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This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows part of the floor of Rabe Crater, a large impact crater in the Southern highlands. Dark dunes cover part of crater's floor, and contrast with the surrounding bright-colored outcrops. | This image shows part of the floor of Rabe Crater, a large (108 kilometers, or 67 miles in diameter) impact crater in the Southern highlands.Dark dunes -- accumulations of wind blown sand -- cover part of crater's floor, and contrast with the surrounding bright-colored outcrops. The extreme close-up view reveals a thumbprint-like texture of smaller ridges and troughs covering the surfaces of the larger dunes. These smaller ripples are also formed and shaped by blowing wind in the thin atmosphere of Mars.One puzzling question is why the dunes are dark compared with the relative bright layered material contained within the crater. The probable answer is that the source of the dark sand is not local to this crater; rather, this topographic depression has acted as a sand trap that has collected material being transported by winds blowing across the plains outside the crater.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.Originally released October 24, 2007 | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the wind-eroded surfaces of the Labou Vallis system on Mars. The original valley walls and floor were covered with a material that was later eroded by wind to form the sharp, rough textured terrain present here. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-441, 3 August 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the wind-eroded surfaces of the Labou Vallis system. The original valley walls and floor were covered with a material that was later eroded by wind to form the sharp, rough textured terrain seen here. Avalanches of dust formed dark streaks on some slopes. This picture is located near 8.5°S, 154.7°W. It is illuminated by sunlight from the left. Other versions of this picture:Full-resolution GIF (~3.7 m/pixel) of entire original image, M07-03611 | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the south polar cap. This image was taken at the end of southern summer. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of the south polar cap. This image was taken at the end of southern summer. The cap was created over millions of years with deposition of ice and dust during different seasons, creating layers. The ice surface contains several different textures which can be seen in this image. The south polar cap is called Australe Planum.Orbit Number: 93158 Latitude: -87.0114 Longitude: 273.846 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-12-14 21:58Please 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 anaglyph view of 'Grommit' was produced by NASA's Mars Pathfinder's Imager camera. 3D glasses are necessary to identify surface detail. | This view of the "Grommit" was produced by combining the "Super Panorama" frames from the IMP camera. Super resolution was applied to help to address questions about the texture of this rock and what it might tell us about its mode of origin.The composite color frames that make up this anaglyph were produced for both the right and left eye of the IMP. These composites consist of 7 frames in the right eye and 8 frames in the left eye, taken with different color filters that were enlarged by 500% and then co-added using Adobe Photoshop to produce, in effect, a super-resolution panchromatic frame that is sharper than an individual frame would be. These panchromatic frames were then colorized with the red, green, and blue filtered images from the same sequence. The color balance was adjusted to approximate the true color of Mars.The anaglyph view was produced by combining the left with the right eye color composite frames by assigning the left eye composite view to the red color plane and the right eye composite view to the green and blue color planes (cyan), to produce a stereo anaglyph mosaic. This mosaic can be viewed in 3-D on your computer monitor or in color print form by wearing red-blue 3-D glasses.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).The left eye and right eye panoramas from which this anaglyph was created is available atPIA02405 andPIA02406.
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows Mars' south polar cap on April 17, 2000. In winter and early spring, this entire scene would be covered by frost. In summer, the cap shrinks to its minimum size, as shown here. | This is the south polar cap of Mars as it appeared to the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on April 17, 2000. In winter and early spring, this entire scene would be covered by frost. In summer, the cap shrinks to its minimum size, as shown here. Even though it is summer, observations made by the Viking orbiters in the 1970s showed that the south polar cap remains cold enough that the polar frost (seen here as white) consists of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide freezes at temperatures around -125° C (-193° F). Mid-summer afternoon sunlight illuminates this scene from the upper left from about 11.2° above the horizon. Soon the cap will experience sunsets; by June 2000, this pole will be in autumn, and the area covered by frost will begin to grow. Winter will return to the south polar region in December 2000. The polar cap from left to right is about 420 km (260 mi) across. | |
This image acquired on December 13, 2020 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows blobby features in the polar cap that are due to the sun sublimating away the carbon dioxide into these round patterns. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionWe've monitored the so-called Happy Face Crater in the south polar region of Mars for almost a decade. Two images that we took, one in 2011 and the other in 2020, at roughly the same season, show color variations that are due to different amounts of bright frost over darker red ground.The "blobby" features in the polar cap are due to the sun sublimating away the carbon dioxide into these round patterns. You can see how nine years of this thermal erosion have made the "mouth" of the face larger. The "nose" consisted of a two circular depressions in 2011, and in 2020, those two depressions have grown larger and merged.Measuring these changes throughout the Martian year help scientists understand the annual deposition and removal of polar frost, and monitoring these sites over long periods helps us understand longer term climate trends on the Red Planet.The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 24.7 centimeters [9.7 inches] per pixel [with 1 x 1 binning]; objects on the order of 74 centimeters [29.1 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this fisheye view after completing a drive during on Mars on Feb. 8, 2010. The drive left Spirit in the position where the rover will stay parked during the upcoming Mars southern-hemisphere winter. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this fisheye view with its rear hazard-avoidance camera after completing a drive during the 2,169th Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's mission on Mars (Feb. 8, 2010). The drive left Spirit in the position where the rover will stay parked during the upcoming Mars southern-hemisphere winter.Spirit moved about 34 centimeters (13 inches) toward the south southeast in a series of drives beginning on Sol 2145 (Jan. 15, 2010). The left-rear wheel (on the right in this rear-facing view) moved out of a rut that it had dug in soft soil in April 2009. The drive motor for the right-rear wheel (on the left in this view) stopped working in late 2009, leaving the six-wheeled rover with only four functioning wheels. The top of the image shows the underside of Spirit's solar array.The rover's solar array is tilted 9 degrees toward the south for the winter. In the three previous winters that Spirit has spent on Mars, its parked positions tilted toward northward, a better attitude for drawing energy from the sun in the northern sky. Engineers anticipate that, due to the unfavorable tilt for this fourth winter, Spirit will soon be out of communication with Earth for several months. A low-power hibernation mode will shut down almost all functions except keeping a master clock running and checking periodically on Spirit's power status until it has enough power to reawaken. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small portion of the immense lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small portion of the immense lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the three large aligned volcanoes in the Tharsis region. Arsia Mons' last eruption was 10s of million years ago. The different surface textures are created by differences in the lava viscosity and cooling rates. The lobate margins of each flow can be traced back to the start of each flow — or to the point where they are covered by younger flows. Flows in Daedalia Planum can be as long as 180 km (111 miles).For comparison the longest Hawaiian lava flow is only 51 km (about 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: 83966 Latitude: -22.0287 Longitude: 240.3 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-11-18 00:56Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's InSight lander will land on Elysium Planitia on Mars. This image shows the candidate landing spot, a flat-smooth plain just north of the equator. | Elysium Planitia, a flat-smooth plain just north of the equator makes for the perfect location from which to study the deep Martian interior. Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, is designed to study the deep interior of Mars. The mission seeks the fingerprints of the processes that formed the rocky planets of the solar system. Its landing site, Elysium Planitia, was picked from 22 candidates, and is centered at about 4.5 degrees north latitude and 135.9 degrees east longitude; about 373 miles (600 kilometers) from Curiosity's landing site, Gale Crater. The locations of other Mars landers and rovers are labeled.InSight's scientific success and safe landing depends on landing in a relatively flat area, with an elevation low enough to have sufficient atmosphere above the site for a safe landing. It also depends on landing in an area where rocks are few in number. Elysium Planitia has just the right surface for the instruments to be able to probe the deep interior, and its proximity to the equator ensures that the solar-powered lander is exposed to plenty of sunlight.JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, built the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/insight. | |
