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Coprates Chasma is one of the numerous canyons that make up Valles Marineris. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is located in eastern Coprates Chasma. | Context image Coprates Chasma is one of the numerous canyons that make up Valles Marineris. The chasma stretches for 960 km (600 miles) from Melas Chasma to the west and Capri Chasma to the east. Landslide deposits, layered materials and sand dunes cover a large portion of the chasma floor. This image is located in eastern Coprates Chasma, just east of the previous image. In this image, the lobate margins of several landslide deposits are easy to identify. This indicates the chaotic surface in yesterday's image are materials emplaced by landslides. The brighter features at the bottom of the image are layered materials. There are also dunes in the region with the layered deposits.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 33037 Latitude: -13.8409 Longitude: 301.104 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2009-05-26 13:16Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows several windstreaks located on the volcanic flows west of Ceraunius Tholus. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows several windstreaks located on the volcanic flows west of Ceraunius Tholus.Orbit Number: 60468 Latitude: 24.5971 Longitude: 261.038 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-08-01 16:36Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the large dune field located on the floor of Russell Crater on Mars. | Context image for PIA10257Russell CraterThis spectacular VIS image shows part of the large dune field located on the floor of Russell Crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -54.4N, Longitude 12.5E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The floor of the crater at the top of this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is completely covered by a large sand sheet with surface dune forms. Now that is it near the end of northern spring all the frost has disappeared from the sand. | Context imageToday's VIS image is shows a small portion of Tempe Fossae. The fossae is comprised of paired, parallel fractures with a down-dropped block between the fracture set.Orbit Number: 45542 Latitude: 36.025 Longitude: 278.527 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-03-21 04:01Please 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 Exploration Rover Opportunity's front hazard-avoidance camera shows the rover at its Sol 53 (March 17, 2004) location within the 'Eagle Crater' landing site. | Figure 1This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's front hazard-avoidance camera shows the rover at its Sol 53 (March 17, 2004) location within the "Eagle Crater" landing site. Dubbed "Neopolitan," this location has three different soil patches: a very light unit, a dark unit, and an airbag bounce mark. Scientists are imaging each of these units as part of a crater soil survey. They hope to better understand the origin of the soils they see in the crater and the relationship of the soils to the rocks in Opportunity ledge. This image was taken on sol 52 of Opportunity's journey (March 16, 2004).The Ice Cream TrioIn Figure 1 above, the light soil unit, seen on the left, is a microscopic imager target dubbed "Vanilla." The dark soil unit on the right is a target dubbed "Cookies 'n' Cream. | |
The channels in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are a small portion of the channel complex called Arda Valles. | Context imageThe channels in this VIS image are a small portion of the channel complex called Arda Valles.Orbit Number: 52171 Latitude: -20.3227 Longitude: 327.655 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-09-17 15:52Please 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 'X' marks the spot where NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars. This is well within the targeted landing region, called the landing
ellipse, marked by the light blue line. | The red "X" marks the spot where NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars. Early estimates made immediately after the rover landed (green diamond) indicated the rover touched down about one-and-a-half miles (2.4 kilometers) from the point it was targeting, to the left and out of sight on this graphic. This is well within the targeted landing region, called the landing ellipse, marked by the light blue line. Later after landing, images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (not shown here) were able to pinpoint the rover's precise location, as shown by the red "X."
Before landing, the mission team had also made predictions about where six entry ballast masses released from the descending spacecraft would land, as indicated by the dark blue landing ellipse and six dots. These weights, which are made of a heavy metal called tungsten, were released to straighten the descending spacecraft out from the tilted position it needed to ride through the atmosphere.
The overlaid black-and-white picture shows the actual landing positions of the ballasts, as indicated by the dark scour marks they left on the surface. Arrows indicate the locations. That picture was taken by the Context Camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The background color image is from MRO. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a portion of Lycus Sulci, a rugged, ridged terrain north of the giant Olympus Mons volcano on Mars. Dark streaks considered to result from the avalanching of dry, fine, bright dust. | Now in its Extended Mission, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) is into its second Mars year of systematic observations of the red planet. With the Extended Mission slated to run through April 2002, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) is being used, among other things, to look for changes that have occurred in the past martian year. Because Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth, its year is longer--about 687 Earth days.The two pictures shown here cover the same portion of Lycus Sulci, a rugged, ridged terrain north of the giant Olympus Mons volcano. The interval between the pictures span 92% of a martian year (August 2, 1999 to April 27, 2001). Dark streaks considered to result from the avalanching of dry, fine, bright dust are seen in both images. The disruption of the surface by the avalanching materials is thought to cause them to appear darker than their surroundings, just as the 1997 bouncing of Mars Pathfinder's airbags and the tire tracks made by the Sojourner rover left darkened markings indicating where the martian soil had been disrupted and disturbed. The arrows in the April 2001 picture indicate eight new streaks that formed on these slopes in Lycus Sulci since August 1999. These observations suggest that a new streak forms approximately once per martian year per kilometer (about 0.62 miles) along a slope.In both images, north is toward the top/upper right and sunlight illuminates each from the left. Dark (as well bright) slope streaks are most common in the dust-covered martian regions of Tharsis, Arabia, and Elysium. | |
NASA's Spirit rover's panoramic camera took this mosaic on July 20, 2005, as it approached a suite of layered rocks named 'Voltaire.' Seven to eight discrete layers are evident. | Annotated image of PIA04192Sitting on 'Voltaire'Spirit's panoramic camera took this mosaic on martian day, or sol, 549 (July 20, 2005), as it approached a suite of layered rocks named "Voltaire." Seven to eight discrete layers can be seen in the bottom portion of the image, running from upper left to lower right. These rock layers are about 20 to 40 centimeters (8 to 16 inches) wide, and extend several meters in length. Spirit visited "Haussmann" and several other rocks within the layered suite to perform close-up imaging, and to obtain measurements from its Moessbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a crater's raised rim still pokes out above the surrounding plains on Mars. | 19 December 2004Most craters on the martian northern lowland plains are filled and many of them are buried just beneath the surface, or are mostly buried. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example, in which only the crater's raised rim still pokes out above the surrounding plains. This crater is located near 46.2°N, 257.7°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image acquired on September 4, 2021 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows Orson Welles Crater, north of Ganges Chasma. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionNorth of Ganges Chasma lies Orson Welles Crater, whose floor contains broken up blocks we call chaotic terrain and which is the source for the major outflow channel Shalbatana Vallis.Between Orson Welles and Ganges Chasma is a region where materials subsided and collapsed over underground cavities that had once held aquifers. This image shows an elongated collapse pit. There is evidence that the pit was once filled with water as the groundwater erupted to the surface. A closer view shows fine sedimentary layers exposed by erosion. The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 56.2 centimeters [22.1 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 169 centimeters [66.5 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a typical view of the vast martian northern plains. The dark, filamentary streaks were most likely formed by passing dust devils. | 2 March 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a typical view of the vast martian northern plains. The dark, filamentary streaks were most likely formed by passing dust devils.Location near: 53.3°N, 57.3°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Summer | |
