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Northern Plains | Image PSP_001467_2490 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 18, 2006. The complete image is centered at 68.7 degrees latitude, 337.8 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 314.0 km (196.2 miles). At this distance the image scale is 31.4 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~94 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:04 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 59 degrees, thus the sun was about 31 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 137.4 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. | |
A regional dust storm visible in the southern hemisphere of Mars in this nearly global mosaic of observations made by the Mars Color Imager on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Nov. 25, 2012, has contracted from its size a week earlier. | A regional dust storm visible in the southern hemisphere of Mars in this nearly global mosaic of observations made by the Mars Color Imager on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Nov. 25, 2012, has contracted from its size a week earlier (PIA16450). Small white arrows outline the area where dust from the storm is apparent in the atmosphere. Locations of NASA's Mars rovers Opportunity and Curiosity are labeled. A newer, smaller dust storm is visible northwest of Opportunity. Black areas in the mosaic are the result of data drops or high angle roll maneuvers by the orbiter that limit the camera's view of the planet. Equally-spaced blurry areas that run from south-to-north (bottom-to-top) result from the high off-nadir viewing geometry, a product of the spacecraft's low-orbit.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, provided and operates the Mars Color Imager. 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.For more information about the missions of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, visit http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows sand dunes in Wirtz Crater on Mars. | This picture of sand dunes in Wirtz Crater was obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in early October 2002. The shape of the dunes indicates that wind has been transporting the sand from the southwest toward the northeast (lower left toward upper right). The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is located near 48.6°S, 25.5°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
Interesting Features in Spirit's Uphill View | Planetary scientists got excited when they saw this imagery coming in from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit because they could see hints of rock strata and other interesting geologic features ahead. In the middle of this image, from upper left to the lower right, lies a trough that resembles a small ravine. To the right of that and a little way up the hill, beyond a rock-strewn surface, sits a small rounded ridge. Fine horizontal streaks, just perceptible in this image, suggest possible layering in the bedrock. Above that are rock features that appear to drape across the slopes. Scientists are discussing whether to take the rover closer or select other interesting targets for further study. This view looks eastward from the "West Spur" of the "Columbia Hills," where Spirit has been conducting scientific investigations. It is a mosaic of several frames Spirit took with its panoramic camera on the rover's 229th martian day, or sol, (Aug. 24, 2004). The field of view is 48 degrees from left to right. The image is presented in a cylindrical projection with geometrical seam correction. | |
This triangle plot shows the relative concentrations of some of the major chemical elements in the Martian rock 'Esperance.' The compositions of average Martian crust and of montmorillonite, a common clay mineral, are shown. | This triangle plot shows the relative concentrations of some of the major chemical elements in the Martian rock "Esperance." Some elements are summed together. For example, a rock containing calcium, sodium and/or potassium, but no aluminum and no iron or magnesium, would plot in the lower left corner of this diagram. Silicate minerals that plot below the dashed line tend to be igneous, while ones that plot above it are typically dominated by clays. The compositions of average Martian crust and of montmorillonite, a common clay mineral, are shown. Also shown, in yellow, are measurements made on Esperance. Some Esperance measurement locations were contaminated with soil or other materials, and so they plot close to average Martian crust. The target location "Esperance6", however, was abraded with Opportunity's rock abrasion tool (RAT) and was relatively uncontaminated. Esperance6 plots close to montmorillonite, providing strong evidence for the presence of clay minerals. | |
This polar-projection view of the terrain surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was taken on the rover's 171st sol on Mars (July 17, 2004). It was assembled from images taken by the rover's navigation camera. | This 360-degree view of the terrain surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was taken on the rover's 171st sol on Mars (July 17, 2004). It was assembled from images taken by the rover's navigation camera at a position referred to as "site 33." Opportunity had driven 11 meters (36 feet) into "Endurance Crater." The 360-degree view is a polar projection with geometrical seam correction. | |
Stitched together from five images, this mosaic shows the calibration target for the SuperCam instrument aboard NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. The component images were taken by SuperCam's remote micro-imager (RMI). | Stitched together from five images, this mosaic shows the calibration target for the SuperCam instrument aboard NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. The component images were taken by SuperCam's remote micro-imager (RMI) on March 1, 2, and 4, 2021 (the 11th, 12th, and 13th Martian days, or sols, of Perseverance's mission on Mars). This calibration target includes visual elements for adjusting the focus of the RMI, and various samples for the calibration of the instrument's four spectrometers. The RMI can observe dust grains as small as 4 thousandths of an inch (100 microns) on SuperCam's calibration targets on the back of the rover. The rover landed in Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. Each image has a field of view 1 1/8 inch (2.9 centimeter) in diameter.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
This panorama shows two reddish-brown, rock-strewn slopes on the left and right sides of a broad, U-shaped dip in the middle. In the distance are the broad slopes of 'McCool Hill.' Above that is an orangish-yellow sky. | Click on the image for Spirit's 'Paige' Panorama of the Interior of 'Home Plate' (QTVR)On Feb. 19, 2006, the 758th Martian day of exploration of the red planet by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, the rover acquired this panoramic view of the interior of "Home Plate," a circular topographic feature amid the "Columbia Hills." This view, called the "Paige" panorama, is from the top of Home Plate. It shows layered rocks exposed at the edge as well as dark rocks exhibiting both smooth and sponge-like "scoriaceous" textures. To the east from this vantage point, "McCool Hill" looms on the horizon. At the base of McCool Hill is a reddish outcrop called "Oberth," which Spirit may explore during the rapidly approaching Martian winter. "Von Braun" and "Goddard" hills are partially visible beyond the opposite rim of Home Plate.The limited spatial coverage of this panorama is the result of steadily decreasing power available to the rover for science activities as the Martian winter arrives and the sun traces a lower path across the sky. The rover team anticipates that the north-facing slopes of McCool Hill should sufficiently tilt the rover's solar panels toward the sun to allow Spirit to survive the winter.The view covers about 230 degrees of terrain around the rover. Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam) took 72 separate images of this scene with four different Pancam filters. This is an approximately true-color rendering using the Pancam's 75-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. Image-to-image seams have been eliminated from the sky portion of the mosaic to better simulate the vista a person standing on Mars would see. | |
Sand Dunes and Ripples in Proctor Crater, Mars | This view from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows two classes of aeolian bedforms within Proctor Crater. The relatively bright, small ridges are ripples. From their study on Earth, and close-up examination by the MER rovers (roving elsewhere on Mars), we know that ripples are composed of fine sand (less than 200 microns in diameter) or fine sand coated with coarser sand and granules.The larger, darker bedforms are dunes composed of sand, most likely of fine size. Ripples tend to move slower than dunes. Because of this, over time, ripples get covered with dust, possibly explaining the bright tone visible here. The dunes are dark probably because they are composed of basaltic sand (derived from dark, volcanic rock) that is blown by the wind enough that dust does not sufficiently accumulate to change their color.This area in Proctor Crater, at 47.8 degrees south latitude and 30.7 degrees east longitude, is being monitored by HiRISE to document any changes over time.This image is a portion of the HiRISE observation catalogued as ESP_011909, taken on Feb. 9, 2009.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This mosaic of images from the Surface Stereo Imager camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows several trenches dug by Phoenix, plus a corner of the spacecraft's deck and the Martian arctic plain stretching to the horizon. | This mosaic of images from the Surface Stereo Imager camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows several trenches dug by Phoenix, plus a corner of the spacecraft's deck and the Martian arctic plain stretching to the horizon.The footpad at the bottom center is about 1 meter (3 feet) below the spacecraft deck seen at the lower left. Overlaid images show trenches dug to either nearly pure water ice or ice-cemented soil. Analyses of samples taken from these trenches give clues to the history of the region.This approximately true color view combines images taken on several dates during the five months Phoenix studied its surroundings after landing on May 25, 2008.The Phoenix Mission was led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission was by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development was by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This false-color image released on June 1, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey was collected January 29, 2004 during southern summer season. The image shows an area in the Ceti Mensa region on Mars. | Released 1 June 2004This image was collected January 29, 2004 during southern summer season. The local time at the image location was about 4 pm. The image shows an area in the Ceti Mensa region.The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the martian surface using its five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from the use of multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, because each single-filter image is contrast enhanced before inclusion in the three-color image, the apparent color variation of the scene is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the color variation that does appear is representative of some change in color, however subtle, in the actual scene. Note that the long edges of THEMIS color images typically contain color artifacts that do not represent surface variation.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -5.2, Longitude 283.6 East (76.4 West). 38 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
These linear clouds are just one of many storm fronts that occurred near Mars' south pole during the late southern summer season as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA08011Summer StormThese linear clouds are just one of many storm fronts that occurred near the south pole during the late southern summer season.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -81.2N, Longitude 212.2E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a portion of a field of dark sand dunes superposed on the light-toned floor of a crater in eastern Tyrrhena Terra. | 8 April 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of a field of dark sand dunes superposed on the light-toned floor of a crater in eastern Tyrrhena Terra. The orientation of the dunes -- with the steep faces toward the south (bottom) -- suggests that winds generally blew from north to south at the time the dunes were formed.Location near: 14.6°S, 262.3°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Southern Summer | |
