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NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the solidified remains of flows, probably lava, but possibly mud, in the Zephyria region of Mars, south of Cerberus. | 12 November 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the solidified remains of flows -- probably lava, but possibly mud --in the Zephyria region of Mars, south of Cerberus.Location near: 5.2°N, 203.6°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Autumn | |
The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in many ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows windstreaks located on Syrtis Major Planum east of Nili Patera. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows a set of windstreaks located on Syrtis Major Planum east of Nili Patera. The color variation shows where wind action has removed or concentrated surface dust. The "tails" of the windstreaks indicate winds from the ENE.Orbit Number: 33905 Latitude: 8.47478 Longitude: 69.9403 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2009-08-06 02:31Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image, part of an images as art series from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on March 25, 2004 shows part of the Auqakuh Vallis region on Mars. The image shows the presence of liquid or ice carved channels and some dunes. | Released 25 March 2004The Odyssey spacecraft has completed a full Mars year of observations of the red planet. For the next several weeks the Image of the Day will look back over this first mars year. It will focus on four themes: 1) the poles - with the seasonal changes seen in the retreat and expansion of the caps; 2) craters - with a variety of morphologies relating to impact materials and later alteration, both infilling and exhumation; 3) channels - the clues to liquid surface flow; and 4) volcanic flow features. While some images have helped answer questions about the history of Mars, many have raised new questions that are still being investigated as Odyssey continues collecting data as it orbits Mars.The channel shown on the image is part of the Auqakuh Vallis region. It was collected December 4, 2002 during northern summer season. The local time is 5pm. The image shows liquid or ice carved channels and some dunes are also present on it.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 31.8, Longitude 61.4 East (298.6 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The long sharp-crested features observed in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft are named yardangs. Yardangs form by wind erosion and typically lie in the direction of the dominant wind. | The long sharp-crested features observed in this THEMIS image are named yardangs. Yardangs form by wind erosion and typically lie in the direction of the dominant wind. The impact crater and ejecta blanket appear to be overlying the yardangs and provide an interesting cross-cutting relationship. However, some yardangs appear to be actively forming on the ejecta material which indicates their formation as an ongoing process.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 35.2, Longitude 223.6 East (136.4 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity 's instrument deployment device, or 'arm,' shows the partial clotting or cement-like properties of the sand-sized grains within the wall trenched by the rover. | This projected mosaic image, taken by the microscopic imager, an instrument located on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity 's instrument deployment device, or "arm," shows the partial clotting or cement-like properties of the sand-sized grains within the trench wall. The area in this image measures approximately 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) wide and 5 centimeters (2 inches) tall.(This image also appears as an inset on a separate image from the rover's navigation camera, showing the location of this particular spot within the trench wall.) | |
This image, taken by NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) at the end of Sol 35, shows the Sojourner rover heading toward a rock called 'Wedge.' Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | This image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) at the end of Sol 35, shows the Sojourner rover heading toward a rock called "Wedge." The stowed Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument is at the rear of the rover towards the rock.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, approximately 1.5 x 3 kilometers, shows a sample of eroded Martian terrain in Arabia Terra. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image, approximately 1.5 x 3 kilometers, shows a sample of eroded Martian terrain in Arabia Terra.At one time this was a flat smooth terrain, but over time it has been eroded (most likely by the wind) forming depressed, low-lying areas where we see many small dunes. The dunes resemble waves in the ocean, whereas in other areas we see small flat-top hills forming.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
Interior Layered Deposits in Tithonium Chasma Reveal Diverse Compositions | This image of layered deposits in Tithonium Chasma was taken by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) at 1537 UTC (11:37 a.m. EDT) on August 31, 2007, near 5.0 degrees south latitude, 270.3 degrees east longitude. CRISM's image was taken in 544 colors covering 0.36-3.92 micrometers, and shows features as small as 20 meters (66 feet) across. The region covered is just over 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) wide at its narrowest point.Tithonium Chasma lies at the western end of the Valles Marineris canyon system. It extends approximately east-west for roughly 810 kilometers (503 miles), varies in width from approximately 10 to 110 kilometers (6 to 68 miles), and cuts into the Martian surface to a maximum depth of roughly 6 kilometers (4 miles). Many of the canyon-forming processes found on Mars are readily illustrated in Tithonium Chasma. These features offer a window into the geologic history of the planet.Landslides have enlarged the canyon's walls and formed debris deposits that ring the trough's interior. The chasma's floor is composed of layered deposits which may be volcanic or sedimentary in origin. One of CRISM's tasks is to determine the mineralogy of these deposits.The top panel in the montage above shows the location of the CRISM image on a mosaic taken by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS). The CRISM data covers an eroded terrace of these interior layered deposits, and is centered along the edge of a knob of eroded wall material just to the southwest.The lower two images are renderings of data draped over topography without vertical exaggeration. These images provide a view of the knob's elevation relative to the surrounding terrain. The lower left image is in infrared false color, and shows light-colored material exposed on the flanks of the layered deposits. The upper right image shows measures of the strengths of different mineral signatures in the red, green, and blue image planes, and reveals diversity in the mineral content of this light-colored material. Some areas have no signature in the data, indicating dust-like spectral properties, while other areas have signatures of monohydrated or polyhydrated sulfate. This signifies a variety of compositions within these layered deposits.CRISM is one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Led by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., the CRISM team includes expertise from universities, government agencies and small businesses in the United States and abroad. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Science Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter. | |
These views captured by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor are from northwestern Elysium Planitia in the martian northern hemisphere thought to dry gullies. | How can martian gullies -- thought to be caused in part by seepage and runoff of liquid water -- be distinguished from the more typical, "dry" slope erosion processes that also occur on Mars? For one thing, most -- though not all -- of the gully landforms occur on slopes that face away from the martian equator and toward the pole. For another, slopes that face toward the equator exhibit the same types of features as seen on nearly every other non-gullied slope on Mars.The example shown here comes from northwestern Elysium Planitia in the martian northern hemisphere. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) high resolution view (A, left) shows a portion of a 10 kilometer-(6.2 mi)-diameter meteor impact crater at a resolution of about 9 meters (29.5 ft) per pixel. The crater is shown in the context image (B, middle). The north-facing (or, pole-ward) slope in the MOC view is shadowed because sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. In this shadowed area, a series of martian gullies -- defined by their erosional alcoves, deep channels, and apron deposits -- are seen. On the sunlit south-facing (or equator-ward) slope, a scene more typical of most martian impact craters is present -- the upper slopes show layered bedrock, the lower slopes show light-toned streaks of dry debris that has slid down the slope forming talus deposits that are distinctly different from the lobe-like form of gully aprons. The picture in (C) has been rotated so that the two slopes -- one with gullies (right) and one without (left) -- can be compared.The crater is located at 36.7°N, 252.3°W. The MOC image was acquired in November 1999 and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide by 14 km (8.7 mi) long; north is toward the upper right (in A) and it is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. The Viking 1 orbiter context image (B) was obtained in 1978 and is illuminated from the left; north is up. The MOC image has been rotated in the Explanatory Figure (C) such that north is toward the upper left, illumination is from the lower right. | |
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft captured this image in September 2003, showing degraded remains of a crater on Mars. This type of surface material is thought to be a mixture of dust and ice. | Released 8 September 2003The degraded remains of this crater central peak have a surface cover that is characteristic of high latitudes. This type of surface material is thought to be a mixture of dust and ice. The nameless crater that this central peak is found in is approximately 150 km in diameter and is located in the southern highlands.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -51.6, Longitude 231.4 East (128.6 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This sweeping look at the unusual rock outcropping near NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Right Panoramic Camera (Click on image for larger view) 3D Anaglyph (Click on image for larger view) This sweeping look at the unusual rock outcropping near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was captured by the rover's left panoramic camera. Scientists believe the layered rocks are either volcanic ash deposits, or sediments laid down by wind or water. Opportunity landed at Meridiani Planum, Mars on January 24 at 9:05 p.m. PST. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a portion of a lava flow in the Daedalia Planum region of Mars, south of the volcano, Arsia Mons. Daedalia Planum is known for its abundance of ancient, long, lava flows. | 9 June 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of a lava flow in the Daedalia Planum region of Mars, south of the volcano, Arsia Mons. Daedalia Planum is known for its abundance of ancient, long, lava flows.Location near: 22.7°S, 116.9°WImage width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Martian terrain that resembles the head of an eagle with a sharp beak. | Context imageDo you see what I see? The head of an eagle, with it's sharp beak, looks towards the bottom of the image.Orbit Number: 18298 Latitude: 33.7492 Longitude: 348.251 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2006-01-29 00:16Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Viking Orbiter 2 of West Candor Chasm shows much of Melas Chasm and a portion of Candor Chasm (upper right) in central Valles Marineris. | This picture (centered at latitude 10 degrees S., longitude 74 degrees W.) shows much of Melas Chasm and a portion of Candor Chasm (upper right) in central Valles Marineris. Several interesting compositional units can be seen in the enhanced-color image (PIA00156): white materials (center-right) may consist of carbonates or some other evaporite deposit, pinkish materials (upper right) may be relatively rich in crystalline iron oxides, and greenish materials (lower left) correspond to dark sand dunes. Viking Orbiter Picture Numbers 279B41 (violet), 279B49 (green), and 279B51 (red) at 257 m/pixel resolution. Picture width is 261 km. North is 50 degrees clockwise from top. | |
This image acquired on January 20, 2022 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows rapid albedo (brightness) changes at this time of year (late northern summer) on the Martian polar cap. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThe purpose of this sequence of images is to understand rapid albedo (brightness) changes seen at this time of year (late northern summer) on the Martian polar cap.Our cutout is an animation that is a comparison with an image acquired just 5 days earlier from this one. Changes in relative brightness are apparent between the observations. It is not immediately obvious what is causing the changes, but the linear patterns suggest that wind is playing a role.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 63.4 centimeters [25.0 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 190 centimeters [74.8 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image acquired on March 24, 2019 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, revisits an impact site in this area first imaged in December 2017. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionHiRISE commonly takes images of recent craters on Mars, which are usually found by the MRO Context Camera where they disturb surface dust. An impact site in this area was first imaged in December 2017. A year and a half later, the scene looks totally different! Dust has eroded from the surface, probably due to the planet-encircling dust storm from 2018. The dark spots around the fresh craters have vanished because they only affected the dust that has since disappeared. See if you can find the craters in the new image by comparing with the old one.The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 29.4 centimeters [11.6 inches] per pixel [with 1 x 1 binning]; objects on the order of 88 centimeters [34.7 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a dune field located on the plains east of Douglass Crater in Aonia Terra on Mars. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThis dune field is located on the plains east of Douglass Crater in Aonia Terra.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -49.9N, Longitude 293.9E. 22 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This mosaic of images of the region around NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the relative locations of several craters, including Endeavour, in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. | Annotated MapClick on the image for the larger version
This map of the region around NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the relative
locations of several craters and the rover in May 2010, when Opportunity took images for a
super-resolution view of the horizon to the rover's southeast (PIA13197).
