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NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dunes in the martian north polar region. The dunes are composed of dark, coarse sand. The white areas around the dunes are the last remaining areas of seasonal carbon dioxide frost cover. | 1 September 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dunes in the martian north polar region. The dunes are composed of dark, coarse sand. The white areas around the dunes are the last remaining areas of seasonal carbon dioxide frost cover. The solid carbon dioxide accumulates during the autumn and winter and sublimes (goes from solid to gas) away in the spring. This image was taken near the end of the northern spring.Location near: 78.0°N, 244.5°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Spring | |
Mosaic of Ares Vallis showing different landing ellipses, with color inset of the Chryse Planitia region of Mars showing the outflow channels as seen by NASA's Mars Pathfinder in 1997. | Mosaic of Ares Vallis showing different landing ellipses, with color inset of the Chryse Planitia region of Mars showing the outflow channels. The large blue ellipse (100 km by 200 km) to the northwest is an ellipse in the USGS cartographic reference frame designed to avoid streamlined hills to the south and east, craters to the north, and etched terrain to the west (this ellipse is shown in the color inset). The large yellow ellipse (100 km by 200 km) displaced toward the southeast (by 20 km in longitude and 8 km in latitude) is the navigation target ellipse in the revised local cartographic reference frame (which are the latitude and longitude shown in this figure). The elongate light blue ellipse (98 km by 19 km) is the navigation prediction as of late 3 July and early 4 July; it includes part of the streamlined island in the southwest. The gold ellipse (15 km by 8 km) is the prediction with tracking through atmospheric entry. The pink ellipse (41 km by 15 km), which encloses the smallest ellipse (and the location of the lander), is the navigation result with dispersions added for atmospheric entry and descent. The blue X is the location of the lander with respect to surface features identified in Viking orbiter images (located at 19.33 degrees N, 33.55 degrees W in the local reference frame). The location of the lander in inertial space (19.30 degrees N, 33.52 degrees W) from the two-way ranging and Doppler tracking of the lander is at the very northwest edge of the crater, just 2.2 km to the south-southeast of the X. If the location of the lander in inertial space is forced to coincide with its location with respect to surface features, then the resulting cartographic frame is actually 2 km to the south and 0.8 km to the east of the local network. Color mosaic is part of the Oxia Palus Quadrangle (MC 11) of Mars; black and white mosaic from Viking orbiter images of 38 m/pixel resolution; north is at the top.NOTE: original caption as published in Science magazine.
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. | |
Some of the youngest volcanic flows on Mars are from Arsia Mons. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey of Daedalia Planum shows some of these flows. | Context imageSome of the youngest volcanic flows on Mars are from Arsia Mons. This VIS image of Daedalia Planum shows some of these flows.Orbit Number: 36371 Latitude: -20.1649 Longitude: 240.971 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-02-25 01:31Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a polygonally-patterned surface on southern Malea Planum on Mars. The surface appears a relatively uniform gray. At the time the picture was acquired, the surface was covered with south polar wintertime frost. | MOC "sees" by the dawn's early light! This picture was taken over the high southern polar latitudes during the first week of May 1999. The area shown is currently in southern winter darkness. Because sunlight is scattered over the horizon by aerosols--dust and ice particles--suspended in the atmosphere, sufficient light reaches regions within a few degrees of the terminator (the line dividing night and day) to be visible to the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when the maximum exposure settings are used.This picture shows a polygonally-patterned surface on southern Malea Planum. At the time the picture was taken, the sun was more than 4.5° below the northern horizon. The scene covers an area 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide, with the illumination from the top of the picture.In this frame, the surface appears a relatively uniform gray. At the time the picture was acquired, the surface was covered with south polar wintertime frost. The highly reflective frost, in fact, may have contributed to the increased visibility of this surface.This "twilight imaging" technique for viewing Mars can only work near the terminator; thus in early May only regions between about 67°S and 74°S were visible in twilight images in the southern hemisphere, and a similar narrow latitude range could be imaged in the northern hemisphere. MOC cannot "see" in the total darkness of full-borne night.Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took this polar projection 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on March 7, 2005. Opportunity had completed a drive across the rippled flatland of the Meridiani Planum region. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 398th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 7, 2005). Opportunity drove 95 meters (312 feet) toward "Vostok Crater" that sol before taking the images. The drive was done in four steps: three "blind-drive" segments followed by a segment using the rover's autonomous navigation. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 49. The view is presented in a polar projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This image taken on Sept 12, 1998 by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the north polar layered deposits, a terrain believed composed of ice and dust deposited over millions of years. | Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera obtained its last SPO-2 images of Mars on September 12, 1998. SPO-2, or "Science Phasing Orbit-2," took place between early June and mid-September 1998. Shown above are MOC wide angle (red and blue band) images of the martian north polar region obtained around 3:15 a.m. PDT on September 12, 1998. This image, MOC image 55001, was one of the last pictures taken of the planet until the camera resumes its work in late-March 1999.The north polar layered deposits, a terrain believed composed of ice and dust deposited over millions of years, dominates this view. The swirled pattern in the images above are channels eroded into this deposit. The pattern is accentuated by the illumination and seasonal frost differences that arise on sun-facing slopes during the summer. The permanent portion of the north polar cap covers most of the region with a layer of ice of unknown thickness.At the time this picture was obtained, the martian northern hemisphere was in the midst of the early Spring season. The margin of the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap was at about 67° N, so the ground throughout this image is covered by frost. The frost appears pink rather than white; this may result from textural changes in the frost as it sublimes or because the frost is contaminated by a small amount of reddish martian dust. Please note that these pictures have not been "calibrated" and so the colors are not necessarily accurately portrayed.In addition to the north polar cap, the pictures also show some clouds. Some of the clouds on the right side of the images are long, linear features that cast similar long, dark shadows on the ground beneath them.When the MOC resumes imaging of Mars in March 1999, summer will have arrived in the north polar regions and the area surrounding the permanent polar cap will appear much darker than it does here. The dark features surrounding the cap are sand dunes, and these are expected to darken over the next several months as seasonal ice sublimes and is removed from the surface.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 false-color mosaic image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit panoramic camera shows the view acquired on April 3, 2004. Colors have been exaggerated to enhance the differences between cleaner and dustier rocks, and lighter and darker soils. | This enhanced false-color mosaic image from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit panoramic camera shows the view acquired after the rover drove approximately 50.2 meters (165 feet) on the martian afternoon of sol 89 (April 3, 2004). The view shows the direction of the rover's future drive destination. In the distance are the eastern-lying "Columbia Hills." This image was assembled from images in the panoramic camera's near-infrared (750 nanometer), green (530 nanometer), and violet (432 nanometer) filters. The colors have been exaggerated to enhance the differences between cleaner and dustier rocks, and lighter and darker soils. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a portion of the eastern side of Aeolis Planum. The region has been extensively eroded by the wind. Relics of an earlier surface are located in the central part of the image, in the form of inverted channels. | Context image for PIA11348Complex SurfaceThis VIS image shows a portion of the eastern side of Aeolis Planum. The region has been extensively eroded by the wind. Relics of an earlier surface are located in the central part of the image, in the form of inverted channels. The material that filled in the channels is more resistant to the wind than the surrounding materials.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -3.0N, Longitude 149.7E. 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. | |
This focus-merge image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a rock called 'Burwash.' The rock has a coating of dust on it. The coarser, visible grains are windblown sand. | This focus-merge image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a rock called "Burwash." The rock has a coating of dust on it. The coarser, visible grains are windblown sand.The focus merge combines portions of eight images taken with the camera held in one position while the MAHLI focus mechanism moved for each of the eight exposures to capture features at different distances in focus. The images were taken during the mission's 82nd sol, or Martian day (Oct. 29, 2012).MAHLI viewed the rock from a distance of about 4.5 inches (11.5 centimeters). The image covers an area about 3 inches by 2.2 inches (7.6 centimeters by 5.7 centimeters). Burwash is located near the rover's left-front wheel where the rover has been stationed while scooping soil at the site called "Rocknest."JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
The escarpment the science team refers to as Scarp a, is seen in this image captured by Perseverance rover's Mastcam-Z instrument on April 17, 2021. | The long, steep slope known as an escarpment, or scarp, along the delta in Mars' Jezero Crater that the science team of NASA's Perseverance rover mission refers to as "Scarp a" is seen in this image captured by the rover's Mastcam-Z instrument on Apr. 17, 2021.The Mastcam-Z investigation is led and operated by Arizona State University in Tempe, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, California, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Neils Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance:https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020nasa.gov/perseverance | |
Spirit's Mission From Beginning to End | This image highlights the beginning--the Columbia Memorial Station--and possible end - the "Columbia Hills" - of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's journey. The image was taken by the camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. | |
