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NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 10 April 2004Marte Valles is an outflow channel system that straddles 180°W longitude between the region south of Cerberus and far northwestern Amazonis. The floor of the Marte valleys have enigmatic platy flow features that some argue are formed by lava, others suggest they are remnants of mud flows. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an island created in the middle of the main Marte Valles channel as fluid---whether lava or mud---flowed past two older meteor impact craters. The craters are located near 21.5°N, 175.3°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This 120-degree three dimensional anaglyph view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit highlights a crater approximately 70 meters (230 feet) in diameter informally named 'Lahontan.' 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | This 120-degree three dimensional anaglyph view was created from three navigation camera images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired on sol 120 (May 5, 2004). The image highlights a crater approximately 70 meters (230 feet) in diameter that scientists have informally named "Lahontan." This image also reveals a wind-ripple feature in the foreground and a distant look at the Columbia Hills on the Horizon, Spirit's planned final destination.See PIA06023 for left eye view and PIA06024 for right eye view of this 3-D cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
The ejecta pattern around this northern plains crater is termed 'butterfly' for its similarity to butterfly wings, as shown in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageThe ejecta pattern around this northern plains crater is termed "butterfly" for its similarity to butterfly wings. This type of ejecta pattern is common for oblique impacts. In this IR image the ejecta appears bright. This is because the rock ejecta is warmer than the surrounding dust covered plains.Orbit Number: 54313 Latitude: 73.298 Longitude: 126.752 Instrument: IR Captured: 2014-03-12 23:41Please 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the two craters, dubbed Swift and Voltaire, on the tiny martian moon, Deimos. | Figure 1Figure 211 August 2006One might say that today is Deimos' birthday. To celebrate, we present here the first and only Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image of this tiny moon. Deimos was discovered 129 years ago on 11 August 1877 (U.S. time, it was 12 August UTC), by U.S. astronomer Asaph Hall. It was the first of two major discoveries that he made that month; less than a week later, he found the other, inner martian satellite, Phobos. About a month before the 129th anniversary of its discovery, on 10 July 2006, Mars Global Surveyor was pointed away from the martian surface, out toward distant Deimos.Imaging the smaller of the two martian moons was the result of a combined effort between MGS engineers at Lockheed Martin Astronautics and MOC operations engineers at Malin Space Science Systems. When the picture was acquired, Deimos was about 22,985 kilometers (14,285 miles) from MGS. This results in an image of approximately 95 meters (about 312 feet) per pixel. Higher resolution images were obtained by the Viking orbiters in the 1970s-some of those pictures were so good that boulders could be resolved on the moon's surface (see figure 2). While the MOC image is at a lower resolution than the Viking data, acquiring an image of Deimos helps refine the understanding of the tiny moon's orbit and geography. The two craters, Voltaire and Swift, are presently the only craters with names on all of Deimos. Author Jonathan Swift, in his 1726 Gulliver's Travels, had coincidentally surmised that Mars has two moons. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper right. | |
Several different surface textures are evident in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. This complex region is located between Lycus Sulci to the south and Acheron Fossae to the north, all of which is just north of Olympus Mons. | Context imageSeveral different surface textures are evident in this VIS image. This complex region is located between Lycus Sulci to the south and Acheron Fossae to the north, all of which is just north of Olympus Mons. Both volcanic and tectonic processes combined to create this region.Orbit Number: 61224 Latitude: 34.2934 Longitude: 225.468 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-10-02 23:23Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Tharsis region, which includes several very large volcanoes. Olympus Mons, the largest martian volcano. | In April 2003, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) operations team completed the validation and archiving of MOC data acquired between February and July 2002. This was a period that included the end of northern winter and the start of spring in that hemisphere. This composite of MOC daily global images, acquired in early May 2002, shows what the planet looked like in early northern spring. The retreating north polar seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap is seen at the top of this view. Other white features in the image are clouds of water ice crystals in the martian atmosphere. The left half of this picture shows the Tharsis region, which includes several very large volcanoes. Olympus Mons, the largest martian volcano, is as wide as the Hawaiian Island chain is long; it is the dark, somewhat circular feature at the far left. Toward the lower right, the system of deep Valles Marineris chasms can be seen. | |
Located southwest of Olympus Mons, this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of a complex region that has undergone several geologic processes. | Context imageLocated southwest of Olympus Mons, this VIS image shows part of a complex region that has undergone several geologic processes. The hills have been modified by wind, creating narrow ridges, and then the entire region has been covered with volcanic flows from Olympus Mons.Orbit Number: 60744 Latitude: 13.4267 Longitude: 220.554 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-08-24 10:00Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the northern margin of Beatis Mensa, a large mound of material in the center of Ophir Chasma. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows the northern margin of Beatis Mensa, a large mound of material in the center of Ophir Chasma.Orbit Number: 42247 Latitude: -4.17728 Longitude: 287.975 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-06-23 21:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the margin of Mars' south polar cap with several ridges. Gullies have formed on the east side of the mesa at the bottom of the image. | Context image for PIA09168Polar RidgesThis image of the margin of the south polar cap shows several ridges. Gullies have formed on the east side of the mesa at the bottom of the image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -81.4N, Longitude 291.2E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This lower resolution image was taken to explore the extent of storm fronts near Mars' south polar region. The cloud cover is thickest in the middle of the frame as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA08021More CloudsThis lower resolution image was taken to explore the extent of storm fronts near the south polar region. The cloud cover is thickest in the middle of the frame.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -77.1N, Longitude 232.8E. 34 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 Hydaspis Chaos from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the source terrain for several outflow channels on Mars. | Collapsed terrain in Hydapsis Chaos.This is the source terrain for several outflow channels. 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.VIS Instrument. Latitude 3.2, Longitude 333.2 East. 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
Dark dunes on Mars are seen in this image as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA11925Kaiser CraterThis VIS image was collected at the same time as yesterday's infrared image. In the visible wavelengths the dunes are dark, in IR they are bright (warm).Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -47.0N, Longitude 19.4E. 20 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This is a sub-section of the 'geometrically improved, color enhanced' version of the 360-degree panorama heretofore known as the 'Gallery Pan,' taken by NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder over the course of Sols 8, 9, and 10. Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | This is a sub-section of the "geometrically improved, color enhanced" version of the 360-degree panorama heretofore known as the "Gallery Pan," the first contiguous, uniform panorama taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) over the course of Sols 8, 9, and 10. Different regions were imaged at different times over the three Martian days to acquire consistent lighting and shadow conditions for all areas of the panorama.The IMP is a stereo imaging system that, in its fully deployed configuration, stands 1.8 meters above the Martian surface, and has a resolution of two millimeters at a range of two meters. In this geometrically improved version of the panorama, distortion due to a 2.5 degree tilt in the IMP camera mast has been removed, effectively flattening the horizon.The IMP has color capability provided by 24 selectable filters -- twelve filters per "eye." Its red, green, and blue filters were used to take this image. The color was digitally balanced according to the color transmittance capability of a high-resolution TV at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and is dependent on that device. In this color enhanced version of the panorama, detail in surface features are brought out via changes to saturation and intensity, holding the original hue constant. A threshold was applied to avoid changes to the sky.At left is a Lander petal and a metallic mast which is a portion of the low-gain antenna. Misregistration in the antenna and other Lander features is due to parallax in the extreme foreground. Another Lander petal is at the right, showing the fully deployed forward ramp.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
This view shows grains of sand where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover was driven into a shallow sand sheet near a large dune. The disturbance by the wheel exposed interior material of the sand body, including finer sand grains than on the undisturbed surface. | This view shows grains of sand where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover was driven into a shallow sand sheet near a large dune. The disturbance by the wheel exposed interior material of the sand body, including finer sand grains than on the undisturbed surface. Sunlight is coming from the left.The scene covers an area 1.3 inches by 1.0 inch (3.3 by 2.5 centimeters). This is a focus-merge product from Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), combining multiple images taken at different focus settings to yield sharper focus at varying distances from the lens. The component images were taken on Dec. 3, 2015, during the 1,182nd Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars.MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a short section of channel between two craters in Terra Sabaea. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a short section of channel between two craters in Terra Sabaea. One crater is outside the image area at the upper left of the image. The channel appears to stop in the center of the image, which is the location of the rim of the second crater.Orbit Number: 64018 Latitude: 29.7122 Longitude: 68.385 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-05-20 01:27Please 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. | |
