short_caption
stringlengths 3
255
| caption
stringlengths 31
10.7k
| image_url
stringlengths 61
61
|
|---|---|---|
Proposed MSL site in Holden Crater Fan | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_002154_1530) of proposed landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) in Holden Crater Fan.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 1 January 2007Local Mars time: 3:48 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -26.6°Degrees longitude (East): 325.2°Range to target site: 263.7 km (164.8 miles)Original image scale range: 52.8 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~158 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 50 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 11.1°Phase angle: 54.9°Solar incidence angle: 64°, with the Sun about 26° above the horizonSolar longitude: 164.9°, Northern SummerNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the shadow of the martian moon, Phobos, as it was cast upon western Xanthe Terra on August 26, 1999. | The shadow of the martian moon, Phobos, has been captured in many recent wide angle camera views of the red planet obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC). Designed to monitor changes in weather and surface conditions, the wide angle cameras are also proving to be a good way to spot the frequent solar eclipses caused by the passage of Phobos between Mars and the Sun.The first figure (above), shows wide angle red (left), blue (middle), and color composite (right) views of the shadow of Phobos (elliptical feature at center of each frame) as it was cast upon western Xanthe Terra on August 26, 1999, at about 2 p.m.local time on Mars. The image covers an area about 250 kilometers (155 miles) across and is illuminated from the left. The meandering Nanedi Valles is visible in the lower right corner of the scene. Note the dark spots on three crater floors--these appear dark in the red camera image (left) but are barely distinguished in the blue image (middle), while the shadow is dark in both images. The spots on the crater floors are probably small fields of dark sand dunes.The second figure shows three samples of MOC's global image swaths, each in this case with a shadow of Phobos visible (arrow). The first scene (left) was taken on September 1, 1999, and shows the shadow of Phobos cast upon southern Elysium Planitia. The large crater with dark markings on its floor at the lower right corner is Herschel Basin. The second scene shows the shadow of Phobos cast upon northern Lunae Planum on September 8, 1999. Kasei Valles dominates the upper right and the deep chasms of Valles Marineris dominate the lower third of the September 8 image. The picture on the right shows the shadow of Phobos near the giant volcano, Olympus Mons (upper left), on September 25, 1999. Three other major volcanoes are visible from lower-center (Arsia Mons) and right-center (Pavonis Mons) to upper-middle-right (Ascraeus Mons).Phobos and the smaller, more distant satellite, Deimos, were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall, an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. Hall had been hunting for martian satellites for some time, and was about to abandon the search when he was encouraged by his wife to continue. In honor of her role, the largest crater on Phobos was named Stickney, her maiden name. Phobos is a tiny, potato-shaped world that is only about 13 km by 11 km by 9 km (8 mi by 7 mi by 6 mi) in size.In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs published a story entitled "Under the Moons of Mars" (printed in book form in 1917 as A Princess of Mars) in which he referred to the "hurtling moons of Barsoom" (Barsoom being the "native" word for Mars in the fictional account). Burroughs was inspired by the fact that Phobos, having an orbital period of slightly less than 8 hours, would appear from Mars to rise in the west and set in the east only five and a half hours later. (Despite Burroughs' phrase, the outer moon, Deimos, can hardly be said to "hurtle" -- it takes nearly 60 hours to cross the sky from east to west, rising on one day and not setting again for over two more.)If you could stand on Mars and watch Phobos passing overhead, you would notice that this moon appears to be only about half the size of what Earth's Moon looks like when viewed from the ground. In addition, the Sun would seem to have shrunk to about 2/3 (or nearly 1/2) of its size as seen from Earth. Martian eclipses are therefore dark but not as spectacular as total solar eclipses on Earth can be. In compensation, the martian eclipses are thousands of times more common, occurring a few times a day somewhere on Mars whenever Phobos passes over the planet's sunlit side. Due to the changing geometry of the MGS orbit relative to that of Phobos, the shadow is actually seen in MOC global map images (like in the second figure above) about a dozen times a month.The shadow of Phobos was seen during the Viking missions in the late 1970s, and in fact one day the shadow was observed to pass right over the Viking 1 lander. The surface of Phobos itself was first imaged by Mariner 9 in 1971, and global coverage was obtained by the Viking orbiters in 1976-80. Phobos was the target of the ill-fated Phobos 1 and Phobos 2 spacecraft, launched by the Soviet Union in 1988. Phobos 2 actually reached Mars in 1989 and obtained a few pictures of the satellite--it also captured the shadow of Phobos cast upon the martian surface using its thermal infrared imager, Termoskan. More recently, the MGS MOC observed the tiny moon four times in August and September 1998. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Lycus Sulci, a low lying area of ridges and valleys found to the northwest of Olympus Mons. | Context imageLycus Sulci is a low lying area of ridges and valleys found to the northwest of Olympus Mons. It is not yet understood how this feature formed or how it relates to the formation of Olympus Mons itself. This VIS image shows the ridge forms that are typical of this region.Orbit Number: 85832 Latitude: 17.5137 Longitude: 215.634 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-04-20 17:15Please 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. | |
Paired fractures with a downdropped block between them are termed graben. Graben are common on Alba Patera on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA01772GrabenPaired fractures with a downdropped block between them are termed graben. Graben are common on Alba Patera, where this image is located.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 43.7N, Longitude 245.8E. 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Cimmeria Terra, a region where the majority of dune fields are located on the floors of craters. The dune fields have grown to large sizes filling a half or more of the host crater. | Context image for PIA10043More Southern DunesAlso showing part of Cimmeria Terra, this infrared image shows a region where the majority of dune fields are located on the floors of craters. The dune fields have grown to large sizes filling a half or more of the host crater. Is image was collected in the middle of southern summer when the dunes are completely defrosted and are bright (warm) in the infrared.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -67.5N, Longitude 179.4E. 96 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a fretted terrain valley floor with its characteristic lineated and finely-pitted texture. Four circular features are suspected to be the locations of meteor impact craters that have been largely eroded away. | 19 October 2004The fretted terrains of Mars were described briefly earlier this month in "Craters in Fretted Terrain." Today's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Picture of the Day shows another example of a fretted terrain valley floor with its characteristic lineated and finely-pitted texture. Four circular features near the center/left center of the image are suspected to be the locations of meteor impact craters that have been largely eroded away. Mars is a complex world upon which have acted processes of erosion that are not fully understood. This image is located near 40.4°N, 336.2°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a field of dunes on the floor of an unnamed crater in Terra Sirenum. | Context image Today's VIS image shows a field of dunes on the floor of an unnamed crater in Terra Sirenum.Orbit Number: 66970 Latitude: -61.4868 Longitude: 199.921 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-01-18 05:18Please 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 outcroppings of a light-toned rock layer on the lower slopes of buttes, hills, and massifs within one of the depressions of the Labyrinthus Noctis (Labyrinth of Night) system of the western Valles Marineris. | 12 August 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows outcroppings of a light-toned rock layer on the lower slopes of buttes, hills, and massifs within one of the depressions of the Labyrinthus Noctis (Labyrinth of Night) system of the western Valles Marineris. The layer was once continuous across the area. The image is located near 7.5°S, 96.1°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. The scene is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. | |
Gully Apron in Crater | Image PSP_001368_1400 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 11, 2006. The complete image is centered at -39.6 degrees latitude, 176.0 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 250.3 km (156.4 miles). At this distance the image scale is 50.1 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~150 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 50 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:40 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 77 degrees, thus the sun was about 13 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 133.6 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the 'Magic Carpet' region near the rover at Gusev Crater, Mars. Each color on the spectra matches a line on the graph assessing the varying mineral compositions of martian rocks and soils. | The upper left image in this display is from the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, showing the "Magic Carpet" region near the rover at Gusev Crater, Mars, on Sol 7, the seventh martian day of its journey (Jan. 10, 2004). The lower image, also from the panoramic camera, is a monochrome (single filter) image of a rock in the "Magic Carpet" area. Note that colored portions of the rock correlate with extracted spectra shown in the plot to the side. Four different types of materials are shown: the rock itself, the soil in front of the rock, some brighter soil on top of the rock, and some dust that has collected in small recesses on the rock face ("spots"). Each color on the spectra matches a line on the graph, showing how the panoramic camera's different colored filters are used to broadly assess the varying mineral compositions of martian rocks and soils. | |
Layers of rock in the upper portion of a tall mound near the center of Gale Crater on Mars exhibit a regular thickness of several meters in this image taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Layers of rock in the upper portion of a tall mound near the center of Gale Crater on Mars exhibit a regular thickness of several meters, unlike the less regular pattern of layers in the lower formation on the same mound. The mound of layered rocks is over 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) high, making it more than twice as thick as the stack of rocks exposed in the Grand Canyon on Earth. Gale Crater is approximately 152 kilometers (94 miles) in diameter.This view of layering in the mound's upper formation covers an area about 550 meters (1,800 feet) wide. It was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Sept. 8, 2008. Sulfate and clay minerals that have been observed in the lower formation have not been detected in the upper formation, where bedrock may be covered with dust. Previous studies have suggested that regularly spaced layers such as those in the upper formation might record rhythmic climate cycles linked to changes in the planet's orbit and tilt, or other periodic changes in the environment affecting deposition of sediments. This image is one product from HiRISE observation PSP_009927_1750, centered at 4.9 degrees south latitude, 137.7 degrees east longitude. Other image products from this observation are available at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_009927_1750. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the 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, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. | |
