short_caption
stringlengths 3
255
| caption
stringlengths 31
10.7k
| image_url
stringlengths 61
61
|
|---|---|---|
This image of a rock called 'Humphrey' was taken by the NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on Mars. Likely a basaltic rock, the fractures are thought to have been caused by the impact as it was hurled from the crater to its current resting place. | This image of the rock called "Humphrey" was taken by the navigational camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during its 54th sol on Mars. The rock's name was inspired by Humphries Peak - the tallest peak in Arizona and part of the San Francisco volcanic complex. Standing approximately .6 meters (about 2 feet) tall, "Humphrey" is one of the largest blocks of what scientists believe is ejected material from one of the rover's long-term targets, the crater dubbed "Bonneville." Likely a basaltic rock, the fractures in "Humphrey" are thought to have been caused by the impact as it was hurled from the crater to its current resting place. Scientists are eager to investigate ejecta rocks, as they give a glimpse of the composition of materials that lie beneath the martian surface. Spirit's engineering and science teams are preparing to brush and then grind "Humphrey" with Spirit's rock abrasion tool. The hope is to remove as much dust as possible so they can examine the coating before grinding, and then study the exposed undersurface after grinding with the cameras and the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. | |
The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Candor Chasma. | 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 Candor Chasma. The bluish tone at the top of the image may be atmospheric haze.Orbit Number: 6407 Latitude: -7.24526 Longitude: 292.303 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2003-05-25 22:52Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows dunes in the Nereidum Montes, the mountainous region surrounding the lowest portion of the Argyre Basin on Mars. | Context image for PIA10041More Argyre DunesLocated on a crater floor at one of the lowest elevations in the Argyre Basin, the dunes in this infrared image have a very odd appearance. Note how they swirl around the crater rim to the west. This smaller crater is filled by material that is also being sculpted by the wind.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -43.8N, Longitude 316.1E. 96 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera to take the images that have been combined into this stereo, 180-degree view of the rover's surroundings on Feb. 17, 2009. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Left-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA11971Right-eye view of a color stereo pair for PIA11971NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera to take the images that have been combined into this stereo, 180-degree view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,823rd Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's surface mission (Feb. 17, 2009).This view combines images from the left-eye and right-eye sides of the navigation camera. It appears three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left. The center of the view is toward the south-southwest.The rover had driven 7 meters (23 feet) eastward earlier on Sol 1823, part of maneuvering to get Spirit into a favorable position for climbing onto the low plateau called "Home Plate." However, after two driving attempts with negligible progress during the following three sols, the rover team changed its strategy for getting to destinations south of Home Plate. The team decided to drive Spirit at least partway around Home Plate, instead of ascending the northern edge and taking a shorter route across the top of the plateau.Layered rocks forming part of the northern edge of Home Plate can be seen near the center of the image. Rover wheel tracks are visible at the lower edge.This view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction. | |
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed a small portion of a dark crater floor in the Tyrrhena Terra region of Mars. This is largely ancient hard bedrock that has been cratered by numerous impacts over the eons. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis enhanced-color image shows a small portion of a dark crater floor in the Tyrrhena Terra region of Mars. This is largely ancient hard bedrock that has been cratered by numerous impacts over the eons.Two other interesting geological features in Tyrrhena Terra (not pictured here): Herschel Crater and Tyrrhena Patera, one of the oldest volcanoes on Mars.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. | |
Sandstone layers with varying resistance to erosion are evident in this Martian scene recorded by the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Feb. 25, 2014, about one-quarter mile (about 400 meters) from a planned waypoint called 'the Kimberley.' | Figure AFigure BClick on an individual image for full resolution figures imageSandstone layers with varying resistance to erosion are evident in this Martian scene recorded by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. The component images were taken by the Mastcam's left-eye camera shortly before midday of the 553rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Feb. 25, 2014). The location is about one-quarter mile (about 400 meters) north-northwest of a planned waypoint called "the Kimberley," by straight-line distance, longer by driving distance.Differing degrees of resistance to erosion result in a stair-stepped pattern visible here. Steeper steps result from more resistant rock, so the flat, tan surface is a weakly resistant sandstone. The small steps to the right center are a bit more resistant, and the steeper steps near the top of the scene are even more resistant.The image has been white-balanced to show what the rocks would look like if they were on Earth. A version with superimposed scale bars is available as Figure A; the bars at different locations and orientations in the scene are labeled for lengths of 200 to 300 centimeters (79 to 118 inches). A version with raw color, as recorded by the camera under Martian lighting conditions, is available as Figure B.