This image shows warm-season flows on a north-facing slope in middle southern latitudes of Mars. It was taken by the HiRISE camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on June 24, 2011. The season was summer in Mars' southern hemisphere. | This image shows warm-season flows on a north-facing slope in middle southern latitudes of Mars. It was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on June 24, 2011. The season was summer in Mars' southern hemisphere.The flow features are narrow (one-half to five yards or meters wide), relatively dark markings on steep (25 to 40 degree) slopes at a few other southern hemisphere locations. Repeat imaging by HiRISE shows the features appear and incrementally grow during warm seasons and fade in cold seasons. Sequences of observations recording the seasonal changes in these flows might be evidence of salty liquid water active on Mars today.Other imagery related to these new findings from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/multimedia/gallery/gallery-index.html.This image is one product from HiRISE observation ESP_023007_1410. Other image products from this observation are available at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_023007_1410.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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Trouvelot Crater and a smaller crater on its floor. | Context imageThis VIS image shows Trouvelot Crater and a smaller crater on its floor. Dark blue tones in this version of color combination is often dark basaltic sands.The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image.Orbit Number: 61089 Latitude: 16.4305 Longitude: 347.363 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-09-21 19:51Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the first impression, dubbed Yeti and looking like a wide footprint, made on the martian soil by the robotic arm scoop on May 31, 2008. | This view from the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the first impression—dubbed Yeti and looking like a wide footprint -- made on the Martian soil by the Robotic Arm scoop on Sol 6, the sixth Martian day of the mission, (May 31, 2008).Touching the ground is the first step toward scooping up soil and ice and delivering the samples to the lander's experiments. The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this image to aid in the search for the missing lander, Mars 2. If the debris field is found, it could serve as a future landing location to study the effects of crash landing on the Martian surface. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionDespite the recent successes of missions landing on Mars, like the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) or the arrival of new satellites, such as India's MOM orbiter, the Red Planet is also a graveyard of failed missions.The Soviet Mars 2 lander was the first man-made object to touch the surface of the Red Planet when it crashed landed on 27 November 1971. It is believed that the descent stage malfunctioned after the lander entered the atmosphere at too steep an angle. Attempts to contact the probe after the crash were unsuccessful.HiRISE acquired this image to aid in the search for the missing lander. If the Mars 2 debris field is found, it could serve as a future landing location for a mission to study the effects of crash landing on the Martian surface and effects of aging on man-made objects.This caption is based on the original science rationale. To date, the debris field has not been located, but this spot was noted as a probably location for the Mars 3 lander.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark streak patterns on the surface of Mars caused by dust devils. | 9 June 2004Martian dust devils sometimes disrupt thin coatings of surface dust to create dark streak patterns on the surface. However, not all dust devils make streaks, and not all dust devil streaks are dark. In Syria Planum, the streaks are lighter than the surrounding plains. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows an example from Syria near 8.8°S, 103.6°W. The thin coating of surface dust in this region is darker than the substrate beneath it. This is fairly unusual for Mars, because most dust is bright. This image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the left/lower left. | |
This image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from the Gordii Dorsum region of Mars shows a large area covered with polygonal ridges in an almost geometric pattern. | This image from the Gordii Dorsum region of Mars shows a large area covered with polygonal ridges in an almost geometric pattern. The ridges may have originally been dunes that hardened through the action of an unknown process. Groundwater might have been involved.The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this scene on April 9, 2010. This image spans a distance of about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) and is presented in false color, which aids in distinguishing among surface materials and textures. It is a portion of the HiRISE observation catalogued as ESP_017348_1910, an area centered at 10.8 degrees north latitude, 212.2 degrees east longitude. Other image products from this observation are available at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_017348_1910. 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, built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows an impact crater in the volcanic Tharsis region of Mars. The margins of a lava flow are seen above the crater. | 5 June 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an impact crater in the volcanic Tharsis region of Mars. The margins of a lava flow are seen to the north (above) the crater.Location near: 22.2°N, 114.2°WImage width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Autumn | |
This image taken by a front Hazard-Avoidance camera on NASA's Curiosity shows track marks from the rover's first Martian drives. | This image taken by a front Hazard-Avoidance camera on NASA's Curiosity shows track marks from the rover's first Martian drives. The rover's Bradbury Landing site and its first tire marks are seen at center, in the distance, while tracks from the second drive are in the foreground. Mount Sharp is on the horizon, which is curved to due to the camera's fisheye lens. In Curiosity's second drive, it rotated about 90 degrees, rolled about 16 feet (5 meters), then rotated back about 120 degrees to face roughly the same direction from which it started. The drive placed it over a scour mark called Goulburn, an area of bedrock exposed by thrusters on the rover's sky crane. Scientists will continue their investigations there.JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Arabia Terra. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Arabia Terra. The different tones in the image indicate there is a difference between the dark and light surfaces. It could be due to differences in dust cover, or actual different layers of materials.Orbit Number: 87213 Latitude: 18.2372 Longitude: 335.439 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-08-12 10:16Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the plains of Terra Cimmeria. | Context imageThe THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the plains of Terra Cimmeria.Orbit Number: 43426 Latitude: -15.9541 Longitude: 119.282 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-09-28 22:37Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Acidalia/Mare Erythraeum face of Mars in mid-July, 2006. | 11 July 2006This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 79° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 79° occurs in mid-July 2006. The picture shows the Acidalia/Mare Erythraeum face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn.Season: Northern Spring/Southern Autumn | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-570, 10 December 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows troughs created by movement along geologic faults in the upper crust of Mars in the Tempe Terra region. Large ripple-like dunes have formed in sediment trapped on the floors of the troughs. In most cases, the ripples are oriented with their crests perpendicular to the troughs, indicating that local winds within each trough are responsible for their patterns. This area is located near 33.1°N, 70.2°W. The image covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated from the lower left. | |
This image shows part of Coprates Chasma as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Coprates Chasma.Orbit Number: 52347 Latitude: -13.3246 Longitude: 295.016 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-10-02 03:24Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's rover Curiosity shows that many holes in the rock are occupied by what appears to be material different from that of the main rock itself. | The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity was positioned about 4 inches (10 centimeters) from the surface of the "Point Lake" outcrop when it took this image of a portion of the outcrop's steep face. This close-up view and others from MAHLI on the same Martian day -- Sol 303 of the mission (June 13, 2013) -- show that many holes in the rock are occupied by what appears to be material different from that of the main rock itself. Specifically, the material in the holes seems to be finer-grained, slightly darker, and slightly more resistant to weathering. In many instances, there is a moat of sorts between the more resistant interior material and the main Point Lake rock.In this image, the larger hole containing a darker inclusion with a fleck of bright material in the moat is roughly 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in diameter.Curiosity's science team chose to approach Point Lake with the rover in June 2013 to get a closer look after earlier imaging of Point Lake (such as at PIA17071) left uncertainty about whether this outcrop is igneous or sedimentary. A closer look still leaves room for interpretation. The material in the holes observed with MAHLI could be pebbles that blew into pre-existing holes, but it seems unlikely that the same type of pebble would blow into every hole. They might be pebbles that were part of the rock all along, as would be expected if Point Lake is sandstone with a few coarser pebbles (and therefore supporting the sedimentary interpretation). If Point Lake is igneous, the material in the holes might be individual, larger crystals within an otherwise finer-crystalline rock. Such crystals are called phenocrysts, and indicate that they got a head start on cooling before the rest of the rock was erupted onto the surface. Finally, the material in the holes could be secondary -- having been deposited at a later time in pre-existing holes of the rock from percolating fluids or gases. This last scenario could fit either the sedimentary or igneous interpretation, without favoring one over the other.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates MAHLI. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This image, the last in sequence of 8 taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft prior to its arrival at Mars on September 11, 1997, shows a spectacular view of the large volcano, Olympus Mons, very close to the morning sunrise line. | This image, the last in sequence of 8 taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft prior to its arrival at Mars on September 11, 1997, shows a spectacular view of the large volcano, Olympus Mons, very close to the morning sunrise line (called the terminator). Taken early in the morning of August 21, the view clearly shows the summit crater (the caldera) and the 3,000 m (9,800 feet) high escarpment that surrounds the base of the 25,000 meter (82,000 feet) high, 550 km (340 mile) wide volcano. To the right of Olympus Mons are three other large volcanoes (Ascraeus Mons, top; Pavonis Mons, middle; Arsia Mons, bottom). The image is centered near 23.6° N, 127.2° W, and was acquired when MGS was 5.38 million kilometers (3.34 million miles) from Mars. At this distance, the MOC's resolution is about 20 km per picture element, and the 6800 km (4200 mile) diameter planet is about 340 pixels across. In the 46 hours between the first and last images in the sequence, the diameter of Mars in the pictures grew by almost 10%.Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Olympia Undae, the largest of several dune fields that encircle the north polar cap. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Olympia Undae, the largest of several dune fields that encircle the north polar cap. This image was collected in the spring season.Orbit Number: 78164 Latitude: 80.7292 Longitude: 224.712 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-07-29 08:37Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Perseverance rover took this image of the Martian rock nicknamed Rochette on Aug. 27, 2021, shortly after it abraded a circular patch known as Bellegarde. | Figure 1NASA's Perseverance rover took this image of the Martian rock nicknamed "Rochette" on Aug. 27, 2021, shortly after it abraded a circular patch known as "Bellegarde." The patch is about 0.39 inches (10 millimeters) deep and about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter. The main image was taken by one of the rover's Hazard Avoidance Cameras. A secondary image in which part of the rover deck is visible shows the abrasion patch from the point of view of a Navigation Camera on Perseverance's mast. Both images were taken on the 185th sol (Martian day) of the rover's mission and processed to enhance contrast.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.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.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.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built and manages operations of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover for NASA.For more information about the mission, go to: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020 | |