This image from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the lander's Robotic Arm scoop positioned over the Wet Chemistry Lab Cell 1 delivery funnel on July 6, 2008, after a martian soil sample was delivered to the instrument. | This image taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the lander's Robotic Arm scoop positioned over the Wet Chemistry Lab Cell 1 delivery funnel on Sol 41, the 42nd Martian day after landing, or July 6, 2008, after a soil sample was delivered to the instrument.The instrument's Cell 1 is second one from the foreground of the image. The first cell, Cell 0, received a soil sample two weeks earlier.This image has been enhanced to brighten the scene.The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This image shows some bright layered deposits exposed within a linear trough along the floor of the Ladon Basin as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image shows some bright layered deposits exposed within a linear trough along the floor of the Ladon Basin.There is a large channel system that flows into the basin, called Ladon Valles, and scientists think that the basin may have once filled with water before another channel to the north formed and drained it. These exposures of light-toned layered sediments provide clues about the environment that existed within Ladon Basin when water may have ponded and deposited these sediments.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the Cerulli Crater rim. | Context imageThe top of the Cerulli Crater rim is located in the center of the VIS image. The top half of the image is the interior rim, with numerous channels dissecting it and flowing down onto the crater floor. The lower half of the image is the outer crater rim.Orbit Number: 78314 Latitude: 31.1413 Longitude: 22.0425 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-08-10 16:41Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The small, dark features are sand dunes in this image by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The majority of the dunes appear to be located within eroded deposits on the floor of Pastuer Crater. | Context imageThe small, dark features in this VIS image are sand dunes. The majority of the dunes appear to be located within eroded deposits on the floor of Pastuer Crater.Orbit Number: 35891Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a landslide deposit in an unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria. | Context image for PIA10330LandslideA landslide deposit is visible in this image of an unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -29.4N, Longitude 169.1E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Prominent mineral veins at the 'Garden City' site examined by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover vary in thickness and brightness, as seen in this image from Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam). | Click on the image for the larger viewProminent mineral veins at the "Garden City" site examined by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover vary in thickness and brightness, as seen in this image from Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam). The image covers and area roughly 2 feet (60 centimeters) across. Types of vein material evident in the area include: 1) thin, dark-toned fracture filling material; 2) thick, dark-toned vein material in large fractures; 3) light-toned vein material, which was deposited last.Figure 1 includes annotations identifying each of those three major kinds and a scale bar indicating 10 centimeters (3.9 inches).Researchers used the Mastcam and other instruments on Curiosity in March and April 2015 to study the structure and composition of mineral veins at Garden City, for information about fluids that deposited minerals in fractured rock there. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates Curiosity's Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, built the rover and manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Syrtis Major face of Mars in mid-April 2006. | 18 April 2006This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 39° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 39° occurs in mid-April 2006. The picture shows the Syrtis Major face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn.Season: Northern Spring/Southern Autumn | |
This panorama mosaic taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 68 of the rover's mission (March 12, 2004) shows the southern end of the hills nicknamed the 'Columbia Hills,' Gusev Crater in middle, and a valley called Ma'adim Vallis. | This top image is a panorama mosaic taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit panoramic camera on sol 68 of the rover's mission (March 12, 2004). The southern end of the hills nicknamed the "Columbia Hills" can be seen on the left near the horizon. The middle image shows the same view, but the sky has been further processed to show contrast, bringing out a feature that dips along the rim of Gusev Crater. The feature, toward the right of the image, is a valley called Ma'adim Vallis that appears to go through the crater. In the bottom version of the image, the foreground is masked for better viewing of the Gusev Crater rim, which at its closest point is approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) away from Spirit. | |
This image acquired on February 8, 2022 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows central Valles Marineris, filled with sediments rich in hydrated sulfates. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionSediments rich in hydrated sulfates may have filled central Valles Marineris, but debates persist as to how these deposits grew or formed.If they formed from deposition in a deep lake then the layers should be nearly horizontal. If the layers formed from airfall deposits such as volcanic pyroclastics or windblown dust, then the layers should drape over the pre-existing topography.Another possibility is that the layers were deformed by slumping. Stereo topographic data can be used to test these hypotheses. The cutout shows an area at full resolution. There are no detectable color variations within these layers, suggesting a uniform composition or the presence of a thin cover of dust over all surfaces.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 56.4 centimeters [22.2 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 169 centimeters [66.5 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.This is a stereo pair with ESP_072836_1725.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. | |
The lava flows in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are part of Daedalia Planum, a huge lava field that originates from Arsia Mons. | Context imageThe lava flows in this VIS image are part of Daedalia Planum, a huge lava field that originates from Arsia Mons.Orbit Number: 59489 Latitude: -19.5001 Longitude: 258.333 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-05-13 00:48Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Four faces of Mars as seen on March 30, 1997 are presented in this montage of NASA Hubble Space Telescope images. Proceeding in the order upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, lower-right, Mars has rotated about ninety degrees. | Four faces of Mars as seen on March 30, 1997 are presented in this montage of NASA Hubble Space Telescope images. Proceeding in the order upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, lower-right, Mars has rotated about ninety degrees between each successive time step. For example the Tharsis volcanoes, which are seen (between 7:30 and 9 o'clock positions) in mid-morning in the UPPER-RIGHT view, are seen near the late afternoon edge of the planet (about 3 o'clock position) in the lower-left image. All of these color images are composed of individual red (673 nanometers), green (502 nm), and blue (410 nm) Planetary Camera exposures.Upper left: This view is centered on Ares Valles, where Pathfinder will land on July 4, 1997; the Valles Marineris canyon system stretches to the west across the lower left portion of the planet, while the bright, orangish desert of Arabia Planitia is to the east. The bright polar water-ice cap, surrounded by a dark ring of sand dunes, is obvious in the north; since it is northern summer and the pole is tilted toward us, the residual north polar cap is seen in its entirety in all four images. Acidalia Planitia, the prominent dark area fanning southward from the polar region, is thought to have a surface covered with dark sand. Numerous "dark wind streaks" are visible to the south of Acidalia, resulting from wind-blown sand streaming out of the interiors of craters.Upper right: The Tharsis volcanos and associated clouds are prominent in the western half of this view. Olympus Mons, spanning 340 miles (550 km) across its base and reaching an elevation of 16 miles (25 km), extends through the cloud deck near the western limb, while (from the south) Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons are to the west of center. Valles Marineris stretches to the east, and the Pathfinder landing site is shrouded in clouds near the afternoon limb.Lower left: This relatively featureless sector of Mars stretches from the Elysium volcanic region in the west to the Tharsis volcanoes (shrouded by the bright clouds near the afternoon limb) in the east. The group of three dark specks just left of center are all that remain of Cerberus, a very prominent dark region during the Viking and Mariner 9 missions. This is an example of the remarkable large scale changes which can occur on Mars due to windblown dust: the former dark area has now been covered by a layer of bright dust, masking the underlying material.Lower right: The dark Syrtis Major region dominates this image. Syrtis Major is one of the most prominent dark features on Mars, and has been visible since ground-based observers first peered at Mars through telescopes. The bright cloud at 3 o'clock is associated with Elysium Mons. The bright bluish-white feature near the southern limb of the planet is Hellas, a 1,200 mile (2,000 km) diameter impact basin formed by the collision of a large body with Mars long ago. Hellas is covered with dry ice frost and clouds during this season (winter in the south).This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Margaritifer Terra. The linear depressions were created by extensional tectonic stresses. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Margaritifer Terra. The linear depressions were created by extensional tectonic stresses. The nature of the white toned material is unknown at this time.Orbit Number: 71991 Latitude: -18.9301 Longitude: 332.049 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-03-07 21:50Please 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 results of wind erosion of a thick deposit of fine-grained, cemented material on Mars. The ridges oriented roughly from northwest to southeast are called yardangs | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-359, 13 May 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the results of wind erosion of a thick deposit of fine-grained, cemented material. The ridges oriented roughly from upper left to lower right (northwest to southeast) are called yardangs. Similar features occur in some of Earth's desert regions. The flat surface with narrow, sinuous ridges at the top (north) end of the picture is interpreted to be an ancient lava plain that is being slowly revealed as the overlying materials are eroded away. This picture is located near 13.2°N, 159.9°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/lower left. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rock dubbed Adirondack before the rover wiped off a portion of the rock's dust coating with a stainless steel brush located on its rock abrasion tool. | This image taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rock dubbed Adirondack before the rover wiped off a portion of the rock's dust coating with a stainless steel brush located on its rock abrasion tool. Spirit cleaned off the rock in preparation for grinding into it to expose fresh rock underneath. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows lava flows that cover the steep embankment called Olympus Rupes on the margin of Olympus Mons. | Context imageThis VIS image shows lava flows that cover the steep embankment called Olympus Rupes on the margin of Olympus Mons.Orbit Number: 45294 Latitude: 13.9548 Longitude: 227.275 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-02-29 18:02Please 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a three-dimensional view of the Mars '98 Polar landing site from MOLA. The vertical exaggeration is 20:1. | Three-dimensional view of the Mars '98 Polar landing site from MOLA. The vertical exaggeration is 20:1. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows heavily-cratered lava flows on the slopes of the martian volcano, Ascraeus Mons on Mars. The mountain is a classic shield volcano, similar in many respects to the volcanoes of Hawaii. | 11 September 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows heavily-cratered lava flows on the slopes of the martian volcano, Ascraeus Mons. The mountain is a classic shield volcano, similar in many respects to the volcanoes of Hawai'i. Shield volcanoes typically form from silica-, oxygen-, and aluminum-bearing rocks that are enriched in iron and magnesium -- that is, basalt. The lava flows of Ascraeus Mons are most likely basaltic, as are the volcanic rocks in Gusev Crater that were examined by the Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, during its first year on the martian surface.Location near: 10.3°N, 103.5°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Autumn | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a field of dark sand dunes on the northwestern floor of Brashear Crater on Mars. The dunes formed largely from winds that blew from the southeast. | 8 January 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a field of dark sand dunes on the northwestern floor of Brashear Crater. The dunes formed largely from winds that blew from the southeast (lower right).Location near: 253.7°S, 119.4°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a simple channel, just one of the many lava channels in the Elysium Volcanic complex. | This simple channel is just one of the many lava channels in the Elysium Volcanic complex.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 23.9N, Longitude 152.3E. 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-566, 6 December 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a streamlined tail-pointing toward the upper right (northeast)--in the lee of a meteor impact crater in Marte Vallis, a large valley and channel complex southeast and east of the Elysium volcanic region. The fluid that went through Marte Vallis, whether water, mud, lava, or otherwise, created this form as it moved from the lower left (southwest) toward the upper right. The crater is located near 19.0°N, 174.9°W. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated from the left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the Kasei Vallis complex on Mars which contains two main channels that run east-west across Tempe Terra and empty into Chryse Planitia. | Kasei Vallis is our topic for the weeks of April 18 and 25. Originating on the margin of Lunae Planum, the Kasei Vallis complex contains two main channels that run east-west across Tempe Terra and empty into Chryse Planitia. During the week of April 18th we will concentrate on the northern branch of Kasei Vallis. The week of April 25 will be devoted to the southern branch.The formation of Kasei Vallis is still being studied and several theories exist. It is thought that volcanic subsurfaceing heating in the Tharsis/Lunae Planum region resulted in a release of water, which carved the channels and produced the landforms seen within the channels. One theory is that this was a one-time catastropic event, another theory speculates that several flooding events occurred over a long time period. Others have proposed that some of the landforms (especially scour marks and teardropshaped "islands") are the result of glacial flow rather than liquid flow. Teardrop shaped islands are common in terrestrial rivers, where the water is eroding material in the channel. A glacial feature called a drumlin has the exact sameshape, but is formed by deposition beneath continental glaciers.This VIS image illustrates the complex topography within Kasei Vallis. The smoother appearing section is the lowest in elevation and has been filled by deposition. To either side are eroded banks. The parallel striations running from lower-left to upper-right can represent: rock layers eroded to show the layering, terracing -- erosion of the rock by different depths of flow, or scouring caused by material being ground against the banks by the downstream flow. Terracing is usually associated with action by liquid water; scour is generally associated with glacial (ice) flow. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 26.7, Longitude 290.7 East (69.3 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey is of a doublet crater located in Utopia Planitia, near the Elysium Volcanic region. Doublet craters are formed by simultaneous impact of a meteor that broke into two pieces prior to hitting the surface. | Context imageThis doublet crater is located in Utopia Planitia, near the Elysium Volcanic region. Doublet craters are formed by simultaneous impact of a meteor that broke into two pieces prior to hitting the surface. The channels in the image are part of Granicus Valles.Orbit Number: 39556 Latitude: 26.2138 Longitude: 134.103 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-11-14 09:17Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals layers filling a larger crater, perhaps a combination of lava, impact ejecta, and sediments. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionGeologists love roadcuts because they reveal the bedrock stratigraphy (layering). Until we have highways on Mars, we can get the same information from fresh impact craters as shown in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.An enhanced color closeup reveals these layers filling a larger crater, perhaps a combination of lava, impact ejecta, and sediments. The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 52.1 centimeters (22.4 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 156 centimeters (61.4 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.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 Exploration Rover Spirit shows the red-hued seven hills on Mars are named for those seven brave souls, the final crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. | NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe today announced the martian hills, located east of the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover's landing site, would be dedicated to the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 crew."These seven hills on Mars are named for those seven brave souls, the final crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Columbia crew faced the challenge of space and made the supreme sacrifice in the name of exploration," Administrator O'Keefe said.The Shuttle Columbia was commanded by Rick Husband and piloted by William McCool. The mission specialists were Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark; and the payload specialist was Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. On February 1, 2003, the Columbia and its crew were lost over the western United States during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere The 28th and final flight of Columbia was a 16-day mission dedicated to research in physical, life and space sciences. The Columbia crew successfully conducted approximately 80 separate experiments during their mission.This image, taken from Spirit's PanCam looking east, depicts the nearby hills dedicated to the final crew of Space Shuttle Columbia. Arranged alphabetically from left to right - "Anderson Hill" is the most northeast of Spirit's landing site and 3 kilometers away. Next are "Brown Hill" and "Chawla Hill," both 2.9 kilometers distant. Next is "Clark Hill" at 3 kilometers. "Husband Hill" and "McCool Hill," named for Columbia's commander and pilot respectively, are 3.1 and 4.2 kilometers distant. "Ramon Hill" is furthest southeast of Spirit's landing site and 4.4 kilometers away.NASA will submit the names of the Mars features to the International Astronomical Union for official designation. The organization serves as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and their surface features.The figure below is an image taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera of the Columbia Memorial Station and Columbia Hills. Click on image for larger view The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Additional information about the project is available on the Internet at: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. | |
Layered rocks are seen by NASA's Opportunity rover on Feb. 9, 2004 in Opportunity Ledge. Unparallel lines give unparalleled clues that some 'moving current' such as volcanic flow, wind, or water formed these rocks. | Scientists are excited to see new details of layered rocks in Opportunity Ledge. In previous panoramic camera images, geologists saw that some rocks in the outcrop had thin layers, and images sent to Earth on sol 17 (Feb. 10, 2004) now show that the thin layers are not always parallel to each other like lines on notebook paper. Instead, if you look closely at this image from an angle, you will notice that the lines converge and diverge at low angles. These unparallel lines give unparalleled clues that some "moving current" such as volcanic flow, wind, or water formed these rocks. These layers with converging and diverging lines are a significant discovery for scientists who are on route to rigorously test the water hypothesis. The main task for both rovers in coming weeks and months is to explore the areas around their landing sites for evidence in rocks and soils about whether those areas ever had environments that were watery and possibly suitable for sustaining life.This is a cropped image taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera on sol 16 (Feb. 9, 2004). JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. | |
This false-color image from NASA's Mars Odyssey contains dunes on Mars, and small areas of blue which may represent fresh (non-dust covered) frost or ice. Ice/frost will appear as bright blue in color; dust mantled ice will appear in tones of red/orange. | The theme for the weeks of 1/17 and 1/24 is the north polar region of Mars as seen in false color THEMIS images. Ice/frost will typically appear as bright blue in color; dust mantled ice will appear in tones of red/orange. This full resolution image contains dunes, and small areas of "blue" which may represent fresh (ie. not dust covered) frost or ice.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 85, Longitude 235.8 East (124.2 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This 360-degree stereo panorama shows the terrain surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on Nov. 11, 2004. At that point, Spirit was climbing the 'West Spur' of the 'Columbia Hills.' 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Figure 1Figure 2This 360-degree stereo panorama shows the terrain surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as of the rover's 305th martian day, or sol, (Nov. 11, 2004). At that point, Spirit was climbing the "West Spur" of the "Columbia Hills." The rover had just finished inspecting a rock called "Lutefisk" and was heading uphill toward an area called "Machu Picchu." Spirit used its navigational camera to take the images combined into this mosaic. The rover's location when the images were taken is catalogued as the mission's site 89, position 205. The stereo-anaglyph view presented here is a cylindrical 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. | |