This image released on August 12, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows Tartarus Montes. The small hills and ridges in this image are the montes (mountains) of the Tartarus region of Mars. | Released August 12, 2004On Earth, landforms like rivers and mountains are given names. The names identify a specfic location and also tell the type of landform; for example: Mount Everest, the Amazon River, the Pacific Ocean. Landforms on other planets and large moons of our solar system are also given names that denote the type of feature and the individual location. It is much easier to discuss the largest volcano in our solar system by using its name (Olympus Mons) rather than its map coordinates (Mars, 32N latitude, 135W longitude).There are strict rules and conventions for assigning landform names to solar system bodies. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is in charge of approving or disapproving submitted names. The online directory of all (non-Earth) planetary names is located at http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/. The directory contains information on feature descriptors (Mons = mountain) and categories of names for feature types (valleys on Mars are named for the word "mars" in different languages). The list of descriptor terms can be found at http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/append5.html. Mythologies of different cultures are often used in selecting names; names on Mars are primarily from Greek/Roman mythology, while names on Callisto (a large moon of Jupiter) are from Norse mythology.As new data is collected for a planetary body, old names may undergo change. Location names like Olympus are retained, although the lat/long location may be shifted. The usual change is in the descriptor type. Better images may show that a different descriptor gives more accurate information about the landform type; for example, what previously looked like a featureless plain (planitia) in higher resolution is shown to be a huge set of lava flows (fluctus). The THEMIS images shown here will illustrate how some Mars names may need to be updated, while others are still very accurate descriptors of the landforms.Tartarus MontesMons/Montes: mountainsTartarus: In Greek myth, the lowest part of Hades. Zeus imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus.The small hills and ridges in this VIS image are the montes of the Tartarus region of Mars.Nomenclature Fact of the Day: Planetary nomenclature is international in scope; names are chosen from countries and cultures from all over the world, and they are evaluated by international groups of experts before they are approved by the IAU.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 15.4, Longitude 172.7 East (187.3 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 covers a region in western Arabia Terra, which contains two interesting craters. The eastern floor of the largest crater seen in most of this image is bumpy and ridged in places and relatively smooth in regions. | Today's THEMIS image covers a region in western Arabia Terra, which contains two interesting craters. The eastern floor of the largest crater seen in most of this image is bumpy and ridged in places and relatively smooth in regions. Careful examination shows that this crater floor contains layered material. This is best seen in the lower portion of this crater. The larger of the two craters located to the lower right also contains layered materials.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 Kunowsky Crater on Mars ringed by seasonal frost. Wavy clouds form to the east (right) of the crater in early spring as winds circulate from west to east. | 10 June 2004This red wide angle Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image, acquired in March 2004, shows Kunowsky Crater ringed by seasonal frost. Kunowsky is about 67 km (~42 mi) in diameter. Wavy clouds form to the east (right) of the crater in early spring as winds circulate from west to east. The crater is located at 57.1°N, 9.7°W. The picture is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. | |
There appear to be layers in the rim of this northern crater on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08611Rim LayersThere appear to be layers in the rim of this northern crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 69.1N, Longitude 273.6E. 20 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 Ingenuity Mars Helicopter takes off and lands in this video captured on April 19, 2021, by Mastcam-Z, an imager aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. This video features only the moments of takeoff and the landing. | Click here for animationNASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter takes off and lands in this video captured on April 19, 2021, by Mastcam-Z, an imager aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. This video features only the moments of takeoff and the landing and not footage of the helicopter hovering for about 30 seconds.The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages this technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and Space Technology Mission Directorate. NASA's Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ and nasa.gov/perseverance | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows half of an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. The complex rim and rough floor are indicative of a relatively young crater. | Context imageThis VIS image shows half of an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. The complex rim and rough floor are indicative of a relatively young crater. With time and erosion, craters fill in with sediment, creating flatter floors and smoothing the overall topography.Orbit Number: 74609 Latitude: -41.686 Longitude: 16.3177 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-10-09 13:27Please 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 observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the central hills in Hale Crater with thousands of seasonal flows on steep slopes below bedrock outcrops. | HiRISE has been monitoring steep slopes on Mars because some of them reveal active processes. In some cases, there are many seasonal flows on warm slopes, suggesting some role for water in their activity.The central hills in Hale Crater is one such location, with thousands of seasonal flows on steep slopes below bedrock outcrops. The cutout shows a small sample of this image, with relatively dark and reddish lines extending onto sediment fans.These lines grow slowly over several months time, fade and disappear in the cold season (southern winter), then reform the next warm season (southern spring and summer).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 an unnamed channel on Mars draining the area of between Coracis Fossae and Bosporos Planum. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThis unnamed channel is draining the area of between Coracis Fossae and Bosporos Planum.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -33.7N, Longitude 288.1E. 22 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 the lava flows originating at Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons in the southermost of the three large Tharsis volcanoes. | Context imageThe lava flows in this VIS image originate at Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons in the southermost of the three large Tharsis volcanoes.Orbit Number: 72406 Latitude: -19.4934 Longitude: 234.097 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-04-11 02:19Please 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. | |
Schaeberle Crater is a large, heavily-infilled crater with many interesting features. This image NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft shows a window into the crater fill deposit, showcasing eroding bedrock and aeolian landforms. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionSchaeberle Crater is a large, heavily-infilled crater with many interesting features. This image shows a window into the crater fill deposit, showcasing eroding bedrock and aeolian landforms.This pit is located near the geometric center of our image, making it a central pit crater. Central pit craters are thought to form from impact melt draining through subsurface cracks in the deepest part of the crater shortly following impact.A closeup image shows light-toned bedrock and a small cliff that appears to be weathering away. Below the cliff there are several different types of aeolian features, including ripples and transverse aeolian ridges (TAR). The sand that forms the small, bluish ripples may be weathering out of the cliff face, in contrast to the larger, light-toned TAR which are thought to be currently inactive.More of the TAR are visible in another closeup image. In this case, they are clearly covered by a dark, ripple-covered sand sheet. We have only imaged this location once, so it is impossible to determine whether or not the sand sheet is blowing in the wind. But due to repeated HiRISE imaging in other areas, active dunes are now known to be common across Mars and we can reasonably speculate that these dunes are moving, too. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the floor of Coprates Chasma, including a large sand sheet and smaller dunes. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the floor of Coprates Chasma, including a large sand sheet and smaller dunes.Orbit Number: 51735 Latitude: -13.9676 Longitude: 296.942 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-08-12 18:50Please 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small portion of the western floor of Hellas Basin on Mars. The curved, broad ridges are separated by lower elevations filled with smaller, linear ridges. | Context image for PIA10308Hellas BasinThis interesting image shows a small portion of the western floor of Hellas Basin. The curved, broad ridges are separated by lower elevations filled with smaller, linear ridges.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -38.2N, Longitude 53.3E. 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. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity combined images into this stereo, 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on March 12, 2009. 'Cook Islands' is visible just below center of this image. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Left-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA11854Right-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA11854NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,825th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's surface mission (March 12, 2009). North is at the top. This view combines images from the left-eye and right-eye sides of the navigation camera. It appears three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left.The rover had driven half a meter (1.5 feet) earlier on Sol 1825 to fine-tune its location for placing its robotic arm onto an exposed patch of outcrop including a target area informally called "Cook Islands." On the preceding sol, Opportunity turned around to drive frontwards and then drove 4.5 meters (15 feet) toward this outcrop. The tracks from the SOl 1824 drive are visible near the center of this view at about the 11 o'clock position. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 1 meter (about 40 inches). Opportunity had previously been driving backward as a strategy to redistribute lubrication in a wheel drawing more electrical current than usual.The outcrop exposure that includes "Cook Islands" is visible just below the center of the image. The terrain in this portion of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and lighter-toned bedrock.This view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows fractures in part of Memnonia Fossae. Large wrinkle ridges are being cut by the fractures. | Context image for PIA09305FracturesThe fractures in this image are part of Memnonia Fossae. Large wrinkle ridges are being cut by the fractures.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -23.2N, Longitude 200.9E. 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. | |