This black and white image was taken by NASA's Ingenuity helicopter during its third flight on April 25, 2021. | This black-and-white image was taken by the navigation camera aboard NASA's Ingenuity helicopter during its third flight, on April 25, 2021.The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages this technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and Space Technology Mission Directorate. NASA's Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, Snapdragon, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. The Mars Helicopter Delivery System was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Space Systems in Denver. | |
This image taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the lander's Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe, at the end of the Robotic Arm, on July 11, 2008. | This image taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the lander's Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP), at the end of the Robotic Arm, on the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (July 11, 2008).The TECP is inserted at a site called Vestri, which was monitored several times over the course of the mission. The probe's measurements at this site yielded evidence that water was exchanged, daily and seasonally, between the soil and atmosphere.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 layered mound, buried under a thin coating of material hard enough to have been cut by shallow fractures, on the floor of the giant Argyre Basin. | 1 March 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a layered mound, buried under a thin coating of material hard enough to have been cut by shallow fractures, on the floor of the giant Argyre Basin. The material beneath the basin floor is layered; this is an eroded (and then thinly-buried) remnant of some of that layered material.Location near: 54.2°S, 46.7°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
Ius Chasma's Floor | This image spans the floor of Ius Chasma's southern trench. Ius Chasma is located in the western region of Valles Marineris, the solar system's largest canyon. This canyon is well known for its fine stratigraphic layers modified by wind and water.The outcrops contain interchanging layers of dark and bright rocks. The layered deposits consist of dark basalt lava flows and bright sedimentary layers. The sediments are likely to be from atmospheric dust, sand, or alluvium from an ancient water source. The layers are visible on the gentle slopes above the canyon floor, in pitted areas, and in small mesa buttes. The floor of the canyon is littered with megaripples that are aligned in a north-south direction.Ius Chasma is believed to have been shaped by a process called sapping when water seeped from the layers of the cliffs and evaporated before it reached the canyon floor. This process is thought to have dominated during the Amazonian period.Ius Chasma also has several structural features such as east trending normal faults and grabens that deformed the canyons. Recent geomorphological events include mass wasting (avalanches) and minor sapping from gullies that continued to erode the canyon walls.See the full University of Arizona press release.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 Global Surveyor shows | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-535, 5 November 2003This is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) narrow angle image of gullies carved into debris on the south-facing wall of Nirgal Vallis, an ancient martian valley. The gullies were conduits for sediment that has accumulated at a point where each channel met the valley floor. The aprons of debris are superposed upon the large ripple-like dunes, suggesting that the gullies are younger than these bedforms. Gullies such as these might have been formed by a liquid, such as water, seeping from the layered bedrock exposed in the valley wall, or perhaps by mass movement of the smooth-surfaced debris that covers much of the lower two-thirds of the valley wall. This picture is located near 28.6°S, 41.5°W. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. | |
The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows an unnamed crater in Utopia Planitia. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows an unnamed crater in Utopia Planitia.Orbit Number: 3467 Latitude: 30.1918 Longitude: 93.1409 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2002-09-26 00:30Please 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 site, labeled Spirit site 93, is in the 'Columbia Hills' inside Gusev Crater. NASA's Mars Exporation rover Spirit's tracks point westward. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Figure 1Figure 2This 360-degree stereo panorama combines several frames taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during the rover's 313th martian day (Nov. 19, 2004). The site, labeled Spirit site 93, is in the "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev Crater. The rover tracks point westward. Spirit had driven eastward, in reverse and dragging its right front wheel, for about 30 meters (100 feet) on the day the picture was taken. Driving backwards while dragging that wheel is a precautionary strategy to extend the usefulness of the wheel for when it is most needed, because it has developed more friction than the other wheels. The right-hand track in this look backwards shows how the dragging disturbed the soil. This view is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction.Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a small portion of Daedalia Planum, which is mainly comprised of lava flows related to Arsia Mons. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small portion of Daedalia Planum, which is mainly comprised of lava flows related to Arsia Mons.Orbit Number: 45906 Latitude: -18.9467 Longitude: 242.592 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-04-20 01:38Please 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 global map of Mars was acquired on Aug. 2, 2012, by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. One global map is generated each day to forecast weather conditions for the entry, descent and landing of NASA's Curiosity. | This global map of Mars was acquired on Aug. 2, 2012, by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. One global map is generated each day to forecast weather conditions for the entry, descent and landing of NASA's Curiosity rover. The active dust storm observed south of Curiosity's landing site on July 31 has dissipated, leaving behind a dust cloud that will not pose a threat to the landing.The map is a rectangular projection of Mars (from 90 degrees latitude to minus 90 degrees latitude, and minus 180 degrees longitude to 180 degrees east longitude). The landing site is located on the right side of the map, near 137 degrees east longitude and 4.5 degrees south latitude. The map shows water ice clouds at equatorial latitudes that are typical for late southern winter, when Mars is farther from the sun. Along the southern (bottom) part of the map there are patches of orange clouds, indicating dust lofted into the atmosphere. Small, short-lived dust storms are common at this time of year on Mars and were taken into account when Curiosity's landing system was designed and tested. Larger and more long-lived dust storms are very rare at this time of year. | |
This pairing illustrates the first time that NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected a scoop of soil on Mars. At right, the ground location 'Rocknest,' at left, after the scoop of sand and dust had been removed. | This pairing illustrates the first time that NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected a scoop of soil on Mars. It combines two raw images taken on the mission's 61st Martian day, or sol (Oct. 7, 2012) by the right camera of the rover's two-camera Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument. The right Mastcam, or Mastcam-100, has a telephoto, 100-millimeter-focal-length lens.The image on the left shows the ground at the location "Rocknest" after the scoop of sand and dust had been removed. The image on the right shows the material inside the rover's scoop, which is 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide, 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) long.JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 23 March 2004Craters of the martian northern plains tend to be somewhat shallow because material has filled them in. Their ejecta blankets, too, are often covered by younger materials. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example--a crater in Utopia Planitia near 43.7°N, 227.3°W. Erosion has roughened some of the surfaces of the material that filled the crater and covered its ejecta deposit. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This graphic shows the level of natural radiation detected by the Radiation Assessment Detector shielded inside NASA's Mars Science Laboratory on the trip from Earth to Mars from December 2011 to July 2012. | This graphic shows the level of natural radiation detected by the Radiation Assessment Detector shielded inside NASA's Mars Science Laboratory on the trip from Earth to Mars from December 2011 to July 2012. The spikes in radiation levels occurred in February, March and late May of 2012 because of large solar energetic particle events caused by solar activity.The MSL spacecraft structure (which includes the backshell and heatshield as well as the Curiosity rover and its descent stage) provided significant shielding from the deep space radiation environment. The measurements are an important aid to planning for astronaut safety in design of possible human missions to Mars.The radiation levels in this graph are indicated in dose rate measured by the silicon detectors in the RAD instrument. The units are micrograys per day. A gray is a directly measured dose, not adjusted for any difference in energy absorption characteristic between the detector material and biological tissue.Southwest Research Institute, in San Antonio, Texas, and Boulder, Colo., supplied and operates the RAD instrument in collaboration with Germany's national aerospace research center, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.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 rover.For more information about Curiosity and its mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