The large complex channel in the center of this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is called Mangala Valles. | Context imageThe large complex channel in the center of this VIS image is called Mangala Valles.Orbit Number: 56676 Latitude: -5.51845 Longitude: 209.434 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-09-23 10:50 Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This is a three-dimensional stereo anaglyph of an image taken by the front navigation camera onboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, showing an interesting patch of rippled soil. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | This is a three-dimensional stereo anaglyph of an image taken by the front navigation camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, showing an interesting patch of rippled soil. Spirit took this image on sol 37 (Feb. 9, 2004) after completing the longest drive ever made by a rover on another planet - 21.2 meters (69.6 feet). On sol 38 scientists plan to investigate this interesting location with the microscopic imager and Moessbauer spectrometer on Spirit's instrument deployment device. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows an example of light-toned sedimentary rocks outcropping in a crater in western Arabia on Mars. | 12 December 2004Burial and exhumation of impact craters, and their destruction by erosion, are common and repeated themes all over the surface of Mars. Many craters in western Arabia Terra exhibit light-toned, layered outcrops of ancient sedimentary rock. Like the sedimentary rocks explored further to the south in Meridiani Planum by the Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), these intracrater sedimentary rocks may have been deposited in water. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example of light-toned sedimentary rocks outcropping in a crater that is much farther north than most of the similar examples in western Arabia. This one is located near 36.6°N, 1.4°W, and shows several old impact craters in various states of erosion and exhumation from beneath and within the sedimentary rock materials. The image covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a lava channel on the northeastern summit of Ascraeus Mons on Mars. | 7 March 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a lava channel on the northeastern summit of Ascraeus Mons.Location near: 11.5°N, 104.2°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Northern Spring | |
Sand dunes such as those seen in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have been observed to creep slowly across the surface of Mars through the action of the wind. | Sand dunes such as those seen in this image have been observed to creep slowly across the surface of Mars through the action of the wind. These are a particular type of dune called a "barchan," which forms when the wind blows in one direction (here, east to west) for long periods of time. Barchan dunes are common on Mars and in the desert regions of the Earth.These barchan dunes are located on the western rim of the Hellas impact basin, in the Southern hemisphere of Mars. This area is covered by extensive deposits of layered rocks that were initially deposited as loose sediments and over time formed these rock layers. Portions of these layered rocks were subsequently eroded away and the remaining layers now form numerous flat-topped hills called "mesas." The barchan dunes are forming in the lee (downwind) of the mesas.This area was previously image by HiRISE in 2008 (PSP_007676_1385) and was retargeted here through a public request (http://www.uahirise.org/hiwish). Careful comparison of repeat images such as these can reveal the speed and manner by which dunes move across the Martian surface. This information can be used to study the current atmosphere of Mars, the age and mobility of sand deposits on the planet's surface, and the hazards that sand dunes may pose to landed vehicles such as rovers.Over the course of its mission, the science instruments on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have returned over 200 terabits of data back to Earth. This image was taken on November 4, 2013, the same day that MRO's 200-terabit mark was surpassed.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows windstreaks features caused by the interaction of wind and topographic landforms. This infrared image shows windstreaks in the region between Gordii Dorsum and Amazonis Mensa. | Windstreaks are features caused by the interaction of wind and topographic landforms. The raised rims and bowls of impact craters causes a complex interaction such that the wind vortex in the lee of the crater can both scour away the surface dust and deposit it back in the center of the lee. If you look closely, you will see evidence of this in a darker "rim" enclosing a brighter interior. This infrared image shows windstreaks in the region between Gordii Dorsum and Amazonis Mensa. Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -15.8, Longitude 215 East (145 West). 97 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. | |
Yogi' is a meter-size rock about 5 meters northwest of NASA's Mars Pathfinder lander and was the second rock visited by the Sojourner Rover's alpha proton X-ray spectrometer (APXS) instrument. 3D glasses are necessary to identify surface detail. | "Yogi" is a meter-size rock about 5 meters northwest of the Mars Pathfinder lander and was the second rock visited by the Sojourner Rover's alpha proton X-ray spectrometer (APXS) instrument. This view of was produced combining the "Super Panorama" frames from the IMP camera. Super resolution was applied to help to address questions about the texture of this rock and what it might tell us about its mode of origin.The composite color frames that make up this anaglyph were produced for both the right and left eye of the IMP (in this case, the view of Yogi is a mosaic). These composites consist of 7 frames in the right eye and 8 frames in the left eye, taken with different color filters that were enlarged by 500% and then co-added using Adobe Photoshop to produce, in effect, a super-resolution panchromatic frame that is sharper than an individual frame would be. These panchromatic frames were then colorized with the red, green, and blue filtered images from the same sequence. The color balance was adjusted to approximate the true color of Mars.The anaglyph view was produced by combining the left with the right eye color composite frames by assigning the left eye composite view to the red color plane and the right eye composite view to the green and blue color planes (cyan), to produce a stereo anaglyph mosaic. This mosaic can be viewed in 3-D on your computer monitor or in color print form by wearing red-blue 3-D glasses.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).The left eye and right eye panoramas from which this anaglyph was created are available atPIA02405 and PIA02406.
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. | |
Landslides in Valles Marineris are truly enormous, sometimes stretching from one wall to the base of another. This landslide, known as Ius Labes, would occupy the surface area of the state of Delaware, U.S., seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Landslides in Valles Marineris are truly enormous, sometimes stretching from one wall to the base of another. This 45-kilometer-long HiRISE image alone drops nearly 2 kilometers in elevation into Ius Chasma. This landslide, known as Ius Labes, would occupy the surface area of Delaware.Here, we can see dark-toned material emanating from the landslide scarp and forming dunes and dark streaks that were carried downslope by the wind. Geologic context and compositional information from CRISM suggest this dune field was locally derived from landslide material. Other locations in this image show smaller ripples and smooth, rounded textures of the landslide, both attesting to long-lived wind transport and erosion.This site records a long and complex geologic history of landscape evolution. This history likely includes: (1) ancient lava flows and ash fall deposits which were deposited horizontally and would eventually make what now is canyon wall material; (2) extensional forces rifted or faulted Valles Marineris; (3) mass wasting ensued where gravity forced weak and dislodged rock down into the canyon as massive landslides or smaller fans of boulders; (4) wind driven aeolian forces took small sand-sized particles to form dunes and ripples observable in this image, while also slowly eroding the landscape and modifying its shape.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
Freedom crater, located in Acidalia Planitia, exhibits a concentric ring pattern in its interior as seen in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, suggesting that there has been some movement of these materials towards the center of the crater. | Freedom crater, located in Acidalia Planitia, exhibits a concentric ring pattern in its interior, suggesting that there has been some movement of these materials towards the center of the crater. Slumping towards the center may have been caused by the presence of ground ice mixed in with the sediments. The origin for the scarps on the western edge of the interior deposit is unknown.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 43.3, Longitude 351.3 East (8.7 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft captured this image in July 2003 of defrosting dunes of the southern hemisphere in southern summer on Mars. | Released 3 July 2003Defrosting dunes of the southern hemisphere in southern summer.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -66.5, Longitude 195.2 East (164.8 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. | |
Bouncing Boulders | Most debris on crater walls slides straight downhill. In this HiRISE image we see examples of boulders that have bounced downhill, not necessarily vertically. A prominent example looks like a dotted line from the top of the crater wall where the boulder took off to the crater floor where it finally came to rest. Numerous boulders have slid partway down toward the crater floor, which is covered by sand dunes. This is actually a small crater (~1 km wide) within an un-named but much larger ~30 km crater.Observation GeometryImage PSP_001385_1985 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on 12-Nov-2006. The complete image is centered at 18.5 degrees latitude, 65.0 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 278.0 km (173.8 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 27.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 111.3 cm/pixel (with 4 x 4 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 03:29 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 50 degrees, thus the sun was about 40 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 134.2 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. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows where Patapsco Vallis enters the largest depression of Elysium Fossae. Patapsco Vallis, on the Elysium Mons volcanic complex, was likely formed by the flow of lava rather than water. | Context imageThis VIS image shows where Patapsco Vallis enters the largest depression of Elysium Fossae. Patapsco Vallis, as other valley systems on the Elysium Mons volcanic complex, was likely formed by the flow of lava rather than water.Orbit Number: 52938 Latitude: 23.8099 Longitude: 153.968 Instrument: VIS: Captured: 2013-11-19 20:20Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a cross section of Hebes Chasma, including Hebes Mensa. | 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, including Hebes Mensa (middle of image). Hebes Chasma is an inclosed basin not connected to Valles Marineris. It is 319 km long (east/west, 198 miles), 130 km wide (north/south, 81miles) and up to 8km (5 miles) deep. Hebes Mensa is a large deposit of layered material within the chasma. Extensive erosion has created gullies in the mensa and distributed fine sand size materials to create dunes and sand drifts. Hebes Mensa is 7.5 km (4.7 miles) high, 120 km (75 miles) long and 43 km (27 miles) wide.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: 85967 Latitude: -1.25893 Longitude: 283.562 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-05-01 19:55Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a thermal image of dark dry ice on Mars' southern cap. | The early part of the Mars Global Surveyor mission provided good TES coverage of the Mars south polar region. These data allow mapping of the polar cap recession, surface and atmospheric temperatures, and albedo features found within the seasonal cap itself (Kieffer et al., 1998, Titus et al., 1998).During the period observed, the seasonal south polar cap retreated continuously and asymmetrically around the geographic pole, much the way Viking observed in 1976-1977 (Kieffer et al., 1977). One of the most dominant albedo features on the seasonal cap is a region that appears almost as dark as bare ground, but yet remains cold. We refer to this region, generally located between latitudes 85°S and 75°S and longitudes 150°W and 310°W, as the Cryptic region.A re-examination of the IRTM data revealed that the Cryptic region was not unique to the TES era, but also was quite apparent during the Viking era. Interesting enough, Antoniadi (Blunck, 1977) observed dark regions forming on the season cap that loosely correlates to the Cryptic region: Depressio Magna (1909) and Depressio Parva (1929). These depressios were located at 270° W, 78°S and 166° W, 76°S, respectively.Analysis of both the TES and IRTM data indicate that the Cryptic region is unique in its thermophysical properties relative to the rest of the cap. The region is a repeatable event that occupies the same general area from year to year. It is darker and slightly warmer than the rest of the south polar cap. Even though the Cryptic region is slightly warmer, it must still be CO2 buffered since it remains "cold" for several days.Spectral analysis of the TES longward of the 15 micron atmospheric band shows that the Cryptic region shows less spectral than the rest of the polar cap. This suggests that the region may be composed of "ice," as opposed to snow or frost (Hansen, 1998). Further spectral analysis on going.This image is a map of TES data, showing TES "T20" of the south polar cap. (The TES "T20" is a synthetic band created by convolving the response function of the IRTM 20µm filter with the TES spectra.) The image is a composite from the first rolls of orbit 43 (Ls =219.2°, Nov 17, 1997) and orbit 45 (Ls=220.8°, Nov 20, 1997). The Cryptic region is the blue area curving along the 80°S latitude line. The region shows up in this image as only slightly warmer than the rest of the polar cap, but still too cold to be bare ground.See also the Lambert Albedo Image PIA02332. | |