Located on the eastern edge of the Tharsis region on Mars, this crater has had half of its ejecta covered by lava flows as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA08479Ejecta and LavaLocated on the eastern edge of the Tharsis region, this crater has had half of its ejecta covered by lava flows.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 16.5N, Longitude 280.8E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Terra Sabaea. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Terra Sabaea.Orbit Number: 82045 Latitude: -7.03114 Longitude: 28.9564 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-06-12 21:36Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Candidate Cavern Entrance Northeast of Arsia Mons | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_003647_1745) shows a very dark spot on an otherwise bright dusty lava plain to the northeast of Arsia Mons, one of the four giant Tharsis volcanoes.This is not an impact crater as it lacks a raised rim or ejecta. What's amazing is that we cannot see any detail in the shadow! The cutout shows this dark spot and a version that is "stretched" to best see the darkest area, yet we still cannot see details except noise.The HiRISE camera is very sensitive and we can see details in almost any shadow on Mars, but not here. We also cannot see the deep walls of the pit. The best interpretation is that this is a collapse pit into a cavern or at least a pit with overhanging walls. We cannot see the walls because they are either perfectly vertical and extremely dark or, more likely, overhanging.The pit must be very deep to prevent detection of the floor from skylight, which is quite bright on Mars.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 5 May 2007Local Mars time: 3:27 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -5.5°Degrees longitude (East): 241.4°Range to target site: 252.5 km (157.8 miles)Original image scale range: 25.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~76 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 0.6°Phase angle: 51.7°Solar incidence angle: 52°, with the Sun about 38° above the horizonSolar longitude: 233.4°, Northern AutumnNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
The mission's science team assessed the bright particles in this scooped pit to be native Martian material rather than spacecraft debris as seen in this image from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity as it collected its second scoop of Martian soil. | This image shows part of the small pit or bite created when NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected its second scoop of Martian soil at a sandy patch called "Rocknest." The bright particle near the center of this image, and similar ones elsewhere in the pit, prompted concern because a small, light-toned shred of debris from the spacecraft had been observed previously nearby (PIA16230). However, the mission's science team assessed the bright particles in this scooped pit to be native Martian material rather than spacecraft debris.This image was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on Curiosity's arm during the 69th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Oct. 15, 2012), about a week after the scoop dug this hole. The view here covers an area of ground about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) across.JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows irregular-shaped mesas in the south polar region of Mars. The bright patches are the remains of seasonal frost. | 31 October 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows irregular-shaped mesas in the south polar region of Mars. The bright patches are the remains of seasonal frost. During winter and most of spring, this entire scene would have been covered by carbon dioxide frost.Location near: 79.2°S, 298.6°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring | |
This series of images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successively zooms into 'spider' features, or channels carved in the surface in radial patterns, in the south polar region of Mars. | Figure 1Figure 2Figure 3This series of images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successively zooms into "spider" features -- or channels carved in the surface in radial patterns -- in the south polar region of Mars. In a new citizen-science project, volunteers will identify features like these using wide-scale images from the orbiter. Their input will then help mission planners decide where to point the orbiter's high-resolution camera for more detailed views of interesting terrain.Volunteers will start with images from the orbiter's Context Camera (CTX), which provides wide views of the Red Planet. The first two images in this series are from CTX; the top right image zooms into a portion of the image at left. The top right image highlights the geological spider features, which are carved into the terrain in the Martian spring when dry ice turns to gas. By identifying unusual features like these, volunteers will help the mission team choose targets for the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, which can reveal more detail than any other camera ever put into orbit around Mars. The final image is this series (bottom right) shows a HiRISE close-up of one of the spider features.Information about how to participate is at the "Planet Four: Terrains" website, at http://terrains.planetfour.org.With CTX, HiRISE and four other instruments, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been investigating Mars since 2006. The mission launched on Aug. 12, 2005, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates CTX. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.For additional information about the project, visit http://mars.nasa.gov/mro. | |
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree panorama using its black-and-white navigation cameras, or Navcams, at a location where it collected a sample from a rock nicknamed Sequoia. The panorama was captured on Oct. 21 and 26, 2023. | Figure AFigure BClick on images for larger versionsNASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree panorama using its black-and-white navigation cameras, or Navcams, at a location where it collected a sample from a rock nicknamed "Sequoia." This panorama was captured on Oct. 21 and 26, 2023, the 3,984th and 3,989th Martian days, or sols, of the mission.The sample from Sequoia marks the 39th hole that Curiosity drilled into the Martian surface. While the Perseverance rover collects intact rock cores, Curiosity's rock samples are powderized, then sprinkled into instruments within the rover's chassis. These instruments can provide highly detailed compositional data. Since 2014, Curiosity has been ascending the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) Mount Sharp, a mountain with distinct layers that formed in different eras of ancient Martian history. By studying the differences between these layers, scientists are learning more about how the Martian climate – and especially its water – changed over time.Figure A is the same image with the Sequoia drill hole circled in red.Figure B is a 3D anaglyph version of the scene.Curiosity was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.For more about Curiosity, visit: http://mars.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image released on July 16, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows that eons of atmospheric dust storm activity has left its mark on Mars. Here are different amounts of yardang development on a large deposit found on the floor of Nichols. | Released 16 July 2004The atmosphere of Mars is a dynamic system. Water-ice clouds, fog, and hazes can make imaging the surface from space difficult. Dust storms can grow from local disturbances to global sizes, through which imaging is impossible. Seasonal temperature changes are the usual drivers in cloud and dust storm development and growth. Eons of atmospheric dust storm activity has left its mark on the surface of Mars. Dust carried aloft by the wind has settled out on every available surface; sand dunes have been created and moved by centuries of wind; and the effect of continual sand-blasting has modified many regions of Mars, creating yardangs and other unusual surface forms. This image illustrates different amounts of yardang development on the large deposit found on the floor of Nicholson Crater. Note the formation of the ridge/trough shape at the bottom part of the main deposit.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 0.2, Longitude 195.3 East (164.7 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 left-eye view was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on May 12, 2004. The tracks show the path the rover had traveled so far on its way to the base of the 'Columbia Hills.' | This left eye of a stereo pair of views in a cylindrical-perspective projection was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 127 (May 12, 2004). Spirit is sitting at site 48. The tracks show the path the rover has traveled so far on its way to the base of the "Columbia Hills." In this image, the hills can be seen silhouetted against the horizon on the far left side. Spirit will reach the base of the hills by sol 160.See PIA05923 for 3-D view and PIA05925 for right eye view of this left eye cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the floor of an unnamed crater located between the Hellas and Argyre Basins on Mars. | Context image for PIA03082Crater FillThis VIS image shows part of the floor of an unnamed crater located between the Hellas and Argyre Basins. At some point in time the entire floor of the crater was filled by material. That material is now being eroded away to form the depressions seen in the center and bottom of the image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 46.6S, Longitude 5.0E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The narrow lava flows in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are located on the northeastern flank of Olympus Mons. | Context imageThe narrow lava flows in this VIS image are located on the northeastern flank of Olympus Mons.Orbit Number: 53285 Latitude: 22.6584 Longitude: 230.131 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-12-18 09:39Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This view from NASA's Mars Pathfinder was produced in 1997 by combining 8 individual 'Superpan' scenes from the left and right eyes of the IMP camera. The large, elongated rock 'Zaphod' sits left of center in the middle distance. | This panorama of the region to the northeast of the lander was constructed to support the Sojourner Rover Team's plans to conduct an "autonomous traverse" to explore the terrain away from the lander after science objectives in the lander vicinity had been met. The large, relatively bright surface in the foreground, about 10 meters (33 feet) from the spacecraft, in this scene is "Baker's Bench." The large, elongated rock left of center in the middle distance is "Zaphod."This view was produced by combining 8 individual "Superpan" scenes from the left and right eyes of the IMP camera. Each frame consists of 8 individual frames (left eye) and 7 frames (right eye) taken with different color filters that were enlarged by 500% and then co-added using Adobe Photoshop to produce, in effect, a super-resolution panchromatic frame that is sharper than an individual frame would be.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
This image is an oblique view from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of the sloping edge of the stack of icy layers over the South Pole that has some interesting morphologies. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image is an oblique view from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of the sloping edge of the stack of icy layers over the South Pole has some interesting morphologies.The slope appears to be eroding from a combination of landslides, block falls, and sublimation. The bright icy exposure in the larger landslide scar (upper right) suggests that this was a relatively recent event.Small-scale textures over the scene are due to both blowing wind and the thermal expansion and contraction of shallow ice.This is a stereo pair with ESP_013026_1080.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 57.1 centimeters (22.5 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 171 centimeters (67.3 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. | |