The eastern rim of this unnamed crater in Southern Arabia Terra, imaged by NASA's Mars Odyssey, is very degraded, indicating that it's an ancient crater that's been subjected to erosion and bombardment from impactors such as asteroids and comets. | (Released 3 May 2002)The ScienceThe eastern rim of this unnamed crater in Southern Arabia Terra is very degraded (beaten up). This indicates that this crater is very ancient and has been subjected to erosion and subsequent bombardment from other impactors such as asteroids and comets. One of these later (younger) craters is seen in the upper right of this image superimposed upon the older crater rim material. Note that this smaller younger crater rim is sharper and more intact than the older crater rim. This region is also mantled with a blanket of dust. This dust mantle causes the underlying topography to take on a more subdued appearance.The StoryWhen you think of Arabia, you probably think of hot deserts and a lot of profitable oil reserves. On Mars, however, Southern Arabia Terra is a cold place of cratered terrain. This almost frothy-looking image is the badly battered edge of an ancient crater, which has suffered both erosion and bombardment from asteroids, comets, or other impacting bodies over the long course of its existence. A blanket of dust has also settled over the region, which gives the otherwise rugged landscape a soft and more subdued appearance.The small, round crater (upper left) seems almost gemlike in its setting against the larger crater ring. But this companionship is no easy romance. Whatever formed the small crater clearly whammed into the larger crater rim at some point, obliterating part of its edge. You can tell the small crater was formed after the first and more devastating impact, because it is laid over the other larger crater. How much younger is the small one? Well, its rim is also much sharper and more intact, which gives a sense that it is probably far more youthful than the very degraded, ancient crater. | |
These dust devil tracks are located in the region surrounding Hooke Crater on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA03052Dust Devil TracksThese dust devil tracks are located in the region surrounding Hooke Crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 46.6S, Longitude 316.1E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image, part of an images as art series from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on Feb 10, 2004 shows sunlight reflecting off martian dunes giving a very aquatic feel to this area, like waves washing up on the beach. | Released 10 February 2004Humanity is a very visual species. We rely on our eyes to tell us what is going on in the world around us. Put any image in front of a person and that person will examine the picture looking for anything familiar. Even if the examiner has no idea what he/she is looking at in a picture, he/she will still be able to make a statement about the picture, usually preceded by the words "it looks like..." The image above is part of the surface of Mars, but is presented for its artistic value rather than its scientific value. When first viewed, this image solicited a statement that "it looks like..." something seen in everyday life.Continuing our aquatic theme from yesterday, today's image looks more like waves washing up on the beach.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 acquired on September 29, 2018 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows many sand dunes are visible. They have an elongated crescent form and are called 'barchan dunes.' | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionIn this image many sand dunes are visible. They have an elongated crescent form and are called "barchan dunes." They are formed by the continuous action of the wind, blowing in the same direction, giving this particular shape. The orientation of these dunes tell us that the prevailing wind blows from the right to the left (east to west). The wind is continuously moving sand grains up the longer dune slope, towards the top. The small ripples on the slope are caused by this movement. When the sand grains arrive at the top, they fall down the steeper and shorter slope, which as a consequence, has no ripples. It is this gradual sand movement that causes the dunes to slowly move over time.The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 27.3 centimeters (10.7 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 54.5 centimeters (21.5 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning).] 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a springtime view of frost-covered layers revealed by an eroded scarp in the martian north polar cap. The layers are thought to consist of a mixture of dust, ice, and possibly sand. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-349, 3 May 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image is a springtime view of frost-covered layers revealed by an eroded scarp in the martian north polar cap. The layers are thought to consist of a mixture of dust, ice, and possibly sand. Some layers are known to be a source for dark sand that occurs in nearby dunes. During the summer, this surface would be considerably darker because most of the bright frost sublimes away during the spring season. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide near 85.2°N, 4.4°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the equatorial region of Mars where both the Pathfinder and Viking 1 spacecraft landed. | During the first 1500 orbits (March through August, 1999) of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mapping mission the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument has been measuring the surface brightness (albedo) of Mars. In this figure of all of the TES data acquired during that period have been combined to produce a detailed image of the Martian surface. The region shown includes the equatorial region of Mars where both the Pathfinder and Viking 1 spacecraft landed. The dark regions are areas swept free of dust by the Martian winds, whereas the brighter regions are areas of dust accumulation.These bright and dark markings are known to change over time as the Martian winds move dust and sand across the surface. The TES measurements are providing a means of tracking these changes in very precise manner. Note that the Pathfinder landing site is located near the boundary between bright and dark regions and that the landing site is located in a region of modest dust accumulation.The TES instrument was built by Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing and is operated at Arizona State University as part of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor mission. The MGS mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA and operated in conjunction with Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, CO. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows layering in the south polar cap. | Context imageThis VIS image shows layering in the south polar cap. The layers are formed over thousands of years of seasonal change, reflecting ice and dust surface deposition. Where the layers appear close to each other are steep trough sides. The steeper the slope, the closer the layers.Orbit Number: 75416 Latitude: -86.0108 Longitude: 177.703 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-12-15 00:24Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a graph illustrating that models used to predict the atmospheric entry details of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit were right on track. | This graph illustrates that models used to predict the atmospheric entry details of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit were right on track. The red curve shows the estimated change in temperature as Spirit descended through the martian atmosphere, from 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the altitude just above parachute deployment. The estimated profile was reconstructed from accelerometer and gyro readings taken by the spacecraft during its descent. This data roughly matches that of the blue curve, which represents the temperature profile predicted before landing. The predicted profile was generated from observations made at Gusev Crater on December 27, 2003, by Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark, wind-streaked plains of eastern Cerberus, located southeast of the Elysium volcanoes. The dark, diagonal lines are the Cerberus Fossae, a series of cracks where the surface of Mars has literally split open. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-423, 16 July 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the dark, wind-streaked plains of eastern Cerberus, located southeast of the Elysium volcanoes. The dark, diagonal lines are the Cerberus Fossae, a series of cracks where the surface of Mars has literally split open. This composite of red and blue MOC wide angle images was obtained in June 2003. The center of this view is located at 12.5°N, 201°W. North is up, east is to the right, and sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera is an approximate true-color rendering of the exceptional rock called 'Berry Bowl' in the 'Eagle Crater' outcrop. | This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera is an approximate true-color rendering of the exceptional rock called "Berry Bowl" in the "Eagle Crater" outcrop. The study of this "blueberry-strewn" area and the identification of hematite as the major iron-bearing element within these sphere-like grains helped scientists confirm their hypothesis that the hematite in these martian spherules was deposited in water. To separately analyze the mineralogical content of three main features within this area -- blueberries, dust and rock -- it was important that the rock abrasion tool's brush was able to rest on a relatively berry-free spot. The rock's small size and crowd of berries made the 10-minute brushing a challenge to plan and execute. The successful brushing on the target whimsically referred to as "Near Empty" on the rover's 48th sol on Mars left a dust-free impression for subsequent examination by the rover's spectrometers. No grinding was necessary on the rock because spectral data obtained on the dust-free surface were sufficient to verify that the rock's chemical composition differs significantly from the hematite-rich berries. | |
The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows plains in the northern part of Hellas Planitia. | Context image 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. Today's false color image shows plains in the northern part of Hellas Planitia.Orbit Number: 51518 Latitude: -29.4065 Longitude: 70.2082 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-07-25 22:23Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Over 500 new impact events have been detected from before-and-after images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This image shows new craters that expose shallow ice are of special interest. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionOver 500 new impact events have been detected from before-and-after images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, mostly from MRO's Context Camera, with a HiRISE followup. Those new craters that expose shallow ice are of special interest, especially at latitudes where not previously detected, to better map the ice distribution.We hope to find ice at relatively low latitudes both for understanding recent climate change and as a resource for possible future humans on Mars. This new impact, which occurred between August and December 2016 (at 42.5 degree South latitude) would provide an important constraint if ice was detected.Alas, the HiRISE color image does not indicate that ice is exposed. There is an elongated cluster of new craters (or just dark spots where the craters are too small to resolve), due to an oblique impact in which the bolide fragmented in the Martian atmosphere.The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 25.1 centimeters (9.9 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 75 centimeters (29.5 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
On Mar. 7, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity drove 35 meters (115 feet) toward 'Vostok Crater' that sol before taking images. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Figure 1Figure 2NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this 360-degree view of the rover's surroundings on the 398th martian day, or sol, of its surface mission (March 7, 2005). Opportunity drove 95 meters (312 feet) toward "Vostok Crater" that sol before taking the images. The drive was done in four steps: three "blind-drive" segments followed by a segment using the rover's autonomous navigation. This location is catalogued as Opportunity's site 49. This three-dimensional view is presented as 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 small portion of the vast lava flow field of Daedalia Planum. The flows originate at Arsia Mons, the youngest of the three Tharsis volcanoes. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a small portion of the vast lava flow field of Daedalia Planum. The flows originate at Arsia Mons, the youngest of the three Tharsis volcanoes.Orbit Number: 72493 Latitude: -20.9092 Longitude: 243.284 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-04-18 06:19Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