Two NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of Mars, taken about a month apart on September 18 and October 15, 1996, reveal a state-sized dust storm churning near the edge of the Martian north polar cap. | Two Hubble Space Telescope images of Mars, taken about a month apart on September 18 and October 15, 1996, reveal a state-sized dust storm churning near the edge of the Martian north polar cap. The polar storm is probably a consequence of large temperature differences between the polar ice and the dark regions to the south, which are heated by the springtime sun. The increased sunlight also causes the dry ice in the polar cap to sublime and shrink.Mars is famous for large, planet-wide dust storms. Smaller storms resembling the one seen here were observed in other regions by Viking orbiters in the late 1970s. However, this is the first time that such an event has been caught near the receding north polar cap. The Hubble images provide valuable new insights into the behavior of localized dust storms on Mars, which are typically below the resolution of ground-based telescopes. This kind of advanced planetary "weather report" will be invaluable for aiding preparation for the landing of NASA's Pathfinder spacecraft in July 1997 and the arrival of Mars Global Surveyor orbiter in September 1997.Top (September 18, 1996) - The salmon colored notch in the white north polar cap is a 600-mile (1,000 kilometer) long storm -- nearly the width of Texas. The bright dust can also be seen over the dark surface surrounding the cap, where it is caught up in the Martian jet stream and blown easterly. The white clouds at lower latitudes are mostly associated with major Martian volcanos such as Olympus Mons. This image was taken when Mars was more than 186 million miles (300 million kilometers) from Earth, and the planet was smaller in angular size than Jupiter's Great Red Spot!Bottom (October 15, 1996) - Though the storm has dissipated by October, a distinctive dust-colored comma-shaped feature can be seen curving across the ice cap. The shape is similar to cold fronts on Earth, which are associated with low pressure systems. Nothing quite like this feature has been seen previously either in ground-based or spacecraft observation. The snow line marking the edge of the cap receded northward by approximately 120 miles (200 kilometers), while the distance to the Red Planet narrowed to 170 million miles (275 million kilometers).Technical notes: To help compare locations and sizes of features, map projections (right of each disk) are centered on the geographic north pole. Maps are oriented with 0 degrees longitude at the top and show meridians every 45 degrees of longitude (longitude increases clockwise); latitude circles are also shown for 40, 60, and 80 degrees north latitude. The color images were assembled from separate exposures taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/. | |
Tracks from the first drives of NASA's Curiosity rover are visible in this image captured by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The rover is seen where the tracks end. | Tracks from the first drives of NASA's Curiosity rover are visible in this image captured by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The rover is seen where the tracks end. The image's color has been enhanced to show the surface details better. The two marks seen near the site where the rover landed formed when reddish surface dust was blown away by the rover's descent stage, revealing darker basaltic sands underneath. Similarly, the tracks appear darker where the rover's wheels disturbed the top layer of dust. Observing the tracks over time will provide information on how the surface changes as dust is deposited and eroded. The full image for these observations can be seen at http://uahirise.org/releases/msl-tracks.php.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. | |
Pits in Polar Cap | This full-frame image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows faults and pits in Mars' north polar residual cap that have not been previously recognized. The faults and depressions between them are similar to features seen on Earth where the crust is being pulled apart. Such tectonic extension must have occurred very recently because the north polar residual cap is very young, as indicated by the paucity of impact craters on its surface. Alternatively, the faults and pits may be caused by collapse due to removal of material beneath the surface. The pits are aligned along the faults, either because material has drained into the subsurface along the faults or because gas has escaped from the subsurface through them.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows layered material in Gale Crater interpreted to be sedimentary rock on Mars that are quite thick and reveal a complex history of change. | (A) Oblique View Looking Southeastward Across Gale Crater and Central Mound(B) Gale Crater Context Image, North is Up(C) Stratigraphic Cross Section of Gale Crater MoundSome exposures of layered material interpreted to be sedimentary rock on Mars are quite thick and reveal a complex history of change. Gale Crater, a basin 172 km (107 mi) in diameter located at 5.4°S, 222.2°W, contains a large central mound of layered rock that, in places, is more than 2.3 km (1.4 mi) thick. The pictures shown here illustrate some of the variety of features that occur in the layered mound, and show that there is evidence for a history that included a hiatus in the deposition of new material, erosion and impact cratering of the material, followed by new deposition on top of the eroded surface.Picture A shows an oblique view--looking toward the southeast--of Gale Crater and its central mound that was generated by combining Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle images with Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) elevation data from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft. The white box indicates the location of MOC narrow angle image M03-01521, which was used by MOC scientists to begin the process of deciphering the history recorded in the layers that make up the large central mound. This mound is thought to be a remnant of a once larger deposit that probably filled much or all of Gale Crater and perhaps extended onto the surrounding terrain.Picture B shows a view of Gale Crater looking straight-down from MGS's ~370 km-high (~230 mi-high) orbit. In this mosaic of MOC wide angle images, north is up, sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left, and the location of the high resolution view, M03-01521, is again indicated by a white box. Other MOC high resolution views, such as M00-01602, show that the dark material surrounding the mound on the crater floor consists mainly of sand dunes. The high resolution view, MOC image M03-01521, was used to examine the details of layered rock exposed in the Gale Crater central mound. It is shown here with north toward the lower left (so it is oriented roughly the same as is seen in (A)) and illuminated by sunlight from the lower right. Dark sand dunes can be seen near the contact between the crater floor and the mound.Picture C is an interpreted cross-section through the part of the Gale Crater mound that is visible in MOC image M03-01521. The lower part of Picture C is the image, M03-01521, with each different rock unit (some have many, thin layers, others have few layers, others erode differently or have different brightness, etc.) shown by a different color. The cross section uses the MOLA topographic profile that was acquired by MGS at the same time as the MOC image. The MOLA data give elevations for the area between the two straight black lines running lengthwise across the MOC image. Where the MOLA profile intersects the contact between each colored unit, the position of this unit in the cross section can be inferred. These data and the observations presented in PIA02844 and PIA02845 show that the Gale Crater mound preserves a complex history that includes the formation of many layers in the lower part of the mound, a period of erosion and cratering on these lower layered units, then deposition on top of these materials by younger, brighter, and not-layered (i.e., massive) units. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired this image on April 4, 1998 of Cydonia Region, Mars. | Detail cut out of PIA01235, Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image of a 4.42 by 82.94 km area of the Cydonia Region. The left image is raw, the right has been filtered and contrast enhanced.Orbit: 220Range: 444.21 kmResolution: 4.32 m/pixelEmission angle: 44.66 degreesIncidence angle: 64.96 degreesPhase angle: 61.97 degreesScan rate: ~0.1 degree/secStart time: periapsis + 375 secSequence submitted to JPL: Sat 04/04/98 15:15 PSTImage acquired by MOC: Sun 04/05/98 00:39:37 PSTData retrieved from JPL: Mon 04/06/98 09:05 PDT | |
NASA's rover Opportunity captured this image of the tracks the rover left on a drive from one energy-favorable position on the northern end of a sand ripple to another. The rover team calls this hopping from lily pad to lily pad. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera for this northward view of tracks the rover left on a drive from one energy-favorable position on the northern end of a sand ripple to another. The rover team calls this strategy hopping from lily pad to lily pad.Opportunity took this image on the 2,235th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (May 8, 2010). The tracks are from a 14.87-meter (49-foot) drive southward on the preceding sol. Mars' southern hemisphere was in the minimal sunshine period close to the winter solstice, which occurred May 13, 2010 (Universal Time). Making progress on Opportunity's long trek to Endeavour Crater remains the extended mission's priority, but the amount of solar energy is so limited at this season that Opportunity needs to rest to recharge batteries for sols between drives. The sun crosses the sky low in the north. Choosing end points for drives that give a favorable northward tilt for the rover's solar panels makes the recharging go faster. The sand ripples in this part of Meridiani Planum are aligned generally north-south, so this means ending drives on the northern ends of the ripples.Opportunity took this image from the northern end of a ripple that is not visible in the image. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 1 meter (3 feet). | |
This cylindrical-projection mosaic was assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on April 24, 2004 at a region dubbed 'site 35.' Spirit is sitting 100 feet away from the northeast rim of 'Missoula' crater. | This cylindrical-perspective projection was assembled from images taken by the right navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 110 (April 24, 2004) at a region dubbed "site 35." Spirit is sitting approximately 33 meters (100 feet) away from the northeast rim of "Missoula" crater.See PIA05815 for 3-D view and PIA05816 for left eye view of this right eye cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a pair of small meteor impact craters in the Arena Colles region of Mars, located north of Isidis Planitia. | 14 July 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a 1.5 meters per pixel (~5 ft/pixel) view of a pair of small meteor impact craters in the Arena Colles region of Mars, located north of Isidis Planitia.Location near: 22.7°N, 278.5°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Autumn | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows Candor Chasma, part of the large Martian canyon system named Valles Marineris. | Annotated VersionThis global map of Mars is based on topographical information collected by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. Illumination is from the upper right. The image width is approximately 18,000 kilometers (11,185 miles). Candor Chasma forms part of the large Martian canyon system named Valles Marineris. The location of Southwest Candor Chasma is indicated in the annotated version. | |