The linear features in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are located west of Elysium Mons. | Context imageThe linear features in this VIS image are located west of Elysium Mons. It is very likely that volcanic activity played a part in the formation of the linear features. Tectonic forces probably were involved as well.Orbit Number: 62581 Latitude: 25.0021 Longitude: 137.613 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-01-22 16:51Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
These images, made from data obtained by Curiosity's CheMin, show the patterns obtained from a drift of windblown dust and sand called 'Rocknest' and from a powdered rock sample drilled from the 'John Klein' bedrock. | Annotated VersionClick on the image for larger versionThis side-by-side comparison shows the X-ray diffraction patterns of two different samples collected from the Martian surface by NASA's Curiosity rover. These images, made from data obtained by Curiosity's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin), show the patterns obtained from a drift of windblown dust and sand called "Rocknest" and from a powdered rock sample drilled from the "John Klein" bedrock. The presence of abundant clay minerals in the John Klein drill powder and the lack of abundant salt suggest a fresh water environment. The presence of calcium sulfates rather than magnesium or iron sulfates (as found at Meridiani Planum by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity) suggests a neutral to mildly alkaline pH environment. The Rocknest sand shadow mineralogy suggests a dry, aeolian (wind-shaped) environment with low water activity. The John Klein mineralogy suggests a lacustrine (lakebed) environment with high water activity. As seen on the left, the Rocknest data reveal abundant plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene and olivine minerals. The data also indicate reveal small amounts of magnetite and anhydrite. In addition, the Rocknest sample contains 25 to 35 percent amorphous, or non-crystalline, material.X-ray diffraction analysis of the John Klein drill powder reveals abundant phyllosilicate (a class of clay minerals called smectites that form by the action of relatively pure and neutral pH water on source minerals), plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene, magnetite and olivine. Alternatively, the clay minerals could have been transported by water from sources higher up the sediment fan to form the John Klein mineral assemblage. The region of the pattern indicating the phyllosilicates is labeled in the annotated version of this image. The data also show minor amounts of anhydrite and bassanite. The John Klein sample also contains about 20 percent amorphous material. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, and built Curiosity and CheMin.For more information about Curiosity and its mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows wind eroded features located on the margin of materials of Lacus Planum. | Context image for PIA11871Wind ErosionThese wind eroded features are located on the margin of materials of Lacus Planum.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -8.7N, Longitude 187.7E. 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. | |
Spirit Begins Drive Around Home Plate | The hazard avoidance camera on the front of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this image after a drive by Spirit on the 1,829th Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars (Feb. 24, 2009).On Sol 1829, Spirit drove 6.29 meters (21 feet) northwestward, away from the northern edge of the low plateau called "Home Plate." The track dug by the dragged right-front wheel as the rover drove backward is visible in this image, receding toward the southeast. Rock layers of the northern slope of Home Plate are visible in the upper right portion of the image.In sols prior to 1829, the rover team had been trying to maneuver Spirit to climb onto the northern edge of Home Plate, ready to drive southward across the top of the plateau toward science destinations south of Home Plate. The Sol 1829 drive was the first move of a revised strategy to circle at least partway around Home Plate on the trek toward the sites south of the plateau. | |
This image, made by the quadrupole mass spectrometer in the SAM suite of instruments in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. shows the ratio of the argon isotope argon-36 to the heavier argon isotope argon-38, in various measurements. | This image shows the ratio of the argon isotope argon-36 to the heavier argon isotope argon-38, in various measurements. The point farthest to the right designates a new (2013) measurement of the ratio in the atmosphere of Mars, made by the quadrupole mass spectrometer in the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of instruments in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. For comparison, the previous measurement at Mars by the Mars Viking project in 1976 is shown also. The SAM result is at the lower end of the range of uncertainty of the Viking data, but compares well with ratios of argon istotopes from some Mars meteorites. The value determined by SAM is significantly lower than the value in the sun, Jupiter and Earth, which implies loss of the lighter isotope compared to the heavier isotope over geologic time. The argon isotope fractionation provides clear evidence of the loss of atmosphere from Mars.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This map shows the frequency of carbon dioxide frost's presence at sunrise on Mars, as a percentage of days year-round, based on data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | This map shows the frequency of carbon dioxide frost's presence at sunrise on Mars, as a percentage of days year-round. Carbon dioxide ice more often covers the ground at night in some mid-latitude regions than in polar regions, where it is generally absent for much of summer and fall.Color coding is based on data from the Mars Climate Sounder instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A color-key bar below the map shows how colors correspond to frequencies. Yellow indicates high frequencies, identifying areas where carbon dioxide ice is present on the ground at night during most of the year. Blue identifies areas where it is rarely present; red is intermediate. Areas without color coding are regions where carbon dioxide frost is not detected at any time of year. The areas with highest frequency of overnight carbon dioxide frost correspond to regions with surfaces of loose dust, which do not retain heat well, compared to rockier areas. Those areas also have some of the highest mid-afternoon temperatures on the planet. The dust surface heats up and cools off rapidly.Six science instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have been examining Mars since 2006. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington and built the Mars Climate Sounder. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver built the orbiter and operates it in collaboration with JPL. | |
The channels in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are part of Granicus Valles. | Context imageThe channels in this VIS image are part of Granicus Valles. Granicus Valles is one of many valley systems that are located on the western margin of the Elysium volcanic complex. It is not known if these valleys were created solely by flow of lava or water. It is likely that both fluids may have been involved in forming the valley systems.Orbit Number: 62494 Latitude: 30.5746 Longitude: 127.253 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-01-15 12:55Please 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. | |
Viking Lander 2 (Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Station) Imaged from Orbit | Annotated VersionViking 2 Back ShellViking 2 Heat ShieldViking 2 LanderNASA's Viking Lander 2 landed on Mars on Sept. 3, 1976, in Utopia Planitia. The lander, which has a diameter of about 3 meters (10 feet), has been precisely located in this image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Also, likely locations have been found for the heat shield and back shell. The lander location has been confirmed by overlaying the lander-derived topographic contours on the high-resolution camera's image, which provides an excellent match. Viking Lander 2 was one element of an ambitious mission to study Mars, with a four-spacecraft flotilla consisting of two orbiters and two landers. Four cutouts from this image are shown. The first is an overview showing the relative locations of the lander and candidate back shell and heat shield, and the others are enlargements of each of these components. Large boulders, dunes, and other features visible in Viking Lander 2 images can be located in the high-resolution camera's image. The polygonal pattern of the surface is typical at these latitudes and may be due to the presence of deep subsurface ice.As chance would have it, this image is blurred in some places due to the abrupt motion associated with the restart of the orbiter's high-gain antenna tracking during the very short image exposure. This is the first time after acquiring hundreds of pictures that a High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment image has been unintentionally smeared; overall performance has been excellent.A prime motivation for early viewing of the Viking sites is to calibrate imagery taken from orbit with the data previously acquired by the landers. In particular, determining what sizes of rocks can be seen from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter aids the interpretation of data now being taken to characterize sites for future landers, such as the Phoenix Mars Lander mission to be launched in 2007.Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mro or http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu.For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, http://www.nasa.gov.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 is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera was built by Ball Aerospace Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. | |