A western portion of Endeavour Crater is visible on the horizon of this image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on March 7, 2009. | In the left half of this view from the panoramic camera (Pancam) of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, a western portion of the rim of Endeavour Crater is visible on the horizon. In the right half, the rim of a smaller crater, farther away, appears faintly on the horizon.Opportunity's Pancam took this image on March 8, 2009, during the 1,821st Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars. The width of the image covers approximately one degree of the horizon.The part of Endeavour's rim visible here is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from where Opportunity was when the image was taken. The rover was at the same location as when its Pancam took images after a drive on Sol 1820. Opportunity remained at that location until a drive on Sol 1823.The more-distant rim to the right, part of Iazu Crater, is about 38 kilometers (24 miles) away. Iazu is south of Endeavour and about 7 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Terra Sabaea, in the region between Nili Fossae and Isidis Planitia. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Terra Sabaea, in the region between Nili Fossae and Isidis Planitia. This image is located just east of Jezero Crater, the home of the Mars 2020 rover (Perserverance) and its little helicopter buddy (Ingenuity).The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using 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 using 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.Orbit Number: 95021 Latitude: 18.3774 Longitude: 78.6869 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-05-17 08:04Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Spirit Near | Left-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA11781Right-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA11781NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera for the images assembled into this stereo, full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,802nd Martian day, or sol, (January 26, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars. South is at the center; north is at both ends.This view combines images from the left-eye and right-eye sides of the navigation camera. It appears three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left. Spirit had driven down off the low plateau called "Home Plate" on Sol 1782 (January 6, 2009) after spending 12 months on a north-facing slope on the northern edge of Home Plate. The position on the slope (at about the 9-o'clock position in this view) tilted Spirit's solar panels toward the sun, enabling the rover to generate enough electricity to survive its third Martian winter. Tracks at about the 11-o'clock position of this panorama can be seen leading back to that "Winter Haven 3" site from the Sol 1802 position about 10 meters (33 feet) away. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about one meter (40 inches).Where the receding tracks bend to the left, a circular pattern resulted from Spirit turning in place at a soil target informally named "Stapledon" after William Olaf Stapledon, a British philosopher and science-fiction author who lived from 1886 to 1950. Scientists on the rover team suspected that the soil in that area might have a high concentration of silica, resembling a high-silica soil patch discovered east of Home Plate in 2007. Bright material visible in the track furthest to the right was examined with Spirit's alpha partical X-ray spectrometer and found, indeed, to be rich in silica.The team laid plans to drive Spirit from this Sol 1802 location back up onto Home Plate, then southward for the rover's summer field season.This view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This image released on Oct 25, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows the Martian north polar cap. Streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides showing the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. | This week we will be looking at five examples of laminar wind flow on the north polar cap. On Earth, gravity-driven south polar cap winds are termed "catabatic" winds. Catabatic winds begin over the smooth expanse of the cap interior due to temperature differences between the atmosphere and the surface. Once begun, the winds sweep outward along the surface of the polar cap toward the sea. As the polar surface slopes down toward sealevel, the wind speeds increase. Catabatic wind speeds in the Antartic can reach several hundreds of miles per hour.In the images of the Martian north polar cap we can see these same type of winds. Notice the streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides, these streamers show the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. Within the trough we see turbulent clouds of dust, kicked up at the trough base as the winds slow down and enter a chaotic flow regime.The horizontal lines in these images are due to framelet overlap and lighting conditions over the bright polar cap.Image information:VIS instrument. Latitude 86.5, longitude 57.4 East (302.6 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 released on Nov 1, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows clouds and one of the many storm fronts common in the north polar region during spring and early summer on Mars' polar cap. | This image shows clouds and one of the many storm fronts common in the north polar region during spring and early summer. Note the linear nature of the clouds towards the top of the image, and the appearance of a large crater barely visible beneath the cloud cover.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 86.5, Longitude 64.5 East (295.5 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. | |
These sand dunes are a type of aeolian bedform and partly encircle the Martian North Pole in a region called Olympia Undae as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThese sand dunes are a type of aeolian bedform and partly encircle the Martian North Pole in a region called Olympia Undae.Unlike most of the sand dunes on Mars that are made of the volcanic rock basalt, these are made of a type of sulfate mineral called gypsum. Whence the sand? Well, gypsum is a mineral that can often form from the evaporation of water that has sulfur and calcium dissolved in it. This sand was probably sourced from a northern region on Mars that used to be quite wet. The boxy gridding of the dunes indicates that the wind blows in multiple directions.Note: "Aeolian" means wind-blown and "bedform" means piles of sediment shaped by a flowing fluid (liquid or gas).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 stereo mosaic of images from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows surroundings of the rover's location following an 111 meters (364 feet) drive east-northeastward on Feb. 12, 2009. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Left-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA11820Right-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA11820NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this stereo, full-circle view of the rover's surroundings just after driving 111 meters (364 feet) on the 1,797th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's surface mission (Feb. 12, 2009). North is at the center; south at both ends.This view is the right-eye member of a stereo pair presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction.Tracks from the drive recede northward across dark-toned sand ripples in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. Patches of lighter-toned bedrock are visible on the left and right sides of the image. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 1 meter (about 40 inches).This view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour crater on Aug. 9, 2011, after a trek of more than 13 miles (21 kilometers) lasting nearly three years since departing the rover's previous major destination, Victoria crater. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour crater on Aug. 9, 2011, after a trek of more than 13 miles (21 kilometers) lasting nearly three years since departing the rover's previous major destination, Victoria crater, in August 2008.After arrival, Opportunity used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to record the images combined into this mosaic view. The view scene shows the "Spirit Point" area of the rim, including a small crater, "Odyssey" on the rim, and the interior of Endeavour beyond. Endeavour crater is about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter and may expose geological records older than any Opportunity has seen in the rovers 90 months on Mars. | |
A close-up view of the rock 'Moe' in the 'Rock Garden' at the Pathfinder landing site. 'Moe' is a meter-size boulder that, as seen by NASA's Sojourner, has a relatively smooth yet pitted texture upon close examination. Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | A close-up view of the rock "Moe" in the "Rock Garden" at the Pathfinder landing site. "Moe" is a meter-size boulder that, as seen from Sojourner, has a relatively smooth yet pitted texture upon close examination. Such a texture is seen on Earth on rocks that have been abraded by wind in a process that is analogous to sand blasting. This view of Moe shows two faces on the rock, one (left side of the rock) facing north-northeast and the other (right side) facing east. These two faces are thought to have been pitted and fluted by strong, "sand"- carrying winds from the northeast.This image and PIA01564 (left eye) make up a stereo pair.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).
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera to capture this view of a dark rock the size of a toaster that may be an iron meteorite. Part of the rim of Endurance Crater is on the horizon. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera to capture this view of a dark rock that may be an iron meteorite. Part of the rim of Endurance Crater is on the horizon.The rock, about 45 centimeters (18 inches) wide from this angle, was about 31 meters (102 feet) away from Opportunity when the rover took this picture immediately after an 81-meter (266-foot) drive during the 2,363rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars.The rover science team has decided to approach the rock for a closer look, to determine whether it is an iron meteorite as suggested by the dark color, rounded texture and the way it is perched on the surface.The rock has been given the informal name "Oileán Ruaidh" (pronounced ay-lan ruah), which is the Gaelic name for an island off the coast of northwestern Ireland.The rim of Endeavor crater, still several kilometers or miles away, has been a long-term destination for Opportunity for about two years. Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004 for what was planned as a three-month mission. | |
On ancient Mars, water carved channels and transported sediments to form fans and deltas within lake basins. Spectral data acquired by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, indicate chemical alteration by water. | 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 NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars and the Context Camera. (Reference: Ehlmann et al. 2008.) | |