This 360-degree view, called the 'McMurdo' panorama, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. | This 360-degree view, called the "McMurdo" panorama, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. From April through October 2006, Spirit has stayed on a small hill known as "Low Ridge." There, the rover's solar panels are tilted toward the sun to maintain enough solar power for Spirit to keep making scientific observations throughout the winter on southern Mars. This view of the surroundings from Spirit's "Winter Haven" is presented in exaggerated color to enhance color differences among rocks, soils and sand.Oct. 26, 2006, marks Spirit's 1,000th sol of what was planned as a 90-sol mission. (A sol is a Martian day, which lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds). The rover has lived through the most challenging part of its second Martian winter. Its solar power levels are rising again. Spring in the southern hemisphere of Mars will begin in early 2007. Before that, the rover team hopes to start driving Spirit again toward scientifically interesting places in the "Inner Basin" and "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev crater. The McMurdo panorama is providing team members with key pieces of scientific and topographic information for choosing where to continue Spirit's exploration adventure.The Pancam began shooting component images of this panorama during Spirit's sol 814 (April 18, 2006) and completed the part shown here on sol 932 (Aug. 17, 2006). The panorama was acquired using all 13 of the Pancam's color filters, using lossless compression for the red and blue stereo filters, and only modest levels of compression on the remaining filters. The overall panorama consists of 1,449 Pancam images and represents a raw data volume of nearly 500 megabytes. It is thus the largest, highest-fidelity view of Mars acquired from either rover. Additional photo coverage of the parts of the rover deck not shown here was completed on sol 980 (Oct. 5, 2006). The team is completing the processing and mosaicking of those final pieces of the panorama, and that image will be released on the Web shortly to augment this McMurdo panorama view.This beautiful scene reveals a tremendous amount of detail in Spirit's surroundings. Many dark, porous-textured volcanic rocks can be seen around the rover, including many on Low Ridge. Two rocks to the right of center, brighter and smoother-looking in this image and more reflective in infrared observations by Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, are thought to be meteorites. On the right, "Husband Hill" on the horizon, the rippled "El Dorado" sand dune field near the base of that hill, and lighter-toned "Home Plate" below the dunes provide context for Spirit's travels since mid-2005. Left of center, tracks and a trench dug by Spirit's right-front wheel, which no longer rotates, have exposed bright underlying material. This bright material is evidence of sulfur-rich salty minerals in the subsurface, which may provide clues about the watery past of this part of Gusev Crater.Spirit has stayed busy at Winter Haven during the past six months even without driving. In addition to acquiring this spectacular panorama, the rover team has also acquired significant new assessments of the elemental chemistry and mineralogy of rocks and soil targets within reach of the rover's arm. The team plans soon to have Spirit drive to a very nearby spot on Low Ridge to access different rock and soil samples while maintaining a good solar panel tilt toward the sun for the rest of the Martian winter.Despite the long span of time needed for acquiring this 360-degree view -- a few images at a time every few sols over a total of 119 sols because the available power was so low -- the lighting and color remain remarkably uniform across the mosaic. This fact attests to the repeatability of wintertime sols on Mars in the southern hemisphere. This is the time of year when Mars is farthest from the sun, so there is much less dust storm and dust devil activity than at other times of the year.This is a false-color, red-green-blue composite panorama generated from images taken through the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. | |
This image acquired on February 17, 2021 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows a field of sand dunes occupying a frosty 5-kilometer diameter crater in the high-latitudes of the northern plains of Mars. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionA field of sand dunes occupies this frosty 5-kilometer diameter crater in the high-latitudes of the northern plains of Mars. Some dunes have separated from the main field and appear to be climbing up the crater slope along a gully-like form.The surface of the main dune field is characterized by a series of dark-toned polygonal patterns. These may be the result of seasonal frost processes. Several of the steeper dune slopes, pointing in the downwind direction, host narrow furrows suggesting the start of gully formation.The crater floor contains a variety of textures, including lobate and striped patterns that indicate seasonal thaw caused by sublimating ice. Broad downslope movement of materials on the crater slopes opposite the dune field superficially resemble gullies, except that they are generally not defined by distinctive alcoves, incised channels, or sediment aprons. These are the hallmarks of gullies elsewhere on the planet.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 63.6 centimeters [25.0 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 191 centimeters [75.2 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This panoramic image of the 3.1 millimeter-deep (just over one-tenth of an inch) hole ground by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rock abrasion tool in the target called 'Mojo 2' on 'Flatrock' was taken on the 44th martian day. | This panoramic image of the 3.1 millimeter-deep (just over one-tenth of an inch) hole ground by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rock abrasion tool in the target called "Mojo 2" on "Flatrock" was taken on the 44th martian day, or sol, of the mission. It will help complete the chemical analysis of the lowest layer of the outcrop in the crater where the rover now resides. After a brief brushing on sol 45, the science team plans to place Opportunity's spectrometers on the hole to collect data vital to their understanding of this impressive outcrop.Scientists believe that the spherule or "blueberry" in the upper right area of the circular impression was sliced in half by the rock abrasion tool. "Blueberries" are a known obstruction to the grinding tool that cause it to terminate its sequence. Despite the stall, the rock abrasion tool abraded "Flatrock" for one hour and five minutes, producing a cavity ripe for investigation. | |
The linear depression in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is a graben. The graben in this area of Mars are called Sirenum Fossae. | Context imageThe linear depression in this VIS image is a graben. The graben in this area of Mars are called Sirenum Fossae.Orbit Number: 56490 Latitude: -39.4375 Longitude: 179.303 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-09-08 03:08 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. | |
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 interior deposit of Firsoff Crater. | 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 interior deposit of Firsoff Crater. The dark blue material is most likely basaltic sand.Orbit Number: 43854 Latitude: 2.72924 Longitude: 350.449 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-11-03 05:57Please 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. | |
This scene from the Pancam on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity looks back toward part of the west rim of Endeavour Crater that the rover drove along, heading southward, during the summer of 2014. | This scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity looks back toward part of the west rim of Endeavour Crater that the rover drove along, heading southward, during the summer of 2014.The vista merges multiple Pancam exposures taken on August 15, 2014, during the 3,754th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars. The high point on the rim in the left half of the scene is the southern end of "Murray Ridge." Tracks from drives from mid-July 2014 are faintly visible near there, and tracks from subsequent drives advance to the foreground. For scale, the distance between Opportunity's parallel wheel tracks is about 3.3 feet (1 meter).The most distant visible tracks are from nearly half a mile (more than 700 meters) prior to Opportunity's arrival at the viewpoint from which this scene was recorded.This version of the image is presented in approximate true color by combing exposures taken through three of the Pancam's color filters, centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near-infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). A false-color version, at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18605, makes the tracks more visible. A video at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/?id=1325 places the scene into context of the rover's entire route of more than 25 miles (40 kilometers) since its 2004 landing. A map indicating the rover's Sol 3754 location (as the location reached by a Sol 3752 drive) is online at http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/tm-opportunity/opportunity-sol3757.html.JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about Spirit and Opportunity, visit http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 14 January 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle red image shows mid-winter, afternoon cloud patterns over the northern end of the Phlegra Montes near 46°N, 192°W. The image, acquired in December 2003, covers an area approximately 579 km (354 mi) wide; sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This unnamed crater contains a small dune field in the central part of its floor. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft was collected in northern spring and the dunes are still frost covered. | Context imageThis unnamed crater contains a small dune field in the central part of its floor. This image was collected in northern spring and the dunes are still frost covered. As the season moves into northern summer the dunes will shed the frost and appear dark.Orbit Number: 61026 Latitude: 70.0473 Longitude: 352.633 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-09-16 15:39Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Gusev Rocks Solidified from Lava (Approximate True Color) | In recent weeks, as NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has driven through the basin south of "Husband Hill," it has been traversing mainly sand and dune deposits. This week, though, Spirit has been maneuvering along the edge of an arc-shaped feature called "Lorre Ridge" and has encountered some spectacular examples of basaltic rocks with striking textures. This panoramic camera (Pancam) image shows a group of boulders informally named "FuYi." These basaltic rocks were formed by volcanic processes and may be a primary constituent of Lorre Ridge and other interesting landforms in the basin.Spirit first encountered basalts at its landing site two years ago, on a vast plain covered with solidified lava that appeared to have flowed across Gusev Crater. Later, basaltic rocks became rare as Spirit climbed Husband Hill. The basaltic rocks that Spirit is now seeing are interesting because they exhibit many small holes or vesicles, similar to some kinds of volcanic rocks on Earth. Vesicular rocks form when gas bubbles are trapped in lava flows and the rock solidifies around the bubbles. When the gas escapes, it leaves holes in the rock. The quantity of gas bubbles in rocks on Husband Hill varies considerably; some rocks have none and some, such as several here at FuYi, are downright frothy.The change in textures and the location of the basalts may be signs that Spirit is driving along the edge of a lava flow. This lava may be the same as the basalt blanketing the plains of Spirit's landing site, or it may be different. The large size and frothy nature of the boulders around Lorre Ridge might indicate that eruptions once took place at the edge of the lava flow, where the lava interacted with the rocks of the basin floor. Scientists hope to learn more as Spirit continues to investigate these rocks.As Earth approaches the Chinese New Year (The Year of the Dog), the Athena science team decided to use nicknames representing Chinese culture and geography to identify rocks and features investigated by Spirit during the Chinese New Year celebration period. In ancient Chinese myth, FuYi was the first great emperor and lived in the east. He explained the theory of "Yin" and "Yang" to his people, invented the net to catch fish, was the first to use fire to cook food, and invented a musical instrument known as the "Se" to accompany his peoples' songs and dances. Other rocks and features are being informally named for Chinese gods, warriors, inventors, and scientists, as well as rivers, lakes, and mountains.Spirit took this image on the rover's Martian day, or sol, 731 (Jan. 23, 2006). This is an approximate true color rendering combining images taken with the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. | |