This image of the south pole was taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft at the end of summer. Frost will soon start to form as the season transitions into fall. | Context image This VIS image of the south pole was taken at the end of summer. Frost will soon start to form as the season transitions into fall. Fall in the southern hemisphere means spring in the northern, so the north polar cap is just starting to thaw.Orbit Number: 67893 Latitude: -87.0251 Longitude: 275.679 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-04-04 06:19Please 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. | |
The volcanic flow in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft appears to have flowed in one layer. The surface texture is blocks of lava which cooled and still moved on molten lava below, producing the plate-like texture. | Context imageUnlike the flows in yesterday's image, which piled up layer by layer, the volcanic flow in the VIS image appears to have flowed in one layer. The surface texture is blocks of lava which cooled and still moved on molten lava below, producing the plate-like texture.Orbit Number: 44460 Latitude: -6.29868 Longitude: 155.856 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-12-23 02:59Please 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 Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to capture this view approximately true-color view of the rim of Endeavour crater, the rover's destination in a multi-year traverse along the sandy Martian landscape. | Context ViewClick on the image for larger versionNASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to capture this view of the rim of Endeavour crater, the rover's destination in a multi-year traverse along the sandy Martian landscape. The image was taken during the 2,226 Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's mission on Mars (April 28, 2010).Endeavour is 21 kilometers (13 miles) in diameter, about 25 times wider than Victoria crater, the last major crater Opportunity visited. This image shows an outcrop of rocks at the foot of the rover and beyond these rocks rippled dunes, which are about 20 centimeters (8 inches) tall. The west rim of Endeavour, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) away, appears on the left on the horizon. The rim of smaller, more-distant Iazu crater, which is 7 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter and about 35 kilometers (22 miles) away, is on the far right. On the horizon in between is a blanket of material ejected from the impact that created Iazu crater, and darker features that are portions of the west and southwest rim of Endeavour. Opportunity began a marathon from Victoria to Endeavour in September 2008 after spending two years exploring Victoria. The intended route, about 19 kilometers (12 miles) long, has headed south before turning east in order to bypass potentially hazardous sand ripples to the east, larger than the ripples in this image. This approximately true-color view combines three exposures taken through filters admitting wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers. | |
This image taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows secondary channeling on a terrace of the huge Kasei Valles outflow system. | Context imageThis VIS image shows secondary channeling on a terrace of the huge Kasei Valles outflow system.Orbit Number: 36356 Latitude: 26.5885 Longitude: 291.211 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-02-23 21:36Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Ganges Chasma in Valles Marineris. The colors indicate compositional variations in the rocks exposed in the wall and floor of Ganges and in the dust and sand on the rim of the canyon. | This false-color infrared image was taken by the camera system on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft over part of Ganges Chasma in Valles Marineris (approximately 13 degrees S, 318 degrees E). The infrared image has been draped over topography data obtained by Mars Global Surveyor. The color differences in this image show compositional variations in the rocks exposed in the wall and floor of Ganges (blue and purple) and in the dust and sand on the rim of the canyon (red and orange). The floor of Ganges is covered by rocks and sand composed of basaltic lava that are shown in blue. A layer that is rich in the mineral olivine can be seen as a band of purple in the walls on both sides of the canyon, and is exposed as an eroded layer surrounding a knob on the floor. Olivine is easily destroyed by liquid water, so its presence in these ancient rocks suggests that this region of Mars has been very dry for a very long time. The mosaic was constructed using infrared bands 5, 7, and 8, and covers an area approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) on each side. This simulated view is toward the north.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 was provided by Arizona State University, Tempe. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo., is the prime contractor for the 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 Mars Odyssey shows a portion of the dunes located in the floor of Kaiser Crater. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a portion of the dunes located in the floor of Kaiser Crater.Orbit Number: 39910 Latitude: -46.8944 Longitude:19.8083 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-12-13 11:17Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Mars digital-image mosaic merged with color of the MC-20 quadrangle, Sinus Sabeus region of Mars. This image is from NASA's Viking Orbiter 1. | Mars digital-image mosaic merged with color of the MC-20 quadrangle, Sinus Sabeus region of Mars. Heavily cratered highlands dominate the Sinus Sabeus quadrangle. The northern part is marked by a large impact crater, Schiaparelli. Schiaparelli is an ancient remnant of the many large impact events that occurred during the period of heavy bombardment. Latitude range -30 to 0 degrees, longitude range -45 to 0. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a section of Morava Valles. Morava Valles is located in Margaritifer Terra. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a section of Morava Valles. Morava Valles is located in Margaritifer Terra.Orbit Number: 79601 Latitude: -12.1454 Longitude: 336.946 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-11-24 15:53Please 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, taken by the navigation camera onboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, shows the airbags used to protect the rover during landing in 2004. One bright, dust-covered bag is slightly puffed up against the lander. | This image, taken by the navigation camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, shows the airbags used to protect the rover during landing. One bright, dust-covered bag is slightly puffed up against the lander. | |
The ejecta of the impact crater shown in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft appears to have been modified after it was emplaced. This modification may be due to the presence of subsurface ground ice. | The ejecta of this impact crater appears to have been modified after it was emplaced. This modification may be due to the presence of subsurface ground ice.Another possible indicator of ground ice is the texture seen on the floor of the crater. One can also see a spur and gully morphology inside the crater along its rim illustrating differential erosion of various rock types.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 34.8, Longitude 117.4 East (242.6 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows the rock dubbed 'Bounce' at Meridiani Planum, Mars, which may have been thrown onto the plains during an impact that formed a crater (arrow) located SE of Opportunity's landing site. | Figure 1Figure 2Figure 3The rock dubbed "Bounce" at Meridiani Planum, Mars, may have been thrown onto the plains during an impact that formed a 25-kilometer-diameter (15.5-mile) crater (arrow) located 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing site (to the right of ellipse center). This infrared Mars Odyssey image taken by the thermal emission imaging system shows the pattern of ejecta, or material, thrown from the large crater. Rays of this rocky material can be seen radiating outward from the crater. The Opportunity landing site is close to one of these rays, as well as other rays of small impact craters seen in high-resolution Mars Odyssey camera images within 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of the landing site. Bounce rock may be a smaller piece of material ejected onto the plains by this impact event.Figures 1, 2, and 3 above, infrared images increasing in zoom, taken by the thermal emission imaging system on the Mars Odyssey orbiter at night, show the pattern of ejecta, or material, thrown from the large crater. Large rocks on the surface stay warm at night and produce a bright signature. Rays of this rocky material can be seen radiating outward from the crater. | |
The large canyon system (Valles Marineris) spans this view from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor; chaotic terrain is seen at the far right and the eastern-most of the four large Tharsis volcanoes (Ascraeus Mons). | MOC images P013_01 and P013_02 were acquired with the low resolution red and blue wide angle cameras at 2:14 PM PDT on October 3, 1997, about 11 minutes after Mars Global Surveyor passed close to the planet for the thirteenth time. To make a color image, a third component (green) was synthesized from the red and blue images. During the imaging period, the spacecraft was canted towards the sun-lit hemisphere by 25°, and the MOC was obliquely viewing features from about 600 to 1000 km (360 to 600 miles) away. The resolution at those distances was between 350 and 600 meters (0.25 to 0.37 miles) per picture element. The image covers an area from 73° to 86° W longitude and 5° N to 10° S).In both of the two images shown above, north is to the top. In the MOC image, the camera was viewing towards the west.The left image is excepted from a U.S. Geological Survey shaded relief map, showing the footprint of the MOC wide angle color image. The large canyon system (Valles Marineris) spans this view; chaotic terrain is seen at the far right and the eastern-most of the four large Tharsis volcanoes (Ascraeus Mons) is shown in upper left.The right image is the composite of MOC frames P013_01 and P013_02. Because the MOC acquires its images one line at a time, the cant angle towards the sun-lit portion of the planet, the spacecraft orbital velocity, and the spacecraft rotational velocity combine to distort the image slightly. However, the wide angle cameras provide a fairly realistic portrayal of what one would see looking out across Mars from the Orbiter. Notable in this image are the late afternoon clouds and hazes that are concentrated within the canyon system. This image is available at higher resolution as PIA00991.Launched on November 7, 1996, Mars Global Surveyor entered Mars orbit on Thursday, September 11, 1997. From the planned 400 km (248 mi) orbit altitude, MOC wide angle images will be 2-4 times higher resolution than these pictures.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 is the first color image ever taken from the surface of Mars of an overcast sky by NASA's Mars Pathfinder at an approximate height of 10 miles (16 km) above the surface. | This is the first color image ever taken from the surface of Mars of an overcast sky. Featured are pink stratus clouds coming from the northeast at about 15 miles per hour (6.7 meters/second) at an approximate height of ten miles (16 kilometers) above the surface. The clouds consist of water ice condensed on reddish dust particles suspended in the atmosphere. Clouds on Mars are sometimes localized and can sometimes cover entire regions, but have not yet been observed to cover the entire planet. The image was taken about an hour and forty minutes before sunrise by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 16 at about ten degrees up from the eastern Martian horizon.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 and Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