This image acquired on March 29, 2020 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows a pitted, blocky surface, but also more unusually, it has contorted, irregular features. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThis color HiRISE view shows a pitted, blocky surface, but also more unusually, it has contorted, irregular features.Although there are impact craters in this area, some of the features (like in the lower center of the cutout) are too irregular to be relic impact craters or river channels. One possibility is that sedimentary layers have been warped from below to create these patterns. The freezing and thawing of subsurface ice is a mechanism that could have caused this. Acidalia Planitia is part of the northern plains of Mars, at a latitude of 44 degrees north.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 63.7 centimeters [25.1 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 191 centimeters [75.2 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 mosaic image was taken with the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit to get a look underneath the rover. | This mosaic image was taken with the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit to accomplish something never intended during the design of the rover or that camera -- getting a look underneath the rover. The dark triangular shape is a rock that is either touching or nearly touching the rover's underbelly.Rover team members used Spirit's microscopic imager during the 1,990th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Aug. 8, 2009) to look beneath Spirit for only the second time since before it left Earth in 2003. They did so to get a better understanding of Spirit's predicament, with wheels embedded deeply enough in soft soil at a site called "Troy" for the rover to be at risk of getting hung up on the rock beneath the belly. The microscopic imager is designed to focus on rock or soil targets 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) away. It rides on the end of the rover's robotic arm so that it can be placed close to targets for inspection. It cannot focus on objects as far away as the rover underbelly and rocks that are visible in this image despite being out of focus. However, its position on the maneuverable arm enables positioning it for a view that none of the other cameras on the rover could get. The rover team used this technique for an initial view underneath Spirit on Sol 1925 (June 2, 2009) after trying out the technique first with an Earthbound test rover and with Spirit's twin, Opportunity. The Sol 1990 imaging viewed the rock from slightly different camera positions for improved three-dimensional understanding of its location. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft shows the Curiosity rover currently located on the Naukluft Plateau just north of the Bagnold Dune field. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionHiRISE periodically acquires images of the two working rovers on Mars, Opportunity (Mars Exploration Rover) and Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory). Although earlier pictures are generally sufficient for mapping the terrain and topography, new images allow scientists and engineers to study rover tracks and their covering with dust over time.The ability to keep track of the rovers' progress and seeing their current location on Mars in the HiRISE images is of great interest to the public. In the case of Curiosity, new images allow the tracking of active sand dunes currently in the vicinity of the rover. This dune field, informally named the " Bagnold Dunes" after the pioneering British aeolian scientist Ralph Bagnold (1896-1990), has recently been investigated by Curiosity.Curiosity is currently located on the Naukluft Plateau just north of the Bagnold Dune field. Its position was captured by HiRISE on 25 March 2016 (MSL Sol 1291. Views from the surface at this location are available here and here.) The rover is within sandstone outcrops informally named the "Stimson Formation." There are no obvious rover tracks in the HiRISE views indicating that this bedrock contains little dust that otherwise could be disturbed by the rover wheels as has been seen earlier in Curiosity's traverse.By comparing a portion of this image to an earlier view, we can see subtle changess in the margin of "Namib dune." These changes result from the wind redistributing sand, including avalanching of the Namib dune slipface, over the bright bedrock. Note that the rover is in front of the dune in the December image (see surface images here).Unannotated images: Naukluft Plateau and Bagnold dune fieldCuriosity in the Stimson FormationThe University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Richardson Crater and an unnamed crater. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Richardson Crater (top) and an unnamed crater below it. Large sand sheets cover the floor of both craters. Linear dune forms are visible on the top of each sand mound. The dunes in this image are different from crater dunes found further north, due to the amount of ice present most of the year. Richardson Crater is 89 km (55 miles) in diameter.Orbit Number: 83962 Latitude: -70.8674 Longitude: 178.498 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-11-17 17:29Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a crater with radial ejecta. This crater is located near Erebus Montes. | Context image for PIA10887Crater EjectaThis VIS image shows a crater with radial ejecta. This crater is located near Erebus Montes.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 39.9N, Longitude 187.8E. 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 from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small portion of the north polar sand sea, an immense region of sand dunes on Mars. The dunes are just starting to shed their winter frost. | Context image for PIA10818Polar DunesSpring in the northern polar region means the return of the sun. This image shows a small portion of the north polar sand sea, an immense region of sand dunes. The dunes are just starting to shed their winter frost and will darken as spring becomes summer and the dark sand is revealed.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 82.1N, Longitude 182.3E. 20 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
A cross-section of a thick sheet of underground ice is exposed at the steep slope (or scarp) that appears bright blue in this enhanced-color view from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionA cross-section of a thick sheet of underground ice is exposed at the steep slope (or scarp) that appears bright blue in this enhanced-color view from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.The view covers an area about 550 yards (500 meters) wide. Figure 1 includes a 100-meter (109-yard) scale bar. North is toward the top. The upper third of the image shows level ground that is about 140 yards (130 meters) higher in elevation than the ground in the bottom third. In between, the scarp descends sharply, exposing about 260 vertical feet (80 vertical meters) of water ice. Color is exaggerated to make differences in surface materials easier to see. The presence of exposed water ice at this site was confirmed by observation with the same orbiter's Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM).In January 2018, in the journal Science, researchers reported finding and studying eight such ice-exposing scarps in the middle latitudes of Mars. The presence of vast underground ice deposits in Mars' middle latitudes was known previously. The report of unusual sites where they are exposed provides new information about their depth and layering. It also identifies potential water resources for future Mars missions and possibilities for studying Martian climate history by examining the ice layers holding a record of past climate cycles. The ice may have been deposited as snow when the tilt of Mars' rotation axis was greater than it is now.A zoomed-out view showing more context of this site is at PIA22078. Both views are products from HiRISE observation ESP_022389_1230, made on May 7, 2011, at 56.6 degrees south latitude, 114.1 degrees east longitude. 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. | |
In 1997, NASA's Mars Pathfinder took this image of 'Shark' (upper left center), 'Half Dome' (upper right), and a small rock (right foreground) revealing textures and structures not visible in lander camera images. | This Rover image of "Shark" (upper left center), "Half Dome" (upper right), and a small rock (right foreground) reveal textures and structures not visible in lander camera images. These rocks are interpreted as conglomerates because their surfaces have rounded protrusions up to several centimeters in size. It is suggested that the protrusions are pebbles and granules.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
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 was taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor Cydonia region on Mars. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Although the resolution of the MOC wide angle cameras is too low to tell much about the geomorphology of the Cydonia region, the images from the red and blue wide angle cameras provide us with two types of information that is of interest in their own right: color and stereoscopic data. Above are a color view and a stereoscopic anaglyph rendition of Geodesy Campaign images acquired by MGS MOC in May 1999. To view the stereo image, you need red/blue "3-D" glasses. | |
This navigation camera mosiac created from images taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a dramatic view of 'Endurance Crater' on Mars. | This navigation camera mosaic, created from images taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on sols 115 and 116 (May 21 and 22, 2004) provides a dramatic view of "Endurance Crater." The rover engineering team carefully plotted the safest path into the football field-sized crater, eventually easing the rover down the slopes around sol 130 (June 12, 2004). To the upper left of the crater sits the rover's protective heatshield, which sheltered Opportunity as it passed through the martian atmosphere. The 360-degree view is presented in a vertical projection, with geometric and radiometric seam correction. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows polygons formed in ice-rich material in the north polar region of Mars. The bright surfaces in this image are covered by a thin water ice frost. | 13 February 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows polygons formed in ice-rich material in the north polar region of Mars. The bright surfaces in this image are covered by a thin water ice frost.Location near: 79.8°N, 344.8°W Image width: ~1.5 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Summer | |
The floor of Coprates Chasma contains many different geologic landforms. This image, taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, shows the effects of wind and landslides. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThe floor of Coprates Chasma contains many different geologic landforms. This VIS image shows the effects of wind and landslides.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -13.8N, Longitude 302.2E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Olympia Undae, a vast dune field in the north polar region of Mars. | Context imageThis VIS image of Olympia Undae was collected at the beginning of north polar spring. As the season changes into springtime, the dune crests still show most of the winter frosts completely covering the darker sand beneath. 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.Orbit Number: 85881 Latitude: 81.5324 Longitude: 216.986 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-04-24 18:26Please 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. | |