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on its arm to catch the first images of sparks produced by the rover's laser being shot at a rock on Mars. The left image is from before the laser zapped this rock, called 'Nova'. | NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on its arm to catch the first images of sparks produced by the rover's laser being shot at a rock on Mars. The left image is from before the laser zapped this rock, called "Nova." The bright spot at the center of the right image is the spark. The rock is about the size of a baseball.The laser is fired by Curiosity's Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument. ChemCam also includes spectrometers to examine intensities of light at different wavelengths in sparks that the laser shots induce at the target. The spectrometer data inform researchers about which chemical elements are in the target.In the first two years since Curiosity landed in Mars' Gale Crater in August 2012, ChemCam has used its laser on more than 600 rock or soil targets, firing more than 150,000 laser shots. The examination of the target rock Nova was the first during which MAHLI took images of the sparks generated by the laser shots. ChemCam fired 100 laser shots at Nova during the 687th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (July 12, 2014). MAHLI, snapping exposures at nearly five times per second during this series of laser shots, captured several of the resulting sparks, including the one in the image on the right. A video made from the series of MAHLI images is online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/?id=1317.ChemCam found Nova to be rich in silicon, aluminum and sodium. An image of the target from ChemCam's Remote Micro-Imager is PIA18388, along with a sampling of spectrometer data from the examination. Malin Space Sciences Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates MAHLI. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, developed and built Curiosity and manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project, which is using the rover to assess ancient habitable environments and environmental changes on Mars. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This unusual surface texture is found on the northwest part of Olympus Mons as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey. The origin of this texture is unknown, but speculations include glacial or volatile rich materials as part of the cause of such textures. | Context imageThis unusual surface texture is found on the northwest part of Olympus Mons. The origin of this texture and the rest of Lycus Sulci is unknown, but speculations include glacial or volatile rich materials as part of the cause of such textures.Orbit Number: 40102 Latitude: 22.5293 Longitude: 222.055 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-12-29 08:00Please 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 double impact - two meteors hitting simultaneously. The two meteors would have started as a single object, at some point prior to impact the object separated into parts. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a double impact - two meteors hitting simultaneously. The two meteors would have started as a single object, at some point prior to impact the object separated into parts. The two parts followed the same path to the surface, hitting at the same time in close proximity. The linear feature at the center is where the shock waves intersect, its straightness showing the impacts were simultaneous (and nearly equal in size). The ejecta created from the impact tends to be focused to the sides of the doublet, often forming a butterfly-like ejecta blanket. The butterfly pattern is most common at oblique angle impacts, but can also form by the interaction of the impact shock waves. These craters are located in Utopia Planitia.Orbit Number: 72448 Latitude: 27.1977 Longitude: 95.4916 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-04-14 13:36Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This GIF shows clouds drifting over Mount Sharp on Mars, as viewed by NASA's Curiosity rover on March 19, 2021. Each frame of the scene was stitched together from six individual images. | Click here for animationThis GIF shows clouds drifting over Mount Sharp on Mars, as viewed by NASA's Curiosity rover on March 19, 2021, the 3,063rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Each frame of the scene was stitched together from six individual images.The rover captured the images using its Mast Camera, or Mastcam. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam. A division of Caltech, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Curiosity rover and manages the Curiosity rover for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.For more about Curiosity: mars.nasa.gov/msl/home/ and nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Athabasca Valles. Multiple streamlined islands are seen in this image. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Athabasca Valles. Multiple streamlined islands are seen in this image. The teardrop shaped features were formed by liquid flow deflected around features such as craters and hills. The 'tail' of the island points downstream. The source of the fluid was likely an outburst of groundwater, perhaps related to the Elysium volcanic complex located to the northwest of this image.Arising from Cerberus Fossae, the formation mode of this channel is still being debated. While the channel features are similar to water flow, other features are similar to lava flows, and yet other features have an appearance of slabs of material that floated on an underlying fluid. It is thought that Athabasca Valles is the youngest outflow channel system on Mars. Athabasca Valles is just one of the complex channel formations in the Elysium Planitia region.Orbit Number: 89977 Latitude: 9.44823 Longitude: 156.138 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-03-28 00:21Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's robotic-arm camera took this image of the spacecraft's thermal and electrical-conductivity probe (TECP) inserted into Martian soil on May 25, 2008. | The Phoenix Mars lander's robotic-arm camera took this image of the spacecraft's thermal and electrical-conductivity probe (TECP) inserted into Martian soil on day 149 of the mission. Phoenix landed on Mars' northern plains on May 25, 2008, landing.The robotic-arm camera acquired this image at 16:02:41 local solar time. The camera pointing was elevation -72.6986 degrees and azimuth 2.1093 degrees.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. | |
A mosaic of 24 images taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor on a single northern summer day in April, 1999 are stitched together to create a global view of Mars. | A mosaic of 24 images taken on a single northern summer day in April 1999 are stitched together to create a global view of Mars. We rotate the planet to reveal the South Pole. Viking data is used to fill in some of this region which is in darkness during this season. The landing site is located at latitude 76degrees South, longitude 195 degrees West. A bright blue ellipse indicates the landing location of the landing site. The ellipse is 5 kilometers wide and 90 kilometers long.Launched Jan. 3, Mars Polar Lander will set down gently on the Red Planet Dec. 3 for the start of a three-month mission to help scientists study the planet's climate history. Polar Lander was launched toward a Colorado-sized area at about 75 degrees south latitude on Mars. Mission planners have been reviewing images and three-dimensional topographic measurements from NASA's orbiting Mars Global Surveyor mission to pick a safe and scientifically interesting spot to land.Piggybacking on the Polar Lander are two basketball-sized aeroshells containing the Deep Space 2 microprobes. Part of NASA's New Millennium program, which tests risky new technologies for future science missions, these two grapefruit-sized penetrators will smash into Mars at about 400 mph and search for signs of water ice about 3 feet below the surface.Mars Polar Lander and its companion mission, the Mars Climate Orbiter, make up the second wave of spacecraft in the long-term Mars Surveyor Program, which is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science. JPL's industrial partner in the development and operation of the Mars Global Surveyor, Polar Lander, and Climate Orbiter spacecraft is Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, CO. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.For additional information about the Mars Surveyor 1998 Project, please visit our website at:http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lander/launch.htmlTo view additional MOC images, please visit the MSSS website at http://www.msss.com | |
This image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the hole drilled by the rover's rock abrasion tool into the rock dubbed 'Pilbara.' A sliced 'blueberry,' or spherule, which is darker and harder than the rest of the rock is visible. | This mosaic of five images taken by the microscopic imager on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on sol 87 shows the hole drilled by the rover's rock abrasion tool into the rock dubbed "Pilbara." A sliced "blueberry," or spherule, which is darker and harder than the rest of the rock, can be seen near the center of the hole. The rock abrasion process left a pile of rock powder around the side of the hole, and to a lesser degree, inside the hole. The grinding penetrated an area of rock about 7.2 millimeters (about 0.28 inches) deep and 4.5 centimeters (about 1.8 inches) in diameter. | |
This high-resolution color photo of the surface of Mars was taken by NASA's Viking Lander 2 at its Utopia Planitia landing site on May 18, 1979, and relayed to Earth by Orbiter 1 on June 7. | This high-resolution color photo of the surface of Mars was taken by Viking Lander 2 at its Utopia Planitia landing site on May 18, 1979, and relayed to Earth by Orbiter 1 on June 7. It shows a thin coating of water ice on the rocks and soil. The time the frost appeared corresponds almost exactly with the buildup of frost one Martian year (23 Earth months) ago. Then it remained on the surface for about 100 days. Scientists believe dust particles in the atmosphere pick up bits of solid water. That combination is not heavy enough to settle to the ground. But carbon dioxide, which makes up 95 percent of the Martian atmosphere, freezes and adheres to the particles and they become heavy enough to sink. Warmed by the Sun, the surface evaporates the carbon dioxide and returns it to the atmosphere, leaving behind the water and dust. The ice seen in this picture, like that which formed one Martian year ago, is extremely thin, perhaps no more than one-thousandth of an inch thick. | |
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover recorded this view of the sun setting at the close of the mission's 956th Martian day, or sol (April 15, 2015), from the rover's location in Gale Crater. | NASA's Curiosity Mars rover recorded this view of the sun setting at the close of the mission's 956th Martian day, or sol (April 15, 2015), from the rover's location in Gale Crater.This was the first sunset observed in color by Curiosity. The image comes from the left-eye camera of the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam). The color has been calibrated and white-balanced to remove camera artifacts. Mastcam sees color very similarly to what human eyes see, although it is actually a little less sensitive to blue than people are.Dust in the Martian atmosphere has fine particles that permit blue light to penetrate the atmosphere more efficiently than longer-wavelength colors. That causes the blue colors in the mixed light coming from the sun to stay closer to sun's part of the sky, compared to the wider scattering of yellow and red colors. The effect is most pronounced near sunset, when light from the sun passes through a longer path in the atmosphere than it does at mid-day. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
Opportunity's Trek Across the Plains of Meridiani | Figure 1Opportunity is approaching the heat shield that protected the rover from frictional high temperatures during descent through the martian atmosphere in January 2004. The spacecraft carrying the rover jettisoned the heat shield just prior to landing. This orbital view shows the course the rover drove from its landing to its 324th martian day, or sol (Dec. 21, 2004), including the historic path of Opportunity's six months of exploration inside Endurance Crater. Opportunity drove 90.9 meters (298 feet) on sol 324, bringing its total odometry to 1,997.8 meters (1.24 miles). | |
This image acquired on May 22, 2018 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows a 30-kilometer diameter crater, filled-in with materials that created bedrock, and through subsequent erosion, wind-driven particles. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionIn this Context Camera image in Terra Cimmeria, we see a 30-kilometer diameter crater, filled-in with materials that created bedrock, and through subsequent erosion, wind-driven particles.There is a ring of exposed light-toned bedrock at the base of the crater wall. This distinctive ring suggests high winds climbing up the crater wall slope may be responsible for the erosion and the extent of bedrock exposure we see. A close-up on the southeastern part of these deposits shows a mound of bedrock with beautiful color contrasts. The variation in color represents diverse minerals in the rock. There is also a small degraded crater (about 300-meter diameter) to the left of the exposed bedrock. Fine-grained materials trapped inside the crater appear as wind-driven ripples or small dune-forms.The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 25.3 centimeters (10.0 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 76 centimeters (29.9 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the floor of an unnamed crater located in Arabia Terra, near the boundary with Acidalia Planitia. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the floor of an unnamed crater located in Arabia Terra, near the boundary with Acidalia Planitia.Orbit Number: 69570 Latitude: 39.8223 Longitude: 6.77446 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-08-20 11:13Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This crater, seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, is located in Meridiani Planum, about 20-kilometers northwest of where NASA's Opportunity rover landed in 2004 and about 42-kilometers northwest of Endeavour Crater's rim. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis crater is located in Meridiani Planum, about 20-kilometers northwest of where the Opportunity rover landed in 2004 (and about 42-kilometers northwest of Endeavour Crater's rim, where the rover has been busy the past few years). Although it's in the opposite direction from where the rover went, this crater is still an interesting place.With a diameter of 4-kilometers, it's the largest crater in the region other than Endeavour Crater (22 kilometers). It's also a little more than 5 times larger than Victoria Crater (0.75 km), which Opportunity spent nearly 2 years investigating from 2006-2008 (compare with PIA08824).What makes it worth checking out? This crater is much older than Victoria Crater. Compare the smooth, rounded rim of this crater to the jagged edge of Victoria's actively-eroding rim. In comparison with Victoria, this crater is much more filled in by sediments, and its rim is more planed off by erosion. Despite the difference in age and scale, these two craters, and most such craters in Meridiani Planum, have much in common. Both craters have exposed bedrock layers along the rim, a field of bright ripples on the crater floor, and dark sand that has piled up along the north inner crater rim and that extends to the northwest on the plains beyond the crater.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, 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 from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of a crater in southern Terra Cimmeria. The dark blue feature on the right side of the image is a large sand dune complex. | 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 a crater in southern Terra Cimmeria. The dark blue feature on the right side of the image is a large sand dune complex. Dark blue in this false color combination indicates basaltic sands. Dunes at high latitudes — near the polar caps — are affected by seasonal frost and ice. The interactions with frost/ice reduces the amount of movement of sand grains within the dunes. This changes the morphology of near polar dunes when compared to dunes at lower latitudes where ice/frost do not occur as frequently. This crater's latitude is 68 degrees south of the equator.Orbit Number: 67545 Latitude: -68.405 Longitude: 163.524 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-03-06 14:17Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the fossae region to the south of Alba Patera, an ancient collapse volcano. Several lava channels are visible in this image. | Context image for PIA10879Lava ChannelThis image is located within the fossae region to the south of Alba Patera, an ancient collapse volcano. Several lava channels are visible in this image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 28.6N, Longitude 251.9E. 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. | |
What resembles a person's profile appears at the bottom of this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image Do you see what I do? Looks like a person's profile at the bottom of this image.Orbit Number: 62090 Latitude: 86.072 Longitude: 132.944 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-12-13 06:42Please 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 on 16 Jan 2003 by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey, shows covers an area in Western Meridiani. | Released 22 January 2004Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning.This image, collected on 16 January 2003, covers an area in Western Meridiani.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 1.9, Longitude 354.7 East (5.3 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 spacecraft shows the northern interior wall of Coprates Chasma, one of the major canyons that form Valles Marineris. | (Released 21 May 2002)The ScienceThis THEMIS visible image shows the northern interior wall of Coprates Chasma, one of the major canyons that form Valles Marineris. The cliff face seen in this image drops over 8 km from the plateau of Ophir Planum to the north (top) to the floor of Coprates. A complex set of ridges and chutes has been eroded into the layered rock that forms the canyon walls. Streamers of bright and dark material can be seen in many of the chutes, suggesting that loose material (sediment) is moving down the chutes toward the canyon floor. In many places this sediment has completely buried the wall. The uppermost layers near the rim of the canyon are brighter than the lower layers, suggesting that the upper layers are composed of different materials than occur further down the wall. Very few small impact craters can be seen in this image, indicating that the erosion and transport of material down the canyon wall and across the floor is occurring at a relatively rapid rate, so that any craters that form are rapidly buried or eroded.The StoryFrom the smooth plateau of Ophir Planum (top of image), the dramatic canyon wall of Coprates Chasma falls in chutes and ridges for almost five miles to the dark floor of the canyon, where one lone, brooding impact crater can be seen. It is a rare sight in this part of the canyon, because all of the erosion on the cliff face happens so fast that most craters are rapidly buried or eroded.You can see how looser material is transported down the canyon by observing all of the bright and dark streaks streaming down the wall. A particularly good example of this continuing descent is in the left-most canyon shoot, where material has tumbled down into its center crevice, gathering in a pile about mid-way down (left-hand side of the image, right at the point where the bright material meets the dark).A canyon like this one is kind of like a slice through the geologic history of the planet. Each layer in the rock formed at different times, with different materials. You can tell that the bright material in this image is made of different rocks and minerals than the darker layers toward the bottom.If a lander or a rover ever went to study a Martian canyon up close, a good place to land would be at the bottom. That's because all of the rock and soil from the top layers are carried down to the bottom. Without needing to climb up the steep canyon wall for a closer look, scientific instruments on the lander or rover would be able to study all the different kinds of materials right there at the bottom and determine what kinds of rock and soil formed through the ages.Coprates Chasma is one of the major canyons that form Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system. If Valles Marineris were on Earth, it would stretch all the way from California to Washington, D.C. Since it also slices a few miles down into the planet's interior, it's the perfect place to study the geological history of Mars. | |
This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft covers part of Noctis Labyrinthus. The bluish tone in the lower elevation depressions may indicate atmospheric haze. | Context imageThis false color image covers part of Noctis Labyrinthus. The bluish tone in the lower elevation depressions may indicate atmospheric haze.Orbit Number: 56612 Latitude: -5.85669 Longitude: 255.491 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-09-18 04:23Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Daedalia Planum. The pale blue surfaces are thought to be early morning ground frost. | 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 Daedalia Planum. The pale blue surfaces are thought to be early morning ground frost. This image was collected during the winter season.Orbit Number: 71758 Latitude: -15.7206 Longitude: 216.767 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-02-16 17:10Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a fairly small, fresh meteor impact crater in far southeastern Arabia Terra on Mars. The crater's bowl, rim, and ejecta exhibit numerous boulders. | 30 July 2004This full-resolution (1.5 meters, 5 feet, per pixel) Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a fairly small, fresh meteor impact crater in far southeastern Arabia Terra. The crater's bowl, rim, and ejecta exhibit numerous boulders. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is located near 6.9°S, 317.1°W. Sunlight illuminates the terrain from the left. | |
Full-Circle View from Near 'Tetl' (Polar) | This 360-degree view combines frames taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during the rover's 271st martian day, or sol, on Oct. 7, 2004. The rover had just driven into position for using the tools on its robotic arm (not in the picture) to examine a layered rock called "Tetl" in the "Columbia Hills." Spirit's total driving distance from its landing to this point was 3,641 meters (2.26 miles), more than six times the distance set as a criterion for mission success. The view presented here in a polar projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This anaglyph from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the rim of Victoria Crater. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Left-eye view of a stereo pair for PIA08776Right-eye view of a stereo pair for PIA08776A drive of about 60 meters (about 200 feet) on the 943rd Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's exploration of Mars' Meridiani Planum region (Sept. 18, 2006) brought the NASA rover to within about 50 meters (about 160 feet) of the rim of "Victoria Crater." This crater has been the mission's long-term destination for the past 21 Earth months. Opportunity reached a location from which the cameras on top of the rover's mast could begin to see into the interior of Victoria. This stereo anaglyph was made from frames taken on sol 943 by the panoramic camera (Pancam) to offer a three-dimensional view when seen through red-blue glasses. It shows the upper portion of interior crater walls facing toward Opportunity from up to about 850 meters (half a mile) away. The amount of vertical relief visible at the top of the interior walls from this angle is about 15 meters (about 50 feet). The exposures were taken through a Pancam filter selecting wavelengths centered on 750 nanometers.Victoria Crater is about five times wider than "Endurance Crater," which Opportunity spent six months examining in 2004, and about 40 times wider than "Eagle Crater," where Opportunity first landed. The great lure of Victoria is the expectation that a thick stack of geological layers will be exposed in the crater walls, potentially several times the thickness that was previously studied at Endurance and therefore, potentially preserving several times the historical record. | |
This terrain model shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the end of its drive to the edge of 'Endurance Crater.' | This image shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the end of its sol 95 drive to the edge of "Endurance Crater." The rover stopped within 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) of the crater's edge on its first approach, seen in this image. The terrain model in this image was generated with a special software program called the Rover Sequencing and Visualization Program. The program is used by rover drivers to simulate and safely plan the rover's approach path. Blank areas in the image denote missing data. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft is completely dominated by dunes in the north polar region of Mars. Sand seas on Earth are often called ergs, an Arabic name for dune fields. | Our topic for the weeks of April 4 and April 11 is dunes on Mars. We will look at the north polar sand sea and at isolated dune fields at lower latitudes. Sand seas on Earth are often called "ergs," an Arabic name for dune field. A sand sea differs from a dune field in two ways: 1) a sand sea has a large regional extent, and 2) the individual dunes are large in size and complex in form.This VIS image was taken at 82 degrees North latitude during Northern spring. The image is completely dominated by dunes. In sand seas, it is very common for a single type of dune to occur, and for a single predominate wind to control the alignment of the dunes.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 82.2, Longitude 152.5 East (207.5 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. | |
Numerous dark slope streaks mark the complex inner rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageNumerous dark slope streaks mark the complex inner rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea.Orbit Number: 52905 Latitude: 0.327992 Longitude: 22.046 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-11-17 03:17Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to record this vista looking eastward across Endeavour Crater, with the rover's own shadow in the foreground. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to record this vista looking eastward across Endeavour Crater, with the rover's own shadow in the foreground.Opportunity has been studying the western rim of Endeavour Crater since arriving there in August 2011. The crater spans 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter, by far the largest that Opportunity has visited since it landed on Mars in January 2004.The component images in this mosaic view were taken during the 3,020th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (July 22, 2012)JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Siton Undae, a large dune field located in the northern plains near Escorial Crater on Mars. This image shows part of the eastern region of the dune field. | Context imageSiton Undae is a large dune field located in the northern plains near Escorial Crater. Siton Undae is west of the crater and is one of three dune fields near the crater. The nearby north polar cap is dissected by Chasma Boreale, which exposes an ice free surface. This image shows part of the eastern region of the dune field. The dune free area at the bottom part of the image contains a ridge that affects the winds in that area.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 62769 Latitude: 75.1071 Longitude: 298.98 Instrument: VIS Captured:2016-02-07 04:54Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark, windblown sand in the form of dunes and a broad, relatively flat, sand sheet in Ganges Chasma, part of the eastern Valles Marineris trough complex on Mars. | 8 July 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark, windblown sand in the form of dunes and a broad, relatively flat, sand sheet in Ganges Chasma, part of the eastern Valles Marineris trough complex. The winds responsible for these dunes blew largely from the north. Sand dunes on Mars, unlike their Earthly counterparts, are usually dark in tone. This is a reflection of their composition, which includes minerals that are more rich in iron and magnesium than the common silica-rich dunes of Earth. Similar dark sands on Earth are found in volcanic regions such as Iceland and Hawaii. A large dune field of iron/magnesium-rich grains, in the form fragments of the volcanic rock, basalt, occurs south of Moses Lake, Washington, in the U.S.Location near: 7.7°S, 45.3°WImage width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Southern Spring | |