Dark slope streaks mark this crater rim in this image taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. The crater is located within the much larger Tikhonravov Crater in Arabia Terra. | Context imageDark slope streaks mark this crater rim. This crater is located within the much larger Tikhonravov Crater in Arabia Terra.Orbit Number: 36290 Latitude: 13.2864 Longitude: 33.3726 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-02-18 11:15Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dozens of dark slope streaks, created by dry avalanches of dust, extend from toward the base of dust-covered buttes. Large, dust-covered, windblown ripples surround the group. | 21 April 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a group of dust-covered buttes in the Aeolis region of Mars. Dozens of dark slope streaks -- created by dry avalanches of dust -- extend from a variety of elevations toward the base of each butte. Large, dust-covered, windblown ripples surround the group and occupy some of the low-lying areas between individual buttes.Location near: 24.8°N, 114.8°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Winter | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the part of the eastern end of Tithonium Chasma. Tithonium Chasma is at the western end of Valles Marineris. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows the part of the eastern end of Tithonium Chasma. Tithonium Chasma is at the western end of Valles Marineris. Valles Marineris is over 4000 kilometers long, almost as wide as the United States. Tithonium Chasma is almost 810 kilometers long (499 miles), 50 kilometers wide and over 6 kilometers deep. In comparison, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is about 175 kilometers long, 30 kilometers wide, and only 2 kilometers deep. The canyons of Valles Marineris were formed by extensive fracturing and pulling apart of the crust during the uplift of the vast Tharsis plateau. In this image, the shallower regions of Tithonium are visible. The northern cliff of Ius Chasma is visible at the bottom of the image.Orbit Number: 92650 Latitude: -5.20867 Longitude: 275.913 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-11-03 01:37Please 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 of Coprates Catena was obtained in the early evening of January 1, 1998 by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. The image covers a tiny fraction of the Valles Marineris canyons. | This image is a mosaic of the original data (at left) compared with the results of contrast enhancement (at right). The processing steps performed to create this image were: A long, narrow high-pass filter is applied in a vertical orientation to help reduce some of the instrument signature. This signature is seen as the streaking that is noticeable in the original data. A long, narrow low-pass filter is applied in a horizontal orientation to help create an intensity average for the image.The results of these filtering operations are the stretched to approximate a Gaussian distribution. The results of the high-pass and low-pass processing steps are averaged together to form the final product.The image is flipped about the vertical axis to correct for the camera orientation.The original and processed data are placed together in a mosaic. The completed image is sized down by a factor of 2, with interpolation, to make the finished result more manageable.Other information available for this image is the following:Orbit: 258Range: 409.53 kmResolution: 3.46 m/pixelImage dimensions: 1024 X 9600 pixels, 3.5 km x 33.2 km Line time: 0.50 msecEmission angle: 29.90 degreesIncidence angle: 69.59 degreesPhase angle: 60.62 degreesScan rate: ~0.15 degree/secStart time: periapsis + 410 secSequence submitted to JPL: Wed 04/22/98 21:45:00 PDT Image acquired by MOC: Thu 04/23/98 12:23:02 PDTData retrieved from JPL: Fri 04/24/98 09:00 PDT. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a collection of heart-shaped martian landforms. | 14 February 2004 Happy St. Valentine's Day from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team! This collection of images acquired over the past 3 Mars years shows some of the heart-shaped features found on Mars by the MGS MOC.The heart in E04-01788 is a low mesa located near 46.7°N, 29.0°W, and is about 636 m (2,086 ft) wide. The heart in R10-03259 is a depression located near 22.7°N, 56.6°W, and is about 378 m (1,240 ft) wide. The heart in R09-02121 is a small mesa on a crater floor located near 37.2°S, 324.7°W, and is about 120 m (395 ft) wide. The heart in R09-00918 is a depression located near 35.8°N, 220.5°W, and is about 525 m (1,722 ft) wide. The heart in R04-00395 is a depression in which occurs a low mesa located near 57.5°N, 135.0°W, and is about 1 km (~0.62 mi) wide. The heart in E11-00090 is a depression located near 0.2°N, 119.3°W, and is about 485 m (1,591 ft) wide. The heart in E12-00275 is a depression located near 32.7°S, 139.3°W, and is about 512 m (1,680 ft) wide. The heart in R06-01364 is a depression located near 8.4°S, 345.7°W, and is about 502 m (1,647 ft) wide. The heart in M11-00480 is a depression located near 1.9°N, 186.8°W, and is about 153 m (502 ft) wide. The heart in R08-00939 is a depression located near 12.1°S, 173.5°W, and is about 384 m (1,260 ft) wide.Other heart-shaped martian landforms were featured in previous MGS MOC image releases:"From Mars, With Love," 17 June 1999 PIA01342"Happy Valentine's Day From Mars!" 11 February 2000 PIA02361 | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows two troughs/depressions formed along the trend of the Sirenum Fossae, a suite of very extensive troughs formed by faults that are radial to the giant Tharsis Bulge on Mars. | 21 October 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows two troughs/depressions formed along the trend of the Sirenum Fossae, a suite of very extensive troughs formed by faults that are radial to the giant Tharsis Bulge. As the Tharsis region bulged outward, adjacent terrain expanded and formed a series of long, extensional fault systems.Location near: 26.4°S, 142.4°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Southern Spring | |
This 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft image crosses Coprates Chasma on Mars, showing both floor and wall features of the canyon. | Context image for PIA11891Coprates ChasmaThis VIS image crosses Coprates Chasma, showing both floor and wall features of the canyon.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -13.6N, Longitude 296.8E. 36 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows one of the linear depressions of Cerberus Fossae. | Context imageThis VIS image shows one of the linear depressions of Cerberus Fossae. This feature is called a graben and is formed by extensional tectonic forces. As the regional fractures move apart, blocks of material slide down between paired faults.Orbit Number: 80106 Latitude: 13.7626 Longitude: 164.573 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-01-05 05:59Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This panoramic view was taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on April 27, 2006, as it continued to traverse from Erebus Crater toward Victoria Crater, the rover navigated along exposures of bedrock between large, wind-blown ripples. | As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity continues to traverse from "Erebus Crater" toward "Victoria Crater," the rover navigates along exposures of bedrock between large, wind-blown ripples. Along the way, scientists have been studying fields of cobbles that sometimes appear on trough floors between ripples. They have also been studying the banding patterns seen in large ripples. This view, obtained by Opportunity's panoramic camera on the rover's 802nd Martian day (sol) of exploration (April 27, 2006), is a mosaic spanning about 30 degrees. It shows a field of cobbles nestled among wind-driven ripples that are about 20 centimeters (8 inches) high. The origin of cobble fields like this one is unknown. The cobbles may be a lag of coarser material left behind from one or more soil deposits whose finer particles have blown away. The cobbles may be eroded fragments of meteoritic material, secondary ejecta of Mars rock thrown here from craters elsewhere on the surface, weathering remnants of locally-derived bedrock, or a mixture of these. Scientists will use the panoramic camera's multiple filters to study the rock types, variability and origins of the cobbles.This is an approximately true-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer and 432-nanometer filters. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Noctis Labyrinthus located at the western end of Valles Marineris on Mars. This maze-like feature of deep intersecting valleys was formed by tectonic forces and extensive faulting. | Context image for PIA09975Final NoctisThe major Martian dust storm of 2007 filled the sky with dust and produced conditions that prevented the THEMIS VIS camera from being able to image the surface. With no new images being acquired, we've dug into the archive to highlight some interesting areas on Mars. The this week's region is Noctis Labyrinthus. Noctis Labyrinthus is located at the western end of Valles Marineris. This maze-like feature of deep intersecting valleys was formed by tectonic forces and extensive faulting.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -7.5N, Longitude 259.1E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This mosaic of four side-by-side microscope images acquired by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows a 3 mm diameter silicone target after it had been exposed to dust kicked up by the landing. It is the highest resolution image of dust and ever acquired. | Click on image forFigure 1Click on image forFigure 2Click on image forFigure 3This mosaic of four side-by-side microscope images (one a color composite) was acquired by the Optical Microscope, a part of the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument suite on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. Taken on the ninth Martian day of the mission, or Sol 9 (June 3, 2008), the image shows a 3 millimeter (0.12 inch) diameter silicone target after it has been exposed to dust kicked up by the landing. It is the highest resolution image of dust and sand ever acquired on Mars. The silicone substrate provides a sticky surface for holding the particles to be examined by the microscope. Martian Particles on Microscope's Silicone SubstrateIn figure 1, the particles are on a silcone substrate target 3 millimeters (0.12 inch) in diameter, which provides a sticky surface for holding the particles while the microscope images them. Blow-ups of four of the larger particles are shown in the center. These particles range in size from about 30 microns to 150 microns (from about one one-thousandth of an inch to six one-thousandths of an inch). Possible Nature of Particles Viewed by Mars Lander's Optical MicroscopeIn figure 2, the color composite on the right was acquired to examine dust that had fallen onto an exposed surface. The translucent particle highlighted at bottom center is of comparable size to white particles in a Martian soil sample (upper pictures) seen two sols earlier inside the scoop of Phoenix's Robotic Arm as imaged by the lander's Robotic Arm Camera. The white particles may be examples of the abundant salts that have been found in the Martian soil by previous missions. Further investigations will be needed to determine the white material's composition and whether translucent particles like the one in this microscopic image are found in Martian soil samples. Scale of Phoenix Optical Microscope ImagesThis set of pictures in figure 3 gives context for the size of individual images from the Optical Microscope on NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander.The picture in the upper left was taken on Mars by the Surface Stereo Imager on Phoenix. It shows a portion of the microscope's sample stage exposed to accept a sample. In this case, the sample was of dust kicked up by the spacecraft thrusters during landers. Later samples will include soil delivered by the Robotic Arm.The other pictures were taken on Earth. They show close-ups of circular substrates on which the microscopic samples rest when the microscope images them. Each circular substrate target is 3 millimeters (about one-tenth of an inch) in diameter. Each image taken by the microscope covers and area 2 millimeters by 1 millimeter (0.08 inch by 0.04 inch), the size of a large grain of sand.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. | |
Tall narrow ridges snake between mesas and buttes in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey. Where one such ridge crosses a flat-topped mesa (in the lower center of the image), the mesa surface is split into two surfaces of different heights. | Released 11 April 2003Tall narrow ridges snake between mesas and buttes. Where one such ridge crosses a flat-topped mesa (in the lower center of the image), the mesa surface is split into two surfaces of different heights, like a split-level house. This suggests that the ridges, like the mesas and buttes, are erosional remnants of a former surface that has since been mostly stripped away.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 28.2, Longitude 28 East (332 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