Small dunes are located on the floor of Darwin Crater as shown in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageThis VIS image shows some of the layered deposits in Terby Crater.Orbit Number: 42744 Latitude: -56.6804 Longitude: 341.663 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-08-03 19:28Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a portion of Tantalus Fossae. The linear features are tectonic graben. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a portion of Tantalus Fossae. The linear features are tectonic graben. Graben 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. Numerous sets of graben are visible in this THEMIS image, trending from north-northeast to south-southwest. Because the faults defining the graben are formed perpendicular to the direction of the applied stress, we know that extensional forces were pulling the crust apart in the west-northwest/east-southeast direction.The large number of graben around Alba Mons is generally believed to be the result of extensional forces associated with the uplift of the volcano. Tantalus Fossae is 2361 km (1467 miles) long.Orbit Number: 93854 Latitude: 44.7334 Longitude: 261.223 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-02-10 06:05Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small portion of the floor of Proctor Crater. The part of the crater floor is host to hundreds of dust devil tracks. | This image shows a small portion of the floor of Proctor Crater. The part of the crater floor is host to hundreds of dust devil tracks.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -48.0N, Longitude 28.9E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image shows the location of NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander and related hardware around the mission's May 25, 2008, landing site on far-northern Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | AnimationFigure 1Figure 2Click on an individual image for larger viewThis animation blinks back and forth between two images taken nearly a decade apart of NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander and related hardware around the mission's May 25, 2008, landing site on far-northern Mars. By late 2017, dust had obscured much of what was visible two months after the landing. Both images were taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The one with three patches of darker ground -- where landing events removed dust -- was taken on July 20, 2008. It is Fig. 1, an excerpt of HiRISE observation PSP_009290_2485. The one with a more even coating of pale dust throughout the area was taken on Dec. 21, 2017. It is Fig. 2, an excerpt of HiRISE observation ESP_053451_2485. Both cover an area roughly 300 meters wide at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude, and the two are closely matched in viewing and illumination geometry, from about five Martian years apart in northern hemisphere summers.The animation comparing the two images shows a number of changes between mid-2008 and late 2017. The lander (top) appears darker, and is now covered by dust. The dark spot created by the heat shield impact (right) is brighter, again due to dust deposition. The back shell and parachute (bottom) shows a darker parachute and brighter area of impact disturbance, thanks again to deposits of dust. We also see that the parachute has shifted in the wind, moving to the east.In August 2008, Phoenix completed its three-month mission studying Martian ice, soil and atmosphere. The lander worked for two additional months before reduced sunlight caused energy to become insufficient to keep the lander functioning. The solar-powered robot was not designed to survive through the dark and cold conditions of a Martian arctic winter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, led the Phoenix mission and also operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, managed the Phoenix Mars Lander Project and manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, built both the Phoenix and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. | |
The eastern wall of Shalbatana Vallis on Mars has collapsed and formed a landslide that completely covered the valley floor as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA08081Wall FailureThe eastern wall of Shalbatana Vallis has collapsed and formed a landslide that completely covered the valley floor.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 4.5N, Longitude 316.0E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Angustus Labyrinthus, a unique region near the south polar cap. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Angustus Labyrinthus, a unique region near the south polar cap. The linear ridges are believed to have formed by volcanic and tectonic forces, where magma filled fractures in the subsurface and then erosion revealed the magmatic material.Orbit Number: 73702 Latitude: -81.4308 Longitude: 293.465 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-07-26 20:12Please 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. | |
The holes seen here were created by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's rock abrasion tool. The mosaic, created on March 7, 2004, is the first of its kind of an abraded surface on Mars. | This is a mosaic of four individual frames taken by the microscopic imager that have been very carefully stitched together to reveal the entire 5-centimeter-diameter (almost 2-inch) hole left on the rock dubbed "Humphrey." The holes were created by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's rock abrasion tool. The mosaic, created on March 7, 2004, is the first of its kind of an abraded surface on Mars, and gave scientists their first ever microscopic imager view of the entire drilled area. While it is easy for the panoramic camera and the navigation cameras to fit an area this size into their field of view, the microscopic imager can only capture a portion of the ground area with each image.Scientists are interested in many of the small features on "Humphrey" uncovered by the rock abrasion tool and made visible by the microscopic imager. The sinuous veins within the rock could be evidence that water was trickling through the material while it was deep underground, whereas the dark "age spots" in the center of the hole may be crystals of the mineral olivine. | |
The rock-studded terrain NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has traversed since October 2013 appears to have accelerated the pace of wear and tear on the rover's wheels. Future drives may be charted to cross smoother ground where available. | NASA's Mars rover Curiosity captured this 360-degree view using its Navigation Camera (Navcam) after a 17-foot (5.3 meter) drive on 477th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Dec. 8, 2013).This drive brought the mission's total driving distance to 3.86 miles (4.61 kilometers). The rock-studded terrain Curiosity has traversed since October 2013 appears to have accelerated the pace of wear and tear on the rover's wheels. Future drives may be charted to cross smoother ground where available.This seam-corrected mosaic is presented in a cylindrical projection. The center of the scene faces south. North is as both ends.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.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
Textured rows on the ground in this portion of 'Perseverance Valley' are under investigation by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. | Textured rows on the ground in this portion of "Perseverance Valley" are under investigation by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, which used its Navigation Camera (Navcam) to take the component images of this downhill-looking scene.The rover took this image on Jan. 4, 2018, during the 4,958th Martian day, or sol, of its work on Mars, looking downhill from a position about one-third of the way down the valley. Perseverance Valley descends the inboard slope of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. A view on the same sol with the rover's front Hazard Avoidance Camera includes ground even closer to the rover at this site. Opportunity was still working close by as it reached the mission's Sol 5,000 (Feb. 16, 2018).In the portion of the valley seen here, soil and gravel have been shaped into a striped pattern in the foreground and partially bury outcrops visible in the midfield. The long dimensions of the stripes are approximately aligned with the downhill direction. The striped pattern resembles a type of feature on Earth (such as on Hawaii's Mauna Kea) that is caused by repeated cycles of freezing and thawing, though other possible origins are also under consideration for the pattern in Perseverance Valley.The view is spans from north on the left to east-southeast on the right. For scale, the foreground rock clump in the lower right is about 11 inches (28 centimeters) in width. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.For more information about Opportunity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rovers and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a variety of dark sand dune patterns and shapes in the north polar region of Mars. Small, aligned dunes in some cases have merged to form elongated dunes. | 9 November 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a variety of dark sand dune patterns and shapes in the north polar region of Mars. Small, aligned dunes in some cases have merged to form elongated dunes. These features are located near 76.4°N, 272.9°W. The image covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a crater on Mars infilled by a material that likely contains volatiles. The linear to swirled surface marking indicate the fill flowed as it was filling the crater interior. | As with yesterday's crater, this crater has been infilled by a material that likely contains volatiles. The linear to swirled surface marking indicate the fill flowed as it was filling the crater interior. The volatile could be ice, in which case the flow features are related to glacial action. Or the volatile could have been water, and the infilling material was mud. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 36, Longitude 46.1 East (313.9 West). 18 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This dramatic image observed by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows dark rippled bodies of sand, sometimes in the form of dunes, streaming through Ganges Chasma. The floor of the canyon is covered by hills and mesas. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis dramatic image shows dark rippled bodies of sand, sometimes in the form of dunes, streaming through Ganges Chasma. The floor of the canyon is covered by hills and mesas, perhaps remnants of chaotic terrain that formed from sudden collapse as water was withdrawn to form outflow channels.The sand moving through (generally from east to west, or upstream) interacts with the topography to make streamlined shapes. A closeup image in enhanced-color shows one hill with a dune piling up to the east.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the summit of Ascraeus Mons, one of the three large Tharsis region volcanoes. | Context imageToday's VIS image is located on the summit of Ascraeus Mons, one of the three large Tharsis region volcanoes.Orbit Number: 77470 Latitude: 11.1614 Longitude: 256.126 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-06-02 04:32Please 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. | |
Following a long drive, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this backwards glance at its tracks across the rocky martian landscape on sol 90 of its mission on April 4, 2004. | Following a long drive, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this backwards glance at its tracks across the landscape on sol 90 of its mission (April 4, 2004). The image is from Spirit's navigation camera. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity acquired this false-color image of the rim Beagle Crater July 30, 2006. The image reveals ejecta blocks near the rover and a portion of the eastern interior rim of Beagle Crater, which appears composed of jumbled. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity acquired this false-color image of the rim of the 35-meter (115-foot) diameter Beagle Crater on Martian day, or sol, 894 (July 30, 2006) using the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. At the time the rover was about 25 meters (82 feet) from Beagle Crater, looking east-southeast. The image reveals ejecta blocks near the rover, the largest of which is about 50 centimeters (20 inches) across. The image also shows a portion of the eastern interior rim of Beagle Crater, which appears composed of jumbled, angular blocks of brighter and darker outcrop rocks. The rover will drive to the rim of Beagle and acquire an extensive color panorama of the crater rim and interior in the coming sols. | |