This unnamed crater in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is located on the margin between Terra Sabaea and Utopia Planitia and is filled with material with a grooved surface. | Context imageThis unnamed crater in this VIS image is located on the margin between Terra Sabaea and Utopia Planitia and is filled with material with a grooved surface. The grooves parallel the crater rim and may indicate that the material is flowing away from the rim. The flow is probably supported by volitiles (like ice) within the fill material.Orbit Number: 54664 Latitude: 37.9717 Longitude: 75.8752 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-04-10 21:09Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this vertical projection of its heat shield debris field on Jan. 14, 2005. The main piece of the heat shield is seen, with the smaller flank piece behind it and the divot caused by the impact. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this view of its heat shield debris field on the rover's 347th martian day, or sol (Jan. 14, 2005). The view is a southward-looking, 60-degree panorama assembled from four images taken by Opportunity's navigation camera. It is presented as a vertical projection with geometric seam correction. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the expansive view of the martian real estate. he airbag marks, or footprints, seen in the soil trace the route by which the rover rolled to its final resting spot inside a small crater at Meridiani Planum. | Click on the image for As Far as Opportunity's Eye Can See (QTVR)This expansive view of the martian real estate surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is the first 360 degree, high-resolution color image taken by the rover's panoramic camera. The airbag marks, or footprints, seen in the soil trace the route by which Opportunity rolled to its final resting spot inside a small crater at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The exposed rock outcropping is a future target for further examination. This image mosaic consists of 225 individual frames. | |
These craters were formed by a September 5, 2021, meteoroid impact on Mars, the first to be detected by NASA's InSight. | Figure AThe craters seen here in blue were formed by a meteoroid impact on Mars on Sept. 5, 2021. The impact was the first to be detected by NASA's InSight mission; the image was taken later by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera.The initial impact itself created a small marsquake that was detected by InSight's seismometer. The instrument recorded seismological data that showed the moment the meteoroid entered Mars' atmosphere, its explosion into pieces in the atmosphere, and finally, the impact that created a series of at least three craters in the surface. MRO then flew over the approximate site where the impact was "felt" to look for darkened patches of ground using its Context Camera. After finding this location, HiRISE captured the scene in color. The ground is not actually blue; this enhanced-color image highlights certain hues in the scene to make details more visible to the human eye – in this case, dust and soil disturbed by the impact.Figure A is an annotated version of the image with three of the craters identified. Smaller craters that are not visible in HiRISE's images were probably created as well.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages both InSight and MRO for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. The Context Camera was built by, and is operated by, Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego.InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris). Significant contributions for SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spain's Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) supplied the temperature and wind sensors. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the northern portion of Hephaestus Fossae. Hephaestus Fossae is a complex channel system in Utopia Planitia near Elysium Mons. | Context imageThis VIS image is located in the northern portion of Hephaestus Fossae. Hephaestus Fossae is a complex channel system in Utopia Planitia near Elysium Mons. It has been proposed that the channels formed by the release of melted subsurface ice during the impact event that created a large crater southeast of this image. Additionally, the nearby Elysium volcanic center created subsurface heating that may have played a part in creating both Hephaestus Fossae and Hebrus Valles to the north. The right angle intersections indicate there is some tectonic activity in the region, and the circular depressions indicate surface collapse into subsurface voids. Hephaestus Fossae is a very complex set of features.Orbit Number: 85960 Latitude: 21.3916 Longitude: 122.454 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-05-01 06:13Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Gullies and Ice-rich Material | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_002066_1425) shows gullies in a crater in the southern hemisphere.Gullies typically form when flowing water has sufficient energy to erode soil and soft rock in a channelized flow. The gullies in this image have narrow, overlapping channels and are deeply incised into the slope. Overlapping channels may suggest multiple flow events on this slope wall. It is unknown what happened to the water that flowed in these gullies. Some of the water may have evaporated or gradually sublimated into the atmosphere or became incorporated as ice in the gully debris aprons located downslope at their termini.Sublimation is a process similar to evaporation except that solid ice (instead of liquid water) returns to the atmosphere as a gas. Sublimation is common on Mars because the temperature and pressure are so low on Mars today that liquid water is only rarely stable.The crater floor is covered in boulders (see subimage, approximately 500 m across), dunes, and textured material. The boulders are likely a "sublimation lag" that provides evidence that material on the crater floor is, or once was, ice-rich. A sublimation lag forms when ice-rich material sublimates leaving the boulders and rocks behind. It is possible that the boulders on this crater floor represent such a process. The pitted texture around boulders may also be an indicator of ice sublimation.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 1 January 2007Local Mars time: 3:41 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -37.0°Degrees longitude (East): 207.0°Range to target site: 261.1 km (163.2 miles)Original image scale range: 26.1 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~78 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 15.0°Phase angle: 81.1°Solar incidence angle: 68°, with the Sun about 22° above the horizonSolar longitude: 161.2°, Northern SummerNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
Proposed MSL Site in Nili Fossae Trough | Click on image for larger versionHiRISE image (PSP_003086_2015) of proposed landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) in Nili Fossae Trough.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 3 March 2007Local Mars time: 3:38 PMDegrees latitude (centered): 21.1°Degrees longitude (East): 74.2°Range to target site: 282.4 km (176.5 miles)Original image scale range: 28.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~85 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 7.4°Phase angle: 55.5°Solar incidence angle: 62°, with the Sun about 28° above the horizonSolar longitude: 206.4°, Northern SummerNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This image taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter covers part of a candidate landing site that appears to be a shallow depression with a deposit perhaps consisting of chlorides, like table salt. | This image covers part of a candidate landing site that appears to be a shallow depression with a deposit perhaps consisting of chlorides, like table salt.The relatively bright material broken up into polygons or other patterns is possibly chloride. Such deposits occur in playas on Earth, and imply the past presence of water and a habitable (but not necessarily inhabited) environment. The HiRISE images will help to interpret the geology and to determine if this spot is a sufficiently safe landing site -- not too many boulders or steep slopes. If it is safe enough, this site will be considered further as a landing site for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory or for a European or NASA rover to be launched in 2018 according to current plans.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the spacecraft development and integration contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a mid-southern spring view, taken in August 2003, of defrosting patterns on sand dunes in Richardson Crater. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-492, 23 September 2003This is a mid-southern spring view, taken in August 2003, of defrosting patterns on sand dunes in Richardson Crater. The picture was acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC). The frost on these dunes might be a combination of frozen carbon dioxide left over from the previous winter, and water ice. As the ices sublime away, they create dark spots. Winds create dark streaks, either by moving the dark sand that underlies the frost, or by removing frost to expose the sand. Alternatively, the frost itself is roughened by the wind or has been made coarse by wind and sublimation processes. The Richardson dune field undergoes a long series of changes as it defrosts from late winter through spring and into early summer. Summer will arrive at the end of September 2003. This picture is located near 72°S, 181°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
This graph shows changes in apparent brightness of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it approached and receded from Mars, as seen by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The pattern suggests the comet rotates once every eight hours. | This graph shows changes in apparent brightness of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it approached and receded from Mars, as seen by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. From the pattern in this graph and other data, researchers conclude that the comet's nucleus rotates once every eight hours. Each peak in apparent brightness corresponds to either a specific area on the nucleus of the comet or a bright jet of material escaping from the nucleus. The data come from 54 HiRISE observations, beginning 60 hours before the comet's closest approach to Mars on Oct. 19, 2014, and continuing until 15 hour after closest approach. The eight-hour cycle is overlaid on a pattern of apparent brightness increasing as the comet approached, and then dimming as it receded.For more information on these and other HiRISE images, see http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows classic, crescentic shape of the dark barchan dunes on Mars. | Dunes on Earth move downwind at different speeds depending upon the local wind conditions, the amount of loose sand available to be transported by wind, the shape and volume of the dunes, and overgrowths of vegetation. Typically, smaller dunes move faster than larger dunes. On Earth, some of the fastest-moving dunes that have been measured (e.g., in the deserts of Peru) move 10 to 30 meters (33 to 100 feet) per year. Small dunes usually have an almost crescent-shape to them, and are known to geologists as barchan dunes.To look for evidence of dune movement on Mars, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has been used to re-visit some areas of known barchan dunes -- because these types move the fastest -- that were observed by the Mariner 9 orbiter in 1972 and the Viking 1 and 2 orbiters between 1976 and 1980. The picture above, left, shows a MOC high-resolution image taken December 25, 1999. The classic, crescentic shape of the dark barchan dunes can be seen in this picture. The steep slopes, also known as the dune slip faces, on these dunes are facing toward the southwest (north is up in both pictures). Thus, the shape of the dunes indicates that they are moving toward the southwest.The picture above right shows the MOC image from December 1999 superimposed on a Viking 1 image taken May 27, 1978. During the 11 1/2 Mars years that passed between these two dates, it turns out that no difference can be detected in the position of the dunes seen in the MOC image and the Viking image. The earlier Viking image had a resolution of about 17 meters (56 ft) per pixel, while the MOC image had a resolution of about 3.8 meters (12 ft) per pixel. Although it looks like the dunes didn't move between the Viking and MOC images, this observation is limited by the resolution of the Viking image. It is entirely possible that the dunes have moved as much as 17-20 meters (16-66 ft) and one would not be able to tell by comparing the images. As it is, movement of less than 20 meters (66 ft) in 11 martian years (nearly 22 Earth years) is slower than some dunes of similar size and shape on Earth. Thus, it appears that martian dunes are not "experiencing" the level of activity commonly reported for some of the modern desert dunes found on Earth. The dune field illustrated in these pictures is located in a western Arabia Terra crater at 1.6°N, 351.6°W. Both the Viking and MOC images are illuminated from the left. | |