The base map here is a mosaic of images from the Context Camera on NASA's Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter. The scale bar is 5 kilometers (3.1 miles).
Opportunity explored Endurance Crater, near the upper-left corner of this map, during the first
year after the rover's January 2004 arrival on Mars for a mission originally scheduled to last
for three months. Since the summer of 2008, when Opportunity finished two years of studying
Victoria Crater, the rover's long-term destination has been the much larger Endeavour Crater.
The route chosen for the journey veers south of the shortest path between the two craters in
order to avoid hazardously large ripples of sand. By the spring of 2010, Opportunity had
covered more than a third of the charted, 19-kilometer (12-mile) route from Victoria to
Endeavour and reached an area with a gradual, southward slope offering a view of a portion of
Endeavour's elevated rim.
On this map, the southeastward lines originating from the point labeled "Sol 2239" show the
angle covered in the super-resolution view generated from a set of images that Opportunity's
panoramic camera (Pancam) took during the 2,239th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's
mission on Mars (May 12, 2010). The points labeled "Cape Tribulation," "Cape Byron," "Cape
Dromedary" and "Point Hicks" on this map are also visible in that Sol 2239 Pancam view, as
correlated by rover science team member Tim Parker, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The science team has assigned those and other informal names for features at Endeavour
Crater using as a theme names of places visited by British Royal Navy Capt. James Cook in
his 1769-1771 Pacific voyage in command of H.M.S. Endeavour. The Pancam view also
shows some of the thick deposit of material ejected by the impact that excavated Iazu Crater,
south of Endeavour. The observed increase in brightness of Iazu's ejecta relative to
Endeavour's features is consistent with modeling by science team members Mike Wolff, of the
Space Science Institute, and Ray Arvidson,of Washington University in St. Louis, applying
optical characteristics Opportunity has measured in the Martian atmosphere.
After the rover team chose Endeavour as a long-term destination, the goal became even more
alluring when observations with the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars,
also on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, found clay minerals exposed at Endeavour. James
Wray, of Cornell University, and co-authors reported observations of those minerals in
Geophysical Research Letters in 2009. Clay minerals, which form under wet and relatively
neutral pH conditions, have been found extensively on Mars from orbit but have not been
examined on the surface. Additional observations with that spectrometer are helping the rover
team choose which part of Endeavour's rim to visit first with Opportunity. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows shows the Cerberus Fossae troughs on Mars. Dark sediment and talus from the trough walls are visible, as are some of the layers in the subsurface exposed by the troughs. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-465, 27 August 2003The Cerberus Fossae are a series of semi-parallel troughs in the Cerberus region of Mars. They formed by extension (splitting) of the upper martian crust in the vicinity of the Elysium and Albor volcanoes. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a 1.5 meter (5 feet) per pixel view of one of the Cerberus Fossae troughs. Dark sediment and talus from the trough walls are visible, as are some of the layers in the subsurface exposed by the troughs. This feature is located near 15.7 °N, 197.5°W. The area shown is 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/lower left. | |
Complex variations in dune forms within Hebes Chasma. This northern subframe image, frame 3506, is a 2.3 x 3.6 km area centered near 0.6 degrees south, 76.3 degrees west, taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter. | Complex variations in dune forms within Hebes Chasma. This northern subframe image, frame 3506, is a 2.3 x 3.6 km area centered near 0.6 degrees south, 76.3 degrees west.Figure caption from Science Magazine. | |
This image shows a close-up of track marks from the first test drive of NASA's Curiosity rover. The rover's arm is visible in the foreground. A close inspection of the tracks reveals a unique, repeating pattern: Morse code for JPL. | This image shows a close-up of track marks from the first test drive of NASA's Curiosity rover. The rover's arm is visible in the foreground. A close inspection of the tracks reveals a unique, repeating pattern: Morse code for JPL. This pattern, visible as straight bands across the zigzag track marks, can be used as a visual reference to help the rover drive accurately. Curiosity's "visual odometry" software measures terrain features -- such as rocks, rock shadows and patterns in the rover tracks -- to determine the precise distance between drive steps. Knowing how far it has traveled is important for measuring any wheel slippage that may have occurred, for instance due to high slopes or sandy ground. Fine-grained terrains generally lack interesting features, so Curiosity can make its own features using its wheel tracks.The Morse code, imprinted on all six wheels, is: .--- (J), .--. (P), and .-.. (L). JPL is short for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where the rover was built and the mission is managed. JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows mesas and smaller buttes that occur on the Elysium Plains, south of the Cerberus region in the Martian eastern hemisphere. | This recent Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows mesas and smaller buttes that occur on the Elysium Plains, approximately 300 kilometers (~185 miles) south of the Cerberus region in the Martian eastern hemisphere.Like the world-famous Monument Valley located in the Navajo Nation on the border of Arizona and Utah, this "Martian Monument Valley" consists of a series of mesas and buttes that have formed by erosion of layered bedrock. The uneroded rock forms a flat upland at the top of the image. The number of mesas and buttes decreases toward the bottom of the image, but their presence indicates that the rock in which they formed was once more extensive and covered the entire scene. Small dunes form parallel ridges on the lowland between many of the mesas near the top of the image. The image covers an area that is 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide and is illuminated from left.Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a flow or landslide feature on a hillslope facing north (toward top/upper right) that is buried on both ends. | 7 August 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a flow or landslide feature on a hillslope facing north (toward top/upper right) that is buried on both ends. Both the uphill portion of the slide (just below the center of the image) and the bottom end of the slide, or flow feature (near the upper right corner of the image), is buried. Whether this partially buried landform was formed by simple, dry mass movement (a landslide) or by flow of an ice-rich material, is unclear. The features in this image occur among the massifs located east of the Hellas basin.Location near: 45.6°S, 248.5°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Autumn | |
The ridge in the southern end of this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is part of an eroded crater rim, one of many such smaller impact craters that have collected on Schiaparelli's floor since it formed. | Context imageAll this week, the THEMIS Image of the Day has been following on the real Mars the path taken by fictional astronaut Mark Watney, stranded on the Red Planet in the book and movie, The Martian.Generally smooth and rolling terrain covers most of this portion of Schiaparelli Crater's floor. Because the impact that made Schiaparelli occurred billions of years ago, nature has had ample time to leave lava and sediments in the crater and to erode them. The ridge in the image's southern end is part of an eroded crater rim, one of many such smaller impact craters that have collected on Schiaparelli's floor since it formed. (This image was taken as part of a study for the Mars Student Imaging Project by a high-school science class.)Here astronaut Mark Watney's great overland trek reaches its end. He arrives safely at the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which was sent in advance for the next Mars mission crew. The rocket will get him off the ground and into Mars orbit, where he can be picked up by a rescue ship coming from Earth.Orbit Number: 37215 Latitude: -4.03322 Longitude: 15.477 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-05-05 13:14Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover covers an area in 'Bridger Basin' that includes the locations where the rover drilled a target called 'Big Sky' on the mission's Sol 1119 (Sept. 29, 2015). | Annotated VersionClick on the image for larger viewDownload the full resolution annotated TIFF fileThis view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover covers an area in "Bridger Basin" that includes the locations where the rover drilled a target called "Big Sky" on the mission's Sol 1119 (Sept. 29, 2015) and a target called "Greenhorn" on Sol 1137 (Oct. 18, 2015).The scene combines portions of several observations taken from sols 1112 to 1126 (Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, 2015) while Curiosity was stationed at Big Sky drilling site. The Big Sky drill hole is visible in the lower part of the scene. The Greenhorn target, in a pale fracture zone near the center of the image, had not yet been drilled when the component images were taken. Researchers selected this pair of drilling sites to investigate the nature of silica enrichment in the fracture zones of the area. Figure 1 is annotated with the locations of the Big Sky and Greenhorn drilling targets and with color-coded indicators of the amount of silica in targets examined by the laser-firing Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument. A key on the right shows the percentage of silica (SiO2), by weight, corresponding to the color-coding. Enrichment in silica clearly corresponds to the fracture zones.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. The U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, developed ChemCam in partnership with scientists and engineers funded by the French national space agency (CNES), the University of Toulouse and the French national research agency (CNRS). 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 the Mars Science Laboratory mission and the mission's Curiosity rover, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