This image acquired on November 21, 2022 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggest this is a glacial (ice-rich) flow, but the surface is broken into plates like many lava flows on Mars. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThe geologic setting and latitude here suggest this is a glacial (ice-rich) flow, but the surface is broken into plates like many lava flows on Mars. An image was targeted here to get a better look.At the meter-scale resolution of HiRISE, we see a hummocky surface with boulders and craters plus some wind-blown landforms that seems consistent with either the glacial or lava hypothesis. This is a common result: getting a higher-resolution image doesn't necessarily provide more information about large-scale processes, instead providing information about how the surface has been modified.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 50.2 centimeters [19.8 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 151 centimeters [59.4 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.This is a stereo pair with ESP_077333_2100.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a small portion of Kasei Valles. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small portion of Kasei Valles. Kasei Valles is a large outflow channel system located between the Tharsis volcanic highlands to the west and the lower elevation Chryse Planitia to the east.Orbit Number: 61889 Latitude: 28.226 Longitude: 305.133 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-11-26 17:04Please 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a section of unnamed channel in Libya Montes. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a section of unnamed channel in Libya Montes. Libya Montes are south of Isidis Planitia, and are remnants of the crater rim created by the Isidis meteor impact.Orbit Number: 80795 Latitude: 0.708331 Longitude: 89.3586 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-03-01 23:28Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a portion of Bahram Vallis. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a portion of Bahram Vallis. Bahram Vallis is located at the north eastern margin of Lunae Planum.Orbit Number: 64222 Latitude: 20.6103 Longitude: 302.477 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-06-05 20:40Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows an unnamed crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars containing both gullies on the crater rim and sand dunes on the crater floor. | Context image for PIA09276Crater FeaturesThis unnamed crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars contains both gullies on the crater rim and sand dunes on the crater floor.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -44.2N, Longitude 194.9E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This region of small hills and chaos is called Hydaspis Chaos on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08762Hydaspis ChaosThis region of small hills and chaos is called Hydaspis Chaos.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 5.3N, Longitude 329.9E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on Jan 5, 2004 shows Gusev Crater, the site of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's landing. | Released 5 January 2004In the evening of January 3, the MER lander Spirit came to a safe landing right in the middle of Gusev Crater (shown by red arrow). This is an area riddled with dust devil tracks in the summertime (note the many dark streaks). With some luck those dust devils have scoured the surface clean of dust, exposing the underlying rocks which hold the secrets of Mars' past.Over the next few months, the THEMIS team will be working with the Mini-TES instrument onboard Spirit to do extensive research in Gusev crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.6, Longitude 175.5 East (184.5 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small section of Shalbatana Vallis. Located in Xanthe Terra, Shalbatana Vallis is an outflow channel carved by massive floods. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small section of Shalbatana Vallis. Located in Xanthe Terra, Shalbatana Vallis is an outflow channel carved by massive floods of escaping groundwater whose source lies far to the south of this image. This channel, and all others in this region, drain into Chryse Planitia. Shalbatana Vallis is 1029km long (639 miles).Orbit Number: 82035 Latitude: 4.79125 Longitude: 315.838 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-06-12 01:54Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This false-color image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows ridges in the region of Terra Sabaea that are the remnants of a resistant material the filled fractures in a less resistant layer. The less resistant material has been eroded away. | Context image for PIA09060RidgesThe ridges in this region of Terra Sabaea are the remnants of a resistant material the filled fractures in a less resistant layer. The less resistant material has been eroded away.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 30.1N, Longitude 62.9E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took images combined into this vertical full-circle view of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and small exposures of lighter-toned bedrock during March 12, 2009. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,825th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's surface mission (March 12, 2009). North is at the top. This view is presented as a vertical projection with geometric seam correction. The rover had driven half a meter (1.5 feet) earlier on Sol 1825 to fine-tune its location for placing its robotic arm onto an exposed patch of outcrop including a target area informally called "Cook Islands." On the preceding sol, Opportunity turned around to drive frontwards and then drove 4.5 meters (15 feet) toward this outcrop. The tracks from the SOl 1824 drive are visible near the center of this view at about the 11 o'clock position. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 1 meter (about 40 inches). Opportunity had previously been driving backward as a strategy to redistribute lubrication in a wheel drawing more electrical current than usual.The outcrop exposure that includes "Cook Islands" is visible just below the center of the image. The terrain in this portion of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and lighter-toned bedrock. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars, as they appeared during northern summer in December 2004. | This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars, as they appeared during northern summer in December 2004.Location near: 78.1°N, 227.2°W Image width: ~3.0 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Summer | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows channels in this southern crater on Mars arising from several locations on the rim and cut down through the interior floor materials. | Context image for PIA10293ChannelsChannels in this southern crater arise from several locations on the rim and cut down through the interior floor materials.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -37.8N, Longitude 186.4E. 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a portion of a chain of pits on a lava- and dust-covered plain northwest of Tharsis Tholus, one of the many volcanic constructs in the Tharsis region of Mars. | 17 May 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of a chain of pits on a lava- and dust-covered plain northwest of Tharsis Tholus -- one of the many volcanic constructs in the Tharsis region of Mars. Pit chains, such as this one, are associated with the collapse of surface materials into subsurface voids formed by faulting and expansion -- or extension -- of the bedrock.Location near: 16.4°N, 92.6°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Winter | |
This image of an area the Mars Perseverance rover team calls Faillefeu was captured by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 13th flight at Mars on September 4, 2021. | This image of an area the Mars Perseverance rover team calls "Faillefeu" was captured by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 13th flight at Mars on Sept. 4, 2021. At the time the image was taken, Ingenuity was at an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters). Images of the geologic feature were taken at the request of the Mars Perseverance rover science team, which was considering visiting the geologic feature during the first science campaign. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages the technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science, Aeronautics Research, and Space Technology mission directorates. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. | |
This interesting deposit is located on the floor of Becquerel Crater on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA03676Linear CloudsThis interesting deposit is located on the floor of Becquerel Crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 21.3N, Longitude 352.2E. 18 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. | |
Clay at Nili Fossae | This image of the Nili Fossae region of Mars was compiled from separate images taken by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), two instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The images were taken at 0730 UTC (2:30 a.m. EDT) on Oct. 4, 2006, near 20.4 degrees north latitude, 78.5 degrees east longitude. CRISM's image was taken in 544 colors covering 0.36 to 3.92 micrometers, and shows features as small as 18 meters (60 feet) across. HiRISE's image was taken in three colors, but its much higher resolution shows features as small as 30 centimeters (1 foot) across.CRISM's sister instrument on the Mars Express spacecraft, OMEGA, discovered that some of the most ancient regions of Mars are rich in clay minerals, formed when water altered the planet's volcanic rocks. From the OMEGA data it was unclear whether the clays formed at the surface during Mars' earliest history of if they formed at depth and were later exposed by impact craters or erosion of the overlying rocks. Clays are an indicator of wet, benign environments possibly suitable for biological processes, making Nili Fossae and comparable regions important targets for both CRISM and HiRISE.In this visualization of the combined data from the two instruments, the CRISM data were used to calculate the strengths of spectral absorption bands due to minerals present in the scene. The two major minerals detected by the instrument are olivine, a mineral characteristic of primitive igneous rocks, and clay. Areas rich in olivine are shown in red, and minerals rich in clay are shown in green. The derived colors were then overlayed on the HiRISE image.The area where the CRISM and HiRISE data overlap is shown at the upper left, and is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) across. The three boxes outlined in blue are enlarged to show how the different minerals in the scene match up with different landforms. In the image at the upper right, the small mesa -- a flat-topped hill -- at the center of the image is a remnant of an overlying rock layer that was eroded away. The greenish clay areas at the base of the hill were exposed by erosion of the overlying rock. The images at the upper right and lower left both show that the reddish-toned olivine occurs as sand dunes on top of the greenish clay deposits. The image at the lower right shows details of the clay-rich rock, including that they are extensively fractured into small, polygonal blocks just a few meters in size. Taken together, the CRISM and HiRISE data show that the clay-rich rocks are the oldest at the site, that they are exposed where overlying rock has been eroded away, and that the olivine is not part of the clay-rich rock. Rather it occurs in sand dunes blowing across the clay. Many more images of Nili Fossae and other clay-rich areas will be taken over the next two years. They will be used to try to understand the earliest climate of Mars that is recorded in the planet's rocks.The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) is one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Led by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the CRISM team includes expertise from universities, government agencies and small businesses in the United States and abroad.CRISM's mission: Find the spectral fingerprints of aqueous and hydrothermal deposits and map the geology, composition and stratigraphy of surface features. The instrument will also watch the seasonal variations in Martian dust and ice aerosols, and water content in surface materials ó leading to new understanding of the climate.