At this distance the image scale is 31.4 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~94 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:04 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 59 degrees, thus the sun was about 31 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.3 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
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 floor of Coprates 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 the floor of Coprates Chasma. Small dark dunes are visible in the center of this image.Orbit Number: 35021 Latitude: -14.0463 Longitude: 302.335 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2009-11-05 21:51Please 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 channels which are different sections of Tinto Vallis. | Context imageThe channels at the top and bottom of this VIS image are different sections of Tinto Vallis. This northward flowing channel is 180 km (112 miles) long and is located in northern Hesperia Planum. Tinto Vallis arises in the plains of Hesperia Planum and empties into Palos Crater (visible at the top of the image).Orbit Number: 88606 Latitude: -4.34333 Longitude: 111.244 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-12-05 02:55Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The gray area in center of this image is where the Dust Removal Tool on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity brushed a rock target called 'Wernecke.' The brushing revealed dark nodules and white veins crisscrossing the light gray rock. | The gray area in the center of this image is where the Dust Removal Tool on the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity brushed a rock target called "Wernecke." The brushing revealed dark nodules and white veins crisscrossing the light gray rock. The brushed area is about 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) across. The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the rover's arm took this image during the 169th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's mission on Mars (Jan. 26, 2013). Wernecke is in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Gale Crater.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates MAHLI. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
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 false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the rim and floor of Saheki Crater. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the rim and floor of Saheki Crater.Orbit Number: 7925 Latitude: -22.0297 Longitude: 72.9739 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2003-09-27 21:54Please 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. |
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