This image was taken by NASA's Viking Lander 1 at Chryse Planitia on Mars. The lander can be seen in the foreground looking toward the rugged martian terrain. | During the Viking Mission, the Viking Lander Camera System acquired many high-resolution images of the scene at Chryse Planitia. Using individual camera events, which occurred on many days throughout the mission, computer mosaics have been created for the site as viewed by each of the two cameras on the spacecraft. Two sets of mosaics were produced of Chryse Planitia; one pair for camera 1 and 2 images acquired in the early morning and one pair for camera 1 and 2 images acquired in the mid-afternoon.Each complete mosaiced scene extends 342.5 degrees in azimuth, and from approximately 5 degrees above the horizon to 60 degrees below. A complete mosaic incorporated approximately 15 million picture elements (pixels). This mosaic was produced in the early morning (14:00-15:30) by the Camera 1 system on Viking Lander 1. See PIA03166 for the afternoon Camera 2 mosaic and PIA03163 and PIA03164 for the morning mosaics. | |
View of Spirit's Climb from Six Months Earlier | Figure 1This view from where Spirit stood on its 149th martian day (June 3, 2004) shows, on the hillside at the center of the image, the terrain that the rover is crossing six months later. The view is a mosaic of several frames taken with Spirit's panoramic camera.Spirit Journey Continues at "Husband Hill"NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has left the "West Spur" of the "Columbia Hills" and crossed a flatter saddle to the main body of "Husband Hill." The rover's course from the 313th to 330th martian days, or sols, of its mission (Nov. 19 to Dec. 6, 2004) is indicated on a mosaic view made from images taken with Spirit's panoramic camera on sol 149 (June 3, 2004). | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a small section of Reull Vallis. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a small section of Reull Vallis.Orbit Number: 50555 Latitude: -39.7059 Longitude: 109.896 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-05-07 16:37Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image shows a section of Nirgal Vallis on Mars. In this image a crater has been formed across the vallis. The crater formation postdates the channel formation on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA11911Nirgal VallisThis VIS image shows another section of Nirgal Vallis (see yesterday's image). In this image a crater has been formed across the vallis. The crater formation postdates the channel formation.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -27.6N, Longitude 315.8E. 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. | |
The arrows in this picture, released July 15, 2004, from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor point to three boulders that left trails behind them as they rolled down the lower parts of a meteor crater's wall. | 15 July 2004The arrows in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture point to three boulders that left trails behind them as they rolled down the lower parts of a meteor crater's wall. In two cases, the tracks can be resolved into a series of small depressions, indicating the variable shape of the boulder as it unevenly proceeded down the slope. These features are located near 18.4°N, 120.1°W. The 75 meter scale bar is about 246 feet long. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a volcanic vent and related flows located in Elysium Planitia. | Context image for PIA11290Volcanic VentThe volcanic vent and related flows in this image are located in Elysium Planitia.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 7.2N, Longitude 156.8E. 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 of a Martian rock dubbed 'Sayunei' is illuminated by ultraviolet LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imagery camera at the end of the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. | This image of a Martian rock illuminated by ultraviolet LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. MAHLI took the images on Jan. 22, 2013 (PST), after dark on the 165th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars. The image covers an area about 1.3 inches by 1 inch (3.4 by 2.5 centimeters).This rock target in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Mars' Gale Crater is called "Sayunei." It is in an area that Curiosity's front left wheel scuffed to provide fresh, dust-free materials to examine. The illumination came from MAHLI's two ultraviolet LEDs, which emit light in a waveband centered at a wavelength of 365 nanometers. The exposure duration was 30 seconds. The purpose of acquiring observations under ultraviolet illumination was to look for fluorescent minerals. This image and caption are being posted before analysis is completed about whether fluorescent minerals are present.The same illumination was used for a nighttime image of MAHLI's calibration target, shown at PIA16714.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates MAHLI and the MAHLI engineering model. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Curiosity and the mission's Vehicle System Test Bed rover were designed and built at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in September 2016 at 'Murray Buttes', and the path planned for reaching destination at lower Mount Sharp. | This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in September 2016 at "Murray Buttes," and the path planned for reaching destinations at "Hematite Unit" and "Clay Unit" on lower Mount Sharp.Blue triangles mark waypoints investigated by Curiosity during the rover's two-year prime mission and first two-year extended mission. The Hematite Unit and Clay Unit are key destinations for the second two-year extension, through September 2018. The base image for the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. North is up. Bagnold Dunes form a band of dark, wind-blown material at the foot of Mount Sharp.The scale bar at lower right represents one kilometer (0.62 mile). For broader-context images of the area, see PIA17355, PIA16064 and PIA16058.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
Large-scale crossbedding in the sandstone of this ridge on a lower slope of Mars' Mount Sharp is typical of windblown sand dunes that have petrified. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Mastcam to capture this vista on Aug. 27, 2015. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger viewDownload the full resolution annotated TIFF fileLarge-scale crossbedding in the sandstone of this ridge on a lower slope of Mars' Mount Sharp is common in petrified sand dunes.The scene combines multiple images taken with both cameras of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Curiosity on Aug. 27, 2015, during the 1,087th Martian day, or sol of the rover's work on Mars. It spans from east, at left, to south-southwest. Figure 1 includes a scale bar of 200 centimeters (about 6.6 feet).Sets of bedding laminations lie at angles to each other. Such crossbedding is common in wind-deposited sandstone of the U.S. Southwest. An example from Utah is pictured at http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/zion/html2/3d153.html. The sandstone in the image from Mars is part of the Stimson unit on Mount Sharp. The color of the Mastcam mosaic has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. The component images in the center and upper portion of the mosaic are from Mastcam's right-eye camera, which is equipped with a 100-millimeter-focal-length telephoto lens. Images used in the foreground and at far left and right were taken with Mastcam's left-eye camera, using a wider-angle, 34-millimeter lens.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates Curiosity's Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, built the rover and manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl . More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/.Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA19818_full.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. | |
An oblique, color image of central Valles Marineris, Mars showing relief of Ophir and Candor Chasmata; view toward north. The photograph is a composite of Viking high-resolution images in black and white and low-resolution images in color. | An oblique, color image of central Valles Marineris, Mars showing relief of Ophir and Candor Chasmata; view toward north. The photograph is a composite of Viking high-resolution images in black and white and low-resolution images in color. Ophir Chasma on the north is approximately 300 km across and as deep as 10 km. The connected chasma or valleys of Valles Marineris may have formed from a combination of erosional collapse and structural activity. Tongues of interior layered deposits on the floor of the chasmata can be observed as well as young landslide material along the base of Ophir Chasma's north wall. | |
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this image of Bettys Rock using one of its front hazard cameras on June 20, 2022, the 474th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. | NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this image of "Bettys Rock" using one of its front hazard cameras on June 20, 2022, the 474th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.The rock is named after Bettys Rock in Shenandoah National Park.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the surface of Mars' polar cap and its surroundings. | Context image for PIA11326Southern SpringThe sun has risen over the south pole of Mars as southern spring gets underway. The surface of the polar cap and its surroundings will undergo extensive change as frost and ice sublimate in the sun.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -86.8N, Longitude 248.3E. 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 Hubble Space Telescope images of Mars taken in visible and infrared light detail a rich geologic history and provide further evidence for water-bearing minerals on the planet's surface. | NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of Mars taken in visible and infrared light detail a rich geologic history and provide further evidence for water-bearing minerals on the planet's surface.LEFTThis "true-color" image of Mars shows the planet as it would look to human eyes. It is clearly more Earth-toned than usually depicted in other astronomical images, including earlier Hubble pictures. The slightly bluer shade along the edges of the disk is due to atmospheric hazes and wispy water ice clouds (like cirrus clouds) in the early morning and late evening Martian sky. The yellowish-pink color of the northern polar cap indicates the presence of small iron-bearing dust particles. These particles are covering or are suspended in the air above the blue-white water ice and carbon dioxide ice, which make up the polar cap.Accurate colors are needed to determine the composition and mineralogy of Mars. This can tell how water has influenced the formation of rocks and minerals found on Mars today, as well as the distribution and abundance of ice and subsurface liquid water. Confirmation of the presence of certain oxidized (rusted) minerals (processed by heat or water action) would imply the possibility of different, perhaps much more Earth-like, past Martian climate periods. Because the smallest features visible in this image are only about 14 miles (22 km) across, Hubble can track small-scale variations in the distribution of minerals that do not follow global trends. The image was generated from three separate Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 images acquired at wavelengths of 410, 502, and 673 nanometers, in March 1997.RIGHTA false-color picture taken in infrared light reveals features that cannot be seen in visible light. Hubble's unique infrared view pinpoints variations in the abundance and distribution of unknown water-bearing minerals on the planet. While it has been known for decades that small amounts of water-bearing minerals exist on the planet's surface, the reddish regions in this image indicate areas of enhanced concentrations of these as-yet-unidentified deposits. They are perhaps related to the water-rich history of this part of Mars. In particular, the large reddish region known as Mare Acidalium was the site of massive flooding early in Martian history. (NASA's Pathfinder spacecraft landed at the southern edge of this region in 1997.) This composite image was taken in July 1997 with Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer. Red corresponds to the strength of an absorption band detected near 1450 nanometers; green to the brightness of the surface in the near-infrared; and blue to topographic elevation, determined from Viking Orbiter data. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows several named and unnamed channels located south of the Medusa Fossae Formation on the margin with Terra Sirenum. | Context imageSeveral named and unnamed channels are located south of the Medusa Fossae Formation on the margin with Terra Sirenum. One of the unnamed channels is visible in the lower half of this VIS image. Wind erosion and deposition have modified the channel, indicating the channel is older than the wind action.Orbit Number: 77996 Latitude: -6.80206 Longitude: 202.156 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-07-15 12:00Please 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 part of Rubicon Valles located on the northwestern flank of Alba Mons seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Rubicon Valles located on the northwestern flank of Alba Mons.Orbit Number: 52423 Latitude: 44.6535 Longitude: 244.022 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-10-08 11:00Please 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 InSight's robotic arm will use its scoop to pin the spacecraft's heat probe, or 'mole,' against the wall of its hole. | Click here for animationNASA InSight's robotic arm will use its scoop to pin the spacecraft's heat probe, or "mole," against the wall of its hole. The mole is part of an instrument formally called the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, or HP3, provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument, with significant contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Switzerland, Imperial College and Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spain's Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) supplied the wind sensors.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/insight. | |
This false color image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock called 'Chocolate Hills,' which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called 'Concepción.' | This image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock called "Chocolate Hills," which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called "Concepción." The rover used the tools on its robotic arm to examine the texture and composition of target areas on the rock with and without the dark coating. The rock is about the size of a loaf of bread. Initial analysis was inconclusive about whether the coating on the rock is material that melted during the impact event that dug the crater.This view is presented in false color, which makes some differences between materials easier to see. It combines three separate images taken through filters admitting wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers. Opportunity took the image during the 2,147nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Feb. 6, 2010). | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the contact of the southern flank of Ascraeus Mons and the surrounding Tharsis region lava flows. | Context imageToday's image shows the contact of the southern flank of Ascraeus Mons and the surrounding Tharsis region lava flows. This boundary contains several tectonic factures and collapse features. Ascraeus is the northenmost of the three aligned Tharsis volcaones and is the tallest at 18,225meters (59,793ft).Orbit Number: 82062 Latitude: 8.4003 Longitude: 256.42 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-06-14 07:17Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's InSight lander used a scoop on its robotic arm to begin trickling soil over the cable connecting its seismometer to the spacecraft on March 14, 2021. Scientists hope insulating it from the wind will make it easier to detect marsquakes. | Click here for animationNASA's InSight lander used the scoop on its robotic arm to begin trickling soil over the cable connecting its seismometer to the spacecraft on March 14, 2021, the 816th Martian day, or sol of the mission. Scientists hope this make it easier to detect marsquakes by helping to insulate the cable from the wind and from the extreme temperature shifts that cause the cable to expand and contract. JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris). Significant contributions for SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spain's Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) supplied the temperature and wind sensors.For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/insight. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock outcrops in south-central Becquerel Crater in western Arabia Terra on Mars. | 21 January 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock outcrops in south-central Becquerel Crater in western Arabia Terra near 21.3°N, 8.4°W. The layered material may have been deposited in an intracrater lake, early in martian history. The material has subsequently been exposed and eroded by wind. Dark sand dunes have accumulated along the southern margin (bottom of image) of the outcrop exposure. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the left/lower left. | |
Mineral Spectra from Nili Fossae, Mars | Spectra collected by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) indicate the presence of three distinct minerals. The graphed information comes from an observation of terrain in the Nili Fossae area of northern Mars. CRISM is one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.Iron-magnesium smectite clay is formed through alteration of rocks by liquid water and is characterized by distinctive absorptions at 1.4, 1.9, and 2.3 micrometers due to water (H2O) and OH in the atomic structure of the mineral. Olivine is an iron magnesium silicate and primary igneous mineral, and water is not in its structure. Its spectrum is characterized by a strong and broad absorption at 1.0 micrometer due to ferrous iron (Fe2+). Carbonate is an alteration mineral identified by the distinctive paired absorptions at 2.3 and 2.5 micrometers. The precise band positions at 2.31 and 2.51 micrometers identify the carbonate at this location as magnesium carbonate. The broad 1.0 micrometer band indicates some small amount of ferrous iron is also present and the feature at 1.9 micrometers indicates the presence of water. CRISM researchers believe the magnesium carbonate found in the Nili Fossae region formed from alteration of olivine by water.The data come from a CRISM image catalogued as FRT00003E12. The spectra shown here are five-pixel-by-five-pixel averages of CRISM L-detector spectra taken from three different areas within the image that have then been ratioed to a five-pixel-by-five-pixel common denominator spectrum taken from a spectrally unremarkable area with no distinctive mineralogic signatures. This technique highlights the spectral contrasts between regions due to their unique mineralogy. The spectral wavelengths near 2.0 micrometers are affected by atmospheric absorptions and have been removed for clarity.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory led the effort to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows several dune fields in the plains of Terra Cimmeria on Mars. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThis daytime IR image shows several dune fields in the plains of Terra Cimmeria. Note the dune field in the samll crater towards the bottom of the frame. The dune field has climbed the western rim of the crater and is moving out onto the plains.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -59.9N, Longitude 136.2E. 121 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 small ridge, about 3 feet long, appears to resist wind erosion more than the flatter plates around it. Such differences are among the traits NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is examining at selected rock targets at the base of Mount Sharp. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionThis small ridge, about 3 feet (1 meter) long, appears to resist wind erosion more than the flatter plates around it. Such differences are among the rock characteristics that NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is examining at selected targets at the base of Mount Sharp.The ridge pictured here, called "Pink Cliffs," is within the "Pahrump Hills" outcrop forming part of the basal layer of the mountain. This view is a mosaic of exposures acquired by Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) shortly before a two-week walkabout up the outcrop, scouting to select which targets to examine in greater detail during a second pass. Pink Cliffs is one of the targets chosen for closer inspection. This image combines several frames taken with the Mastcam on Oct. 7, 2014, the 771st Martian day, or sol of Curiosity's work on Mars. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. Figure 1 is a version with a scale bar overlaid on the image.An image showing the Pahrump Hills walkabout route is at PIA19039. An overhead map showing the walkabout drives, from Sol 780 (Oct. 16) to Sol 794 (Oct. 30) is at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Curiosity_Location_Sol803-full.jpg.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on April 27, 2004 shows lava flows on the martian surface at Elysium Mons. | Released 27 April 2004We began MSIP with 122 students divided into 24 teams. Each team created a proposal and, through the peer review process, seven proposals were selected. Two teams were formed to actually select a site. The Elysium Mons lava flow site was selected by the "Crater" group. The context image showed one large crater and what looked like many smaller craters. That would be an ideal site for the groups. The actual THEMIS image indeed contains one large crater with layered details in the walls, and many smaller craters. One team went on to attempt to find the relative age of the Elysium Mons lava flow by comparing its crater count to the crater count of a known age lava flow on our own Moon.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 26.3, Longitude 141.4 East (218.6 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.NASA and Arizona State University's Mars Education Program is offering students nationwide the opportunity to be involved in authentic Mars research by participating in the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP). Teams of students in grades 5 through college sophomore level have the opportunity to work with scientists, mission planners and educators on the THEMIS team at ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility, to image a site on Mars using the THEMIS visible wavelength camera. For more information go to the MSIP website: http://msip.asu.edu.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This mosaic was assembled from images taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit at a region dubbed 'site 31.' Spirit is looking at 'Missoula Crater.' | This mosaic was assembled from images taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit at a region dubbed "site 31." Spirit is looking at "Missoula Crater." From orbit, the features within the crater appeared to be ejecta from the younger "Bonneville Crater," but Spirit's closer look revealed wind-blown drift deposits, not ejecta, within Missoula Crater. | |
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen here in 3D using images taken June 6, 2021, by the left and right Mastcam-Z cameras aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. | 3D-anaglyph [PNG or JPG]Left "eye" view [PNG or JPG]Right "eye" view [PNG or JPG]Images available in PNG or JPG formatNASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen here in 3D using images taken June 6, 2021 (the 105 the Martian day, or sol, of the mission), by the left and right Mastcam-Z cameras aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. Included here is an anaglyph as well as the left and right "eye" views of the scene in both PNG and JPG formats.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.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. Arizona State University in Tempe leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. | |