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the Califonia Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor and built the spacecraft. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows many regions in the northern plainson Mars featuring evidence of layered materials. | Context image for PIA10849Northern LayersMany regions in the northern plains show evidence of layered materials.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 50.3N, Longitude 60.1E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Syrtis Major face of Mars in mid-July 2005. | 19 July 2005This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 249° during a previous Mars year.This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 249° occurs in mid-July 2005. 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 Autumn/Southern Spring | |
This cylindrical-projection mosaic was assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 107 (April 21, 2004) at a region dubbed 'site 32.' Spirit is sitting east of 'Missoula Crater' on the outer plains. | This cylindrical-projection mosaic was assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 107 (April 21, 2004) at a region dubbed "site 32." Spirit is sitting east of "Missoula Crater," no longer in the crater's ejecta field, but on outer plains. Since landing, Spirit has traveled almost exclusively over ejecta fields. This new landscape looks different with fewer angular rocks and more rounded, vesicle-filled rocks. Spirit will continue another 1,900 meters (1.18 miles) along this terrain before reaching the western base of the "Columbia Hills." | |
Scientists with NASA's Mars 2020 mission and the European-Russian ExoMars mission traveled to the Australian Outback to hone their research techniques before their missions launch to the Red Planet in the summer of 2020. | Scientists with NASA's Mars 2020 mission and the European-Russian ExoMars mission traveled to the Australian Outback to hone their research techniques before their missions launch to the Red Planet in the summer of 2020. The trip was designed to help them better understand how to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.JPL is building and will manage operations of 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/. | |
Video footage from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover provides a big-picture perspective of the 13th flight of the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, on September 4, 2021. | Click here for movieVideo footage from NASA's Perseverance Mars rover provides a big-picture perspective of the 13th flight of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. The 160.5-second reconnaissance sortie involved flying into challenging terrain and taking images of a specific rocky outcrop from multiple angles.Captured from a distance of about 980 feet (300 meters) by the rover's two-camera Mastcam-Z, Ingenuity is barely discernable near the lower left of frame at the beginning of the video.An annotated version of this video highlighting the location of Ingenuity can be found here.At 0:04 seconds into the video Ingenuity takes off and climbs to an altitude of to 26 feet (8 meters) before beginning its sideways translation to the right. At the video's 0:59 second point, Ingenuity leaves the camera's field of view on the right. Soon after (1:02), the helicopter returns into the field of view (the majority of frames that did not capture helicopter after it exited the camera's field of view were purposely not downlinked from Mars by the team) and lands at a location near its takeoff point.To obtain the footage, the "left eye" of the Mastcam-Z instrument is set for a wide-angle shot (26 mm focal length). The video is shot at 6 frames per second. Another view (PIA24979) is taken at the same time by Mastcam-Z's other ("right eye") imager and provides a closer perspective of the helicopter as it took off and landed.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 information about Perseverance:mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/nasa.gov/perseverance | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a spectacular summertime view of a portion of the south polar residual cap. | 25 March 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a spectacular summertime view of a portion of the south polar residual cap. Large, semi-continuous mesas are separated by circular and other oddly-shaped depressions. These features are all formed in frozen carbon dioxide; the scarps which bound the mesas and pit walls retreat at a rate of about 3 meters (a little more than 3 yards) each martian southern summer.Location near: 87.7°S, 357.3°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft of Daedalia Planum shows the termination or end of a single flow. In this case it is the end of the brighter/rougher flow on the right side of the image. | Context imageToday's VIS image of Daedalia Planum shows the termination or end of a single flow. In this case it is the end of the brighter/rougher flow on the right side of the image.Orbit Number: 45619 Latitude: -22.772 Longitude: 238.601 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-03-27 10:43Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face in mid-September 2006. | 26 September 2006This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 107° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 107° occurred in mid-September 2006. The picture shows the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn.Season: Northern Summer/Southern Winter | |
The InSight Project Manager (standing) and an engineer wear Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality headsets, which project digital terrain models of InSight's landing location on Mars over a lab space. | InSight Project Manager Tom Hoffman (standing) and engineer Marleen Sundgaard wear Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality headsets, which project digital terrain models of InSight's landing location on Mars over a lab space.JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/insight. | |
Two holes are left in the Martian surface after NASA's Perseverance rover used a specialized drill bit to collect the mission's first samples of regolith on Dec. 2 and 6, 2022. | NASA's Perseverance Mars rover snagged two samples of regolith – broken rock and dust – on Dec. 2 and 6, 2022. This set of images, taken by the rover's left navigation camera, shows Perseverance's robotic arm over the two holes left after the samples were collected.The samples were taken in Mars' Jezero Crater from a pile of wind-blown sand and dust called a "mega-ripple" – a feature similar to but smaller than a dune. One of the two regolith samples will be considered for deposit on the Martian surface this month as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign.Studying regolith with powerful lab equipment back on Earth will allow scientists to better understand the processes that have shaped the surface of Mars and help engineers design future missions as well as equipment used by future Martian astronauts.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance:mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
This 180-degree 3-D mosaic of images from the navigation camera on the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover close to the outcrop called 'Copper Cliff,' which is in the center of this scene. | This 180-degree stereo mosaic of images from the navigation camera on the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows terrain near the rover during the 3,153rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Dec. 6, 2012). West is at the center, south at the left edge, north at the right edge.Opportunity had driven about 7 feet (2.2 meters) westward earlier on Sol 3153 to get close to the outcrop called "Copper Cliff," which is in the center of this scene. The location is on the east-central portion of "Matijevic Hill" on the "Cape York" segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Coprates Chasma on Mars containing a landslide deposit and multiple dunes. | Context image for PIA10324Coprates ChasmaThis VIS image of Coprates Chasma contains a landslide deposit and multiple dunes.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -15.0N, Longitude 304.1E. 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 map shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's past and future routes across the Gusev Crater floor. The solid red line shows where the rover has traveled so far, from lander to the rim of the large crater dubbed 'Bonneville.' | This map shows the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's past and future routes across the Gusev Crater floor. The solid red line shows where the rover has traveled so far, from lander to the rim of the large crater dubbed "Bonneville." The dotted red line indicates proposed future paths to the Columbia Hills. Rover team members have not yet decided which direction Spirit will travel across Bonneville's ejecta (the blanket of material expelled from it during formation) and toward the hills, as illustrated by the two diverging dotted lines. Along the way, Spirit will stop to investigate interesting targets, including craters and plain deposits. The journey to the hills is estimated to about two months, or 60 sols. The underlying image in this map was taken by the camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. | |
This view NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity looks back at the southern end of 'Cape Tribulation' from about two football fields' distance away. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity worked for 30 months on a raised segment of Endeavour Crater's rim called "Cape Tribulation" until departing that segment in mid-April 2017, southbound toward a new destination. This view looks back at the southern end of Cape Tribulation from about two football fields' distance away. The component images were taken by the rover's Panoramic Camera (Pancam) on April 21, during the 4,707th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's mission on Mars.Wheel tracks can be traced back to see the rover's route as it descended and departed Cape Tribulation. For scale, the distance between the two parallel tracks is about 3.3 feet (1 meter). The rover drove from the foot of Cape Tribulation to the head of "Perseverance Valley" in seven drives totaling about one-fifth of a mile (one-third of a kilometer). An annotated map of the area is at PIA21496.The elevation difference between the highest point visible in this scene and the rover's location when the images were taken is about 180 feet (55 meters). This view looks northward. It merges exposures taken through three of the Pancam's color filters, centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near-infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). It is presented in approximately true color. | |