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 Ganges Chasma. | 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 Ganges Chasma.Orbit Number: 64384 Latitude: -6.67274 Longitude: 310.956 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-06-19 04:46Please 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 spacecraft shows part of the interior of Candor Chasma. At the bottom of the frame is a bright feature formed by layers of material deposited in the canyon after it formed. | Context image Today's VIS image shows part of the interior of Candor Chasma. At the bottom of the frame is a bright feature formed by layers of material deposited in the canyon after it formed. Additional darker material is likely sand blown into the canyon and eroded from rocks within the chasma. Candor Chasma is just one of the canyons that make up Valles Marineris.Orbit Number: 71344 Latitude: -6.20728 Longitude: 285.115 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-01-13 14:41Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft captured this image in August 2003, showing curious graben on the floor of Sirenum Fossae on Mars. The braided pattern suggests that water has flowed through this fracture in the past. | Released 26 August 2003Sirenum Fossae: this image of a graben is curious and interesting because of the braided appearance of its floor. The braided pattern suggests that water has flowed through this fracture in the past.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -36.9, Longitude 193 East (167 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 NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey image shows part of the floor of Coprates Chasma. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLATaken simultaneously with yesterday's IR image, this VIS image shows part of the floor of Coprates Chasma.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.0N, Longitude 302.4E. 44 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 released on July 14, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows windstreaks are features caused by the interaction of wind and topographic landforms such as sand dunes with multiple linear ridges. These ridges are yardangs. | Released 14 July 2004The atmosphere of Mars is a dynamic system. Water-ice clouds, fog, and hazes can make imaging the surface from space difficult. Dust storms can grow from local disturbances to global sizes, through which imaging is impossible. Seasonal temperature changes are the usual drivers in cloud and dust storm development and growth. Eons of atmospheric dust storm activity has left its mark on the surface of Mars. Dust carried aloft by the wind has settled out on every available surface; sand dunes have been created and moved by centuries of wind; and the effect of continual sand-blasting has modified many regions of Mars, creating yardangs and other unusual surface forms. Just above the sand dunes in this image are multiple linear ridges. These ridges are yardangs. On Earth yardangs are found in desert regions such as the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. These features are formed by long-term unidirectional winds in areas of partially or poorly indurated materials (such as loess, flash flood deposits, and soils). The wind erosion is cutting the trough between the ridges - steadily deepening and widening the space. Erosion rates on Earth have been measured at ~4mm/year of removed material.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -12.7, Longitude 178.1 East (181.9 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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a portion of the western margin of Ophir Chasma. Layering can be seen in the upper walls of the canyon. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a portion of the western margin of Ophir Chasma. Layering can be seen in the upper walls of the canyon.Orbit Number: 42272 Latitude: -3.30824 Longitude: 285.717 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-06-25 22:35Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a variety of surface textures, terrains, and geologic features that were found in the landing ellipse of the Mars Polar Lander. | What is Mars Polar Lander going to find when it touches down on December 3rd? The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has been providing some spectacular previews. The following series of 7 figures illustrates the variety of surface textures, terrains, and geologic features that are found in the landing ellipse located at 76°S 195°W. It is now late southern spring, and the frost that covered this region for most of 1999 has gone away.The focus here is upon a "tour" of a single MOC image obtained on November 26, 1999. In each figure below, the landing ellipse appears as a blue outline, the MOC image is drawn in orange, and the portion of the MOC image generally illustrated in each figure is yellow. The November 26th MOC image covers approximately 120 sq. km (75 sq. miles) of the central portion of the landing ellipse. The image is 3 km (1.9 mi) wide by 40 km (25 mi) long and has a resolution of about 4 meters (13 feet) per pixel. In each view, south is toward the top and the sun illuminates each scene from the lower right. The scale bar in each picture, 250 meters, is equal to 273 yards (820 ft).Parallel Ridges with Rough Texture and Residual FrostThis picture shows a set of parallel ridges trending from upper left to lower right, spaced about 250-500 meters (273-547 yards) from one another. The amplitude of these ridges is not known, but elsewhere they are less than 20 m (66 ft) high. The surface also has irregular, light-toned knobs that resemble large boulders or pinnacles.Parallel Ridges and Mounds with Gullies and Irregular PitsA large portion of the landing ellipse (and the majority of the area seen in this image) is covered by parallel ridges surmounted by isolated groups of gullies and pits. The gully systems typically extend less than 500 meters (547 yards), and are often only a few hundred meters across. These gullies do not show the integration normal for fluid erosion (i.e., they were not carved by running water); instead, they have the form of cracks and depressions expanded by wall- and head-enlargement by processes such as sapping (removal of wall support by fluid seepage or the evaporation of ground ice) or ablation (removal of ices by sublimation and wind). Low Relief with Subtle Depressions and Small KnobsSome areas show little or no topographic relief (i.e., the area is relatively flat with no hills, ridges, or gullies). One class of this type of surface displays small, subtle, isolated depressions and areas of the rough texture made up of light-toned patches of knobs that resemble large boulders or pinnacles. Dark Sand Dunes and Bright Low Relief Surface with GulliesThe darkest surface in the landing ellipse, now seen without its seasonal bright frost cover, shows the unmistakable form of dark sand dunes. This image shows the margin of the dune field that crosses the center of the MOC image. Note that in some places the sand depth is shallow and the shape and slopes of the underlying features can be seen.Weakly-organized Ridges/Mounds and Gullies/DepressionsThe second-most abundant surface texture in this portion of the landing ellipse consists of poorly aligned ridges and depressions which occasionally display steep wall slopes. This surface appears rugged at the scale of tens of meters, but may be smoother at small scales(meters). Smooth Surface with Occasional Ridges and PitsThe southern-most portion of the November 26th MOC image shows a pattern of small, isolated ridges and a few irregular depressions and pits. However, much of the surface is actually quite smooth compared to other portions of the landing ellipse. Representative Features of the Central Landing EllipseThe illustration above shows a summary of the landforms seen within the November 26thMOC image in different colors. It is clear that the smoothest surface (green at bottom of frame) is rare in this part of the landing ellipse. Sand dunes (black) and really rough terrain (orange) are also fairly rare. Much of the surface is ridged with either gullies or pits. | |
The action of the wind is sculpting and removing material in this area on Mars. The older surface below is being re-exposed, a process called exhumation. This image is from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA08610 Wind ActionThe action of the wind is sculpting and removing material in this area. The older surface below is being re-exposed, a process called exhumation.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -1.2N, Longitude 204.5E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image shows part of the Nili Fossae region on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08593Martian Color #9This image shows part of the Nili Fossae region.This color treatment is the result of a collaboration between THEMIS team members at Cornell University and space artist Don Davis, who is an expert on true-color renderings of planetary and astronomical objects. Davis began with calibrated and co-registered THEMIS VIS multi-band radiance files produced by the Cornell group. Using as a guide true-color imaging from spacecraft and his own personal experience at Mt. Wilson and other observatories, he performed a manual color balance to display the spectral capabilities of the THEMIS imager within the context of other Mars observations. He also did some manual smoothing along with other image processing to minimize the effects of residual scattered light in the images.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 21.8N, Longitude 76.3E. 37 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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Sirenum Fossae, a large graben on the margin between Terra Sirenum and Daedalis Planum. | Context image Today's VIS image shows part of Sirenum Fossae, a large graben on the margin between Terra Sirenum and Daedalis Planum. Grabens are formed by the downward movement of material between parallel tectonic faults.Orbit Number: 65672 Latitude: -25.6345 Longitude: 220.325 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-10-03 07:01Please 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 Reconnaissance Orbiter shows part of an unnamed crater, itself located inside the much larger Newton Crater, in Terra Sirenum. Original release date March 3, 2010. | Click on the image for larger versionThis observation shows part of an unnamed crater, itself located inside the much larger Newton Crater, in Terra Sirenum. This unnamed crater is approximately 7 kilometers in diameter (over 4 miles) and some 700 meters (760 yards) deep.Numerous gully systems are visible on the east- and south-facing walls of the crater; their characteristics are astonishingly diverse.The subimage (Figure 1) covers an area of nearly 610 x 740 meters (670 x 800 yards). Downhill is toward the bottom of the image, north is up; illumination is from the northwest. This subimage depicts several gullies or troughs carved in the southwest-facing wall of the crater.These troughs are extremely rectilinear, lack tributaries, and do not seem to have terminal fan deposits: they terminate rather abruptly, some of them in a spatula-like shape. Their characteristics contrast sharply with those of gully systems elsewhere in this same crater, which are sinuous, have numerous tributaries, and show distinct fan deposits.HiRISE is unveiling the large diversity exhibited by Martian gully systems, thanks to its high-resolution, stereo, and color capabilities. The diverse types of gullies observed may have been produced by different mechanisms. Current leading hypotheses explaining the origin of gullies include erosion from seepage or eruption of water from a subsurface aquifer, melting of ground ice, or surface snow; and dry landslides.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the 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, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the spacecraft development and integration contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. | |