On Feb. 26, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit had drive 2 meters (7 feet) on this sol to get in position on 'Cumberland Ridge' for looking into 'Tennessee Valley' to the east. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Figure 1Figure 2NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on Spirit's 409th martian day, or sol (Feb. 26, 2005). Spirit had driven 2 meters (7 feet) on this sol to get in position on "Cumberland Ridge" for looking into "Tennessee Valley" to the east. This location is catalogued as Spirit's Site 108. Rover-wheel tracks from climbing the ridge are visible on the right. The summit of "Husband Hill" is at the center, to the south. This view is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric and brightness seam correction.Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a field of dunes in an unnamed crater. This crater has been partially covered by the polar ice of Ultima Lingula. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows a field of dunes in an unnamed crater. This crater has been partially covered by the polar ice of Ultima Lingula. The dunes are bounded by ice on one side and the rim of the crater on the other side. 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.Orbit Number: 67539 Latitude: -71.4938 Longitude: 143.522 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-03-06 02:12Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This false color image of Moreux Crater captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the highest elevations of the central peak, as well as the nearby sand dunes. | Context image This image of Moreux Crater shows the highest elevations of the central peak, as well as the nearby sand dunes. In this false color image sand dunes are "blue". Smaller patches of blue are located on the central peak materials and indicate where surface winds have moved fine materials on/off the peak deposits. The pitted and curvilinear morphology of the central peak deposits have been interpreted to have formed by glacial activity. Moreux Crater is located in northern Arabia Terra and has a diameter of 138 kilometers.The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image.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: 46786 Latitude: 41.7667 Longitude: 44.3482 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-07-01 13:41Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
These dunes are located on the floor of an unnamed crater south of Vinogradov Crater. This image was captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageThe dunes in today's VIS image are located on the floor of an unnamed crater south of Vinogradov Crater.Orbit Number: 44193 Latitude: -21.7008 Longitude: 320.257 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-12-01 01:45Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This pair of images taken a few minutes apart show how laser firing by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity removes dust from the surface of a rock. The images were taken by the remote micro-imager camera in the laser-firing Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam). | This pair of images taken a few minutes apart show how laser firing by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity removes dust from the surface of a rock. The images were taken by the remote micro-imager camera in the laser-firing Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument during the 84th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Oct. 31, 2012). The area covered in each image is about 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) across, on a rock target called "Rocknest_3."Between the time the remote micro-imager took the image on the left and the time it took the image on the right, ChemCam fired its laser 300 times -- 10 bursts of 30 shots -- along a vertical line. The image on the right shows that a stripe of dust was removed. The interaction of the laser beam with the surface is on the order of 0.02 inch (half a millimeter), but the stripe is more than 10 times wider, on the order of 0.3 inch (7 millimeters). A shock wave that occurs when the laser hits the rock is responsible for the wider area of dust removal. Dust tends to cover everything on Mars. ChemCam has the capability to remove this layer to access the underlying rock and expose dust-free surfaces to other optical investigations.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
The white arrows indicate locations in this scene where numerous seasonal dark streaks have been identified in the Coprates Montes area of Mars' Valles Marineris by NASA's repeated MRO observations from orbit. | The white arrows indicate locations in this scene where numerous seasonal dark streaks have been identified in the Coprates Montes area of Mars' Valles Marineris by repeated observations from orbit.The streaks, called recurring slope lineae or RSL, extend downslope during a warm season, fade in the colder part of the year, and repeat the process the next Martian year. They are regarded as the strongest evidence for the possibility of liquid water on the surface of modern Mars.This oblique perspective for this view uses a three-dimensional terrain model derived from a stereo pair of observations by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The scene covers an area approximately 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers) wide. 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 taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows platy surface texture of the vast plains southeast of the volcano Elysium Mons on Mars likely formed by very fluid cooling lava. | Released 16 June 2003The platy surface texture observed in this THEMIS image of the vast plains southeast of the volcano Elysium Mons likely formed by very fluid cooling lava. Variations in the surface texture may reflect different cooling or flow rates of the lava. The lack of any large impact craters also points to a relatively young age for these volcanic materials. The two largest impact craters occur in the higher plateau unit indicating that these materials are older.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 11.6, Longitude 182.4 East (177.6 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows field of parallel ridges north of a dune field in a wind-eroded material named the Apollinaris Sulci. | A pair of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images (above, center and right) shows close-up views of a sand dune field that was first detected by the Viking orbiters in the late 1970s (above, left). What is surprising about the MOC images is that they reveal a dune field unlike any other thus far seen on Mars--this one has impact craters on its surface, and LOTS of them!The field of parallel ridges north of the dune field (above the white boxes in picture at the left) is a wind-eroded material named the Apollinaris Sulci. It is possible that the dune field shown here was once covered by this wind-eroded material and was later exhumed. Regardless, the dunes were somehow hardened and have been exposed as hard rock on the martian surface long enough for many impact craters smaller than a few hundred meters (few hundred yards) across to form. These dunes are therefore quite ancient--one might say that this is a "fossil" dune field. A similar effect at a much smaller scale can be seen by examining some sandstones and siltstones on Earth -- if conditions were right, ripples formed in either water or wind are preserved in such rocks.The first MOC view, labeled M03-00006, was taken on July 1, 1999. The second view, M07-05007, was acquired September 26,1999. Both MOC images and the Viking picture are illuminated from the left. The dune field occurs east of the Apollinaris Patera volcano and northeast of Gusev Crater at 12.5°S, 181°W.The release for image B in the above caption can be found here. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows part of a deposit created by a landslide off the wall of a crater on Mars. These layers represent a long history of sedimentation that occurred in Gale Crater at some time in the distant martian past. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-486, 17 September 2003This August 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows part of a deposit created by a landslide off the wall of a crater near 12.3°N, 21.3°W. The crater wall is not shown; it is several kilometers to the left of this picture. The debris that slid from the crater wall came from the left/upper left (northwest) and moved toward the lower right (southeast). The crater floor onto which the debris was deposited has more small meteor craters on it than does the landslide material; this indicates that there was a considerable interval between the time when the crater floor formed, and when the landslide occurred. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the floor of Matara Crater. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows the floor of Matara Crater. A large sand sheet with surface dune forms dominates the floor of this crater located in Noachis Terra.Orbit Number: 75438 Latitude: -49.5195 Longitude: 34.6327 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-12-16 19:39Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Proposed MSL Site in Nili Fossae Crater | Click on image for larger versionHiRISE image (PSP_002743_1985) of proposed landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) in Nili Fossae Crater.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 2 February 2007Local Mars time: 3:36 PMDegrees latitude (centered): 18.5°Degrees longitude (East): 77.5°Range to target site: 283.0 km (176.9 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: 9.0°Phase angle: 66.8°Solar incidence angle: 58°, with the Sun about 32° above the horizonSolar longitude: 190.5°, Northern AutumnNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a crater, crated by an impact event, that resulted in a form that is not the normal circular shape. | Context imageWhile the crater in this VIS image was crated by an impact event, the resultant form is not the normal circular shape. There are several factors that can create 'out of round' craters. The most common is subsurface faulting from tectonic activity. Pre-existing subsurface fractures can deflect impact pressures along the fault faces, rather than uniformly radially from the center of impact. Meteor Crater in Arizona has "corners" due to the same tectonic forcing of impact pressures.Orbit Number: 89615 Latitude: 31.7702 Longitude: 156.612 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-02-26 05:06Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Nili Patera. | Context imageThe THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows Nili Patera and the dunes located in the patera.Orbit Number: 19306 Latitude: 8.80756 Longitude: 67.4616 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2006-04-22 00:12Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This cylindrical-projection mosaic was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 100 (April 14, 2004). It reveals Spirit's view after a century of sols on the martian surface. | This left eye cylindrical-perspective mosaic was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 100 (April 14, 2004). It reveals Spirit's view after a century of sols on the martian surface. See PIA05771 for 3-D view and PIA05773 for right eye view of this left eye cylindrical-perspective mosaic. | |