Seasonal frost commonly forms at middle and high latitudes on Mars, much like winter snow on Earth. However, on Mars most frost is carbon dioxide (dry ice) rather than water ice. This image is from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionSeasonal frost commonly forms at middle and high latitudes on Mars, much like winter snow on Earth. However, on Mars most frost is carbon dioxide (dry ice) rather than water ice. This frost appears to cause surface activity, including flows in gullies.This image shows frost in gully alcoves in a crater on the Northern plains. The frost highlights details of the alcoves, since it forms in different amounts depending on slopes and shadows as well as the type of material making up the ground. Rugged rock outcrops appear dark and shadowed, while frost highlights the upper alcove and the steepest route down the slope.Most changes associated with gullies are observed in the Southern hemisphere. However, some are seen in the Northern hemisphere, where steep slopes are less common. HiRISE is monitoring these gullies to look for changes and to understand the behavior of the frost. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars 2020 rover looks at the horizon in this artist's concept. Mars 2020 will use powerful instruments to investigate rocks on Mars down to the microscopic scale of variations in texture and composition. | NASA's Mars 2020 rover looks at the horizon in this artist's concept. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself. Mars 2020 will use powerful instruments to investigate rocks on Mars down to the microscopic scale of variations in texture and composition. It will also acquire and store samples of the most promising rocks and soils that it encounters, and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020 aboard an Atlas V-541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory builds and manages the Mars 2020 rover for the NASA Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/. Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA22110_full.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the complexity of wind erosion on Mars. The erosion of the hills and the gouge-like pits indicate two, if not three wind directions that all altered the surface. | Context imageThis VIS image shows the complexity of wind erosion on Mars. The erosion of the hills and the gouge-like pits indicate two, if not three wind directions that all altered the surface.Orbit Number: 45107 Latitude: 11.0228 Longitude: 219.858 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-02-14 09:04Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Tharsis volcanic region (left), Valles Marineris chasms (right) and the late winter south polar cap (bottom). | The wide angle cameras of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) system onboard Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) are used every day to gather a global view of changes occurring in martian weather and surface frost patterns. Late in June 2001, as southern winter transitioned to spring, dust storm activity began to pick up as cold air from the south polar cap moved northward toward the warmer air at the martian equator. By early July, dust storms had popped up all over the planet, particularly throughout the southern hemisphere and in the Elysium/Amazonis regions of the northern hemisphere. Soon, the entire planet--except the south polar cap--was enshrouded in dust. Similar storms have occurred before. For example, the planet was obscured by dust when the Mariner 9, Mars 2, and Mars 3 spacecraft reached the planet in late 1971. The MGS MOC images showed the evolution of the 2001 great dust storm period. There was never a time when the entire planet was in the midst of a single storm. Several large storms would occur at the same time, and dust was kicked high into the atmosphere to cause much of the rest of the planet to be obscured. The dust storms largely subsided by late September 2001, but the atmosphere remained hazy into November of that year. The two pictures shown here come from the E05 (June 2001) and E06 (July 2001) subphases of the MGS MOC Extended Mission. The view from June shows the Tharsis volcanic region (left), Valles Marineris chasms (right) and the late winter south polar cap (bottom). The view from July shows the same regions, but most of the details are hidden by dust storms and haze. | |
The lava flows in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are part of Solis Planum. | Context imageThe lava flows in this VIS image are part of Solis Planum.Orbit Number: 56587 Latitude: -20.2853 Longitude: 258.61 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-09-16 02:54 Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows Hellas Planitia on Mars, the floor of a giant basin that originally formed by the impact of a large comet or asteroid. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-471, 2 September 2003Hellas Planitia is the floor of a giant basin that originally formed by the impact of a large comet or asteroid at a very early time in martian history. Throughout most of the martian year, Hellas is a difficult target for the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) because it is often dusty and cloudy. The best time of year to observe Hellas Planitia occurs during the southern autumn season. The most recent best-time-of-year for Hellas imaging occurred in September and October 2002. This is a wide angle red camera image obtained in October 2002 that shows a large portion of Hellas Planitia at a scale of about 245 meters (268 yards) per pixel. The image covers an area about 290 km (180 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a portion of an old impact crater that was filled, buried, and is now being exhumed from within sedimentary rock strata located in western Arabia Terra on Mars. | 30 December 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of an old impact crater that was filled, buried, and is now being exhumed from within sedimentary rock strata located in western Arabia Terra, the region immediately north of Meridiani Planum. The Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, has explored sedimentary rocks in the Meridiani region; the rocks of nearby western Arabia can only be explored (for the time being) from orbit. Wind has sculpted some of the layered rock into streamlined forms known as yardangs. The crater shown here, at one time, may have been the site of a small lake. The crater is located near 8.4°N, 5.7°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a portion of Syrtis Major Planum, dominated in this area by two impact craters of differing age. | 9 July 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of Syrtis Major Planum, dominated in this area by two impact craters of differing age. The large one is about 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) in diameter, the smaller is about 250 meters (~820 feet) across. The smaller crater has a well-defined ejecta blanket and rays emanate outward from its center. The larger crater does not exhibit these features. The larger one is older, and its ejecta blanket and rays have been removed and degraded over time.Location near: 5.4°N, 294.2°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Northern Spring | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows Mars' north polar sand dunes in the summertime. The dunes are dark because they are composed of sand grains made of dark minerals and/or rock fragments. | 13 May 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows north polar sand dunes in the summertime. During winter and early spring, north polar dunes are covered with bright frost. When the frost sublimes away, the dunes appear darker than their surroundings. To a geologist, sand has a very specific meaning. A sand grain is defined independently of its composition; it is a particle with a size between 62.5 and 2000 microns. Two thousand microns equals 2 millimeters. The dunes are dark because they are composed of sand grains made of dark minerals and/or rock fragments. Usually, dark grains indicate the presence of unoxidized iron, for example, the dark volcanic rocks of Hawaii, Iceland, and elsewhere. This dune field is located near 71.7°N, 51.3°W. Dune slip faces indicate winds that blow from the upper left toward lower right. This picture covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. | |
This image released on June 29, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey was taken during early spring near Mars' north pole. The linear 'ripples' are transparent water-ice clouds. | Released 29 June 2004The atmosphere of Mars is a dynamic system. Water-ice clouds, fog, and hazes can make imaging the surface from space difficult. Dust storms can grow from local disturbances to global sizes, through which imaging is impossible. Seasonal temperature changes are the usual drivers in cloud and dust storm development and growth. Eons of atmospheric dust storm activity has left its mark on the surface of Mars. Dust carried aloft by the wind has settled out on every available surface; sand dunes have been created and moved by centuries of wind; and the effect of continual sand-blasting has modified many regions of Mars, creating yardangs and other unusual surface forms. Like yesterday's image, the linear "ripples" are water-ice clouds. As spring is deepening at the North Pole these clouds are becoming more prevalent.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 68.9, Longitude 135.5 East (224.5 West). 38 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image shows part of Syria Planum on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08590Martian Color #6This image shows part of Syria Planum.This color treatment is the result of a collaboration between THEMIS team members at Cornell University and space artist Don Davis, who is an expert on true-color renderings of planetary and astronomical objects. Davis began with calibrated and co-registered THEMIS VIS multi-band radiance files produced by the Cornell group. Using as a guide true-color imaging from spacecraft and his own personal experience at Mt. Wilson and other observatories, he performed a manual color balance to display the spectral capabilities of the THEMIS imager within the context of other Mars observations. He also did some manual smoothing along with other image processing to minimize the effects of residual scattered light in the images.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -13.2N, Longitude 255.8E. 70 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover and Ingenuity helicopter were spotted on the surface of the Red Planet in this black-and-white image captured February 26, 2022. | Figure AFigure BClick on images for larger versionsNASA's Perseverance Mars rover and Ingenuity helicopter were spotted on the surface of the Red Planet in this black-and-white image captured Feb. 26, 2022, by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.The rover is viewed here sitting on fractured bedrock of the "Máaz" formation before its long drive to the Jezero Crater's delta. About 656 feet (200 meters) to the left is the Ingenuity helicopter, which is so small that it appears as a mere dot on the landscape.Figure A is a close-up of the image with Perseverance circled.Figure B is a close-up of the image with Ingenuity circled.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover as well as for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small section of Nirgal Valles. Located in Noachis Terra, Nirgal Valles is 610km long (379 miles). | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small section of Nirgal Valles. Located in Noachis Terra, Nirgal Valles is 610km long (379 miles).Orbit Number: 84500 Latitude: -27.3291 Longitude: 314.675 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-01-01 00:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small portion of the immense lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the three large aligned volcanoes in the Tharsis region. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small portion of the immense lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the three large aligned volcanoes in the Tharsis region. Arsia Mons' last eruption was 10s of million years ago. The different surface textures are created by differences in the lava viscosity and cooling rates. The lobate margins of each flow can be traced back to the start of each flow — or to the point where they are covered by younger flows. Flows in Daedalia Planum can be as long as 180 km (111 miles). For comparison the longest Hawaiian lava flow is only 51 km (˜31 miles) long. The total area of Daedalia Planum is 2.9 million square km – more than four times the size of Texas.Orbit Number: 92751 Latitude: -23.4788 Longitude: 239.589 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-11-11 09:19Please 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. | |
Topographic Map of Chryse Planitia with Location of Possible Buried Basin | This topographic map, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, shows the ground track of the 1,892nd and the 1,903rd orbits of Mars Express and the arc structures detected by that orbiter's Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS). The arc structures are interpreted to be part of a buried impact basin about 250 kilometers (155 miles) in diameter. The topographic relief represented in the image is 1 kilometer (0.6 mile), from low (purple) to high (red). The projected arcs are shown in red for orbit 1892 and white for orbit 1903. There is no obvious feature in the surface topography that corresponds to the buried feature identified with MARSIS data.NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the MARSIS instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter is an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. | |