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 Gorgonum Chaos. | 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 Gorgonum Chaos.Orbit Number: 58131 Latitude: -38.0727 Longitude: 189.465 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-01-21 05:12Please 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 2001 Mars Odyssey shows lava flows from the broad shield volcano Syrtis Major have poured into the Isidis Basin to the east on Mars. | Released 30 June 2003Lava flows from the broad shield volcano Syrtis Major have poured into the Isidis Basin to the east. The transition between these great provinces is marked by broken slabs of accumulated volcanic material that is retreating from its position on the floor of the basin. A jagged scarp a half a kilometer high is the result.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 13.7, Longitude 79.4 East (280.6 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a fuzzy, nearly-circular bright, active dust devil making its way across the rugged terrain of the Loire Vallis system on Mars. | 25 September 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an active dust devil making its way across the rugged terrain of the Loire Vallis system. The dust devil, seen as a fuzzy, nearly-circular bright feature near the center of the picture, is casting a shadow toward the right/upper right (east/northeast). Unlike some martian dust devils, this one did not make a dark streak on the ground. Many more dust devils occur on Mars than there are dust devil streaks observed on the planet's surface.Location near: 18.2°S, 16.5°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Southern Spring | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the south polar cap. This image was taken at the end of southern summer. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of the south polar cap. This image was taken at the end of southern summer. The cap was created over millions of years with deposition of ice and dust during different seasons, creating layers. The ice surface contains several different textures which can be seen in this image. The south polar cap is called Australe Planum.Orbit Number: 93142 Latitude: -86.9334 Longitude: 11.9312 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-12-13 14:21Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This cylindrical-projection mosaic was created from images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired May 7, 2004.The rover was on its way to the 'Columbia Hills,' which can be seen on the horizon. | This cylindrical-projection view was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 122 (May 7, 2004). Spirit is sitting at site 43. The rover is on its way to the "Columbia Hills," which can be seen on the horizon. Spirit will spend the next 37 sols or more journeying to the base of these hills with the goal of learning more about Gusev Crater's past. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Hydraotes Chaos. The linear depressions in the region appear to be the start of valley formation that are the first part of chaos creation. | Context imageToday's VIS image is located near Hydraotes Chaos. The linear depressions in the region appear to be the start of valley formation that are the first part of chaos creation. It is thought that removal of subsurface ice/water drives the formation of chaos.Orbit Number: 88686 Latitude: 1.32181 Longitude: 322.473 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-12-11 17:03Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows an interesting surface texture located in Elysium Planitia on Mars. The upper layer appears to have a linear pattern eroded into the material. | Context image for PIA10332Elysium PlanitiaThis interesting surface texture is located in Elysium Planitia. The upper layer appears to have a linear pattern eroded into the material.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 5.1N, Longitude 172.6E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Inside a mission support area at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars 2020 Perseverance team members displayed their joy as the spacecraft successfully touched down on the Martian surface. | Inside a mission support area at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Mars 2020 Perseverance team members displayed their joy as the spacecraft successfully completed a complex series of steps to safely touch down on the Martian surface. JPL built and manages operations of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover for NASA.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 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 rover.For more about Perseverance, go to: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ or nasa.gov/perseverance. | |
This color image was acquired by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on the 21st day of the mission, or Sol 20 (June 15, 2008). It shows lumps of ice in the lower left corner of a trench nicknamed 'Dodo-Goldilocks.' | Figure 1High resolution tiffFigure 2High resolution tiffThis color image was acquired by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on the 21st day of the mission, or Sol 20 (June 15, 2008).It shows lumps of ice in the lower left corner of a trench nicknamed "Dodo-Goldilocks." These lumps later sublimated, a process similar to evaporation, over the course of four days.In the lower left corner of the left image of figures 1 and 2, a group of lumps is visible. In the right images, the lumps have disappeared.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 Phoenix Mars Lander shows the trench, called 'Dodo-Goldilocks,' lacking lumps of ice seen previously. The ice had sublimated, a process similar to evaporation, over the course of four days. | Figure 1High resolution tiffFigure 2High resolution tiffThis color image was acquired by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on the 25th day of the mission, or Sol 24 (June 19, 2008).The trench, called "Dodo-Goldilocks," is lacking lumps of ice seen previously in the lower left corner. The ice sublimated, a process similar to evaporation, over the course of four days.In the lower left corner of the left image of figures 1 and 2, a group of lumps is visible. In the right images, the lumps have disappeared.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 map shows the route driven by NASA's Opportunity rover from the site of its landing, inside Eagle crater, to its location more than 112 months later, in late May 2013, departing the 'Cape York' section of the rim of Endeavour crater. | This map shows the 22.553-mile (36.295-kilometer) route driven by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity from the site of its landing, inside Eagle crater at the upper left, to its location more than 112 months later, in late May 2013, departing the "Cape York" section of the rim of Endeavour crater.The gold line covers traverses through the 3,323rd Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (May 30, 2013). The base image for the map is a mosaic of images taken by the Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The scale bar is 5 kilometers (3.1 miles).Opportunity completed its three-month prime missions in April 2004 and has continued operations in bonus extended missions. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reached Mars in 2006, completed its prime mission in 2010, and is also working in an extended mission. This traverse map was made at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, Albuquerque. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the orbiter's Context Camera. | |
A ridge called 'Rocheport' on the western rim of Mars' Endeavour Crater spans this stereo scene from the Pancam on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. | A ridge called "Rocheport" on the western rim of Mars' Endeavour Crater spans this stereo scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The mosaic combines views from the left eye and right eye of the Pancam to appear three-dimensional when seen through blue-red glasses with the red lens on the left.The view extends from south-southeast on the left to north on the right. Rocheport is near the southern end of an Endeavour rim segment called "Cape Tribulation." The Pancam took the component images for this panorama on Feb. 25, 2017, during the 4,654th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars. Opportunity began exploring the western rim of Endeavour Crater in 2011 and reached the north end of Cape Tribulation in 2014.This ridge bears some grooves on its side, such as between the two dark shoulders angling down near the left edge of the scene. For scale, those shoulders are about 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) long. The grooves might have been carved long ago by water or ice or wind. The Rocheport name comes from a riverbank town in Missouri along the route of Lewis and Clark's "Corps of Discovery" Expedition. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.For more information about Opportunity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rovers and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov.Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA21941_full.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. | |
This image taken by the hazard-avoidance camera onboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 99 shows the rock dubbed 'Route 66' and a flower-shaped brush mark made by the rover's rock abrasion tool. | This image taken by the hazard-avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 99 shows the rock dubbed "Route 66" and a flower-shaped brush mark made by the rover's rock abrasion tool. The image was taken after a four-day break for flight software updates and confirms that these updates were successful. | |
Fracturing and erosion in this region is creating chaos terrain as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA01792Galaxias ChaosFracturing and erosion in this region is creating chaos terrain.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 33.9N, Longitude 147.2E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a light-toned butte composed of layered, sedimentary rock in the Iani Chaos region of Mars. | 28 July 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a light-toned butte composed of layered, sedimentary rock in the Iani Chaos region of Mars. It is located near 1.6°S, 18.2°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide, and is illuminated by sunlight from the left. | |
This approximate color view was obtained on sol 2 by the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) on board NASA's Mars Phoenix lander. The view is toward the northwest, showing polygonal terrain near the lander and out to the horizon. | This approximate color (SSI's red, green, and blue filters: 600, 530, and 480 nanometers) view was obtained on sol 2 by the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) on board the Phoenix lander. The view is toward the northwest, showing polygonal terrain near the lander and out to the horizon.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 scene captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter includes chaotic deposits with a wide range of colors. The deposits are distinctive with both unique colors and small-scale textures such as fracture patterns. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis scene includes chaotic deposits with a wide range of colors. The deposits are distinctive with both unique colors and small-scale textures such as fracture patterns.These are probably sedimentary rocks, transported and deposited in water or air. The original layers may have been jumbled in a landslide. Dark or reddish sand dunes cover some of the bedrock.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
The HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter got its best view yet of the InSight lander on September 23, 2019. | The HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter got its best view yet of the agency's InSight lander on Sept. 23, 2019.HiRISE has been monitoring InSight's landing site on the Red Planet for changes such as dust-devil tracks (the slightly dark diagonals streaks crisscrossing the surface). This new image clearly shows the two circular solar panels on either side of the lander body. From end to end, the panels span 20 feet (6 meters); the image was taken from an elevation of 169 miles (272 kilometers) above the surface. The bright spot on the lower side of the spacecraft is the dome-shaped protective cover over InSight's seismometer. Surrounding the spacecraft is a dark halo created by retrorocket thrusters scouring the surface during landing. Dark streaks seen crossing diagonally across the surface are dust-devil tracks. Several factors make this image crisper than past images. For one thing, there's less dust in the air this time of year compared to before. And shadows are offset from the lander because this is an oblique view looking west. Moreover, the lighting was better for avoiding the bright reflections from the lander or its solar panels that have obscured surrounding pixels in other images. The seismometer cover to the south of the lander is still bright because its dome shape always produces a mirror-like reflection over some small area.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages both the orbiter and lander missions for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of Caltech. The University of Arizona in Tucson operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity drove onto the 'Cape York' segment of the rim of Endeavour Crater in August 2011 and departed Cape York in May 2013. The location of a rock target called 'Esperance' is indicated in the main map. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity drove onto the "Cape York" segment of the rim of Endeavour Crater in August 2011 and departed Cape York in May 2013. The inset map at upper left shows the full path taken by the rover at Cape York and the location of the "Matijevic Hill" area, which is magnified in the main map. The location of a rock target called "Esperance" is indicated in the main map. Opportunity found evidence of clay-mineral composition at Esperance, indicating a history of alteration by water that was not strongly acidic.North is to the top in both maps. The scale bar in the main map is 10 meters (33 feet). The scale bar in the inset is ten times longer. The base imagery for the maps is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Opportunity's route enters the inset map from the left (west) and leaves at the bottom (south). | |