The foreground of this scene from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows purple-hued rocks near the rover's late-2016 location on lower Mount Sharp. Variations in color of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionThe foreground of this scene from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows purple-hued rocks near the rover's late-2016 location on lower Mount Sharp. The scene's middle distance includes higher layers that are future destinations for the mission.Variations in color of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition on lower Mount Sharp. The purple tone of the foreground rocks has been seen in other rocks where Curiosity's Chemical and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument has detected hematite. Winds and windblown sand in this part of Curiosity's traverse and in this season tend to keep rocks relatively free of dust, which otherwise can cloak rocks' color.The three frames combined into this mosaic were acquired by the Mastcam's right-eye camera on Nov. 10, 2016, during the 1,516th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. The scene is presented with a color adjustment that approximates white balancing, to resemble how the rocks and sand would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. Sunlight on Mars is tinged by the dusty atmosphere and this adjustment helps geologists recognize color patterns they are familiar with on Earth.The view spans about 15 compass degrees, with the left edge toward southeast. The rover's planned direction of travel from its location when this scene was recorded is generally southeastward. The orange-looking rocks just above the purplish foreground ones are in the upper portion of the Murray formation, which is the basal section of Mount Sharp, extending up to a ridge-forming layer called the Hematite Unit. Beyond that is the Clay Unit, which is relatively flat and hard to see from this viewpoint. The next rounded hills are the Sulfate Unit, Curiosity's highest planned destination. The most distant slopes in the scene are higher levels of Mount Sharp, beyond where Curiosity will drive.Figure 1 is a version of the same scene with annotations added as reference points for distance, size and relative elevation. The annotations are triangles with text telling the distance (in kilometers) to the point in the image marked by the triangle, the point's elevation (in meters) relative to the rover's location, and the size (in meters) of an object as big as the triangle at that distance.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, 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 acquired on December 9, 2018 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows Athabasca Valles with lava flows originating from Elysium Mons to the northwest. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThis image in Athabasca Valles shows lava flows originating from Elysium Mons to the northwest. A Context Camera image shows the lava flowed from the northwest to the southeast, diverting around obstacles as it settled. (The flow is outlined in blue with the flow direction shown in yellow, and the approximate location of the HiRISE image is represented by a white rectangle.) The lava appears to have flowed smoothly around obstructions, almost like water, forming streamlined islands. In the southern part of this image, a branch of the flow diverts around a small crater, and eventually rejoins the main part of the flow. Irregular-shaped ring structures appear on the northern end and are related to the volcanic activity that formed the flows. We also see a dense cluster of secondary craters that formed when material ejected from Corinto Crater (to the northwest) impacted the surface at high speed. At full-resolution, this terrain has the distinctive appearance of a field of numerous, small and closely-spaced craters.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 55.4 centimeters (21.8 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 166 centimeters (65.4 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. | |
Lava-Draped Channel System on Mars | This image from HiRISE image PSP_003294_1895 shows a portion of the Athabasca Valles channel system. Part of a streamlined "island" is visible on the right, and dune-like landforms that occur on the channel floor can be seen on the left. At higher resolution it is apparent that a thin layer of solidified lava coats both the dune-like landforms and the topographically higher streamlined island. Two impact craters within the subscene can be identified by the relatively bright-rayed ejecta that surround them. Most of the region is dusty and, therefore, fairly uniform in color. However, blue tinges in the HiRISE false color data delineate scarps that are too steep for dust to accumulate. One such scarp appears where a narrow fracture cuts through the streamlined island. Another appears on the topographic step at the edge of the streamlined island. | |
This image released on Nov 4, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows thick cloud cover and beautifully delineated cloud tops on Mars' polar cap. | Yesterday's storm front was moving westward, today's moves eastward. Note the thick cloud cover and beautifully delineated cloud tops.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 72.1, Longitude 308.3 East (51.7 West). 40 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a group of white, wispy clouds over the western flank of Elysium Mons. The clouds are casting shadows in the late afternoon sun. | Context image for PIA10814CloudsThis image shows a group of white, wispy clouds over the western flank of Elysium Mons. The clouds are casting shadows in the late afternoon sun.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 24.8N, Longitude 144.6E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the South Polar cap. | Context image This VIS image shows part of the South Polar cap. As spring moves into the summer the surface frost is reduced and the surface texture of the ice is revealed.Orbit Number: 65009 Latitude: -84.5979 Longitude: 313.213 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-08-09 15:55Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a cross section of Coprates Chasma. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a cross section of Coprates Chasma. In this region the chasma has two sections – a deep, flat floored canyon at the top of the image, and a shallower section in the lower part of the image. The sections are divided by a large ridge. The floor of the bottom canyon is covered by large landslide deposits. Coprates Chasma is one of the numerous canyons that make up Valles Marineris. The chasma stretches for 960 km (600 miles) from Melas Chasma to the west and Capri Chasma to the east.Orbit Number: 91988 Latitude: -12.6995 Longitude: 293.287 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-09-09 13:27Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
A close-up image of a 2-inch-deep hole produced using a new drilling technique for NASA's Curiosity rover. Curiosity drilled this hole in a target called 'Duluth' on May 20, 2018. | A close-up image of a 2-inch-deep hole produced using a new drilling technique for NASA's Curiosity rover. The hole is about 0.6 inches (1.6 centimeters) in diameter. This image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Sol 2057. It has been white balanced and contrast-enhanced.Curiosity drilled this hole in a target called "Duluth" on May 20, 2018. It was the first rock sample captured by the drill since October 2016. A mechanical issue took the drill offline in December 2016.Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, had to innovate a new way for the rover to drill in order to restore this ability. The new technique, called Feed Extended Drilling (FED) keeps the drill's bit extended out past two stabilizer posts that were originally used to steady the drill against Martian rocks. It lets Curiosity drill using the force of its robotic arm, a little more like a human would while drilling into a wall at home.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
Researchers used NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to find a water-related mineral on the ground that had been detected from orbit, and found it in the dark veneer of rocks on the rim of Endeavour Crater. | Annotated VersionClick on the image for larger versionResearchers used NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to find a water-related mineral on the ground that had been detected from orbit, and found it in the dark veneer of rocks on the rim of Endeavour Crater.This false-color view from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on Opportunity shows a dark veneer, exposed after brushing with the rover's rock abrasion tool. These finely layered rocks with dark veneers are in the "Whitewater Lake" outcrop on "Matijevic Hill" on the western rim of Endeavour. The deposits are part of the ancient Matijevic formation, which predates the Endeavour impact event. The brushed area is about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) wide. This image was taken on the 3,098th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's mission (Oct. 11, 2012). | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the southern flank of Pavonis Mons. Several faults run from the left to the right side of the image. | Context image This image shows part of the southern flank of Pavonis Mons. Several faults run from the left to the right side of the image. Lava flows, and the lava collapse features at the bottom of the image are aligned with the down hill direction (in this case from the top of the image to the bottom). Near the top of the image there are collapse features that run along the faults. The fault may have been been a location for lava tube development.Pavonis Mons is one of the three aligned Tharsis Volcanoes. The four Tharsis volcanoes are Ascreaus Mons, Pavonis Mons, Arsia Mons, and Olympus Mars. All four are shield type volcanoes. Shield volcanoes are formed by lava flows originating near or at the summit, building up layers upon layers of lava. The Hawaiian islands on Earth are shield volcanoes. The three aligned volcanoes are located along a topographic rise in the Tharsis region. Along this trend there are increased tectonic features and additional lava flows. Pavonis Mons is the smallest of the four volcanoes, rising 14km above the mean Mars surface level with a width of 375km. It has a complex summit caldera, with the smallest caldera deeper than the larger caldera. Like most shield volcanoes the surface has a low profile. In the case of Pavonis Mons the average slope is only 4 degrees.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: 15457 Latitude: -1.03884 Longitude: 246.532 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2005-06-09 00:38Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Viking Lander 2 picture from Utopia Planitia shows the first clear indication of frost accumulation on the Martian surface seen by lander cameras. The season is late winter, Sept. 13, 1977. | This Viking Lander 2 picture from Utopia Planitia shows the first clear indication of frost accumulation on the Martian surface seen by lander cameras. The picture, looking due north, was obtained with a blue filter at 12:59 p.m. local lander time, Sept. 13, 1977. The season is late winter. Frost appears as a white accumulation around the bottom of rocks, in a trench dug by the lander sampler arm, and in scattered patches on the darker surface. The shadow of the lander, including the camera (center) and the meteorology boom (left), appears in foreground. As the sun moves, the shadow is moving from left to right, exposing areas covered by frost and previously protected from the sun by the lander shadow. (Another image taken one-half hour later suggests the frost patches have become smaller.) Apparently frost, formed during the Martian night, at least partially disappears during the warmer daytime. The composition of the frost, whether carbon dioxide or water or a mixture of the two (CO2 clathrate), is not known. Measurements from the meteorology instrument indicate minimum nighttime temperatures of 160 Kelvin (-171 Fahrenheit). At the time the image was taken, the temperature had risen to 175 Kelvin (-144 Fahrenheit). The atmospheric pressure was 8.835 millibars. This combination of pressure and temperature are inconsistent with carbon dioxide frost formation, but plausible near-surface mechanisms might have resulted in conditions favorable for CO2 frost formation. Viking orbiter thermal mapping and water vapor instruments indicate temperatures might have been slightly lower than measured by the lander, suggesting that the frost is more likely CO2 than H20. A remote, but possible, explanation is that the material is an extremely bright dust deposit. Color images to be taken will be able to discount this interpretation. The mechanism for frost deposition is unknown. Possibilities include formation directly on the surface, precipitation as snow, or material blown to the area around the lander from colder regions. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Amazonis Planitia. Amazonis Planitia is host to many pedestal craters, which indicate the region has had significant erosion. | Context imageThis VIS image is located in Amazonis Planitia. Amazonis Planitia is host to many pedestal craters, which indicate the region has had significant erosion. A pedestal crater is one where the crater and inner ejecta are above the level of the surrounding plains. Impact events alter the surface by the heat and pressure of the actual impact, and the resultant crater and ejecta are often stronger than the surrounding unaltered surface. To form a pedestal crater the surrounding plains are eroded away, isolating the crater materials to form a platform above the plain surface.Orbit Number: 81203 Latitude: 12.4957 Longitude: 197.378 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-04-04 13:48Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a portion of Avernus Colles. The term 'colles' means small hills, and the surface here is being fractured into many small hills and mesas. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a portion of Avernus Colles. The term "colles" means small hills, and the surface here is being fractured into many small hills and mesas.Orbit Number: 39568 Latitude: -1.65472 Longitude: 172.974 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-11-15 07:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Subtle variations in color look like brush strokes as the lightly frosted terrain reflects light on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionMany impact craters on Mars were filled with ice in past climates. Sometimes this ice flows or slumps down the crater walls into the center and acquires concentric wrinkles as a result. This image shows an example of this.There are other ways that scientists know the material in the crater is icy. Surface cracks that form polygonal shapes cover the material in the crater. They are easy to see in this spring-time image because seasonal frost hides inside the cracks, outlining them in bright white. These cracks form because ice within the ground expands and contracts a lot as it warms and cools.Scientists can see similar cracks in icy areas of the Earth and other icy locations on Mars. If you look closely, you'll see small polygons inside larger ones. The small polygons are younger and the cracks shallower while the large ones are outlined with cracks that penetrate more deeply.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image of Olympia Undae from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft was collected early in north polar spring. The crests of the dunes are light colored, indicative of a frost covering. | Context image This VIS image of Olympia Undae was collected early in north polar spring. The crests of the dunes are light colored, indicative of a frost covering. As the season changes into summertime, the dune crests will lose the frost and reveal the darker sand beneath. The linear nature of transverse dunes can be seen at the bottom of the image. The density of dunes and the alignments of the dune crests varies with location, controlled by the amount of available sand and the predominant winds over time.Olympia Undae is a vast dune field in the north polar region of Mars. It consists of a broad sand sea or erg that partly rings the north polar cap from about 120° to 240°E longitude and 78° to 83°N latitude. The dune field covers an area of approximately 470,000 km2 (bigger than California, smaller than Texas). Olympia Undae is the largest continuous dune field on Mars. Olympia Undae is not the only dune field near the north polar cap, several other smaller fields exist in the same latitude, but in other ranges of longitude, e.g. Abolos and Siton Undae. Barchan and transverse dune forms are the most common. In regions with limited available sand individual barchan dunes will form, the surface beneath and between the dunes is visible. In regions with large sand supplies, the sand sheet covers the underlying surface, and dune forms are found modifying the surface of the sand sheet. In this case transverse dunes are more common. Barchan dunes "point" down wind, transverse dunes are more linear and form parallel to the wind direction. The "square" shaped transverse dunes in Olympia Undae are due to two prevailing wind directions.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 71,000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 10380 Latitude: 79.7273 Longitude: 176.363 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-04-17 02:00Please 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 false-color image released on May 31, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey was collected May 29, 2002 during northern spring season. The image shows an area between Isidis Basin and Syrtis Major regions on Mars. | Released 31 May 2004This image was collected May 29, 2002 during northern spring season. The local time at the image location was about 3:30 pm. The image shows an area between Isidis Basin and Syrtis Major regions.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 14, Longitude 79.1 East (28.9 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. | |
Using the navigation cameras on its mast, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took these images of clouds just after sunset on March 31, 2021. | Click here for animationUsing the navigation cameras on its mast, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took these images of clouds just after sunset on March 31, 2021, the 3,075th so, or Martian day, of the mission. These noctilucent, or twilight clouds, are made of water ice; ice crystals reflect the setting sun, allowing the detail in each cloud to be seen more easily.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This image acquired on September 24, 2018 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows a huge tongue-like form, which looks a like a mudflow with boulders on its surface. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionIn this picture we can see a huge tongue-like form, which looks a like a mudflow with boulders on its surface. This "tongue" is only a small part of a larger deposit that completely surrounds Tooting Crater (not visible in this image). This is part of what is called an "ejecta blanket." The shape and form of the deposits in the ejecta blanket can tell us about the condition of the ground when the impact crater was formed. The presence of this tongue of ejecta is interpreted as a sign that the ground was frozen before impact. The force of the impact melted ice and mixed it with rock and dust as it was thrown away from the crater. It then settled to form these tongue-like lobes all around the crater.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 57.3 centimeters [22.6 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 172 centimeters [67.7 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This stereo view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity looks upward at 'Knudsen Ridge' on the southern edge of 'Marathon Valley' from inside the valley. You need 3-D glasses to view this image. | This stereo view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity looks upward at "Knudsen Ridge" on the southern edge of "Marathon Valley" from inside the valley.The scene combines views from the left eye and right eye of Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam) to appear three dimensional when seen through blue-red glasses with the red lens on the left. It is a mosaic of Pancam frames taken on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, 2015, during the 4,182nd and 4,183rd Martian days, or sols, of the rover's work on Mars. By February 2016, the rover ascended slopes of about 30 degrees onto the flank of Knudsen Ridge.The informal name Knudsen Ridge was chosen by the Opportunity science team to honor the memory of Danish astrophysicist and planetary scientist Jens Martin Knudsen (1930-2005), a founding member of the team.Marathon Valley cuts generally east-west through the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The valley's name refers to the distance Opportunity drove from its 2004 landing site to arrival at this location in 2014. The valley was a high-priority destination for the rover mission because observations from orbit detected clay minerals there. An approximately true color version of the Knudsen Ridge scene is at PIA20318. An enhanced color version is at PIA20319.For more about Opportunity's mission, see http://mars.nasa.gov/mer. | |
This image acquired on August 29, 2022 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows two cross-cutting depressions that may have been formed by the collapse of weak terrain along pre-existing faults. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThis image shows two cross-cutting depressions that may have been formed by the collapse of weak terrain along pre-existing faults. These faults are associated with the release of volcanic material and/or liquid water.Sinuous channels are visible emanating from the large vent toward the northwest. Some of these channels transition between positive-relief and negative-relief, suggesting they were once filled with erosion-resistant material. Liquid water is known to produce similar features on Earth.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 55.6 centimeters [21.9 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 167 centimeters [65.7 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.This is a stereo pair with ESP_075923_2040.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraftshows a small portion of Kasei Valles, one of the largest channel systems on Mars. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small portion of Kasei Valles, one of the largest channel systems on Mars.Orbit Number: 44118 Latitude: 25.5464 Longitude: 300.382 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-11-24 23:19Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the canyon wall of Melas Chasma. | Context image Today's VIS image shows part of the canyon wall of Melas Chasma.Orbit Number: 65682 Latitude: -9.38343 Longitude: 289.417 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-10-04 02:52Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a long section of Reull Vallis. Reull Vallis starts in Promethei Terra and empties into Hellas Plainitia. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a long section of Reull Vallis. Reull Vallis starts in Promethei Terra and empties into Hellas Plainitia. On the floor of this channel are ridged and grooved materials that seem to deflect around obstacles. These features are proposed to be ice-rich materials similar to glaciers on Earth. Reull Vallis is 1051km (653 miles) long.Orbit Number: 84794 Latitude: -38.2433 Longitude: 111.672 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-01-25 05:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