This illustration shows the European Space Agency's (ESA) Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), the biggest spacecraft to ever orbit Mars. | The European Space Agency's (ESA) Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) would be the biggest spacecraft to ever orbit Mars. The spacecraft would also be the first interplanetary spacecraft to rendezvous and capture hardware launched from another planet and return it to the Earth's surface, making a full round trip to Mars and back. ERO would be a multi-stage modular spacecraft equipped with both chemical and solar electric propulsion. The electric propulsion system would be the most powerful ever flown on any previous planetary mission.ERO would carry a radiation monitor to measure the total radiation dose experienced by the spacecraft throughout the entire mission, which in addition to monitoring the health of the ERO, should provide important information on how to design systems for future human explorers. Launch is planned in 2027, entering into Mars orbit in 2029.The Earth Return Orbiter is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return campaign being planned by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). | |
The panoramic cameras on NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers are about as sensitive as the human eye at night and can see the same bright stars that we can see from Earth, and the same patterns of constellations dot the night sky. | Annotated Meteor Search by Spirit, Sol 643The panoramic cameras on NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers are about as sensitive as the human eye at night. The cameras can see the same bright stars that we can see from Earth, and the same patterns of constellations dot the night sky. Scientists on the rover team have been taking images of some of these bright stars as part of several different projects. One project is designed to try to capture "shooting stars," or meteors, in the Martian night sky. "Meteoroids" are small pieces of comets and asteroids that travel through space and eventually run into a planet. On Earth, we can sometimes see meteoroids become brilliant, long "meteors" streaking across the night sky as they burn up from the friction in our atmosphere. Some of these meteors survive their fiery flight and land on the surface (or in the ocean) where, if found, they are called "meteorites." The same thing happens in the Martian atmosphere, and Spirit even accidentally discovered a meteor while attempting to obtain images of Earth in the pre-dawn sky back in March, 2004 (see http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040311a.html, and Selsis et al. (2005) Nature, vol 435, p. 581). On Earth, some meteors come in "storms" or "showers" at predictable times of the year, like the famous Perseid meteor shower in August or the Leonid meteor shower in November. These "storms" happen when Earth passes through the same parts of space where comets sometimes pass. The meteors we see at these times are from leftover debris that was shed off of these comets.The same kind of thing is predicted for Mars, as well. Inspired by calculations about Martian meteor storms by meteor scientists from the University of Western Ontario in Canada and the Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique de Lyon in France, and also aided by other meteor research colleagues from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, scientists on the rover team planned some observations to try to detect predicted meteor storms in October and November, 2005. The views shown here are a composite of nine 60-second exposures taken with the panoramic camera on Spirit during night hours of sol 643 (Oct. 25, 2005), during a week when Mars was predicted to pass through a meteor stream associated with comet P/2001R1 LONEOS. Many stars can be seen in the images, appearing as curved "dash-dot" streaks. The star trails are curved because Mars is rotating while the camera takes the images. The dash-dot pattern is an artifact of taking an image for 60 seconds, then pausing about 10 seconds while the image is processed and stored by the rover's computer, then taking another image for 60 seconds, etc., for a total of about 10 minutes worth of "staring" at the night sky. Many stars from the southern constellations Octans and Pavonis can be seen in the images. The brightest ones in this view would be easily visible to the naked eye, but the faintest ones are slightly dimmer than the human eye can detect.In addition to the star trails, there are several smaller linear streaks, dots and splotches that are the trails left by cosmic rays hitting the camera detectors. Cosmic rays are high-energy particles that are created in the Sun and in other stars throughout our galaxy and travel through space in all directions. Some of them strike Earth or other planets, and ones that strike a digital camera detector can leave little tracks or splotches like those seen in these images. Because they come from all directions, some strike the detector face-on, and others strike at glancing angles. Some even skip across the detector like flat rocks skipped across a pond. These are very common phenomena to astronomers used to working with sensitive digital cameras like those in the Mars rovers, the Hubble Space Telescope, or other space probes, and while they can be a nuisance when taking pictures, they generally do not cause any lasting damage to the cameras. One streak in the image, crossing at an angle very different from the direction of the stars' "motion," might be a meteor trail or could be the mark of another cosmic ray.While hunting for meteors on Mars is fun, ultimately the team wants to use the images and results for scientific purposes. These include helping to validate the models and predictions for interplanetary meteor storms, providing information on the rate of impacts of small meteoroids with Mars for comparison with rates for the Earth and Moon, assessing the rate and intensity of cosmic ray impact events in the Martian environment, and looking at whether some bright stars are being dimmed occasionally by water ice or dust clouds occurring at night during different Martian seasons. | |
Launch date makes a difference in the orientation of ellipses marking where NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander would have a high probability of landing, given the planned targeting for the spring 2008 landing site. | Annotated VersionLaunch date makes a difference in the orientation of ellipses marking where NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander will have a high probability of landing, given the planned targeting for the spring 2008 landing site. This map shows possible landing ellipses for the Aug. 3, 2007, opening of the launch period (the ellipse oriented northwest to southeast) and for launch dates at the middle and end of the three-week period of launch opportunities. The map also shows a color-coded interpretation of geomorphic units -- categories based on the surface textures and contours. The yellow-coded area surrounding a crater informally named "Heimdall" appears to have even fewer boulders on the surface than other units. The geomorphic mapping is overlaid on a shaded relief map based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. The red box indicates the location of an image PIA09947 from the Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
The channel in this image is called Havel Vallis, as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageThe channel in this VIS image is called Havel Vallis.Orbit Number: 52683 Latitude: 0.440859 Longitude: 301.894 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-10-29 20:52Please 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. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity combined images into this stereo, 360-degree view on April 22, 2010. This site is about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) south-southwest of Victoria Crater. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Left-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA13221Right-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA13221NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this stereo, 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings after a drive on the 2,220th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's mission on Mars (April 22, 2010). The view appears three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left. South is at the center; north at both ends.Opportunity drove 10.18 meters (33.4 feet) toward the south-southeast on Sol 2220. The drive had been planned to go farther, but one precaution included in the commands sent to Opportunity that sol was for the rover to pause after about 10 meters and check whether its wheels were slipping more than 40 percent. This was a safeguard against having the rover's wheels sink too far into the sand. The slippage had exceeded that amount, so Opportunity did not try to drive farther. After receiving data from the Sol 2220 drive, the rover team assessed the situation and decided that the wheels were not sinking excessively despite the slippage. After recharging batteries, Opportunity continued driving in the same direction six sols later.Opportunity took some of the component images for this mosaic on Sol 2220, after the drive, and the rest on Sol 2221. Wind-formed ripples of dark sand make up much of the terrain surrounding this position. Patches of outcrop are visible to the south. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 1 meter (about 40 inches). The site is about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) south-southwest of Victoria Crater.This panorama combines right-eye and left-eye views presented as cylindrical-perspective projections with geometric seam correction. | |
The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows some of the dunes on the floor of Wegener Crater. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows some of the dunes on the floor of Wegener Crater. Dunes often appear as a dark blue in false color THEMIS images.Orbit Number: 58868 Latitude: -59.8409 Longitude: 351.33 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-03-22 22:05Please 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 Gale Crater, home to the Curiosity Rover since August of 2012. | Context imageToday's VIS image is located in Gale Crater. Home to the Curiosity Rover since August of 2012, Gale crater is 154km in diameter (96 miles). Multiple features within the crater are visible in this image, including dunes, wind and water etched rock, layered central mound (Aeolis Mons — common name Mount Sharp), and small channels. Aeolis Mons rises 18,000 ft (5,500 m) from the crater floor, higher than Mount Rainier rises above Seattle.Orbit Number: 81879 Latitude: -4.7719 Longitude: 137.564 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-05-30 05:35Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a layered, light-toned mesa among other layered materials exposed in a mound that covers much of the floor of Spallanzani Crater. | 31 March 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a layered, light-toned mesa among other layered materials exposed in a mound that covers much of the floor of Spallanzani Crater.Location near: 58.3°S, 273.9°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Phlegethon Catena. The linear features are created by faulting. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Phlegethon Catena. The linear features are created by faulting. Paired faults with down dropped block of material are called graben and are formed due to tectonic forces. The circular and lobate features within the graben are probably formed by collapse of material into underlying voids. It may be that lava flowed along the trace of the graben and left behind a subsurface lava tube. As the roof of the tube collapses the circular features are created.Orbit Number: 62502 Latitude: 36.6054 Longitude: 255.412 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-01-16 04:45Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
These sand dunes are located on the floor of Halley Crater on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA09153Sand DunesThese sand dunes are located on the floor of Halley Crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -47.9N, Longitude 301.3E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