This is the first photograph ever taken on the surface of the planet Mars. It was obtained by NASA's Viking 1 just minutes after the spacecraft landed successfully July 20, 1976. | This is the first photograph ever taken on the surface of the planet Mars. It was obtained by Viking 1 just minutes after the spacecraft landed successfully early today [July 20, 1976]. The center of the image is about 1.4 meters (five feet) from Viking Lander camera #2. We see both rocks and finely granulated material--sand or dust. Many of the small foreground rocks are flat with angular facets. Several larger rocks exhibit irregular surfaces with pits and the large rock at top left shows intersecting linear cracks. Extending from that rock toward the camera is a vertical linear dark band which may be due to a one-minute partial obscuration of the landscape due to clouds or dust intervening between the sun and the surface. Associated with several of the rocks are apparent signs of wind transport of granular material. The large rock in the center is about 10 centimeters (4 inches) across and shows three rough facets. To its lower right is a rock near a smooth portion of the Martian surface probably composed of very fine-grained material. It is possible that the rock was moved during Viking 1 descent maneuvers, revealing the finer-grained basement substratum; or that the fine-grained material has accumulated adjacent to the rock. There are a number of other furrows and depressions and places with fine-grained material elsewhere in the picture. At right is a portion of footpad #2. Small quantities of fine grained sand and dust are seen at the center of the footpad near the strut and were deposited at landing. The shadow to the left of the footpad clearly exhibits detail, due to scattering of light either from the Martian atmosphere or from the spacecraft, observable because the Martian sky scatters light into shadowed areas. | |
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew over this dune field in a region of Jezero Crater nicknamed Séítah during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021. A portion of the helicopter's landing gear can be seen at top left. | NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew over this dune field in a region of Jezero Crater nicknamed "Séítah" during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021, the 133rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. A portion of the helicopter's landing gear can be seen at top left.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages the technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science, Aeronautics Research, and Space Technology mission directorates. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. | |
Two craters east of the Hellas impact basin dominate the field of view. The craters are alike in that they have been filled in by a lot of material after they were formed. This image was captured by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft in October 2003. | Released 6 October 2003Two craters east of the Hellas impact basin dominate the field of view of this THEMIS visible image. The craters are alike in that they have been filled in by a lot of material after they were formed. There is an important difference between them, though. The northern crater in the image has a relatively smooth, flat bottom, and the infilling material looks as if it hasn't been heavily disturbed since it was emplaced. Contrast this with the interior of the second crater. The infilling material has been heavily eroded. Why did these two craters, which are so close together, experience very different erosional histories? This THEMIS image is a great example of how science data sets can sometimes cause more questions than they answer.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -31, Longitude 107.1 East (252.9 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's front hazard-avoidance camera shows the rover at its Sol 53 (March 17, 2004) location within the 'Eagle Crater' landing site. | Figure 1This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's front hazard-avoidance camera shows the rover at its Sol 53 (March 17, 2004) location within the "Eagle Crater" landing site. Dubbed "Neopolitan," this location has three different soil patches: a very light unit, a dark unit, and an airbag bounce mark. Scientists are imaging each of these units as part of a crater soil survey. They hope to better understand the origin of the soils they see in the crater and the relationship of the soils to the rocks in Opportunity ledge. This image was taken on sol 52 of Opportunity's journey (March 16, 2004).The Ice Cream TrioIn Figure 1 above, the light soil unit, seen on the left, is a microscopic imager target dubbed "Vanilla." The dark soil unit on the right is a target dubbed "Cookies 'n' Cream. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a suite of rings on the martian northern plains. Each ring marks the location of a filled and buried (or, in some cases, mostly-filled and nearly-buried) impact crater. | 9 September 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a suite of rings on the martian northern plains. Each ring marks the location of a filled and buried (or, in some cases, mostly-filled and nearly-buried) impact crater. The dark spots on some of the rings are boulders -- or clusters of smaller rocks-associated with the buried craters.Location near 68.7°N, 288.6°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Summer | |
On Nov. 26, 2018, MarCO-B, one of NASA's Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats, took another image of Mars from about 10,900 miles (17,500 kilometers) away just after NASA's InSight spacecraft landed on Mars. | MarCO-B, one of the experimental Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats, took this image of Mars from about 10,900 miles (17,500 kilometers) away just after NASA's InSight spacecraft landed on Mars on Nov. 26, 2018. MarCO-B flew by Mars with its twin, MarCO-A, to serve as communications relays for InSight as it touched down on the Red Planet around noon PST (3 p.m. EST). This image was taken at 1 p.m. PST (4 p.m. EST).A crescent Mars with its south pole in the 4 o'clock position is visible in this picture. MarCO-B's antenna reflector mirrors a portion of the illuminated part of Mars on the bottom right. The antenna feed (white rectangle with gold squares) is visible on the left. This image was taken about 50 minutes after PIA22833 and 10 seconds after PIA22832.The MarCO and InSight projects are managed for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. | |
This image acquired by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor on April 13, 1998 shows the Cydonia region on Mars. | This picture of Coprates Catena (14.7°S, 55.8°W) was obtained in the early evening of January 1, 1998 by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), shortly after the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft began its 80th orbit. The image covers a tiny fraction of the Valles Marineris canyons (that stretch over 4000 km, or 2500 miles, east-west) at very high resolution: it extends only 10 km by 12 km (6 mi by 7.5 mi) and captures features as small as 6 m (20 ft) across. Slopes descend to the north and south (upper and lower part of image, respectively) in broad, debris-filled gullies with intervening rocky spurs. Multiple rock layers, varying from a few to a few tens of meters thick, are visible in the steep slopes on the spurs and gullies. Layered rocks on Earth form from sedimentary processes (such as those that formed the layered rocks now seen in Arizona's Grand Canyon) and volcanic processes (such as layering seen in the Waimea Canyon on the island of Kauai). Both origins are possible for the Martian layered rocks seen in this image. In either case, the total thickness of the layered rocks seen in this image implies a complex and extremely active early history for geologic processes on Mars.Low-resolution Viking color images were used to "colorize" this frame. The process takes the red, green, and blue (RGB) low-resolution images and transforms them to hue (color), saturation (whether the colors are bold or pastel), and intensity (the brightness of the scene), or HSI. The high resolution grayscale image is then used to replace the low-resolution intensity image, and the images are transformed back to RGB. The colors were additionally modified to appear less saturated and more "Earth-like." This image does not represent the "true" color of Mars | |
The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this mosaic as it explored the clay-bearing unit on February 3, 2019 (Sol 2309). | The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this mosaic as it explored the "clay-bearing unit" on Feb. 3, 2019 (Sol 2309). This landscape includes the rocky landmark nicknamed "Knockfarril Hill" (center right) and the edge of Vera Rubin Ridge, which runs along the top of the scene.Made of many individual images, this mosaic includes a variety of geological features, such as several kinds of bedrock and sand. The clay-bearing unit has been an important scientific destination since before Curiosity launched. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spied a strong clay "signal" in this region, indicating that water may have played a role in its formation. On its long trek since landing in 2012, Curiosity has discovered many examples of mudstones containing clay minerals.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.Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam. A division of Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington and built the project's Curiosity rover. For more information about Curiosity, visit http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl or https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html. | |
This image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock called 'Chocolate Hills,' which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called 'Concepción.' | This image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock called "Chocolate Hills," which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called "Concepción." The rover used the tools on its robotic arm to examine the texture and composition of target areas on the rock with and without the dark coating. The rock is about the size of a loaf of bread. Initial analysis was inconclusive about whether the coating on the rock is material that melted during the impact event that dug the crater.This view is presented in approximately true color, combining three separate images taken through filters admitting wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers. Opportunity took the image during the 2,147th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Feb. 6, 2010). | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows mid-summer in the northern hemisphere of Mars, a time of enhanced heating that leads to the release of water vapor into the atmosphere. | It is mid-summer in the northern hemisphere of Mars--a time of enhanced heating that leads to the release of water vapor into the atmosphere. In the north polar region, temperature differences between bright areas of year-round ice and dark areas of sand and rock create strong winds that mix the atmosphere and create waves of clouds that swirl around the polar cap. Sometimes, as seen during the Viking mission, these winds form tight cyclones; other times, they weave an intricate pattern reflecting the turbulence of the circulation of the atmosphere.This image is the first of five that are part of an animation that shows four days of observations of a representative portion of the northern hemisphere.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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the floor of Melas Chasma, which is part of the much larger Valles Marineris. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of the floor of Melas Chasma, which is part of the much larger Valles Marineris.Orbit Number: 59126 Latitude: -12.3008 Longitude: 291.069 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-04-13 03:22Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured NASA's Mars Odyssey by of low altitude clouds perfectly illustrates how the surface topography of the polar cap controls the creation of visible clouds. | Context imageThis image of low altitude clouds perfectly illustrates how the surface topography of the polar cap controls the creation of visible clouds.Orbit Number: 40939 Latitude: -86.6024 Longitude: 96.9314 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-03-08 04:56Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows Hale Crater, a large impact crater (more than 100 kilometers) with a suite of interesting features such as active gullies, active recurring slope lineae, and extensive icy ejecta flows. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger version
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows Hale Crater, a large impact crater (more than 100 kilometers) with a suite of interesting features such as active gullies, active recurring slope lineae, and extensive icy ejecta flows. There are also exposed diverse (colorful) bedrock units.