As northern spring progresses, clouds continue to cover large portions of the north polar region. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageAs northern spring progresses, clouds continue to cover large portions of the north polar region.Orbit Number: 45009 Latitude: 73.8577 Longitude: 180.944 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-02-06 07:07Please 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 region of Alba Patera is characterized by faulting with the down-dropped block on the southeast side of the fault on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA09129 Alba PateraThis region of Alba Patera is characterized by faulting with the down-dropped block on the southeast side of the fault.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 44.8N, Longitude 249.1E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
In the center foreground, NASA's Curiosity rover's arm holds the tool turret above a target called 'Wernecke' on the 'John Klein' patch of pale-veined mudstone. | Left-eye viewRight-eye viewClick on an individual image for full resolution figures imageLeft and right eyes of the Navigation Camera (Navcam) in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took the dozens of images combined into this stereo scene of the rover and its surroundings. The component images were taken during the 166th, 168th and 169th Martian days, or sols, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Jan. 23, 25 and 26, 2013). The scene appears three dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left. It spans 360 degrees, with Mount Sharp on the southern horizon. In the center foreground, the rover's arm holds the tool turret above a target called "Wernecke" on the "John Klein" patch of pale-veined mudstone. On Sol 169, Curiosity used its dust-removing brush and Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Wernecke (see PIA16790). About two weeks later, Curiosity used its drill at a point about 1 foot (30 centimeters) to the right of Wernecke to collect the first drilled sample from the interior of a rock on Mars. This anaglyph was made with the images as captured by the Curiosity. Another version with the seams in the sky eliminated and cropped for optimal 3-D viewing can be seen at PIA16925.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 and the rover's Navcam. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the Medusa Fossae Formation located east of the Tharsis volcanoes. The materials of the formation are easily eroded by the wind | Context image for PIA10023Medusa Fossae TexturesThe Medusa Fossae Formation is located east of the Tharsis volcanoes. The material(s) of the formation are easily eroded by the wind and many different wind sculpted textures are found in images of this region.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 5.5N, Longitude 221.3E. 36 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission, was taken by instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | This image is of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was taken by instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which regularly takes images of potential landing sites for future missions.On ancient Mars, water carved channels and transported sediments to form fans and deltas within lake basins. Examination of spectral data acquired from orbit show that some of these sediments have minerals that indicate chemical alteration by water. Here in Jezero Crater delta, sediments contain clays and carbonates.The image combines information from two instruments on MRO: the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and the Context Camera (CTX). The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, led the work to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates CTX.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. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it. | |
Several landslide deposits are visible in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft of an unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria. | Context imageSeveral landslide deposits are visible in this VIS image of an unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria. The bowl shaped depressions near the top of the crater rim are where the landslides started.Orbit Number: 49355 Latitude: -36.2236 Longitude: 147.403 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-01-28 22:31 Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image acquired on July 25, 2021 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows bumpy and pitted ground in the Utopia Planitia region. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThe Utopia Planitia region contains many distinctive landscapes. The bumpy and pitted ground in this image may have formed through the eruption of either lava or mud onto the surface from deep underground.Mud volcanoes on Earth provide oases for life. If these features also formed through the eruption of mud, these landforms may hold clues to possible life-supporting oases in Mars' distant past. The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 58.8 centimeters [23.1 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 177 centimeters [69.7 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a somewhat sinuous, nearly flat-topped ridge, located in eastern Arabia Terra on Mars. | 15 December 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a somewhat sinuous, nearly flat-topped ridge, located in eastern Arabia Terra. The ridgetop was once the floor of a valley, perhaps carved by running water. The valley floor, or material that covered the floor, was more resistant to erosion than the surrounding rock into which the valley was cut. Thus, over time, the valley disappeared and its floor was left standing high as a ridge. Inverted valleys are common on Mars; they also occur on Earth.Location near: 10.8°N, 313.2°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Winter | |
This hematite abundance index map helps geologists choose hematite-rich locations to visit around NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing site. Blue dots equal areas low in hematite and red dots equal areas high in hematite. | This hematite abundance index map helps geologists choose hematite-rich locations to visit around Opportunity's landing site. Blue dots equal areas low in hematite and red dots equal areas high in hematite.Why Hematite Geologists are eager to reach the hematite-rich area in the upper left to closely examine the soil, which may reveal secrets about how the hematite got to this location. Knowing how the hematite on Mars was formed may help scientists characterize the past environment and determine whether that environment provided favorable conditions for life.The Plan Over the next few sols, engineers and scientists plan to drive Opportunity to the hematite-rich area then attempt a "pre-trench" sequence, taking measurements with the Moessbauer spectrometer, alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and microscopic imager. Next, the plan is to trench the hematite rich area by spinning one wheel in place to "dig" a shallow hole. Finally, scientists will aim the instrument arm back at the same area where it pre-trenched to get post-trench data with the same instruments to compare and contrast the levels of hematite and revel how deep the hematite lays in the dirt.Index Map Details The hematite abundance index map was created using data from the miniature thermal emission instrument. The first layer is a mosaic of panoramic camera images taken prior to egress, when Opportunity was still on the lander. The colored dots represent data collected by the miniature thermal emission spectrometer on sol 11, after Opportunity had rolled off of the lander and the rover was located at the center of the blue semi-circle.The spectrometer is located on the panoramic camera mast. On sol 11, it took a low-angle 180-degree panorama of the area in front of the rover, indicated by the blue shaded dots. The instrument then raised the angle of its field of view a few degrees higher to sweep around behind the rover, indicated by the red and yellow dots offset at the far sides of the image.JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the delta deposit on the floor of Eberswalde Crater. | Context imageAt the top of today's VIS image is the delta deposit on the floor of Eberswalde Crater. Deltas are formed when sediment laden rivers slow down — either due to a flattening of topography, or entering a standing body of water. The reduction in velocity causes the sediments to be deposited. The main channel often diverges into numerous smaller channel that spread apart to form the typical fan shape of a delta. The Eberswalde Crater delta is one of the best preserved on Mars.Orbit Number: 84562 Latitude: -23.9124 Longitude: 326.56 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-01-06 02:41Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image acquired on March 19, 2020 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows gullies in the sand dunes of Matara Crater. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionGullies in the sand dunes of Matara Crater are very active. One large gully in particular has had major changes in every Martian winter since HiRISE began monitoring, triggered by the seasonal dry ice frost that accumulates each year.This time there was an especially large change, depositing a huge mass of sand. The sand divided into many small toes near its end, or perhaps many individual flows descended near the same spot. Additionally, a long sinuous ridge of sand was deposited. This could be a "levee"_x009d_ that formed along one side of a flow, but there is not much sand past the end of the ridge, so it might also be the main body of a flow. How many changes can you see in the cutout? The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 56.0 centimeters [22.0 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 168 centimeters [66.1 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This illustration shows a concept for multiple robots that would team up to ferry to Earth samples of rocks and soil being collected from the Martian surface by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover. | This illustration shows a concept for multiple robots that would team up to ferry to Earth samples of rocks and soil being collected from the Martian surface by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover.NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are developing concepts for the Mars Sample Return program, designed to retrieve the rock and soil samples Perseverance has collected and stored in sealed tubes. In the future, the samples would be returned to Earth for detailed laboratory analysis.The current concept envisions delivering a Mars lander near Jezero Crater, where Perseverance (far left) collects samples. A NASA-provided Sample Retrieval Lander (far right) would carry a NASA rocket (the Mars Ascent Vehicle). Perseverance would gather sample tubes it has cached on the Mars surface and transport them to the Sample Retrieval Lander, where they would then be transferred by a Sample Transfer Arm provided by ESA onto the Mars Ascent Vehicle. The arm is based on a human arm, with an elbow, shoulder, and wrist. The Mars Ascent Vehicle would launch a container with the sample tubes inside into orbit. Waiting in Mars orbit would be an ESA-provided Earth Return Obiter, which would rendezvous with and capture the Orbiting Sample Container using a NASA-provided Capture, Containment, and Return System. This system would capture and orient the container, then prepare it for return to Earth inside the Earth Entry System.Also depicted is one of two Sample Recovery Helicopters NASA will develop to be transported to Mars on the Sample Retrieval Lander, just as the Ingenuity helicopter was carried on the Perseverance rover. The helicopters would serve as backups to Perseverance in transporting sample tubes to the Lander.For more information, visit: mars.nasa.gov/msr. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows several large channels emptying into the eastern Hellas Basin. These southern channels are filled with material today. Whether the material contains volitiles (like ice) is unknown. | Context imageSeveral large channels empty into eastern Hellas Basin. These southern channels are filled with material today. Whether the material contains volitiles (like ice) is unknown.Orbit Number: 42303 Latitude: -42.1409 Longitude: 105.431 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-06-28 12:03Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Mars digital-image mosaic merged with color of the MC-22 quadrangle, Mare Tyrrhenum region of Mars. This image is from NASA's Viking Orbiter 1. | Mars digital-image mosaic merged with color of the MC-22 quadrangle, Mare Tyrrhenum region of Mars. Heavily cratered highlands dominate the Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle. The central part is marked by a large shield volcano, Tyrrhena Patera, and associated ridged plains of Hesperia Planum that probably are made up of basaltic lava flows. Latitude range -30 to 0 degrees, longitude range -135 to -90 degrees. | |