The lava flows in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are only a very small part of the voluminous lava erupted from the Arsia Mons volcano on Mars. | Context image for PIA03054Lava FlowsThe lava flows in this image are only a very small part of the voluminous lava erupted from the Arsia Mons volcano.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 19.1S, Longitude 244.5E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Context Camera View in Phoenix Landing Region in Martian Arctic | The Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this image of Martian northern plains, including ground within the targeted landing area for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. The image was taken on April 20, 2008, five weeks before the May 25 Phoenix landing. The landing area is near 68 degrees north latitude, 127 degrees west longitude. The view includes two dust devils, labeled for easier viewing in an enlarged cut-out at PIA10633. The full-frame, reduced-scale view here covers an area 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) wide and 314 kilometers (195 miles) long. It shows various wind streaks formed by wind gusts prior to the day that the dust devils were observed. When the Context Camera acquired this image, the season in Mars' northern hemisphere was late spring. A few weeks earlier, the Phoenix landing site was still covered with seasonal frost left over from the previous winter.Another camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Color Imager, captured a simultaneous, wider-field, color view of the area included in this Context Camera image. That view can be seen at PIA10634.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. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, provided and operates the Context Camera and Mars Color Imager. | |
Continuing eastward, this image of Gale captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the reappearance of dunes on the crater floor near the margin of Mt. Sharp. | Context imageDuring the month of April Mars will be in conjunction relative to the Earth. This means the Sun is in the line-of-sight between Earth and Mars, and communication between the two planets is almost impossible. For conjunction, the rovers and orbiting spacecraft at Mars continue to operate, but do not send the data to Earth. This recorded data will be sent to Earth when Mars moves away from the sun and the line-of-sight between Earth and Mars is reestablished. During conjunction the THEMIS image of the day will be a visual tour of Gale Crater, the location of the newest rover Curiosity.Continuing eastward, this image of Gale shows the reappearance of dunes on the crater floor near the margin of Mt. Sharp.Orbit Number: 18668 Latitude: -4.59664 Longitude: 138.381 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2006-02-28 09:38 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. | |
Interpreting Radar View near Mars' South Pole, Orbit 1334 | A radargram from the Shallow Subsurface Radar instrument (SHARAD) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is shown in the upper-right panel and reveals detailed structure in the polar layered deposits of the south pole of Mars.The sounding radar collected the data presented here during orbit 1334 of the mission, on Nov. 8, 2006. The horizontal scale in the radargram is distance along the ground track. It can be referenced to the ground track map shown in the lower right. The radar traversed from about 75 to 85 degrees south latitude, or about 590 kilometers (370 miles). The ground track map shows elevation measured by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. Green indicates low elevation; reddish-white indicates higher elevation. The traverse proceeds up onto a plateau formed by the layers.The vertical scale on the radargram is time delay of the radar signals reflected back to Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from the surface and subsurface. For reference, using an assumed velocity of the radar waves in the subsurface, time is converted to depth below the surface at one place: about 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) to one of the deeper subsurface reflectors. The color scale varies from black for weak reflections to white for strong reflections.The middle panel shows mapping of the major subsurface reflectors, some of which can be traced for a distance of 100 kilometers (60 miles) or more. The layers are not all horizontal and the reflectors are not always parallel to one another. Some of this is due to variations in surface elevation, which produce differing velocity path lengths for different reflector depths. However, some of this behavior is due to spatial variations in the deposition and removal of material in the layered deposits, a result of the recent climate history of Mars.The Shallow Subsurface Radar was provided by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Its operations are led by the University of Rome and its data are analyzed by a joint U.S.-Italian science team. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
The dark dunes in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are located on the floor of Escalante Crater. | Context imageThe dark dunes in this VIS image are located on the floor of Escalante Crater.Orbit Number: 48269 Latitude: -0.490258 Longitude: 115.4 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-10-31 15:17Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image shows two holes created by NASA Spirit's rock abrasion tool in a rock dubbed 'Wooly Patch' near the base of the 'Columbia Hills' inside Gusev Crater. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Image processing experts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory created this color stereo view of a rock studied by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in July. The process of creating the image in color is similar to combining two slightly offset black-and-white images except that the colors corresponding to the two images are separated into offset right-eye and left-eye views. For comparison, the two-dimensional (non-stereo) image representing the panoramic-camera team's best attempt at generating a "true color" view of what this rock would look like if seen by a human on Mars was posted on the Web on July 30, 2004 (see PIA06741). The color image was generated from a mathematical combination of six calibrated images acquired through filters for wavelengths between 430 nanometers and 750 nanometers.This image shows two holes created by Spirit's rock abrasion tool in a rock dubbed "Wooly Patch" near the base of the "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev Crater. The rover took the images with its panoramic camera on its 200th martian day, or sol (July 25, 2004). Scientists speculate that this relatively soft rock may have been altered by water; small cracks may be the result of interaction with water-rich fluids. | |
Two views of a sundial called the MarsDial are seen in this image taken on Mars in 2004 by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The calibration instruments, positioned on solar panels of both Spirit and Opportunity, are tools for scientists and educators | Two views of a sundial called the MarsDial can be seen in this image taken on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera. These calibration instruments, positioned on the solar panels of both Spirit and the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, are tools for both scientists and educators. Scientists use the sundial to adjust the rovers' panoramic cameras, while students participating in NASA's Red Rover Goes to Mars program will monitor the dial to track time on Mars. Students worldwide will also have the opportunity to build their own Earth sundial and compare it to that on Mars.The left image was captured near martian noon when the Sun was very high in the sky. The right image was acquired later in the afternoon when the Sun was lower in sky, casting longer shadows. The colored blocks in the corners of the sundial are used to fine-tune the panoramic camera's sense of color. Shadows cast on the sundial help scientists adjust the brightness of images.The sundial is embellished with artwork from children, and displays the word Mars in 17 different languages. | |
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the surface outside this large crater is relatively dark, while the interior wall of the crater exposes lighter, layered bedrock of diverse colors. | This image covers an impact crater roughly 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) in diameter. The portion highlighted shows a one kilometer segment of the crater wall and rim.The surface outside the crater is relatively dark, while the interior wall of the crater exposes lighter, layered bedrock of diverse colors. A few dark patches on the crater wall have small dunes or ripples on their surfaces, and are likely pits filled with dark sand. The crater provides a window into the subsurface of Mars, revealing layered sedimentary deposits.Just 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the East of this crater lies Mawrth Vallis, an ancient channel that may have been carved by catastrophic floods. In layered deposits surrounding Mawrth Vallis, the orbiting spectrometers OMEGA (on Mars Express) and CRISM (on MRO) have detected phyllosilicate (clay) minerals, which must have formed in the presence of water. In this region on Mars, the colors of layers seen by HiRISE often correlate with distinct water-bearing minerals observed by CRISM, so the color diversity seen here may reflect a dynamic environment at this location on early Mars.Note: the color in these images is enhanced; it is not as it would normally appear to the human eye.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, built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.Originally released October 10, 2007 | |