Among the many discoveries by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since the mission was launched on Aug. 12, 2005, are seasonal flows on some steep slopes. These flows have a set of characteristics consistent with shallow seeps of salty water. | Among the many discoveries by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since the mission was launched on Aug. 12, 2005, are seasonal flows on some steep slopes. These flows have a set of characteristics consistent with shallow seeps of salty water.This July 21, 2015, image from the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera shows examples of these flows on a slope within Coprates Chasma, which is part of the grandest canyon system on Mars, Valles Marineris. The image covers an area of ground one-third of a mile (536 meters) wide.These flows are called recurring slope lineae because they fade and disappear during cold seasons and reappear in warm seasons, repeating this pattern every Martian year. The flows seen in this image are on a north-facing slope, so they are active in northern-hemisphere spring. The flows emanate from the relatively bright bedrock and flow onto sandy fans, where they are remarkably straight, following linear channels. Valles Marineris contains more of these flows than everywhere else on Mars combined. At any season, some are active, though on different slope aspects at different seasons. Future human explorers (and settlers?) will need water to drink, grow food, produce oxygen to breath, and make rocket fuel. Bringing all of that water from Earth would be extremely expensive, so using water on Mars is essential. Although there is plenty of water ice at high latitudes, surviving the cold winters would be difficult. An equatorial source of water would be preferable, so Valles Marineris may be the best destination. However, the chemistry of this water must be understood before betting any lives on it. For more information about recurring slope lineae, see http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=3981 and http://www.uahirise.org/sim/2013-12-10/.The location of the site in this image is 12.9 degrees south latitude, 295.4 degrees east latitude. The image is an excerpt from HiRISE observation ESP_042228_1670. Other image products from this observation are available at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_042228_1670.HiRISE is one of six instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its front hazard-identification camera to capture this wide-angle view of its robotic arm extended to a rock in a bright-toned layer inside Victoria Crater on Oct. 13, 2007. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its front hazard-identification camera to capture this wide-angle view of its robotic arm extended to a rock in a bright-toned layer inside Victoria Crater.The image was taken during the rover's 1,322nd Martian day, or sol (Oct. 13, 2007).Victoria Crater has a scalloped shape of alternating alcoves and promontories around the crater's circumference. Opportunity descended into the crater two weeks earlier, within an alcove called "Duck Bay." Counterclockwise around the rim, just to the right of the arm in this image, is a promontory called "Cabo Frio." | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's 'Eagle Crater' soil survey displays a mixture of light and dark soil units with several different types of clasts, or particles, held in surrounding fine-grained sands. | This three-centimeter by three-centimeter (1.2-inch by 1.2-inch) microscopic image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's "Eagle Crater" soil survey displays a mixture of light and dark soil units at the target called "Cookies and Cream" in the "Neopolitan" area. There are several different types of clasts, or particles, held in surrounding fine-grained sands: rounded spherules, angular, irregular fragments (containing what are presumably vesicles or small cavities) and small, rounded clasts about one millimeter (.04 inch) in size. For mosaic of related microscopic images, see PIA05651. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its rock abrasion tool on a rock informally named 'Gagarin.' This approximately true color image shows the circular mark created where the tool exposed the interior of the rock at a target called 'Yuri.' | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its rock abrasion tool on a rock informally named "Gagarin" during the 401st and 402nd Martian days, or sols, of the rover's work on Mars (March 10 and 11, 2005). This image shows the circular mark created where the tool exposed the interior of the rock Gagarin at a target called "Yuri." The circle is about 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter. Gagarin is at the edge of a highly eroded, small crater that was informally named "Vostok" for the spacecraft that carried Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in the first human spaceflight, on April 12, 1961.This image combines exposures taken through three different filters by Opportunity's panoramic camera on Sol 405 (March 14, 2005). The view is presented in approximately true color.Images showing the context for the location of Vostok crater are at PIA07193 and PIA07471. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a steep a field of dark sand dunes in an unnamed crater in the Noachis Terra/Hellespontus region of Mars. | 29 July 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a field of dark sand dunes in an unnamed crater in the Noachis Terra/Hellespontus region of Mars. In southern autumn, the skies are generally clear and the sun comes in at a steep enough angle that martian dunes look especially striking.Location near: 43.6°S, 320.4°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Autumn | |
This image was taken by NASA's Sojourner rover's right front camera on Sol 33. The rock in the foreground, nicknamed 'Ender,' is pitted and marked by a subtle horizontal texture. Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | This image was taken by the Sojourner rover's right front camera on Sol 33. The rock in the foreground, nicknamed "Ender," is pitted and marked by a subtle horizontal texture. The bright material on the top of the rock is probably wind-deposited dust. The Pathfinder Lander is seen in the distance at right. The lander camera is the cylindrical object on top of the deployed mast.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 managed the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
The small dark windstreaks as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are located near Lycus Sulci. | Context imageThe small dark windstreaks in this VIS image are located near Lycus Sulci.Orbit Number: 47254 Latitude: 32.905 Longitude: 226.441 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-08-09 02:14Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows lava channels in the Tharsis plains on Mars. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows lava channels in the Tharsis plains.Orbit Number: 47915 Latitude: 25.4876 Longitude: 245.971 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-10-02 11:54Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows the sand dunes and layered material common on the floor of Valles Marineris. | Context image for PIA08594Martian Color #10This image shows the sand dunes and layered material common on the floor of Valles Marineris.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 -6.7N, Longitude 310.8E. 35 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this gray-scale panoramic camera image of the 'Columbia Hills' on sol 107 (April 21, 2004). The hills are seen rising above a rocky martian surface in the foreground. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this gray-scale panoramic camera image of the "Columbia Hills" on sol 107 (April 21, 2004). Spirit is still approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) and 52 sols away from its destination at the western base of the hills.Once Spirit reaches the base, scientists and rover controllers will re-analyze the terrain and determine whether to send the rover up the mountain. Another option will be to send Spirit south along the base where she may encounter outcrops as indicated by orbital images from the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the seasonal change of the south polar ice cap on Mars over a four-month period mapped by color-coding the variation in 25-micron wavelength brightness temperatures. | The seasonal change of the south polar ice cap over a four-month period is mapped by color-coding the variation in 25-micron wavelength brightness temperatures. | |
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft captured this image in July 2003, showing a complex process of deposition, burial and exhumation. The crater ejecta at top is in the form of flow lobes, indicating that the crater was formed in volatile-rich terrain. | Released 16 July 2003This THEMIS visible image captures a complex process of deposition, burial and exhumation. The crater ejecta in the top of the image is in the form of flow lobes, indicating that the crater was formed in volatile-rich terrain. While a radial pattern can be seen in the ejecta, the pattern is sharper in the lower half of the ejecta. This is because the top half of the ejecta is still buried by a thin layer of sediment. It is most likely that at one time the entire area was covered. Wind, and perhaps water erosion have started to remove this layer, once again exposing the what was present underneath.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -34.3, Longitude 181.2 East (178.8 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows martian north polar ice cap surrounded by fields of dark, windblown sand dunes. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-417, 10 July 2003The martian north polar ice cap is surrounded by fields of dark, windblown sand dunes. This March 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dunes near 76.5°N, 264.7°W. The steep dune slip faces indicate wind transport of sand from the lower left toward the upper right. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This view of Curiosity's deck shows a plaque bearing several signatures of US officials, including that of President Obama and Vice President Biden. The image was taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). | This view of Curiosity's deck shows a plaque bearing several signatures of US officials, including that of President Obama and Vice President Biden. The image was taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the rover's 44th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Sept. 19, 2012). The plaque is located on the front left side of the rover's deck.The rectangular plaque is made of anodized aluminum and measures 3.94 inches (100 millimeters) tall by 3.23 inches (82 millimeters) wide. The plaque was affixed to the rover's deck with four bolts.Similar plaques with signatures -- including those of the sitting president and vice-president -- adorn the lander platforms for NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which landed on Mars in January of 2004. An image from Spirit's plaque can be found at PIA05034.The main purpose of Curiosity's MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site. The camera is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity, providing versatility for other uses, such as views of the rover itself from different angles. | |