This composite image, made by the SuperCam instrument aboard NASA's Perseverance rover on August 8, 2021, shows the hole in a Martian rock where the rover attempted to collect its first sample. | Click here for animationThis composite image, made from four taken by the SuperCam instrument aboard NASA's Perseverance rover on August 8, 2021, shows the hole in a Martian rock where the rover attempted to collect its first sample; the small pits within it were created by laser zaps from SuperCam during subsequent efforts to analyze the rock's composition. The rover science team has nicknamed the drill hole "Roubion." The team believes that because of this rock's unusual composition, the process of extracting a core created a significant pile of tailings (or cuttings) around the coring hole.Eight pits produced by 30 laser shots each are seen in two columns inside the drill hole. The SuperCam team's analysis suggests that the top six pits penetrated the compacted mound of tailings around the hole, while the bottom two pits in the hole interrogated material below the rock surface. Two additional laser pits can be seen in the tailings at the near side of the hole.Two vertical ridges inside the hole – one on each side of the laser pits – were produced as the drill was removed, prior to laser analysis. Some bright mineral grains can be seen as glints in the tailings and in the drill hole. A few clumps or larger pieces of material are seen at the top of the tailings pile just to the left of the hole.The SuperCam images were taken from a distance of 7.32 feet (2.23 meters). A scale bar is included in this image.An additional animation shows a series of images covering the time the distinct laser holes were made at Roubion, plus additional images through August 10, 2021, when SuperCam zapped five more overlapping, nearly horizontal holes.Perseverance landed in Mars' Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, and has been exploring the floor of the crater since. At the time these images were taken, Perseverance was in an area nicknamed the "Crater Floor Fractured Rough" area. SuperCam is led by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where the instrument's Body Unit was developed. That part of the instrument includes several spectrometers as well as control electronics and software.The Mast Unit, including the Remote Microscopic Imager used for these images, was developed and built by several laboratories of the CNRS (the French research center) and French universities under the contracting authority of Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES, the French space agency).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 in Southern California built and manages operations of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover for NASA.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ and nasa.gov/perseverance | |
This image of Perseverance's backshell and parachute was collected by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight on April 19, 2022. | This image of Perseverance's backshell sitting upright on the surface of Jezero Crater was collected from an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters) by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight at Mars on April 19, 2022. Engineers working on the Mars Sample Return program requested images be taken from an aerial perspective of the components because they may provide insight into the components' performance during the rover's entry, descent, and landing on Feb. 18, 2021. The tangle of cables seen streaming out from the top of the backshell, and coated with Martian dust on the surface, are high-strength suspension lines that connect the backshell to Perseverance's supersonic parachute (upper left). The backshell and parachute helped protect the rover in deep space and during its fiery descent toward the Martian surface.The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. | |
This image, acquired on April 22, 2019 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows curious chevron shapes in southeast Hellas Planitia which are the result of a complex story of dunes, lava, and wind. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThese curious chevron shapes in southeast Hellas Planitia are the result of a complex story of dunes, lava, and wind. Long ago, there were large crescent-shaped (barchan) dunes that moved across this area, and at some point, there was an eruption. The lava flowed out over the plain and around the dunes, but not over them. The lava solidified, but these dunes still stuck up like islands. However, they were still just dunes, and the wind continued to blow. Eventually, the sand piles that were the dunes migrated away, leaving these "footprints" in the lava plain. These are also called "dune casts" and record the presence of dunes that were surrounded by lava.Enterprising viewers will make the discovery that these features look conspicuously like a famous logo: and you'd be right, but it's only a coincidence.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 53.6 centimeters [21.1 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 161 centimeters [63.4 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. | |
This image shows a small portion of the floor deposits within Melas Chasmaon Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA11861Melas ChasmaThis VIS image shows a small portion of the floor deposits within Melas Chasma.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -12.8N, Longitude 288.1E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image is a polar projection mosaic of all data received as of the end of sol 2 from the right eye of the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) instrument onboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. | This image shows a polar projection mosaic of all data received as of the end of sol 2 from the right eye of the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) instrument on board the Phoenix lander. The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows windstreaks on the lava flows of Daedalia Planum. The 'tail' behind the crater indicates winds blew from east to west. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows windstreaks on the lava flows of Daedalia Planum. The "tail" behind the crater indicates winds blew from east to west.Orbit Number: 59116 Latitude: -12.3936 Longitude: 219.568 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-04-12 07:37Please 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. | |
Dark spots (left) and 'fans' appear to scribble dusty hieroglyphics on top of the Martian south polar cap in two high-resolution images from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor taken in southern spring. | Dark spots (left) and 'fans' appear to scribble dusty hieroglyphics on top of the Martian south polar cap in two high-resolution Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Orbiter Camera images taken in southern spring. Each image is about 3-kilometers wide (2-miles). | |
This image shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity along the eastern rim of 'Endurance Crater' before reaching the beginning of the 'Karatepe' area on Mars. | This cylindrical-projection view was created from navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity acquired on sol 103 (May 8, 2004). Opportunity traversed approximately 13 meters (about 43 feet) farther south along the eastern rim of "Endurance Crater" before reaching the beginning of the "Karatepe" area. Scientists believe this layered band of rock may be a good place to begin studying Endurance because it is less steep and more approachable than the rest of the crater's rocky outcrops. | |
The left portion of this image, taken by NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on July 7, 1997, shows the large rock nicknamed 'Yogi.' Portions of a petal and deflated airbag are in the foreground. | The left portion of this image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3, shows the large rock nicknamed "Yogi." Portions of a petal and deflated airbag are in the foreground. Yogi has been an object of study for rover Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument. The APXS will help Pathfinder scientists learn more about the chemical composition of that rock.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
This cylindrical projection was taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on April 28, 2004. On that sol, Opportunity sat on the rippled dunes a ways from the rim of 'Endurance Crater.' | This cylindrical-perspective projection was constructed from a sequence of images taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's navigation camera on the rover's 93rd sol on Mars. The mosaic was created from three images from the camera's left eye. The camera acquired the images at approximately 12:27 Local Solar Time, or around 8:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time on April 28, 2004. On that sol, Opportunity sat about 75 meters (246 feet) away from the rim of "Endurance Crater."See PIA05849 for 3-D view and PIA05851 for right eye view of this left eye cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