This image, acquired on December 22, 2019 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows Candor Chasma in central Valles Marineris, filled with light-toned layered deposits thought to be sandstones. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionCandor Chasma in central Valles Marineris is filled with light-toned layered deposits thought to be sandstones, perhaps formed in an ancient wet and potentially habitable environment.The CRISM instrument on MRO has acquired thousands high-resolution spectral images across Mars, often with simultaneous coverage by HiRISE, but sometimes, for a variety of reasons, without HiRISE coverage. We are now trying to complete coordinated coverage over such locations, to enable geologic interpretations based on both the compositional information of CRISM and the high-resolution imaging of HiRISE. The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 52.5 centimeters [20.7 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 157 centimeters [61.8 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars' south pole in this artist's concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. | NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above a portion of the planet that is rotating into the sunlight in this artist's concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Mars Odyssey mission for the NASA Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Investigators at Arizona State University in Tempe, the University of Arizona in Tucson, and NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, operate the science instruments. The gamma-ray spectrometer was provided by the University of Arizona in collaboration with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and Institute for Space Research, which provided the high-energy neutron detector, and the Los Alamos National Laboratories, New Mexico, which provided the neutron spectrometer. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the 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 overhead polar image was captured after NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took a few baby rolls away from the spacecraft that bore it millions of miles to Mars in 2004. The empty lander is seen to the right of the rover. | This overhead polar image was captured after the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took a few baby rolls away from the spacecraft that bore it millions of miles to Mars. The empty lander, now named the Columbia Memorial Station, can be seen to the right of the rover. This image was taken by Spirit's navigation camera. | |
NASA's Mariner 9 took this picture of Mars on November 11, 1971, during its approach to the planet. The south polar cap (at the bottom of the planet disc) shines dimly through the apparent atmospheric haze, probably dust. | Mariner 9 took this picture of Mars at 3:38 a.m. PST, November 11, 1971, during its approach to the planet. The south polar cap (at the bottom of the planet disc) shines dimly through the apparent atmospheric haze, probably dust. This was the fourteenth picture taken during a 24-hour series of Mars surveillance photos. The picture was taken with Mariner's narrow-angle camera from a distance of 445,000 miles. The "dust storm" has obscured the usually prominent Martian surface features from ground-based observers for several months.Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. The spacecraft was designed to continue the atmospheric studies begun by Mariners 6 and 7, and to map over 70% of the Martian surface from the lowest altitude (1500 kilometers [900 miles]) and at the highest resolutions (1 kilometer per pixel to 100 meters per pixel) of any previous Mars mission.Mariner 9 was launched on May 30, 1971 and arrived on November 14, 1971. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows where the northwestern end of Gordii Dorsum meets Amazonis Planitia. | Context imageThis VIS image of the northwestern end of Gordii Dorsum shows where the dorsum meets Amazonis Planitia. This area of Mars is dominated by poorly cemented surface material that is easily eroded by the wind. Features align with wind direction, indicating that the winds in this region blew to the northwest. Gordii Dorsum is part of the larger Medusa Fossae Formation of wind eroded materials south and southwest of Olympus Mons. The nature of the material being eroded is not known, but may be ash fall from the large volcanoes in the region.Orbit Number: 86244 Latitude: 10.6389 Longitude: 210.903 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-05-24 15:22Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Multiple channels dissect the rim of Bakhuysen Crater in Noachis Terra in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageMultiple channels dissect the rim of Bakhuysen Crater in Noachis Terra.Orbit Number: 43492 Latitude: -23.6637 Longitude: 14.8281 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-10-04 09:02Please 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. | |
Two dramatically different faces of our Red Planet neighbor appear in these comparison images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, showing how a global dust storm engulfed Mars with the onset of Martian spring in the Southern Hemisphere. | Two dramatically different faces of our Red Planet neighbor appear in these comparison images showing how a global dust storm engulfed Mars with the onset of Martian spring in the Southern Hemisphere. When NASA's Hubble Space Telescope imaged Mars in June, the seeds of the storm were caught brewing in the giant Hellas Basin (oval at 4 o'clock position on disk) and in another storm at the northern polar cap.When Hubble photographed Mars in early September, the storm had already been raging across the planet for nearly two months obscuring all surface features. The fine airborne dust blocks a significant amount of sunlight from reaching the Martian surface. Because the airborne dust is absorbing this sunlight, it heats the upper atmosphere. Seasonal global Mars dust storms have been observed from telescopes for over a century, but this is the biggest storm ever seen in the past several decades.Mars looks gibbous in the right photograph because it is 26 million miles farther from Earth than in the left photo (though the pictures have been scaled to the same angular size), and our viewing angle has changed. The left picture was taken when Mars was near its closest approach to Earth for 2001 (an event called opposition); at that point the disk of Mars was fully illuminated as seen from Earth because Mars was exactly opposite the Sun.Both images are in natural color, taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows pits formed by sublimation in the frozen carbon dioxide of the martian south polar residual cap. | 25 February 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows pits formed by sublimation in the frozen carbon dioxide of the martian south polar residual cap.Location near: 87.0°S, 108.1°W Image width: ~1 km (~0.6 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
This image acquired on May 18, 2012 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows Echus Chaos, a region of low hills located between Lunae Planum and Echus Palus. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionEchus Chaos is a region of low hills located between Lunae Planum (to the right of this image) and Echus Palus (to the left of this image). This chaos terrain may have formed as the rocks that make up Lunae Planum slowly slid downhill into Echus Palus.As these rocks slid downhill, they broke up into large pieces that formed the hills that we see today. What caused this landslide is not well known, but it could have been due to large floods of water moving through Echus Palus, causing the edge of Lunae Planum to become soaked and fall apart. Ground shaking from movement along nearby faults or meteorite impacts may have also helped to make the edge of Lunae Planum unstable and collapse.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 55.1 centimeters [21.7 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 165 centimeters [65.0 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image of Baltisk Crater shows a sand sheet on the crater floor and channels dissecting the outer rim as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Originally released on Oct. 4, 2013Context imageThis VIS image of Baltisk Crater shows a sand sheet on the crater floor and channels dissecting the outer rim.Orbit Number: 51797 Latitude: -41.8923 Longitude: 305.466 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-08-17 21:25Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-516, 17 October 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows eroded, stair-stepped layers in the south polar region of Mars. These layers have been considered, for the past three decades, to consist of a mixture of dust and ice. The Mars Polar Lander (MPL) mission was designed to test this hypothesis. However, sadly, MPL was lost during descent in December 1999. This exposure of south polar layered material is located near 86.3°S, 187.7°W. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a section of Kasei Valles. Kasei Valles is a huge outflow channel that drains from the higher elevations of Tharsis down into the lowlands of Chryse Planitia. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a section of Kasei Valles. Kasei Valles is a huge outflow channel that drains from the higher elevations of Tharsis down into the lowlands of Chryse Planitia.The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image.Orbit Number: 61365 Latitude: 26.3054 Longitude: 303.514 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-10-14 13:23Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image, part of an images as art series from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on March 4, 2004 shows a martian landscape with markings bearing a striking resemblance to tree bark. | Released 4 March 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. These markings bear a striking resemblance to tree bark.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The linear depressions in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are some of the numerous graben that make up Claritas Fossae. | Context image The linear depressions in this VIS image are some of the numerous graben that make up Claritas Fossae. Graben form when two faults cause a block of material to be dropped to a lower elevation.Orbit Number: 65197 Latitude: -35.7709 Longitude: 251.553 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-08-25 03:51Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