The map project browse image above is projected at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 51.2 centimeters (20.2 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 154 centimeters (60.6 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the highlands northwest of Syrtis Major on Mars; polygonal ridges are evident. | The upper portion of this VIS image illustrates a situation where fractures have become ridges. The original fractures would have formed a polygonal pattern in the surface. Later infilling of the fractures by a material more resistant than the surrounding surface occurred, followed by erosion of the less resistant surface material. The result are the polygonal ridges seen in this image. This image was taken in the highlands northwest of Syrtis Major.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 17.5, Longitude 43 East (317 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. | |
Following the dunes eastward, we find several channels dissecting the crater rim in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. These channels may be the source of material for the sand dunes. | Context imageDuring the month of April Mars will be in conjunction relative to the Earth. This means the Sun is in the line-of-sight between Earth and Mars, and communication between the two planets is almost impossible. For conjunction, the rovers and orbiting spacecraft at Mars continue to operate, but do not send the data to Earth. This recorded data will be sent to Earth when Mars moves away from the sun and the line-of-sight between Earth and Mars is reestablished. During conjunction the THEMIS image of the day will be a visual tour of Gale Crater, the location of the newest rover Curiosity. Following the dunes eastward, we find several channels dissecting the crater rim. These channels may be the source of material for the sand dunes.Orbit Number: 10082 Latitude: -6.25873 Longitude: 137.699 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-03-23 11:40Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rock dubbed 'Diamond Jenness.' It was taken on sol 177 (July 23, 2004) after the rover first ground into the rock with its rock abrasion tool, or 'Rat.' | This microscopic imager mosaic taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rock dubbed "Diamond Jenness." It was taken on sol 177 (July 23, 2004) after the rover first ground into the rock with its rock abrasion tool, or "Rat." The rover later ground into the rock a second time. A sliced spherule, or "blueberry," is visible in the upper left corner of the hole.Opportunity has bored nearly a dozen holes into the inner walls of "Endurance Crater." On sols 177 and 178 (July 23 and July 24, 2004), the rover worked double-duty on Diamond Jenness. Surface debris and the bumpy shape of the rock resulted in a shallow and irregular hole, only about 2 millimeters (0.08 inch) deep. The final depth was not enough to remove all the bumps and leave a neat hole with a smooth floor. This extremely shallow depression was then examined by the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer.On Sol 178, Opportunity's "robotic rodent" dined on Diamond Jenness once again, grinding almost an additional 5 millimeters (about 0.2 inch). The rover then applied its Moessbauer spectrometer to the deepened hole. This double dose of Diamond Jenness enabled the science team to examine the rock at varying layers. Results from those grindings are currently being analyzed.The image mosaic is about 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows mid-summer in the northern hemisphere of Mars, a time of enhanced heating that leads to the release of water vapor into the atmosphere. | It is mid-summer in the northern hemisphere of Mars--a time of enhanced heating that leads to the release of water vapor into the atmosphere. In the north polar region, temperature differences between bright areas of year-round ice and dark areas of sand and rock create strong winds that mix the atmosphere and create waves of clouds that swirl around the polar cap. Sometimes, as seen during the Viking mission, these winds form tight cyclones; other times, they weave an intricate pattern reflecting the turbulence of the circulation of the atmosphere.This image is the fifth of five that are part of an animation that shows four days of observations of a representative portion of the northern hemisphere.Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows sedimentary rock outcrops in Aram Chaos, near Ares Vallis, Mars. Aram Chaos is an impact crater that was nearly completely filled with material, some of which is light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock. | 26 May 2005
This picture is a mosaic of two Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images of sedimentary rock outcrops in Aram Chaos, near Ares Vallis, Mars. Aram Chaos is an impact crater that was nearly completely filled with material, some of which is light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock. The MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer team detected crystalline hematite in Aram Chaos, attesting to its potential similarity to some of the rocks in Meridiani Planum, where the Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, has been operating. During April 2005, an opportunity arose to acquire a MOC narrow angle camera image that would mosaic with a previous picture, R11-02268. The figure shown here is a mosaic of that earlier image, obtained in November 2003, and the newer picture, from April 2005. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the right, and north is toward the bottom. A steep slope is seen near the top of the image. It formed in light-toned sedimentary rock, and it has shed debris to form a suite of darker-toned talus deposits. These deposits are the products of dry mass movement; the darker tone of the debris might be an indication that the material is less weathered or coarse-grained. Evident below the scarp are several light-toned yardangs, sculpted by wind. Erosion of the yardang-forming material, interpreted to be sedimentary rock, has revealed dark-toned blocks, separated by troughs. The blocks pre-date the deposition of the yardang-forming material. The presence of these broken-up blocks suggests that a chaotic terrain pattern formed in Aram Chaos long ago, before subsequent deposition of material that later became the light-toned, sedimentary rock. The geologic history recorded in Aram Chaos is no less complex than has been observed by MOC in other large craters, such as Gale. | |
Crater Edge in Terra Sirenum | This region of Mars in this image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter receives very little sunlight in the southern Mars winter, when this was taken. The bluish areas consist of frost. At the latitude of this image, frost is most likely composed of water because the temperature is not low enough for carbon dioxide condensation. The reddish regions are locations where frost has been removed, most likely by sublimation. The dark, unfrosted regions (for example, in the channel of the gully on the far right) represent the most recent activity in the gullies and are possibly a result of seasonal melting.Besides acquiring monochromatic images of 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) swath width and variable length, HiRISE can also image the central 20 percent of the swath width in color. Color images can help resolve ambiguities in image interpretation and will enable researchers to place compositional data from other experiments into more specific geologic context. HiRISE can "see" color in the visible range (the red, green, and blue portions of the spectrum) and beyond (in the near infrared), thus allowing for the detection of -- among other features -- characteristic alteration minerals that require water to form.Image TRA_000878_1410 was taken by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on Oct. 3, 2006. The complete image is centered at minus 38.9 degrees latitude, 223.7 degrees east longitude. The range to the target site was 254 kilometers (159 miles). At this distance the image scale is 51 centimeters (20 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects about 153 centimeters (60 inches) across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:38 p.m. and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 79.9 degrees, thus the sun was about 10.1 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 115.5 degrees, the season on Mars is northern summer.The full-resolution TIFF file (HiRISE number TRA_000878_1410) can be viewed or downloaded here PIA01920-hi-res.tif; the full-resolution JPEG can be viewed or downloaded here PIA01920-hi-res.jpg. [Photojournal note: due to the large sizes of the high-resolution TIFF and JPEG files, some systems may experience extremely slow downlink time while viewing or downloading these images; some systems may be incapable of handling the download entirely.] | |
This graphic maps locations of the first 14 sites where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover collected rock or soil samples for analysis by laboratory instruments inside the vehicle. | This graphic maps locations of the first 14 sites where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover collected rock or soil samples for analysis by laboratory instruments inside the vehicle. It also presents images of the drilled holes where 12 rock-powder samples were acquired. At the other two sites -- Rocknest and Gobabeb -- Curiosity scooped soil samples.The diameter of each drill hole is about 0.6 inch (1.6 centimeters), slightly smaller than a U.S. dime. The images used here are raw color, as recorded by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera. Notice the differences in color of the material at different drilling sites.The latest sample site included is "Oudam," where Curiosity drilled into mudstone of the "Murray formation" on June 4, during the 1,361th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Curiosity landed in August 2012 on the plain (named Aeolis Palus) near Mount Sharp (or Aeolis Mons).Dates when the first 11 drilled-rock samples were collected are: "John Klein" on Feb. 8, 2013 (Sol 182); "Cumberland" on May 19, 2013 (Sol 279); "Windjana" on May 5, 2014 (Sol 621); "Confidence Hills" on Sept. 24, 2014 (Sol 759); "Mojave" on Jan. 29, 2015 (Sol 882); "Telegraph Peak" on Feb. 24, 2015 (Sol 908); "Buckskin" on July 30, 2015 (Sol 1060); "Big Sky" on Sept. 29, 2015 (Sol 1119); "Greenhorn" on Oct. 18, 2015 (Sol 1137); "Lubango" on April 23, 2016 (Sol 1320); and "Okoruso" on May 5, 2016 (Sol 1332).MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. | |
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft captured this image in July 2003, showing lava has flooded this crater in Daedalia Planum on Mars. | Released 11 July 2003Lava has flooded this crater in Daedalia Planum.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -21.5, Longitude 229.7 East (130.3 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Granicus Valles. | Context image This VIS image shows part of Granicus Valles. Granicus Valles is just one of several long channels found on the western margin of the Elysium Volcanic Complex.Orbit Number: 68618 Latitude: 28.2962 Longitude: 130.732 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-06-03 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. | |
On Nov. 1, 2016, the High Resolution Imaging Science ExperNASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed the impact site of Europe's Schiaparelli test lander, gaining the first color view of the site since the lander's Oct. 19, 2016, arrival. | On Nov. 1, 2016, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed the impact site of Europe's Schiaparelli test lander, gaining the first color view of the site since the lander's Oct. 19, 2016, arrival. These cutouts from the observation cover three locations where parts of the spacecraft reached the ground: the lander module itself in the upper portion, the parachute and back shell at lower left, and the heat shield at lower right. The heat shield location was outside of the area covered in color. The scale bar of 10 meters (32.8 feet) applies to all three cutouts. Schiaparelli was one component of the European Space Agency's ExoMars 2016 project, which placed the Trace Gas Orbiter into orbit around Mars on the same arrival date. The ExoMars project received data from Schiaparelli during its descent through the atmosphere. ESA reports that the heat shield separated as planned, the parachute deployed as planned but was released (with back shell) prematurely, and the lander hit the ground at a velocity of more than 180 miles per hour (more than 300 kilometers per hour).Information gained from the Nov. 1 observation supplements what was learned from an Oct. 25 HiRISE observation, at PIA21131, which also shows the locations of these three cutouts relative to each other.Where the lander module struck the ground, dark radial patterns that extend from a dark spot are interpreted as "ejecta," or material thrown outward from the impact, which may have excavated a shallow crater. From the earlier image, it was not clear whether the relatively bright pixels and clusters of pixels scattered around the lander module's impact site are fragments of the module or image noise. Now it is clear that at least the four brightest spots near the impact are not noise. These bright spots are in the same location in the two images and have a white color, unusual for this region of Mars. The module may have broken up at impact, and some fragments might have been thrown outward like impact ejecta. The parachute has a different shape in the Nov. 1 image than in the Oct. 25 one, apparently from shifting in the wind. Similar shifting was observed in the parachute of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission during the first six months after the Mars arrival of that mission's Curiosity rover in 2012 [PIA16813]. At lower right are several bright features surrounded by dark radial impact patterns, located where the heat shield was expected to impact. The bright spots appear identical in the Nov. 1 and Oct. 25 images, which were taken from different angles, so these spots are now interpreted as bright material, such as insulation layers, not glinting reflections. 