A rise topped by two gray rocks near the center of the scene is informally named 'Twin Cairns Island' as seen by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. The center of the scene is toward the southwest. | This scene combines seven images from the telephoto-lens camera on the right side of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. The component images were taken between 11:39 and 11:43 a.m., local solar time, on 343rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (July 24, 2013). That was shortly before Curiosity's Sol 343 drive of 111 feet (33.7 meters). The rover had driven 205 feet (62.4 meters) on Sol 342 to arrive at the location providing this vista. The center of the scene is toward the southwest. A rise topped by two gray rocks near the center of the scene is informally named "Twin Cairns Island." It is about 100 feet (30 meters) from Curiosity's position. The two gray rocks, combined, are about 10 feet (3 meters) wide, as seen from this angle.This mosaic has been white-balanced to show what the scene would look like under Earth lighting conditions, which is helpful in distinguishing and recognizing materials in the rocks and soil.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Mars Science Laboratory mission and the mission's Curiosity rover 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. | |
As NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander excavates trenches, it also builds piles with most of the material scooped from the holes. The piles, like this one called 'Caterpillar,' provide researchers some information about the soil. | As NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander excavates trenches, it also builds piles with most of the material scooped from the holes. The piles, like this one called "Caterpillar," provide researchers some information about the soil.On Aug. 24, 2008, during the late afternoon of the 88th Martian day after landing, Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager took separate exposures through red, green and blue filters that have been combined into this approximately true-color image.This conical pile of soil is about 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall. The sources of material that the robotic arm has dropped onto the Caterpillar pile have included the "Dodo" and ""Upper Cupboard" trenches and, more recently, the deeper "Stone Soup" trench.Observations of the pile provide information, such as the slope of the cone and the textures of the soil, that helps scientists understand properties of material excavated from the trenches.For the Stone Soup trench in particular, which is about 18 centimeters (7 inches) deep, the bottom of the trench is in shadow and more difficult to observe than other trenches that Phoenix has dug. The Phoenix team obtained spectral clues about the composition of material from the bottom of Stone Soup by photographing Caterpillar through 15 different filters of the Surface Stereo Imager when the pile was covered in freshly excavated material from the trench.The spectral observation did not produce any sign of water-ice, just typical soil for the site. However, the bigger clumps do show a platy texture that could be consistent with elevated concentration of salts in the soil from deep in Stone Soup. The team chose that location as the source for a soil sample to be analyzed in the lander's wet chemistry laboratory, which can identify soluble salts in the soil.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. | |
Northern Plains | Image PSP_001375_2485 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 11, 2006. The complete image is centered at 68.3 degrees latitude, 328.0 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 314.0 km (196.3 miles). At this distance the image scale is 31.4 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~94 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:05 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 58 degrees, thus the sun was about 32 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 133.9 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
The surface temperature at Mars' south polar region is 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. | |
The north polar cap is visible in this projection at the top of the image from NASA's Viking Orbiter 1, the great equatorial canyon system (Valles Marineris) below center, and four huge Tharsis volcanoes (and several smaller ones) at left. | About 1000 Viking Orbiter red- and violet-filter images have been processed to provide global color coverage of Mars at a scale of 1 km/pixel. Individual image frames acquired during a single spacecraft revolution were first processed through radiometric calibration, cosmetic cleanup, geometric control, reprojection, and mosaicing. We have produced a total of 57 "single-rev" mosaics. All of the mosaics are geometrically tied to the Mars Digital Image Mosaic, a black-and-white base map with a scale of 231 m/pixel. We selected a subset of single-rev mosaics that provide the best global coverage (least atmospheric obscuration and seasonal frost); photometric normalization was applied to remove atmospheric effects and normalize the variations in illumination and viewing angles. Finally, these normalized mosaics were combined into global mosaics. Global coverage is about 98% complete in the red-filter mosaic and 95% complete in the violet-filter mosaic. Gaps were filled by interpolation. A green-filter image was synthesized from an average of the red and violet filter data to complete a 3-color set. The Viking Orbiters acquired actual green-filter images for only about half of the Martian surface. The final mosaic has been reprojected into several map projections. The orthographic view shown here is centered at 20 degrees latitude and 60 degrees longitude. The orthographic view is most like the view seen by a distant observer looking through a telescope. The color balance selected for these images was designed to be close to natural color for the bright reddish regions such as Tharsis and Arabia, but the data have been "stretched" such that the relatively dark regions appear darker and less reddish that their natural appearance. This stretching allows us to better see the color and brightness variations on Mars, which are related to the composition or physical structure of the surface materials, which include volcanic lava flows, wind- and water-deposited sedimentary rocks, and (at the poles) ice caps. The north polar cap is visible in this projection at the top of the image, the great equatorial canyon system (Valles Marineris) below center, and four huge Tharsis volcanoes (and several smaller ones) at left. Also note heavy impact cratering of the highlands (bottom and right portions of this mosaic) and the younger, less heavily cratered terrains elsewhere. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows linear depressions which are part of Sirenum Fossae. | Context imageThe linear depressions in this VIS image are part of Sirenum Fossae. These depressions are called graben, which form by the down drop of material between two parallel faults. The faults are caused by extensional tectonic stresses in the region. The fossae are 2735km long (1700 miles).Orbit Number: 81265 Latitude: -28.9299 Longitude: 214.351 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-04-09 16:06Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Valleys on the Ejecta Blanket from Cerulli Crater | Click on image for larger versionHiRISE image (PSP_003312_2145) reveals valleys that cross the ejecta from the large impact crater Cerulli to the south.The valleys appear to have been cut by flowing water and then buried by later deposits of unknown origin, possibly carried in by the wind. While it is clear that the valleys are younger than the ejecta and older than at least some of the mantling materials, the exact time they were formed is uncertain.For example, it is possible that the valleys were carved immediately after Cerulli crater formed, as has been inferred for some other valleys around craters imaged elsewhere on Mars by HiRISE. Alternatively, the valleys may have formed some time after the crater formed, perhaps as a result of water released from an earlier mantling deposit. A second image is planned for this area and will yield three-dimensional information from stereo that may help to resolve the timing and source of water responsible for carving the valleys. Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 4 April 2007Local Mars time: 3:27 PMDegrees latitude (centered): 34.0°Degrees longitude (East): 21.8°Range to target site: 293.0 km (183.2 miles)Original image scale range: 29.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~88 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 3.6°Phase angle: 72.8°Solar incidence angle: 70°, with the Sun about 20° above the horizonSolar longitude: 217.1°, Northern AutumnNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the bright material on the floor of Pollack Crater. | Context image This VIS image shows part of the bright material on the floor of Pollack Crater. Erosion by wind action has sculpted the material, forming the linear features that run from bottom right to upper left. The material, while brighter in contrast than the surrounding materials, is not white.Orbit Number: 66427 Latitude: -7.97233 Longitude: 25.1327 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-12-04 11:54Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a portion of Auqakuh Vallis, which dissects the northern margin of Terra Sabaea. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a portion of Auqakuh Vallis, which dissects the northern margin of Terra Sabaea.Orbit Number: 60712 Latitude: 31.4887 Longitude: 61.0164 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-08-21 18:52Please 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. | |
This image shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's tracks left by the rover during its latest 'dance,' or series of maneuvers, around the rock outcrop near its landing site on Meridiani Planum. | This rear hazard-avoidance camera image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the 37th martian day, or sol, of its mission (March 2, 2004) shows the tracks left by the rover during its latest "dance," or series of maneuvers, around the rock outcrop near its landing site. Note the view of the lander to the far left and the light-colored outcrop below the horizon. The rear solar panels, located above the rear hazard-avoidance cameras, are captured in the uppermost part of the image.Since driving off the lander, Opportunity has traveled along the entire outcrop, trenched, and completed a U-turn to revisit scientifically rich spots. Two of these spots are the rock regions dubbed "El Capitan" and "Last Chance." Scientists have used the instruments on the rover's arm to conclude that this area of Mars was once soaked in water for extended amounts of time, possibly providing an environment favorable for life. | |
The channels in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are dissecting a slope near Huygens Crater. | Context imageThe channels in this image are dissecting a slope near Huygens Crater.Orbit Number: 47248 Latitude: -16.8887 Longitude: 61.3382 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-08-08 12:41Please 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. | |