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 Peraea Cavus. | Context imageThe THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Peraea Cavus, a basin located east of Hadriacus Mons.Orbit Number: 35752 Latitude: -29.8818 Longitude: 95.3479 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-01-05 02:22Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the floor of Suzhi Crater, an approximately 25-kilometer diameter impact crater located northeast of Hellas Planitia. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image shows the floor of Suzhi Crater, an approximately 25-kilometer diameter impact crater located northeast of Hellas Planitia. The crater floor is mostly covered by dark-toned deposits; however some patches of the underlying light-toned bedrock are now exposed, like in this Context Camera image.This enhanced-color infrared image shows a close up of the exposed bedrock on the floor of the crater. Here we can see the lighter-toned bedrock partially covered up by darker-toned bedrock and a few wind-blown bedforms. The lighter-toned bedrock appears to lie over yet another type of bedrock in our image, which appears to be yellowish and heavily fractured. What complex tale of Martian geologic and climate history might these rocks tell us if we were able to sample them in person? Perhaps, one day we'll know.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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock exposures in Terby Crater, just north of Hellas Planitia on Mars. These rocks might have formed from sediment deposited in a lake or a larger Hellas-filling sea. | 2 November 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock exposures in Terby Crater, just north of Hellas Planitia. These rocks might have formed from sediment deposited in a lake or a larger Hellas-filling sea.Location near: 28.0°S, 285.4°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring | |
This stereo view is a location where hardware from the European Space Agency's Schiaparelli test lander reached the surface of Mars on Oct. 19, 2016 as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | These three views of locations where hardware from the European Space Agency's Schiaparelli test lander reached the surface of Mars on Oct. 19, 2016, combine two orbital views from different angles as a stereo pair. The view was created to appear three-dimensional when seen through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left, though the scene is too flat to show much relief.The stereo preparation uses images taken on Oct. 25, 2016, [PIA21131] and Nov. 1, 2016, [PIA21132] by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The left-eye (red-tinted) component of the stereo is from the earlier observation, which was taken from farther west than the second observation. These views shows three sites where parts of the Schiaparelli spacecraft hit the ground: the lander module itself in the upper portion, the parachute and back shell at lower left, and the heat shield at lower right. The parachute's shape on the ground changed between the two observation dates, cancelling the three-dimensional effect of having views from different angles. The scale bar of 20 meters (65.6 feet) applies to all three portions. Schiaparelli was one component of the European Space Agency's ExoMars 2016 project, which placed the Trace Gas Orbiter into orbit around Mars on the same arrival date. The ExoMars project received data from Schiaparelli during its descent through the atmosphere. ESA has reported that the heat shield separated as planned, the parachute deployed as planned but was released (with back shell) prematurely, and the lander hit the ground at a velocity of more than 180 miles per hour (more than 300 kilometers per hour).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. | |
Right past the sharp, but warped rim of this ancient impact crater are deposits of winter frost, which show up as blue in enhanced color as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionRight past the sharp, but warped rim of this ancient impact crater are deposits of winter frost, which show up as blue in enhanced color.There are two possible science goals that we can study here: what does the terrain look like during the Martian summer, because HiRISE resolution can track changes over time. And second, could the gullies in this crater be a reasonable place to look for recurring slope lineae (or RSL) to occur? The slopes of certain craters have been home these phenomena in other regions as well.Note: the images here are not map-projected, so approximate north is down.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 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. | |
This observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is the target of the Ares 3 landing site from 'The Martian' by Andy Weir. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionWe previously released an image near the Ares 3 landing site from "The Martian" by Andy Weir. Andy then sent us the exact coordinates, which we targeted, and this is it.This closeup shows some wind-blown deposits inside eroded craters. We can't see the Ares 3 habitat because it arrives sometime in the future, so this is the "before" image. The dark areas appear bluish in HiRISE color but would appear grey to humans on the surface, or maybe a bit reddish when the air is dusty.Ares 3's 6-meter-diameter habitat would be just 20 pixels across at this scale, about 1/10th the diameter of the largest crater in the central cluster. If protagonist Mark Watney were laying flat on the surface, he would be 6 pixels tall.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. Data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Candor Chasma. | Context imageThe THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Candor Chasma. The bright tones in this image are the canyon walls, the bluer material is sand and other debris on the canyon floor.Orbit Number: 15156 Latitude: -6.9737 Longitude: 288.593 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2005-05-15 05:54Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows a field of boulders. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThe map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel.[The original image scale is 51.3 centimeters (20.2 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 154 centimeters (60.6 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows a field of boulders.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
Windstreaks downwind of craters are a common feature in this region of Syrtis Planum on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08775WindstreaksWindstreaks downwind of craters are a common feature in this region of Syrtis Planum.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -1.0N, Longitude 73.3E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey of central Utopia Planitia shows some dust devil tracks. These features are common in this region of Mars. | Context imageThis image of central Utopia Planitia shows some dust devil tracks. These features are common in this region of Mars.Orbit Number: 36588 Latitude: 53.1716 Longitude: 83.283 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-03-14 23:54Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face of Mars in mid-July 2005. | 26 July 2005This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 249° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 249° occurred in mid-July 2005. The picture shows the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn.Season: Northern Autumn/Southern Spring | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a field of small dunes, located on the floor of an unnamed crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars. | Context image for PIA09281Crater DunesThis field of small dunes is located on the floor of an unnamed crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -57.1N, Longitude 340.0E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This 3-D cylindrical-perspective mosaic was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured on on sol 123. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | This three-dimensional view in a cylindrical-perspective projection was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 123 (May 8, 2004). Spirit is sitting at site 44. The rover is on the way to the "Columbia Hills," which can be seen on the horizon. To this point, Spirit has driven a total of 1,830 meters (1.14 miles). The hills are less than 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) away, and the rover might reach them by mid-June.See PIA05896 for left eye view and PIA05897 for right eye view of this 3-D cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
This image of windstreaks from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft indicates winds from the ENE in the region of Syrtis Major Planum. | Context imageThe windstreaks in this region of Syrtis Major Planum indicate winds from the ENE.Orbit Number: 42965 Latitude: 7.55115 Longitude: 69.5825 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-08-22 01:44Please 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 elongated hills in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are a feature termed yardangs. | Context image The elongated hills in this VIS image are a feature termed yardangs. Yardangs are formed by wind activity in regions where the surface material is not well cemented. The elongation indicates the direction of the wind.Orbit Number: 65299 Latitude: -10.1078 Longitude: 183.91 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-09-02 13:39Please 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. | |
This mosaic of four images from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows detailed texture in a ridge that stands higher than surrounding rock. The rock is at a location called 'Darwin,' inside Gale Crater. | This mosaic of four images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows detailed texture in a ridge that stands higher than surrounding rock. The rock is at a location called "Darwin," inside Gale Crater. Exposed outcrop at this location, visible in images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, prompted Curiosity's science team to select it as the mission's first waypoint for several days during the mission's long trek from the "Glenelg" area to Mount Sharp.MAHLI took the component images shortly before sunset on the 400th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Sept. 21, 2013). The camera was positioned about 10 inches (25 centimeters) from the rock. Scale is indicated by the Lincoln penny from the MAHLI calibration target, shown beside the mosaic. The ridge resulted from a crack or vein in the surrounding rock becoming filled with material that was subsequently more resistant to erosion than the material of the surrounding rock. Researchers are investigating the textures and composition of ridges and the surrounding rock, which is a pebbly sandstone conglomerate. Reddish dust coats the surfaces seen in this image. The underlying rocks are gray, varying from nearly white to nearly black. The host rock in which the crack or vein formed is obscured in this image by the coating of dust and a thin layer of the rock's own debris -- loose pebbles and sand.Researchers also examined ridges at Waypoint 1 with Curiosity's Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument and Mast Camera (Mastcam).Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates MAHLI. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. |
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