This image shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity as it dragged one of its wheels back and forth across the sandy martian soil at Meridiani Planum to create a hole in 2004. | The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity dragged one of its wheels back and forth across the sandy soil at Meridiani Planum to create a hole (bottom of image) measuring approximately 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) long by 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) wide by 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) deep. The rover's instrument deployment device, or arm, will begin studying the fresh soil at the bottom of this trench later today for clues to its mineral composition and history. Scientists chose this particular site for digging because previous data taken by the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer indicated that it contains crystalline hematite, a mineral that sometimes forms in the presence of water. The brightness of the newly-exposed soil is thought to be either intrinsic to the soil itself, or a reflection of the Sun. The rock outcrop lining the inner edge of the small crater encircling the rover and lander can be seen on the horizon. This fish-eye image was taken by the rover's hazard-avoidance camera. | |
This view is a vertical projection that combines more than 500 exposures taken by NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander and projects them as if looking down from above. The black circle on the spacecraft is where the camera itself is mounted on the lander. | This view is a vertical projection that combines more than 500 exposures taken by the Surface Stereo Imager camera on NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander and projects them as if looking down from above.The black circle on the spacecraft is where the camera itself is mounted on the lander, out of view in images taken by the camera. North is toward the top of the image. The height of the lander's meteorology mast, extending toward the southwest, appears exaggerated because that mast is taller than the camera mast.This view in approximately true color covers an area about 30 meters by 30 meters (about 100 feet by 100 feet). The landing site is at 68.22 degrees north latitude, 234.25 degrees east longitude on Mars.The ground surface around the lander has polygonal patterning similar to patterns in permafrost areas on Earth.This view comprises more than 100 different Stereo Surface Imager pointings, with images taken through three different filters at each pointing. The images were taken throughout the period from the 13th Martian day, or sol, after landing to the 47th sol (June 5 through July 12, 2008). The lander's Robotic Arm is cut off in this mosaic view because component images were taken when the arm was out of the frame.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 Global Surveyor shows a curved, pitted ridge in Isidis Planitia on Mars. This feature may be a remnant of a once more-extensive layer of material that covered the present, cratered surface. | 15 July 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a curved, pitted ridge in Isidis Planitia. This feature may be a remnant of a once more-extensive layer of material that covered the present, cratered surface.Location near: 2217.4°N, 277.8°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Autumn | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows erosional remnants of layered rock and large windblown ripples on the floor of a crater in the Tyrrhena Terra region of Mars. The layered rocks are most likely sedimentary. | 14 July 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows erosional remnants of layered rock and large windblown ripples on the floor of a crater in the Tyrrhena Terra region of Mars. The layered rocks are most likely sedimentary.Location near: 68.5°N, 191.8°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Spring | |
The channels in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are part of a complex valley system called Mamers Valles. Mamers Valles is located on the northern margin of Arabia Terra. | Context imageThe channels in this VIS image are part of a complex valley system called Mamers Valles. Mamers Valles is located on the northern margin of Arabia Terra.Orbit Number: 54641 Latitude: 32.8488 Longitude: 18.0953 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-04-08 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a location on Mars associated with the best-selling novel and Hollywood movie, 'The Martian.' It is the science-fiction tale's planned landing site for the Ares 4 mission. | This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a location on Mars associated with the best-selling novel and Hollywood movie, "The Martian." It is the science-fiction tale's planned landing site for the Ares 4 mission.The novel placed the Ares 4 site on the floor of a very shallow crater in the southwestern corner of Schiaparelli Crater. This HiRISE image shows a flat region there entirely mantled by bright Martian dust. There are no color variations, just uniform reddish dust. A pervasive, pitted texture visible at full resolution is characteristic of many dust deposits on Mars. No boulders are visible, so the dust is probably at least a meter thick.Past Martian rover and lander missions from NASA have avoided such pervasively dust-covered regions for two reasons. First, the dust has a low thermal inertia, meaning that it gets extra warm in the daytime and extra cold at night, a thermal challenge to survival of the landers and rovers (and people). Second, the dust hides the bedrock, so little is known about the bedrock composition and whether it is of scientific interest.This view is one image product from HiRISE observation ESP_042014_1760, taken July 14, 2015, at 3.9 degrees south latitude, 15.2 degrees east longitude. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it. | |
This false-color image NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows that fractures and possible layers are visible in the light-toned rock exposure containing the carbonates. The location is inside an unnamed crater on the uplifted rim of Huygens crater. | This image from orbit covers an area about 460 meters (about 1,500 feet) across, in which carbonate minerals have been identified from spectrometer observations. Fractures and possible layers are visible in the light-toned rock exposure containing the carbonates.The location is inside an unnamed crater about 35 kilometers (22 miles) in diameter that is on the uplifted rim of Huygens crater, which is 467 kilometers (290 miles) in diameter. The excavations by the impacts that dug first Huygens and then the smaller crater have exposed material in this image that had been buried an estimated 5 kilometers (3 miles) deep. The carbonates may be from part of an extensive buried layer that could hold much of the carbon that was once in a thick Martian atmosphere of carbon dioxide, some researchers propose. Mars now has a thin atmosphere that is mostly carbon dioxide, but evidence that liquid water was once widespread on the surface suggests the atmosphere was much thicker billions of years ago.The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provided this image. Identification of iron or calcium carbonates at this site, and also of clay minerals indicating a formerly wet environment, comes from an observation by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) on the same orbiter. In the presence of water and other conditions, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can be captured into carbonate minerals.The image is presented in false color, making differences in surface composition more visible than they would appear to the human eye. It combines information collected separately in red, blue-green, and near-infrared wavelengths.The image is from HiRISE observation ESP_012897_168, made on April 27, 2009, and centered at 11.6 degrees south latitude, 51.9 degrees east longitude.HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., led the effort to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. 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 NASA's industry partner for the mission and built the spacecraft. | |
This image of Candor Chasma captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows layered floor materials. | Context imageThis VIS image of Candor Chasma shows layered floor materials.Orbit Number: 45218 Latitude: -6.17602 Longitude: 285.118 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-02-23 10:28Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This view of the lower front and underbelly areas of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity was taken by the rover's MAHLI camera during Sept. 9, 2012. Also visible are the hazard avoidance cameras on the front of the rover. | This view of the lower front and underbelly areas of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity was taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 34th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Sept. 9, 2012). Also visible are the hazard avoidance cameras on the front of the rover.MAHLI is located in the turret of tools at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. The Sol 34 imaging by MAHLI was part of a week-long set of activities for characterizing the movement of the arm in Mars conditions. The main purpose of Curiosity's MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site. The camera is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity, providing versatility for other uses, such as views of the rover itself from different angles. | |
The channel feature in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is called Mangala Fossa. This feature was formed by tectonic activity, with the walls being faults that allowed the central portion to slide downward forming a graben. | Context imageThe channel feature in this VIS image is called Mangala Fossa. This feature was formed by tectonic activity, with the walls being faults that allowed the central portion to slide downward forming a graben. In this area the walls of the graben have been modified by erosion and several landslides. The floor host a flow feature entering from the left side of the image.Orbit Number: 63040 Latitude: -15.6638 Longitude: 217.878 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-02-29 11:55Please 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. | |