This feature from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter looks like a heart. It is located south of Ascraeus Mons, which is a large volcano within the Tharsis volcanic plateau, making it extremely likely that this feature was formed by a volcanic process. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionWhat is this strange-looking feature? HiRISE scientists first noticed it in images from the Context Camera and acquired this picture to investigate more closely.The feature indeed does look like a heart. It is located south of Ascraeus Mons, which is a large volcano within the Tharsis volcanic plateau, so it is extremely likely that this feature was formed by a volcanic process. The feature rises above the surrounding terrain and we can see concentric ridges on its top. Perhaps this feature is an ancient vent structure (an opening in the ground from which volcanic lava emerges) that has been more resistant to erosion than the surrounding area, so that it resembles "inverted" terrains.Topographic inversion or inverted terrain often occurs when low areas of a landscape become filled with lava or sediments that harden into materials which are more resistant to erosion than the materials that surround them. Differential erosion then removes the less resistant surrounding material, leaving behind the younger resistant material which may then appear as a ridge where previously there was a valley, or in our case, a butte, where there was once a pit or depression.Additional imaging of the feature to create a stereo and a digital terrain model may help in further assessing the structure by making accurate measurement of its height and the steepness of its slopes.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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows clouds high in the atmosphere over the landing site in Meridiani Planum on Mars of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity on April 29, 2004. | 4 May 2004In recent weeks, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) blue wide angle images have been showing clouds high in the atmosphere over the Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, landing site in Meridiani Planum. This view of the sunward limb of Mars shows an example. It was acquired by the MOC blue camera late last week on 29 April 2004. The "x" shows the location of the rover site. The bright features in this image are water ice clouds. The dark portion of the image on the left is outer space. Clouds can also be seen in a zone approximately 20 to 40 kilometers (12-25 miles) above the martian limb. North is approximately up, east is toward the right, and sunlight illuminates the scene from the left (west). The image runs along the limb from about latitudes 4°S to about 2°N. | |
This image acquired on December 8, 2021 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows bright patches of frost (white in enhanced color) that are made up of water and carbon dioxide ices. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThe dark sand dune at the center of this observation is covered in a blanket of white seasonal ice in the winter. In this Martian springtime image, the western slope of the dune is partly defrosted.Bright patches of frost (white in enhanced color) are clearly visible and are made up of water and carbon dioxide ices. Dark streaks of sand have flowed down the dune's slope that sometimes covers the frost. These flows are caused by the rapid transformation of the frost from ice to gas as the sun heats the dune in the spring.We can also see how these flows are diverted by the ripples on the dune. (The width of the cutout is around 520 meters.)The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 50.5 centimeters [19.9 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 151 centimeters [59.4 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 7 March 2004 West Candor Chasma, one of the wide troughs of the great Valles Marineris canyon system, exhibits some of the most spectacular, varied, and extensive layered rock outcrops on Mars. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows some of the layers of sedimentary rock exposed in west Candor Chasma near 5.9°S, 75.6°W. The picture covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Acheron Fossae. Acheron Fossae is the highly fractured, faulted and deformed terrain located north of the large shield volcano Olympus Mons. | Context imageThis VIS shows part of Acheron Fossae. Acheron Fossae is the highly fractured, faulted and deformed terrain located 1,050 kilometers (650 miles) north of the large shield volcano Olympus Mons. Lava flows from Olympus Mons at the base of Acheron Fossae show that the fossae predate the flows. The scarps visible in this image are approximately one kilometer (3,300 feet) high.Orbit Number: 85794 Latitude: 36.0816 Longitude: 229.11 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-04-17 12:16Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This April 16, 2015, panorama from the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a detailed view toward two areas, 'Mount Shields' and 'Logan Pass,' on lower Mount Sharp, chosen for close-up inspection in subsequent weeks. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger viewDownload the full resolution annotated TIFF fileThis detailed panorama from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a view toward two areas on lower Mount Sharp chosen for close-up inspection: "Mount Shields" and "Logan Pass."The scene is a mosaic of images taken with Mastcam's right-eye camera, which has a telephoto lens, on April 16, 2015, during the 957th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars, before that sol's drive. The view spans from southwest, at left, to west-northwest. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth.By 10 sols later, Curiosity had driven about 328 meters (1,076 feet) from the location where it made this observation to an outcrop at the base of "Mount Shields." A 5-meter scale bar has been superimposed near the center of this scene beside the outcrop that the rover then examined in detail. (Five meters is 16.4 feet.) This study location was chosen on the basis of Mount Shields displaying a feature that geologists recognized from images like this as likely to be a site where an ancient valley was incised into bedrock, then refilled with other sediment.After a few sols examining the outcrop at the base of Mount Shields, Curiosity resumed driving toward a study area at Logan Pass, near the 5-meter scale bar in the left half of this scene. That location was selected earlier, on the basis of images from orbit indicating contact there between two different geological units. The rover's route from Mount Shields to Logan Pass runs behind "Jocko Butte" from the viewpoint where this panorama was taken.Figure 1 is an annotated version of this panorama. A map of this area, showing the rover's location at the time of this observation, is at PIA19399.Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA19398_full.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. This panorama may also be viewed at http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/deepzoom/PIA19398.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the extensive Tharsis volcanic fields. The pale wispy spots are clouds. This image was collected just after dawn during the spring season. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the extensive Tharsis volcanic fields. The pale wispy spots are clouds. This image was collected just after dawn during the spring season.Orbit Number: 77196 Latitude: 14.8308 Longitude: 241.3 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-05-10 15:01Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Floor of Chia Crater | Image PSP_001482_1810 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 19, 2006. The complete image is centered at 1.2 degrees latitude, 300.4 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 265.3 km (165.8 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 26.5 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 106.2 cm/pixel (with 4 x 4 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:31 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 54 degrees, thus the sun was about 36 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 137.9 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This enhanced color image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft shows several craters somewhere in the southern mid-latitudes of Mars. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis enhanced color HiRISE image shows several craters somewhere in the southern mid-latitudes of Mars. It is currently mid-winter in the Southern hemisphere, so we can observe accumulating frost (neon blues) on pole-facing slopes (i.e. south-facing) and in shadowed areas.However, the bluish deposits and ejecta deposits associated with the smaller crater we see are not consistent with frost deposits. These materials are most likely iron-bearing minerals that have not been previously oxidized (i.e., rusted), and have only recently been exposed to the surface when this small well-preserved crater was formed.reviously oxidized (i.e., rusted), and have only recently been exposed to the surface when this small well-preserved crater was formed.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. | |
Nanedi Vallis: Tributaries and Albedo Changes | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_001508_1850) shows a part of Nanedi Vallis, one of the Martian valley networks. The valley networks are thought to have formed by flowing water in the distant past when the climate on Mars was warmer and wetter than it is today.Some scientists have suggested that the valley networks could have been produced in a climate like the dry, cold one of Mars today if the liquid water was protected by an overlying ice layer. Others think that glacial activity may be responsible for them, but the majority believe that the valley networks are evidence of ancient flowing water.Valley networks are characterized by their blunt, theater-shaped heads and their approximately constant width along their reaches. They often have tributaries, as seen in this image, that connect with the main trunk of the valley.Observation GeometryAcquisition date: 11 November 2006Local Mars time: 3:31 PMDegrees latitude (centered): 5.0 °Degrees longitude (East): 310.9 °Range to target site: 269.3 km (168.3 miles)Original image scale range: from 26.9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 107.8 cm/pixel (with 4 x 4 binning)Map-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 2.3 °Phase angle: 50.9 °Solar incidence angle: 53 °, with the Sun about 37 ° above the horizonSolar longitude: 138.9 °, Northern SummerNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
The anaglyph is helpful to see that the dark streaks really do occur on a slope in this image taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor 1999. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Changes between 1 February 1998 and 18 November 1999Crater at 6°S, 184°W on 01 FEB 19983-D Anaglyph View--PIA02380What is happening on Mars right now? Pictures that show changes occurring from time to time give some clues as to what processes are shaping the modern martian landscape. Dust devils, dust storms, and polar frosts are all known to cause change sin the surface every martian year. But what about other geologic processes? How "active" is Mars today? The Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) has been in orbit long enough that it is starting to provide some answers. MGS began orbiting Mars in September 1997. Since that time, it has seen the planet cycle through more than 1 of its 687-Earth-days-long years. The pictures shown here document changes observed by the MOC caused by small landslides.The picture at the lower left (above) shows a shallow crater located near Apollinaris Patera at 6°S, 184°W, that was photographed by MOC in February 1998. The walls of this crater exhibit approximately 100 dark streaks running down its slopes. These streaks have formed as small landslides or avalanches and are probably composed of sand and/or silt. The image is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left, and the crater is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) across. The white box shows the location of a section of the crater that was photographed again in mid-November 1999, about 92% of a Martian Year later.The top picture shows a comparison of the southeastern crater wall as it appeared on February 1, 1998, and again on November 18, 1999. (Note that the picture has been rotated relative to the context image at lower left). During the time between the two images, three new dark slope streaks formed (arrows, top right). The older streaks are lighter and fainter than these new, dark ones, suggesting that streaks fade with time. This means that, at least for the crater walls shown here, any streak that is dark is younger than any streak that is pale. The stereo anaglyph (requires red-blue "3-d glasses") at the lower right uses the two images of the crater rim to provide a 3-dimensional view. The anaglyph is helpful to see that the dark streaks really do occur on a slope. In addition, by viewing the anaglyph without 3-d glasses, one can easily identify the three new streaks because they appear as blue and have no red counterpart.These three new slope streaks formed sometime between February 1998 and November 1999. Similar streaks were observed in the highest-resolution images from the Viking orbiters in the late 1970s, but for more than 20 years no one has known how recent these features might be, or how often they might form. Now, MOC is providing some exciting answers. |
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