For scale, the Lincoln penny on the MAHLI calibration target is three-fourths inch (19 millimeters) in diameter. The calibration target is mounted on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. | This image of a calibration target illuminated by white-light LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. The set includes images of the MAHLI calibration target and of a Martian rock target called "Sayunei." MAHLI took the images on Jan. 22, 2013 (PST), after dark on the 165th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars. For scale, the Lincoln penny on the MAHLI calibration target is three-fourths inch (19 millimeters) in diameter. The calibration target is mounted on the rover. This image was taken from a lens distance of 3.9 inches (10 centimeters). The illumination was MAHLI's four white-light LEDs. The reflection of one pair of LEDs is seen near the center of the image. The other pair is toward the center-left and is less visible because the surface there is less reflective.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates MAHLI and the MAHLI engineering model. 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. Curiosity and the mission's Vehicle System Test Bed rover were designed and built at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This series of pie charts shows similarities and differences in the mineral compositions of mudstones at 10 sites where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover collected rock-powder samples and analyzed them with the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument. | This series of pie charts shows similarities and differences in the mineral compositions of mudstones at 10 sites where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover collected rock-powder samples and analyzed them with the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument.The charts are arrayed in chronological order, with an indication of relative elevation as the rover first sampled two sites on the floor of Gale Crater in 2013 and later began climbing the crater's central mound, Mount Sharp. The pie chart farthest to the right and uphill shows composition at the "Sebina" target, sampled in October 2016. Five non-mudstone rock targets that the rover drilled and analyzed within this time frame are not included. The mineralogical variations in these mudstones may be due to differences in any or all of these factors: the source materials deposited by water that entered lakes, the processes of sedimentation and rock forming, and how the rocks were later altered.One trend that stands out is that the mineral jarosite -- shown in purple -- was more prominent in the "Pahrump Hills" area of lower Mount Sharp than at sites examined either earlier or later. Jarosite is an indicator of acidic water. Mudstone layers uphill from Pahrump Hills have barely detectable amounts of jarosite, indicating a shift away from acidic conditions in these overlying -- thus younger -- layers. Clay minerals, shown as green, declined in abundance at sites midway through this series, then came back as the rover climbed higher. Each drilled-and-analyzed target is identified with a two-letter abbreviation: JK for "John Klein," CB for "Cumberland." CH for "Confidence Hills," MJ for "Mojave," TP for "Telegraph Peak," BK for "Buckskin," OD for "Oudam," MB for "Marimba," QL for "Quela," and SB for Sebina. For locations and photos of these drilling sites, see PIA21254.Presented at the 2016 AGU Fall Meeting on Dec. 13. in San Francisco, CA.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
Water ice clouds on Mars are seen in this image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. | The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of an area just off the margin of the south polar cap on Mars. The bright and dark markings are identical to some seen on the cap, telling us that ice is located at the surface. | Context image for PIA03093Southern SpotsThis image shows part of an area just off the margin of the south polar cap. The bright and dark markings are identical to some seen on the cap, telling us that ice is located at the surface. The unusual branching ridges in the center of the image are of unknown origin.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 80.3S, Longitude 56.6E. 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. | |
These Mars Odyssey images show the 'White Rock' feature on Mars in both infrared (left) and visible (right) wavelengths. 'White Rock' is the unofficial name for this landform that was first observed during NASA's Mariner 9 mission in the early 1970's. | These Mars Odyssey images show the "White Rock" feature on Mars in both infrared (left) and visible (right) wavelengths. The images were acquired simultaneously on March 11, 2002. The box shows where the visible image is located in the infrared image. "White Rock" is the unofficial name for this unusual landform that was first observed during the Mariner 9 mission in the early 1970's. The variations in brightness in the infrared image are due to differences in surface temperature, where dark is cool and bright is warm. The dramatic differences between the infrared and visible views of White Rock are the result of solar heating. The relatively bright surfaces observed at visible wavelengths reflect more solar energy than the darker surfaces, allowing them to stay cooler and thus they appear dark in the infrared image. The new thermal emission imaging system data will help to address the long standing question of whether the White Rock deposit was produced in an ancient crater lake or by dry processes of volcanic or wind deposition. The infrared image has a resolution of 100 meters (328 feet) per pixel and is 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide. The visible image has a resolution of 18 meters per pixel and is approximately 18 kilometers (11 miles) wide. The images are centered at 8.2 degrees south latitude and 24.9 degrees east longitude.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 developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image of Olympia Undae from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft was collected during north polar summer. The dunes are now completely frost free and are dark in color due to being made of basaltic sand. | Context image This VIS image of Olympia Undae was collected during north polar summer. The dunes are now completely frost free and are dark in color due to being made of basaltic sand. The surface between the dunes, where visible, is a bright tone. In some regions of dense dunes, the bright material may be a deposit on the dunes rather than the underlying surface. The presence of gypsum has been suggested for Olympia Undae, gypsum is a lighter tone than basalt in this filter of the THEMIS VIS camera. This VIS image hightlights the density of dunes, the bottom third of the image has fewer dunes, spaced farther apart than the top two thirds of the image. The bottom of the image "looks" like lace, while the top with the dense dunes with aligned dune crests "looks" like waves in an ocean. The term used for dune fields on Mar is undae (unda singular). This term translates from Latin as water waves and is used to mean undulatory in planetary nomenclature. All non-Earth dune fields in the solar system are called unda/undae.Olympia Undae is a vast dune field in the north polar region of Mars. It consists of a broad sand sea or erg that partly rings the north polar cap from about 120° to 240°E longitude and 78° to 83°N latitude. The dune field covers an area of approximately 470,000 km2 (bigger than California, smaller than Texas). Olympia Undae is the largest continuous dune field on Mars. Olympia Undae is not the only dune field near the north polar cap, several other smaller fields exist in the same latitude, but in other ranges of longitude, e.g. Abolos and Siton Undae. Barchan and transverse dune forms are the most common. In regions with limited available sand individual barchan dunes will form, the surface beneath and between the dunes is visible. In regions with large sand supplies, the sand sheet covers the underlying surface, and dune forms are found modifying the surface of the sand sheet. In this case transverse dunes are more common. Barchan dunes "point" down wind, transverse dunes are more linear and form parallel to the wind direction. The "square" shaped transverse dunes in Olympia Undae are due to two prevailing wind directions. The density of dunes and the alignments of the dune crests varies with location, controlled by the amount of available sand and the predominant winds over time.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 71,000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 13138 Latitude: 80.8321 Longitude: 178.781 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-11-30 03:49Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a crater retaining some of the radial 'spoke' features on top of the main ejecta; some erosion has occurred and will continue to modify the surface until no surface features formed during emplacement are left. | This crater still retains some of the radial "spoke" features on top of the main ejecta, but some erosion has occurred and will continue to modify the surface until no surface features formed during emplacement are left.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 30.4, Longitude 108.1 East (251.9 West). 37 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, located southwest of Olympus Mons, contains a very subtle windstreak in the bottom 1/3 of the image. Originating at a small crater, the windstreak records a wind that blew east to west. | Context imageWindstreaks are a record of wind directions and are an important part of deciphering the history of the surface. This VIS image contains a very subtle windstreak in the bottom 1/3 of the image. Originating at a small crater, the windstreak records a wind that blew east to west. This VIS image is located southwest of Olympus Mons.Orbit Number: 53560 Latitude: 12.798 Longitude: 220.87 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-01-10 00:48Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
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 central 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 central Coprates Chasma. The image shows multiple landslide features, which form the bright lobed shaped deposits at the bottom of the canyon cliff face (top of image). The linear grooves on the top of the large landslide deposit were formed as the material came to rest on the canyon floor. The other features on the chasma floor are layered materials that have been weathered. 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: 16803 Latitude: -12.5614 Longitude: 296.887 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2005-09-27 20:25Please 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 Exploration Rover Spirit shows the tops or crests of the waves of windblown soil that characterize the surface of Gusev Crater. The fine-grained soil, combined with coarse grains indicate that waves are geologic features known as ripples. | This microscopic image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the tops or crests of the waves of windblown soil that characterize the surface of Gusev Crater, Mars. The coarse grains on the crests, combined with the finer grains observed in a similar microscopic image taken of the waves' troughs, indicate that the waves are geologic features known as ripples, and not dunes. Dunes contain a more uniform distribution of material. This information helps scientists better understand the winds that shape the landscape of Mars. The image was taken on the 41st martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission by its microscopic imager. The observed area is 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows eroded sedimentary rock outcrops in northern Sinus Meridiani on Mars. | 28 November 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows eroded sedimentary rock outcrops in northern Sinus Meridiani.Location near: 3.6°N, 2.0°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Winter | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows several craters. The interior of the central one has retained much of the original topography, including the central peak. | Context image This VIS image shows several craters. The interior of the central one has retained much of the original topography, including the central peak. The floor has not been smoothed by deposits of dust or other layering materials. These craters are located on the northern margin of Arabia Terra.Orbit Number: 71217 Latitude: 30.69 Longitude: 345.854 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-01-03 03:47Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image acquired on December 3, 2018 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows a cross-section of a dune field. Dune shape depends on several factors, including the amount of sand present and the local wind directions. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThis image shows us a cross-section of a dune field. Dune shape depends on several factors, including the amount of sand present and the local wind directions. This dune field displays several distinct dune morphologies. We see both individual barchan-like dunes and more complex dune shapes. The dunes are arranged in a linear fashion at the northern extent of the field, first in areas with lots of sand, and then with relatively sand-free patches in between dune crests. HiRISE has observed dune activity in other similar fields, but this is our first image over this group of dunes.A second image is needed to determine if these dunes are also evolving and moving.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 51.2 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.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the eastern flank of Pavonis Mons. Pavonis Mons is the central volcano of the three large Tharsis volcanoes. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the eastern flank of Pavonis Mons. Pavonis Mons is the central volcano of the three large Tharsis volcanoes. All three volcanoes form a line located along a tectonic bulge caused by extensional forces in the region. Pavonis Mons is the smallest of the three with a summit of only 14km (8.7 miles). The linear features in the image are concentric faults. Pavonis means peacock in Latin, making the name peacock mountain.Orbit Number: 86667 Latitude: 1.2754 Longitude: 249.141 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-06-28 11:12Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity made its first U-Turn on Mars on Feb. 14, 2004, completing the move of its longest one-day drive, about 9 meters or 30 feet. The rover's tracks are prominent on the martian soil. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity made its first U-Turn on Mars on Feb. 14, 2004, as the completing move of its longest one-day drive, about 9 meters or 30 feet. This view from the right front hazard identification camera shows the scene in front of Opportunity after the turn, with the selected location for the mission's first trenching operation now directly in front of the rover. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Thaumasia Planum. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Thaumasia Planum.Orbit Number: 72192 Latitude: -26.6736 Longitude: 291.685 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-03-24 11:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The red marks in this image, taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera, indicate holes made by the rover's rock abrasion tool, located on its instrument deployment device, or 'arm.' | The red marks in this image, taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera, indicate holes made by the rover's rock abrasion tool, located on its instrument deployment device, or "arm." The lower hole, located on a target called "McKittrick," was made on the 30th martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's journey. The upper hole, located on a target called "Guadalupe" was made on sol 34 of the rover's mission. The mosaic image was taken using a blue filter at the "El Capitan" region of the Meridiani Planum, Mars, rock outcrop. The image, shown in a vertical-perspective map projection, consists of images acquired on sols 27, 29 and 30 of the rover's mission. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows displays an aureole deposit at the base of the massive volcano Pavonis Mons' western flank on Mars. | Released 19 September 2003Like Arsia Mons to the south, the massive volcano Pavonis Mons displays an aureole deposit at the base of its western flank. This image captures details of the volcanic landscape out in front of the ridged deposit, showing lava flow lobes and channels with levees. In addition to the prominent arcuate ridges of the aureole deposit, a set of much smaller ridges oriented in a NW-SE direction are evident that may be the product of wind activity.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 5, Longitude 242.2 East (117.6 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Gullies in Trough near Gorgonum Chaos | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_002014_1415) shows gullies in a trough that is near Gorgonum Chaos, a region filled with gullies.The trough gullies, like many of the gullies on nearby Gorgonum Chaos mesas, appear to originate at a distinct layer. There are mounds within the trough that have layers exposed near their peaks. The layers in the mound (see subimage, approximately 230 m across) and on the trough walls are resistant, meaning they do not break up mostly into small particles that the wind can easily carry away. Instead, they are breaking up into boulders up to several meters wide that HiRISE can see. (The fact that the layers are eroding as boulders tells us that the material is not easily broken up into smaller and smaller pieces, so it is therefore termed "resistant to erosion.") However, it is not completely resistant to erosion as we can see by the boulders rolling down the slopes.Gullies are thought by many to require liquid water to form. A major debate is whether this water comes from the surface (i.e., melting surface ice or melting snow) or the subsurface (i.e., from an aquifer). Gullies are often found to originate at layers, like those seen here. The subsurface water theory states that water travels under the surface to slope faces where it flows down the slope to form gullies. Visible layers are suggested to be impermeable, such that water cannot penetrate them, which is why the gullies originate from beneath the layers.Often gullies will originate between layers, which suggests that there is a permeable layer trapped between impermeable layers. It is also possible that the layer preferentially traps ice or snow that may melt to form gullies, thus providing a surface source of water to form the gullies.Please note that the stripe-like features on the left side of the image are camera artifacts and not real features. Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 12 December 2006Local Mars time: 3:48 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -38.2°Degrees longitude (East): 188.8°Range to target site: 255.7 km (159.8 miles)Original image scale range: from 25.6 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 51.2 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning)Map-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 7.3°Phase angle: 65.3°Solar incidence angle: 71°, with the Sun about 19° above the horizonSolar longitude: 159.1°, Northern SummerNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took a detailed look at what was once the exterior of its heat shield. Hitting the martian surface inverted the heat shield, making it difficult to photograph the outside. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took a detailed look at what was once the exterior of its heat shield. Hitting the martian surface inverted the heat shield, making it difficult to photograph the outside where evidence of any atmospheric effects may be found.Engineers sought this image to help determine how the heat shield weathered the intense frictional heat created as it passed through the martian atmosphere.This is an approximately true-color rendering of the scene acquired around 12:47 p.m. local solar time on Opportunity's sol 344 (Jan. 11, 2005) using panoramic camera filters at wavelengths of 750, 530, and 430 nanometers. | |
Huge gullies, like these captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey, line both rims of Ius Chasma. | Context imageHuge gullies, like the one in today's image, line both rims of Ius Chasma.Orbit Number: 41148 Latitude: -8.78088 Longitude: 311.211 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-03-25 09:30Please 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 Jan. 13, 2015, view from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows outcomes of a mini-drill test to assess whether the 'Mojave' rock is appropriate for full-depth drilling to collect a sample. | This view from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the arm of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows some of the outcome from a shallow-depth, mini-drill test to assess whether a rock target called "Mojave" is appropriate for full-depth drilling to collect a sample. It was taken on Jan. 13, 2015, during the 867th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars.The drill cuts a hole about 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) in diameter. The hole from the shallow drilling test is near the top of this image. The test drilling cracked the target rock and dislodged pieces of it. A few hours after seeing the results of this test, the rover team is evaluating whether an alternate target location in this area would make an appropriate site for sample-collection drilling, and meanwhile planning close-up investigation of the resulting rock fragments with freshly exposed surfaces, particularly the grayish one on the right-hand side of the image. On Earth, field geologists carry rock hammers to crack rocks and expose fresh surfaces, but this is an unusual opportunity in a Mars rover mission.MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows some of the variety of surface textures observed on Mars' south polar residual cap. Polygonal patterns created by shallow troughs and large, almost circular pits formed by collapse are evident. | This picture, illuminated by sunlight coming from the upper left, shows some of the variety of surface textures observed on the south polar residual cap. Here, the upper surface is dotted with a combination of polygonal patterns created by shallow troughs and large, almost circular pits formed by collapse. No one knows exactly how the large arcuate and circular pits are formed, but they appear to result from collapse which means that something underneath these pits has been removed. Alternatively, the ice that makes up much of the polar material has somehow become compacted, allowing the surface to sag and create pits.This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) view of the south polar cap surface was obtained during southern spring on November 3, 1999. Located near 87.0°S, 5.9°W, this view covers 3 by 3 kilometers (1.9 x 1.9 miles) at 1.5 meters per pixel. The pits are only a few meters deep, at most, as determined by measuring shadows cast in them.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 pair of images shows the result of taking a sequence of 25 identical exposures from NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) of the northern Twin Peak, with small camera motions. Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | This pair of images shows the result of taking a sequence of 25 identical exposures from the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) of the northern Twin Peak, with small camera motions, and processing them with the Super-Resolution algorithm developed at NASA's Ames Research Center.The upper image is a representative input image, scaled up by a factor of five, with the pixel edges smoothed out for a fair comparison. The lower image allows significantly finer detail to be resolved.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.The super-resolution research was conducted by Peter Cheeseman, Bob Kanefsky, Robin Hanson, and John Stutz of NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA. More information on this technology is available on the Ames Super Resolution home page athttp://ic-www.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/ group/super-res/
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 pitted appearance of the south polar cap ice in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey is similar to the appearance of a slice of swiss cheese. | Context imageThe pitted appearance of the south polar cap ice in this VIS image is similar to the appearance of a slice of swiss cheese.Orbit Number: 39796 Latitude: -86.8044 Longitude: 354.877 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-12-04 02:13Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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