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 from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows linear depressions, called graben, are part of Sirenum Fossae. | Context imageThe linear depressions in this VIS image are part of Sirenum Fossae. These depressions are called graben, which form by the down drop of material between two parallel faults. The faults are caused by tectonic stresses in the region.Orbit Number: 74908 Latitude: -29.8729 Longitude: 211.936 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-11-03 03:55Please 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 topography map illustrates where NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander was targeted to land on May 25, 2008, based on expectations as of noon pacific time (3 p.m. eastern time), May 24, 2008. | This topography map illustrates where NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is targeted to land on May 25, 2008, based on expectations as of noon pacific time (3 p.m. eastern time), May 24, 2008. Phoenix is most likely to land at the cross-shaped target at the center of the red ellipse and least likely to land at the ellipse's edges. The ellipse is positioned over the northern arctic plains of Mars, and is approximately 70 kilometers (44 miles) long. The topography data was taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. It shows exaggerated differences in the height of the terrain.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. | |
Marathon Valley' on Mars opens northeastward to a view across the floor of Endeavour Crater in this 3-D stereo scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. | "Marathon Valley" on Mars opens northeastward in this stereo scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The image combines views from the left eye and right eye of the Pancam to appear three-dimensional when seen through blue-red glasses with the red lens on the left. The component images were taken during the period April 16 through May 15, 2016, corresponding to sols (Martian days) 4,347 through 4,375 of Opportunity's work on Mars. The vista spans from north, at the left, to west-southwest, at the right. The high point in the right half of the scene is "Knudsen Ridge," which forms part of the southern edge of Marathon Valley. The fractured texture of Marathon Valley's floor is visible in the foreground.The rover team calls this image the mission's "Sacagawea Panorama," for the Lemhi Shoshone woman, also commemorated on U.S. dollar coins, whose assistance to the Lewis and Clark expedition helped enable its successes in 1804-1806. Many rocks and other features in Marathon Valley were informally named for members of Lewis and Clark's "Corps of Discovery" expedition.Opportunity entered Marathon Valley in July 2015. The valley's informal name was chosen because Opportunity's arrival at this point along the western rim of Endeavour Crater coincided closely with the rover surpassing marathon-footrace distance in its total driving odometry since landing on Mars in January 2004. The team's planned investigations in the valley were nearing completion when the component images for this scene were taken. JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about Spirit and Opportunity, visit http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov.Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA20751_full.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows a small channel emptying into a deeper crater to the west. | Context imageThis small channel empties into a deeper crater to the west.Orbit Number: 36977 Latitude: 33.9889 Longitude: 17.7561 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-04-16 00:42Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
North Polar Layered Deposits in Summer | The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this image during its first day of test imaging from the spacecraft's low-altitude mapping orbit, Sept. 29, 2006.This image of Mars' north polar layered deposits was taken during the summer season (solar longitude of 113.6 degrees), when carbon dioxide frost had evaporated from the surface. The bright spots seen here are most likely patches of water frost, but the location of the frost patches does not appear to be controlled by topography. Layers are visible at the bottom of the image, mostly due to difference in slope between them. The variations in slope are probably caused by differences in the physical properties of the layers. Thinner layers that have previously been observed in these deposits are visible, and may represent annual deposition of water ice and dust that is thought to form the polar layered deposits. These deposits are thought to record global climate variations on Mars, similar to ice ages on Earth. HiRISE images such as this should allow Mars' climate record to be inferred and compared with climate changes on Earth.Image TRA_000825_2665 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on September 29, 2006. Shown here is the full image, centered at 86.5 degree latitude, 172.0 degrees east longitude. The image is oriented such that north is to the top. The range to the target site was 298.9 kilometers (186.8 miles). At this distance the image scale is 59.8 centimeters (23.5 inches) per pixel (with two-by-two binning} so objects about 1.79 meters (70 inches) across are resolved. In total the original image was 12.2 kilometers 7.58 mile; 10024 pixels) wide and 6.1 kilometers (3.79 miles; 5000 pixels) long. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:30 PM and the scene is illuminated from the southwest with a solar incidence angle of 63.5 degrees, thus the sun was about 26.5 degrees above the horizon.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. | |
This segment of the first color image from the panoramic camera onboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's airbag trails. These depressions in the soil were made when the airbags were deflated and retracted after landing. | This segment of the first color image from the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's airbag trails. These depressions in the soil were made when the airbags were deflated and retracted after landing. | |
NASA's Perseverance took a selfie looking down at one of 10 tubes the rover deposited at the sample depot it created in an area within Jezero Crater nicknamed Three Forks. This image was taken on Jan. 22, 2023. | Figure AClick here for animationNASA's Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with several of the 10 sample tubes it deposited at a sample depot it is creating within an area of Jezero Crater nicknamed "Three Forks." The image was taken by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera on the end of the rover's robotic arm on Jan. 22, 2023, the 684th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.The ninth tube dropped during the construction of the depot, containing the sample the science team refers to as "Atsah," can be seen in front of the rover. Other sample tubes are visible in the background. In an animated GIF, the rover looks down at the "Atsah" sample then back at the camera.The selfie is composed of 59 individual WATSON images that were stitched together once they were sent back to Earth. The Curiosity rover takes similar selfies using a camera on its robotic arm; videos explaining how the rovers take their selfies can be found here.
Figure A is version of the selfie in which the rover is looking down at the sample.The depot marks a crucial milestone in the NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return campaign that aims to bring Mars samples to Earth for closer study. The depot will serve as a backup if Perseverance can't deliver its samples to a future robotic lander.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.WATSON was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) in San Diego and is operated jointly by MSSS and JPL.For more about Perseverance:mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/nasa.gov/perseverance | |
Remarkable variations in the erosion of the Medusae Fossae Formation are shown in this scene from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. In this region, the surface has been eroded by the wind into a series of linear ridges called yardangs. | (Released 16 April 2002)The ScienceThis THEMIS visible image was acquired near 11° N, 159° W (201° E) and shows examples of the remarkable variations that can be seen in the erosion of the Medusae Fossae Formation. This Formation is a soft, easily eroded deposit that extends for nearly 1,000 km along the equator of Mars. In this region, like many others throughout the Medusae Fossae Formation, the surface has been eroded by the wind into a series of linear ridges called yardangs. These ridges generally point in direction of the prevailing winds that carved them, and demonstrate the power of martian winds to erode the landscape of Mars. The easily eroded nature of the Medusae Fossae Formation suggests that it is composed of weakly cemented particles, and was most likely formed by the deposition of wind-blown dust or volcanic ash. Within this single image it is possible to see differing amounts of erosion and stripping of layers in the Medusae Fossae Formation. Near the bottom (southern) edge of the image a rock layer with a relatively smooth upper surface covers much of the image. Moving upwards (north) in the image this layer becomes more and more eroded. At first there are isolated regions where the smooth unit has been eroded to produce sets of parallel ridges and knobs. Further north these linear knobs increase in number, and only small, isolated patches of the smooth upper surface remain. Finally, at the top of the image, even the ridges have been removed, exposing the remarkably smooth top of hard, resistant layer below. This sequence of layers with differing hardness and resistance to erosion is common on Earth and on Mars, and suggests significant variations in the physical properties, composition, particle size, and/or cementation of these martian layers. As is common throughout the Medusae Fossae Formation, very few impact craters are visible, indicating that the surface exposed is relatively young, and that the process of erosion may be active today.The Story"Yardang!"Now, that may seem like a peculiar-sounding curse word, but nobody would get in trouble for using it. A yardang is one of the very cool-sounding words geologists use to describe long, irregular features like the ones seen in this image. Yardangs are grooved, furrowed ridges that form as the wind erodes away weakly cemented material in the region. Rippling across the surface, yardangs tell the story of how the powerful Martian wind carved the surface into such a gorgeous pattern over time. (Don't miss clicking on the above image to see a detailed view, in which the beauty and almost dance-like symmetry of the waving terrain pops out in highly compelling, three-dimensional texture.)It may be easy to see which way the wind blows in this area, since these streamlined features point in the direction of prevailing winds. But how can geologists understand the various kinds of terrain seen here? First, they have to study the different patterns of erosion, looking closely at how the wind has stripped off certain layers and not others.Want to be a geologist yourself? Start at the bottom of the image and scroll upward, and see how the relatively smooth, higher terrain toward the south gradually becomes more and more eroded. Moving up the image, at first you?ll see only a few, isolated regions of parallel ridges and knolls. Go a little farther north with your eyes (toward the center of the image), and you?ll see how these linear knobs really get going! Once you get to the top of the image, only patches of these grooved ridges remain, leaving an incredibly smooth, wind-scrubbed surface behind. You know this layer has to be made of pretty hard material, because it seems impervious to further erosion.Geologists studying Mars can compare these Martian yardangs to examples found on Earth, such as those in the Lut desert of Iran. Humans have even been known to use the wind as their inspiration, sculpting the shape of yardangs themselves. The famous sphynx at Giza in Egypt is thought to be a yardang that's been whittled down a little more by ancient human chiselers. | |
As crater size increases, craters become more complex. This moderate size crater contains a central peak, created by rebound of molten material just following the impact. This image was captured by NASA's Mars Odyssey on Sept. 8, 2010. | Context imageAs crater size increases, craters become more complex. This moderate size crater contains a central peak, created by rebound of molten material just following the impact.Orbit Number: 38746 Latitude: 16.0968 Longitude: 100.969 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-09-08 16:37Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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