Full-Circle 'Bonestell' Panorama from Spirit | Annotated VersionClick on the image for full viewThis 360-degree panorama shows the vista from the location where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter inside Mars' Gusev Crater. The rover's overwintering location is on the northern edge of a low plateau informally called "Home Plate," which is about 80 meters or 260 feet in diameter.This view combines 246 different exposures taken with Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam)—82 pointings, with three filters at each pointing. Spirit took the first of these frames during the mission's 1,477th Martian day, or sol, (February 28, 2008) two weeks after the rover made its last move to reach the location where it would stop driving for the winter. Solar energy at Gusev Crater is so limited during the Martian winter that Spirit does not generate enough electricity to drive, nor even enough to take many images per day. The last frame for this mosaic was taken on Sol 1691 (October 5, 2008). Spirit began moving again on Sol 1709 (October 23, 2008), inching uphill to adjust the angle of its solar panels for the last portion of the winter.The hill on the horizon at far right is Husband Hill, to the north. Spirit acquired a 360-degree panorama (see PIA03610) from the summit of Husband Hill during August 2005). The hill dominating the left portion of the image is McCool Hill. Husband and McCool hills are two of the seven principal hills in the Columbia Hills range within Gusev Crater. Home Plate is in the inner basin of the range.The northwestern edge of Home Plate is visible in the right foreground. The blockier, more sharply shadowed texture there is layered sandstone whose layering is tilted inward toward the edge of the Home Plate platform. The northeastern edge of Home Plate is visible in the left foreground. Spirit first climbed onto Home Plate on that region, in early 2006.Rover tracks from driving by Spirit are visible on Home Plate in the center and right of the image. These were made during Spirit's second exploration on top of the plateau, which began when Spirit climbed onto the southern edge of Home Plate in September 2007.In the center foreground, the turret of tools at the end of Spirit's robotic arm appears in duplicate because the arm was repositioned between the days when the images making up that part of the mosaic were taken. On the horizon above the turret, to the south, is a small hill capped with a light-toned outcrop. This hill is called "Von Braun," and it is a possible destination for Spirit during the upcoming Martian southern-hemisphere summer. The flat horizon in the right-hand portion of the panorama is the basaltic plain onto which Spirit landed on January 4, 2004 (Universal Time; January 3, 2004, Pacific Standard Time).This is an approximate true-color, red-green-blue composite panorama generated from images taken through the Pancam's 600-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters. This "natural color" view is the rover team's best estimate of what the scene would look like if we were there and able to see it with our own eyes. | |
These lava flows and collapse features are part of Ascraeus Mons on Mars, taken by NASA's Mars 2001 Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA01307Ascraeus MonsThese lava flows and collapse features are part of Ascraeus Mons.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 17.6N, Longitude 262.9E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows Mawrth Vallis, one of the regions on Mars that has attracted much attention because of the nature and diversity of the minerals. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThe combination of morphological and topographic information from stereo images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, as well as compositional data from near-infrared spectroscopy has been proven to be a powerful tool for understanding the geology of Mars.Beginning with the OMEGA instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter in 2003, the surface of Mars has been examined at near-infrared wavelengths by imaging spectrometers that are capable of detecting specific minerals and mapping their spatial extent. The CRISM (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars) instrument on our orbiter is a visible/near-infrared imaging spectrometer, and the HiRISE camera works together with it to document the appearance of mineral deposits detected by this orbital prospecting.Mawrth Vallis is one of the regions on Mars that has attracted much attention because of the nature and diversity of the minerals identified by these spectrometers. It is a large, ancient outflow channel on the margin of the Southern highlands and Northern lowlands. Both the OMEGA and CRISM instruments have detected clay minerals here that must have been deposited in a water-rich environment, probably more than 4 billion years ago. For this reason, Mawrth Vallis is one of the two candidate landing sites for the future Mars Express Rover Mission planned by the European Space Agency.This image was targeted on a location where the CRISM instrument detected a specific mineral called alunite, KAl3(SO4)2(OH)6. Alunite is a hydrated aluminum potassium sulfate, a mineral that is notable because it must have been deposited in a wet acidic environment, rich in sulfuric acid. Our image shows that the deposit is bright and colorful, and extensively fractured. The width of the cutout is 1.2 kilometers.
The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 60.1 centimeters (23.7 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 180 centimeters (70.9 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 Opportunity focuses on the rock dubbed 'Bounce,' which the rover's airbag-wrapped lander hit upon landing in Meridiani Planum, Mars in 2004. | This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's front hazard-avoidance camera focuses on the rock dubbed "Bounce," which the rover's airbag-wrapped lander hit upon landing. Though the plains surrounding Opportunity's "Eagle Crater" landing site are relatively free of any hazards that would have hindered landing, the packaged rover managed to bounce down on one of the only rocks in the vicinity. The rock measures approximately 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) across.Bounce -- a rock that differs significantly from the light rocks in the Eagle Crater outcrop -- is currently being investigated by Opportunity. So far, the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer has revealed that it is rich in hematite. In the coming sols, a target yet to be chosen on the rock will be examined by the rover's spectrometers, then ground into by the rock abrasion tool. After the grind, the spectrometers will assess the chemical content of the exposed rock. | |
The channel at the very top of this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is Olympica Fossae. That and the rest of the channels in this image are likely lava channels. | Context imageThe channel at the very top of this VIS image is Olympica Fossae. That and the rest of the channels in this image are likely lava channels.Orbit Number: 54658 Latitude: 24.5997 Longitude: 246.738 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-04-10 09:22Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Spirit, Too, Finds Hematite | These graphs, or spectra, shows evidence for the mineral hematite in the rock dubbed "Pot of Gold," located at Gusev Crater. The data was taken from the surface of the rock with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's Moessbauer spectrometer on sols 161 and 163 (June 16 and 18, 2004). The top red line is the spectrum for Pot of Gold, and the bottom blue line is for a typical basaltic, or volcanic, rock in Gusev Crater. The two large peaks in the center represent non-hematite, iron-containing minerals, while the smaller set of six peaks (two are hidden in the larger peaks) in the top spectrum is the signature of hematite. Hematite, which is found on Earth, can be formed in three different ways: in standing water; in small amounts of hot fluids (hydrothermal processes); and in volcanic rock. Scientists are planning further observations of this and other rocks in the area, which they hope will yield more insight into the hematite's origins. | |
This 3-D cylindrical projection was taken by the navigation camera onboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. This is a region dubbed 'Fram Crater' located .3 miles from 'Eagle Crater' and roughly 820 feet from 'Endurance Crater' (upper right). | This 3-D cylindrical-perspective projection was constructed from a sequence of four images taken by the navigation camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.The images were acquired on sol 85 of Opportunity's mission to Meridiani Planum. The camera acquired the images at approximately 14:28 local solar time, or around 6:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, on April 20, 2004.The view is from the rover's new location, a region dubbed "Fram Crater" located some 450 meters (.3 miles) from "Eagle Crater" and roughly 250 meters (820 feet) from "Endurance Crater" (upper right).See PIA05784 for left eye view and PIA05785 for right eye view of this 3-D cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
This image, taken by NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) at the end of Sol 44, shows the Sojourner rover heading toward a rock called 'Shark.' Sojourner's left front wheel is jutting up against the side of Wedge, at left. Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | This image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) at the end of Sol 44, shows the Sojourner rover heading toward a rock called "Shark." Sojourner's left front wheel is jutting up against the side of Wedge, at left. The stowed Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument can be seen on the rear on the rover.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. 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. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
This long-exposure image (24 seconds) was taken by Instrument Context Camera (ICC) of NASA's InSight Mars lander. The image shows some of the interior features of the backshell that encapsulates the spacecraft. | Annotated ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis long-exposure image (24 seconds) was taken by Instrument Context Camera (ICC) of NASA's InSight Mars lander. The image shows some of the interior features of the backshell that encapsulates the spacecraft. The backshell carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent, and landing. Along with the heatshield, the backshell protects NASA's InSight Mars lander during its commute to and entry into the Martian atmosphere. The annotations in this image call out discernable components in the backshell -- the heatshield blanket, harness tie-downs, and cover bolts for the ICC. The heat shield blanket provides thermal protection from the hot and cold temperature swings encountered during cruise, and the high heat that will occur during Mars atmospheric entry. The tie-downs are used to secure harnesses (or other objects) so they do not move around inside the aeroshell while in flight. The ICC cover bolts secure a protective transparent window to the camera during cruise and entry, descent and landing. The cover is opened after landing and is not visible during surface operations.This image has been stretched to bring out details in the dimly lit scene. The illumination of the components on the inside of the backshell comes from sunlight entering around the edges of cutouts in the backshell to accommodate steering thrusters. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, built the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA s Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/insight. |
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