The fracture system shown in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey is on the northern margin of the Kasei Valles lowland. Fractures like this can become chaos with continued downdropping of blocks and widening fractures. | Context imageThe fracture system shown in today's VIS image is on the northern margin of the Kasei Valles lowland. Fractures like this can become chaos with continued downdropping of blocks and widening fractures.Orbit Number: 38852 Latitude: 28.2266 Longitude: 284.645 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-09-17 10:02Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a variety of dark slope streaks, formed by avalanches of dust, on the walls of a crater in southwest Amazonis on Mars. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-412, 5 July 2003On the dry, desert planet, Mars, wind is not the only contemporary geologic process that modifies the surface. Gravity also has a role to play. In regions such as Amazonis, Tharsis, and Arabia, most surfaces are covered by mantles of very fine dust. From time to time, an avalanche occurs on a dust-covered slope. This process is happening today, because changes have been observed by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) over the course if its mission, which began in September 1997. This picture shows a variety of dark slope streaks, formed by avalanches of dust, on the walls of a crater in southwest Amazonis near 7.6°N, 171.8°W. The size and shape of each slope streak, including the wide feature near the upper right, is determined by the steepness and texture of the slope on which it occurs. New slope streaks in some regions have been observed to form over periods of less than a few months to a year. This picture was taken in June 2003, and is illuminated from the lower left. The image is 2.3 km (1.4 mi) wide. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows gullies on a large slip face in the Russell Crater dune field on Mars covered with seasonal frost. | 8 May 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows gullies on a large slip face in the Russell Crater dune field. When the image was acquired, the dunes were still covered with seasonal frost.Location near: 54.7°S, 347.0°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Winter | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small section of Shalbatana Vallis. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small section of Shalbatana Vallis. Located in Xanthe Terra, Shalbatana Vallis is an outflow channel carved by massive floods of escaping groundwater whose source lies far to the south of this image. This channel, and all others in this region, drain into Chryse Planitia. Shalbatana Vallis is 1029km long (639 miles).Orbit Number: 94314 Latitude: 5.05202 Longitude: 316.721 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-03-20 02:52Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a portion of Mangala Vallis on Mars. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThis daytime IR image shows a portion of Mangala Vallis.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -6.4N, Longitude 207.5E. 124 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows several linear depressions that comprise of Amenthes Fossae. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows several linear depressions that comprise of Amenthes Fossae. These features are referred to as graben and are formed by extension of the crust and faulting. When large amounts of pressure or tension are applied to rocks on timescales that are fast enough that the rock cannot respond by deforming, the rock breaks along faults. In the case of a graben, two parallel faults are formed by extension of the crust and the rock in between the faults drops downward into the space created by the extension. Several sets of graben are visible in this THEMIS image, trending from north-northeast to south-southwest. Because the faults defining the graben are formed parallel to the direction of the applied stress, we know that extensional forces were pulling the crust apart in the west-northwest/east-southeast direction. Amenthes Fossae are located on both sides of Amenthes Planum and are 850km (528 miles) long.Orbit Number: 86797 Latitude: 5.34481 Longitude: 98.2937 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-07-09 04:08Please 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. | |
Map of Context Camera's North Polar Coverage During Checkout | In October 2006, Northern Mars is near the middle of its summer, and the continued southern movement of the sun will have two main impacts on imaging: The illumination will get worse as eventually the entire polar region will be in darkness during winter, and northern hemispheric dust storms and polar cloudiness will obscure the surface. Because now is the best time to be imaging the north polar region until 2008, the team using the Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is devoting much of its imaging resources to acquiring images of the polar region. This image shows a north polar mosaic from the orbiter's Mars Color Imager inscribed with rectangles indicating the coverage acquired by Context Camera in less than two weeks of September and October, 2006. Following conjunction (when Mars is nearly behind the sun from Earth's perspective), the team will devote as much of November as the atmosphere permits to imaging the polar region.Marked in red on this map is the footprint of the Context Camera image shown at PIA01930. | |
In this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, bizarre textures cover the surface of eastern Utopia Planitia, where there is a high probability that ground ice has played a role in the formation of this unusual landscape. | Bizarre textures cover the surface of eastern Utopia Planitia where there is a high probability that ground ice has played a role in the formation of this unusual landscape.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 view of the landscape to the north of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity acquired by the Mars Hand Lens Imager on the afternoon of the first day of landing. In the distance, the image shows the north wall and rim of Gale Crater. | This view of the landscape to the north of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity was acquired by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the afternoon of the first day after landing. (The team calls this day Sol 1, which is the first Martian day of operations; Sol 1 began on Aug. 6, 2012.)In the distance, the image shows the north wall and rim of Gale Crater. The image is murky because the MAHLI's removable dust cover is apparently coated with dust blown onto the camera during the rover's terminal descent. Images taken without the dust cover in place are expected during checkout of the robotic arm in coming weeks.The MAHLI is located on the turret at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. At the time the MAHLI Sol 1 image was acquired, the robotic arm was in its stowed position. It has been stowed since the rover was packaged for its Nov. 26, 2011, launch.The MAHLI has a transparent dust cover. This image was acquired with the dust cover closed. The cover will not be opened until more than a week after the landing.When the robotic arm, turret, and MAHLI are stowed, the MAHLI is in a position that is rotated 30 degrees relative to the rover deck. The MAHLI image shown here has been rotated to correct for that tilt, so that the sky is "up" and the ground is "down".When the robotic arm, turret, and MAHLI are stowed, the MAHLI is looking out from the front left side of the rover. This is much like the view from the driver's side of cars sold in the USA.The main purpose of Curiosity's MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site. The camera is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity. This means it can, as shown here, also obtain pictures of the Martian landscape. | |
This image taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit highlights the first patch of soil examined by the rover's microscopic imager in 2004. | This image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit highlights the first patch of soil examined by the rover's microscopic imager. The imager is located on the rover's instrument deployment device, or "arm." The rover can be seen to the right. Engineers first deployed the arm early Friday morning, Jan. 16, 2004. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the dune field near Meroe Patera. The paterae are calderas on the volcanic complex called Syrtis Major Planum. | Context image This image shows part of the dune field near Meroe Patera. High resolution imaging by other spacecraft has revealed that the dunes in this region are moving. Winds are blowing the dunes across a rough surface of regional volcanic lava flows. The paterae are calderas on the volcanic complex called Syrtis Major Planum. Dunes are found in both Nili and Meroe Paterae and in the region between the two calderas.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: 8149 Latitude: 7.17974 Longitude: 67.7955 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2003-10-16 10:14Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows light-toned ripples covering the floors of troughs in the Adamas Labyrinthus region of northern Elysium Planitia. | 8 September 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned ripples covering the floors of troughs in the Adamas Labyrinthus region of northern Elysium Planitia. The ripple crests generally run perpendicular to the trend of each trough, indicating that the dominant winds involved in shaping these ripples blow up and down, through the troughs, independent of the direction of winds that blow across the plains outside the troughs.Location near 32.7°N, 251.1°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Spring | |
This stereo anaglyph shows NASA's Mars rover Curiosity where it landed on Mars within Gale Crater, at a site now called Bradbury Landing. You need 3-D glasses to view this image. | This 3D, or stereo anaglyph, view shows NASA's Mars rover Curiosity where it landed on Mars within Gale Crater, at a site now called Bradbury Landing. The view was produced from images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as the satellite flew overhead after landing. Viewing in 3D requires the traditional red-blue glasses, with red going over the left eye.The image pairs have large stereo-convergence angles, which means that height differences in the terrain appear exaggerated; for example, the slopes look about ten times steeper than they really are. This exaggeration is useful over very flat terrain such as landing sites. The full image set for these observations can be seen at: http://uahirise.org/releases/msl-3d.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. | |
This view from NASA's Viking Orbiter 1 shows east Candor Chasma, one of the connected valleys of Valles Marineris. The Viking 1 craft landed on Mars in July of 1976. | During its examination of Mars, the Viking 1 spacecraft returned images of Valles Marineris, a huge canyon system 5,000 km long, up to 240 km wide, and 6.5 km deep, whose connected chasma or valleys may have formed from a combination of erosional collapse and structural activity. The view shows east Candor Chasma, one of the connected valleys of Valles Marineris; north toward top of frame; for scale, the impact crater in upper right corner is 15 km (9 miles) wide. The image, centered at latitude 7.5 degrees S., longitude 67.5 degrees, is a composite of Viking 1 Orbiter high-resolution (about 80 m/pixel or picture element) images in black and white and low-resolution (about 250 m/pixel) images in color. The Viking 1 craft landed on Mars in July of 1976.East Candor Chasma occupies the eastern part of the large west-northwest-trending trough of Candor Chasma. This section is about 150 km wide. East Candor Chasma is bordered on the north and south by walled cliffs, most likely faults. The walls may have been dissected by landslides forming reentrants; one area on the north wall shows what appears to be landslide debris. Both walls show spur-and-gully morphology and smooth sections. In the lower part of the image northwest-trending, linear depressions on the plateau are younger graben or fault valleys that cut the south wall.Material central to the chasma shows layering in places and has been locally eroded by the wind to form flutes and ridges. These interior layered deposits have curvilinear reentrants carved into them, and in one locale a lobe flows away from the top of the interior deposit. The lobe may be mass-wasting deposits due to collapse of older interior deposits (Lucchitta, 1996, LPSC XXVII abs., p. 779- 780); this controversial idea requires that the older layered deposits were saturated with ice, perhaps from former lakes, and that young volcanism and/or tectonism melted the ice and made the material flow. |
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