Layers in Melas Chasma | Click on image for larger annotated versionThis scene of layered deposits is from Melas Chasma, part of the Valles Marineris valley network. The area consists of a series of plateaus and cliffs that form a step-like terrain similar to the Grand Staircase-Escalante region of southwest Utah. The upper-right half of the image covers the highest plateau, and lower cliffs and plateaus step down in elevation toward the lower left of the image. Dunes of dark sand commonly cover the flat plateaus and distinct layers of bedrock are exposed in the cliffs. The orientations of these layers may help scientists to understand how the layers formed and the kind of environment that the layers formed in. Black rectangles on the left side of the image are areas where the image data was lost during transmission from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to Earth. This subscene [above] shows a series of boulder tracks on the left side of the image. The boulders fell from the cliffs above and left behind a series of small depressions. Each depression was made as the boulder bounced and rolled along the surface. In many cases, the tracks can be followed to the specific boulder that made them. Also visible in this subscene are cross-sections through the layered bedrock. This bedrock likely formed through settling of sand-sized particles out of the air or out of a body of water that has since drained away. These layers are 'cross-bedded', which means that subsequent layers are not parallel to each other but are instead oriented at an angle to other layers. The fact that these layers are cross-bedded indicates that the sand-sized particles were moved horizontally along the surface as they settled, just like sand dunes or ripples at the bottom of a stream. The size and shape of these cross-beds may help scientists to determine if the layers formed underwater or on land. Image PSP_001377_1685 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 11, 2006. The complete image is centered at -11.3 degrees latitude, 286.3 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 257.7 km (161.0 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 25.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 51.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here [below] has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:32 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 60 degrees, thus the sun was about 30 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 133.9 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's forward view at Meridiani Planum as well as 'Endurance Crater.' The shadow of the rover's panoramic camera mast assembly can be seen on the bottom right. | This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's navigation camera shows the rover's forward view at Meridiani Planum, Mars, on Sol 70 of the mission (April 5, 2004). The crater dubbed "Endurance Crater," a future rover target less than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) away, can be seen on the far right. On the left is a trough region dubbed "Anatolia," located some 150 meters (492 feet) away from the rover's previous location "Eagle Crater." The shadow of the rover's panoramic camera mast assembly can be seen on the bottom right. | |
With southern summer drawing to a close, the surface of the polar ice cap will begin to frost over on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageWith southern summer drawing to a close, the surface of the polar ice cap will begin to frost over. We won't see the details of the surface textures again until next southern summer -- in two Earth years.Orbit Number: 42569 Latitude: -85.5211 Longitude: 286.422 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-07-20 09:53Please 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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a portion of Cerberus Fossae. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a portion of Cerberus Fossae. The fossae are linear depressions, called graben, created by tectonic activity.Orbit Number: 63516 Latitude: 9.99598 Longitude: 158.121 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-04-08 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a wide, flat-floored trough flanked by several smaller, branching troughs in the Olympica Fossae region of Mars. Dark- and intermediate-toned slope streaks, created by dry avalanches of dust, occur on the trough walls. | 11 June 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a wide, flat-floored trough flanked by several smaller, branching troughs in the Olympica Fossae region of Mars. Dark- and intermediate-toned slope streaks -- created by dry avalanches of dust -- occur on the trough walls.Location near: 25.1°N, 113.8°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Winter | |
This map shows the thickness of the south polar layered deposits of Mars, an ice-rich geologic unit that was probed by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) | Annotated VersionThis map shows the thickness of the south polar layered deposits of Mars, an ice-rich geologic unit that was probed by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS). The MARSIS radar is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. The thickness of the layered deposits was determined by measuring the time delay between radar echoes from the surface and those from the lower boundary, or "bed," of the deposits. The radar data indicate that the deposit, larger than Texas in area, 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 map was generated by comparing the elevation of the bed as determined by MARSIS with the high-resolution map of surface topography obtained by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. The thickness of the layered deposits is shown by colors, with purple representing the thinnest areas, and red the thickest. 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 map 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. | |
Straight and meandering thin ridges are periodically found on Mars. Such ridges can form in a variety of ways, as seen in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Straight and meandering thin ridges are periodically found on Mars. Such ridges can form in a variety of ways.Rivers beneath glaciers can deposit rocks and sand leaving a raised ridge, called an esker, when the glacier retreats. Sometimes sandy river beds can become cemented by minerals. Later when the river is gone and the uncemented soils next to the old river bed are eroded more easily, the old river bed itself is left standing.In this observation, relatively straight and narrow ridges are found crisscrossing the slopes between rocky mesas and adjacent valleys. That these ridges extend along steep slopes is unlike the water-born ridges mentioned above. Additionally, some ridges appear to connect through the mesa and extend also down the opposite slope. These features of the ridges suggest that they cut deep into the interior of the mesas.A ridge of volcanic rock called a dike occurs when magma is squeezed into a deep fracture in the surrounding rock and upward to (or near) the surface. This magma cools and solidifies into a strong rock that resists erosion better than the fracture rock the magma squeezed into earlier. When erosion of these rocks occurs, the harder volcanic rock is left standing as a ridge and reveals the underground plumbing system of the volcanic vent.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
Juventae Chasma is an enormous box canyon which opens to the north and forms the outflow channel Maja Vallis. This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft captures a portion of the western floor of Juventae Chasma and shows a wide variety of landforms. | (Released 30 May 2002)Juventae Chasma is an enormous box canyon (250 km X 100 km) which opens to the north and forms the outflow channel Maja Vallis. Most Martian outflow channels such as Maja, Kasei, and Ares Valles begin at point sources such as box canyons and chaotic terrain and then flow unconfined into a basin region. This image captures a portion of the western floor of Juventae Chasma and shows a wide variety of landforms. Conical hills, mesas, buttes and plateaus of layered material dominate this scene and seem to be "swimming" in vast sand sheets. The conical hills have a spur and gully topography associated with them while the flat topped buttes and mesas do not. This may be indicative of different materials that compose each of these landforms or it could be that the flat-topped layer has been completely eroded off of the conical hills thereby exposing a different rock type. Both the conical hills and flat-topped buttes and mesas have extensive scree slopes (heaps of eroded rock and debris). Ripples, which are inferred to be dunes, can also be seen amongst the hills. No impact craters can be seen in this image, indicating that the erosion and transport of material down the canyon wall and across the floor is occurring at a relatively rapid rate, so that any craters that form are rapidly buried or eroded. | |
This view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005, at the edge of 'Erebus Crater.' The view here shows outcrop rocks, sand dunes, and other features. | This view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rover's 652nd through 663rd Martian days, or sols (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005), at the edge of "Erebus Crater." The mosaic is presented as a vertical projection. This type of projection provides a true-to-scale overhead view of the rover deck and nearby surrounding terrain. The view here shows outcrop rocks, sand dunes, and other features out to a distance of about 25 meters (82 feet) from the rover. Opportunity examined targets on the outcrop called "Rimrock" in front of the rover, testing the mobility and operation of Opportunity's robotic arm. The view shows examples of the dunes and ripples that Opportunity has been crossing as the rover drives on the Meridiani plains.This view is a false-color composite of images taken through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. This kind of false-color scheme emphasizes differences in composition among the different kinds of materials that the rover is exploring. | |
Possible Cinder Cone on the Southern Flank of Pavonis Mons | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_002671_1790) is centered on a small cone on the side of one of Mars' giant shield volcanoes. The cone shows some layers of hard rock but most of it is made of relatively soft material. This appears to be an example of a "cinder" cone composed of pieces of lava thrown into the air during a small volcanic eruption.Typically, such eruptions produce fountains of molten lava. Most of the lava would have cooled in this fountain, producing a loose pile of lava rocks. However, it appears that some pulses of the eruption allowed the lava to land without cooling much. These pieces were hot enough to weld together to make the hard layers we see today. The cone is 700 x 1100 m (2300 x 3600 feet) in size, similar to many cinder cones on Earth. In other parts of the image, we see channels carved by lava. It is sometimes difficult to tell if a channel was formed by flowing water or lava; in this case, it is possible to see that lava flows feed out of these channels. Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 2 February 2007Local Mars time: 3:43 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -1.1°Degrees longitude (East): 246.6°Range to target site: 254.5 km (159.1 miles)Original image scale range: 50.9 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~153 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 50 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 2.6°Phase angle: 53.3°Solar incidence angle: 56°, with the Sun about 34° above the horizonSolar longitude: 187.3°, Northern AutumnNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the large dune field on the floor of Proctor Crater. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of the large dune field on the floor of Proctor Crater.Orbit Number: 58099 Latitude: -47.4529 Longitude: 30.7164 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-01-18 14:01Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a region of chaos terrain south of Eos Chasma. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a region of chaos terrain south of Eos Chasma. Chaos 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. It has been proposed that a catastrophic outflow of subsurface water creates the chaos.Orbit Number: 93210 Latitude: -16.1911 Longitude: 318.75 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-12-19 04:19Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image taken by the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the powdery soil of Mars in 3-D. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | This image taken by the microscopic imager on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the powdery soil of Mars in 3-D. It is the sharpest look yet at the surface of another planet. The microscopic imager is located on the rover's instrument deployment device, or "arm." | |
This image released on Oct 27, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows the Martian north polar cap. Streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides showing the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. | This week we will be looking at five examples of laminar wind flow on the north polar cap. On Earth, gravity-driven south polar cap winds are termed "catabatic" winds. Catabatic winds begin over the smooth expanse of the cap interior due to temperature differences between the atmosphere and the surface. Once begun, the winds sweep outward along the surface of the polar cap toward the sea. As the polar surface slopes down toward sealevel, the wind speeds increase. Catabatic wind speeds in the Antartic can reach several hundreds of miles per hour.In the images of the Martian north polar cap we can see these same type of winds. Notice the streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides, these streamers show the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. Within the trough we see turbulent clouds of dust, kicked up at the trough base as the winds slow down and enter a chaotic flow regime.The horizontal lines in these images are due to framelet overlap and lighting conditions over the bright polar cap.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 84.3, Longitude 314.4 East (45.6 West). 40 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 the southeastern portion of Hephaestus Fossae. Hephaestus Fossae is a complex channel system in Utopia Planitia near Elysium Mons. | Context imageThis VIS image is located in the southeastern portion of Hephaestus Fossae. Hephaestus Fossae is a complex channel system in Utopia Planitia near Elysium Mons. It has been proposed that the channel formed by the release of melted subsurface ice during the impact event that created a large crater west of this image. Additionally, the nearby Elysium volcanic center created subsurface heating that may have played a part in creating both Hephaestus Fossae and Hebrus Valles to the north. Hephaestus Fossae are over 600km long (373 miles).Orbit Number: 78847 Latitude: 17.5748 Longitude: 126.158 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-09-23 13:59Please 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired this image on April 5, 1998. Shown here is the 'Face on Mars' feature in the Cydonia region. | Shortly after midnight Sunday morning (5 April 1998 12:39 AM PST), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft successfully acquired a high resolution image of the "Face on Mars" feature in the Cydonia region. The image was transmitted to Earth on Sunday, and retrieved from the mission computer data base Monday morning (6 April 1998). The image was processed at the Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) facility 9:15 AM and the raw image immediately transferred to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for release to the Internet. The images shown here were subsequently processed at MSSS.The picture was acquired 375 seconds after the spacecraft's 220th close approach to Mars. At that time, the "Face," located at approximately 40.8° N, 9.6° W, was 275 miles (444 km) from the spacecraft. The "morning" sun was 25° above the horizon. The picture has a resolution of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters) per pixel, making it ten times higher resolution than the best previous image of the feature, which was taken by the Viking Mission in the mid-1970's. The full image covers an area 2.7 miles (4.4 km) wide and 25.7 miles (41.5 km) long. Processing Image processing has been applied to the images in order to improve the visibility of features. This processing included the following steps:The image was processed to remove the sensitivity differences between adjacent picture elements (calibrated). This removes the vertical streaking.The contrast and brightness of the image was adjusted, and "filters" were applied to enhance detail at several scales.The image was then geometrically warped to meet the computed position information for a mercator-type map. This corrected for the left-right flip, and the non-vertical viewing angle (about 45° from vertical), but also introduced some vertical "elongation" of the image for the same reason Greenland looks larger than Africa on a mercator map of the Earth.A section of the image, containing the "Face" and a couple of nearly impact craters and hills, was "cut" out of the full image and reproduced separately.See PIA01440, PIA01441, and PIA01442 for additional processing steps. Also see PIA01236
for the raw image.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 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a small portion of Daedalia Planum, which is comprised of lava flows from Arsia Mons. Note the small channel in the image. This channel was likely created by lava rather than water flow. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small portion of Daedalia Planum, which is comprised of lava flows from Arsia Mons. Note the small channel in the image. This channel was likely created by lava rather than water flow.Orbit Number: 42985 Latitude: -22.4278 Longitude: 237.499 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-08-23 15:02Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image was taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter during the Martian northern summer, thus there is no frost present on the dunes. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis dune field formed near the base of the North Polar cap. Dunes require a source of loose particulate material to form. The source of the northern dune fields around the polar cap may be from the layers of dusty ice that are eroded by strong polar winds.This image was taken during the Martian northern summer, so there is no frost present on the dunes. The dunes closest to the base of the polar cap are long and parallel, indicating strong winds from the direction of the cap. As they get farther away from the polar cap, they start to form more crescent shaped dunes, called barchan dunes.Repeated observations by HiRISE of dunes like these show measurable changes in some locations. This discovery adds to the growing evidence that there are active processes happening all over the surface of Mars today.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. | |
A sweeping panorama combining 33 telephoto images into one Martian vista presents details of several types of terrain visible on Mount Sharp from a location along the route of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger annotated viewDownload the full resolution annotated TIFF fileA sweeping panorama combining 33 telephoto images into one Martian vista presents details of several types of terrain visible on Mount Sharp from a location along the route of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.The rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam) recorded the component images with its right-eye camera on April 10, 2015, during the 952nd Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars, before that sol's drive. The panorama spans from south-southeast, at left, to west-southwest. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth.Higher elevations on Mount Sharp are visible at left, including the jagged skyline to the right of a 100-meter scale bar overlaid on the image. (One hundred meters is about 328 feet.) The 2-meter (7-foot) scale bar near the center of the scene is on an exposure of pale mudstone within Mount Sharp's basal geological unit, the Murray formation, and nearby darker rocks. The 3-meter (10-foot) scale bar farther to the right is at the base of a rise called "Gray Wolf Peak." "Logan Pass," a science destination for the rover, is at a dip on the horizon near the right edge of the panorama. Figure 1 is an annotated version of this panorama. A map of this area, showing the rover's location at the time of this observation, is at PIA19399. Another Mastcam panorama taken on Sol 957 (April 16, 2015) after an additional 154 meters (505 feet) of generally southwestward driving shows more detail of the Logan Pass area toward the right end of this panorama, at PIA19398. Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA19397_full.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. This panorama may also be viewed at http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/deepzoom/PIA19397.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. 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.For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image released on July 2, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey was taken during mid-spring near Mars' north pole. Eons of atmospheric dust storm activity has left its mark on the surface of Mars. | Released 2 July 2004The atmosphere of Mars is a dynamic system. Water-ice clouds, fog, and hazes can make imaging the surface from space difficult. Dust storms can grow from local disturbances to global sizes, through which imaging is impossible. Seasonal temperature changes are the usual drivers in cloud and dust storm development and growth. Eons of atmospheric dust storm activity has left its mark on the surface of Mars. Dust carried aloft by the wind has settled out on every available surface; sand dunes have been created and moved by centuries of wind; and the effect of continual sand-blasting has modified many regions of Mars, creating yardangs and other unusual surface forms. This image was acquired during mid-spring near the North Pole. The linear water-ice clouds are now regional in extent and often interact with neighboring cloud system, as seen in this image. The bottom of the image shows how the interaction can destroy the linear nature. While the surface is still visible through most of the clouds, there is evidence that dust is also starting to enter the atmosphere.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 68.4, Longitude 180 East (180 West). 38 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, part of an images as art series from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on Feb 27, 2004 shows a part of the martian surface resembling pancakes. | Released 27 February 2004Humanity is a very visual species. We rely on our eyes to tell us what is going on in the world around us. Put any image in front of a person and that person will examine the picture looking for anything familiar. Even if the examiner has no idea what he/she is looking at in a picture, he/she will still be able to make a statement about the picture, usually preceded by the words "it looks like..." The image above is part of the surface of Mars, but is presented for its artistic value rather than its scientific value. When first viewed, this image solicited a statement that "it looks like..." something seen in everyday life.Anyone for pancakes?Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the south polar region of Mars in mid-November 2005. | 29 November 2005This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 324° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 324° occurred in mid-November 2005. The picture shows the south polar region 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 Winter/Southern Summer | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a short section of Reull Vallis. Reull Vallis starts in Promethei Terra and empties into Hellas Plainitia. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a short section of Reull Vallis. Reull Vallis starts in Promethei Terra and empties into Hellas Plainitia. Reull Vallis is 1051km (653 miles) long.Orbit Number: 92175 Latitude: -38.4731 Longitude: 111.272 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-09-24 23:41Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The red dot labeled 'Sol 134-141' in this map illustrates when and where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired the 'Santa Anita Panorama.' | The red dot labeled "Sol 134-141" in this map illustrates when and where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired the "Santa Anita Panorama." Scientists consider this area, located roughly three-fourths of the way between "Bonneville Crater" and the base of the "Columbia Hills," a treasure trove that may be studied for decades to come. The panorama is one of four 360-degree full panoramas the rover has acquired during its mission. The color thermal inertia data show how well different surface features hold onto heat. Red indicates a high thermal inertia associated with rocky terrain (regions that take longer to warm up and cool down); blue indicates a lower thermal inertia associated with smaller particles and fewer rocks (areas that warm up and cool off quickly). The map comprises background images from the camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter and data from the thermal emission spectrometer on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. | |
This is a coordinate map of rocks counted by NASA's Mars Pathfinder in 1997. | Mars-local-level (LL frame) coordinate map of rocks counted at the Mars Pathfinder landing site. Positions, apparent diameters (D), and heights (H) were measured to the nearest centimeter in the Mars map virtual reality environment constructed from the "Monster Pan."
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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows frosted craters of northern spring and southern autumn in Lomonosov Crater on Mars. | The Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle system is used to monitor changes in martian weather and the seasonal coming and going of polar frost. These four wide angle pictures of craters in both the northern and southern middle and polar latitudes of Mars show examples of frost monitoring conducted by the MOC in recent months. It is spring in the northern hemisphere, and frost that accumulated during the most recent 6-month-long winter has been retreating since May. Examples of frost-rimmed craters include Lomonosov (top, left) and an unnamed crater farther north (top, right). The unnamed crater has a patch of frost on its floor that--based on how it looked during the 1970s Viking missions--is expected to persist through summer. It is autumn in the southern hemisphere, and frost was seen as early as August in some craters, such as Barnard (bottom, left); later the frost line moved farther north, and we began to see frost in Lowell Crater (bottom, right) in mid-October. For a view of what Lomonosov Crater looked like during northern winter, see "The Frosty Rims of Lomonosov Crater in Winter."This is a series of 4 images. Each image is a composite of two pictures obtained at the same time, a red wide angle view and a blue wide angle view. In each picture, north is toward the top and sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left (for southern hemisphere) or lower left (for northern hemisphere). |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.