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Harris crater and an unnamed crater. | Context imageThis false color image shows part of Harris crater (center of image) and an unnamed crater (top of image). These craters are located north of Hellas Planitia. At the upper right part of the Harris Crater rim, there is a fan shaped form. Fans can be created by different processes. Delta deposit fans are created under water, when a river flow slows down and drops sediments from the water column. These sediments are typically fine grained silts. Deltas form over time and can take many shapes as the river changes channels. The Mississippi River delta is formed this way. Alluvial fans are created in dry climates with short fluid seasons. In this case a single stream hits a topographic opening (think ravine) and sheds the rocks and sand down hill. The alluvial fan shape is created from the single opening. Either way, fans form by the action of a fluid.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.Orbit Number: 64642 Latitude: -21.9957 Longitude: 67.2664 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-07-10 10:43Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
At the top of this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft crescent shaped dunes are visible. As the dunes approach a break in elevation the forms change to connect the crescents together forming long aligned dune forms. | Context image At the top of this VIS image crescent shaped dunes are visible. As the dunes approach a break in elevation the forms change to connect the crescents together forming long aligned dune forms.Kaiser Crater is located in the southern hemisphere in the Noachis region west of Hellas Planitia. Kaiser Crater is just one of several large craters with extensive dune fields on the crater floor. Other nearby dune filled craters are Proctor, Russell, and Rabe. Kaiser Crater is 207 km (129 miles) in diameter. The dunes are located in the southern part of the crater floor.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 71,000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 34157 Latitude: -46.9336 Longitude: 18.9272 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2009-08-26 18:49Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Siton Undae, one of the dune fields near the north polar cap. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Siton Undae, one of the dune fields near the north polar cap.Orbit Number: 54482 Latitude: 76.5319 Longitude: 297.509 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-03-26 21:27Please 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars. Surrounding much of the north polar ice cap are fields of sand dunes. | 23 January 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars. Surrounding much of the north polar ice cap are fields of sand dunes. In this case, the strongest winds responsible for the dunes blew off the polar cap (not seen here), from the north-northwest (upper left).Location near: 76.5°N, 63.7°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Summer | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark, windblown sand dunes in the caldera of Nili Patera, a volcanic crater in Syrtis Major on Mars. | 6 July 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark, windblown sand dunes in the caldera of Nili Patera, a volcanic crater in Syrtis Major. The dunes were formed by winds blowing from the northeast (upper right).Location near: 9.0°N, 292.9°WImage width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season Northern Autumn | |
The lava flows and channel in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are located on the eastern margin of Olympus Mons. | Context imageThe lava flows and channel in this VIS image are located on the eastern margin of Olympus Mons.Orbit Number: 56051 Latitude: 20.1784 Longitude: 232.331 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-08-03 00:03Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image mosaic taken by NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) shows the Sojourner rover near the large rock 'Chimp' on the afternoon of Sol 72 (September 15). Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | This image mosaic taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) shows the Sojourner rover near the large rock "Chimp" on the afternoon of Sol 72 (September 15). Prior to the acquisition of the image, Sojourner successfully traversed the terrain between Chimp and the "Rock Garden," an assemblage of large rocks to the right of this mosaic.This image and PIA01572 (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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a section of Cerberus Fossae. Cerberus Fossae are located in Elysium Planitia, southeast of the Elysium Mons volcanic complex. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a section of Cerberus Fossae. Cerberus Fossae are located in Elysium Planitia, southeast of the Elysium Mons volcanic complex. The linear features in the image 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. Two graben are visible in this THEMIS image, trending from west-northwest to east-southeast. 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 north-northeast/south-southwest direction. The Cerberus Fossae graben are sources of both channels and significant volcanic flows. The rough surface around the graben is thought to be volcanic flows. Cerberus Fossae cuts across features such as hills, indicating the relative youth of the tectonic activity.Orbit Number: 94494 Latitude: 8.856 Longitude: 163.378 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-04-03 22:36Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Chryse Chaos. Chaos forms from erosion of the surface into mesa features. With time the valleys expand creating the jumble of hills seen in the image. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of Chryse Chaos. Chaos forms from erosion of the surface into mesa features. With time the valleys expand creating the jumble of hills seen in the image. Chryse Chaos is located within the complex channel system that flows from Valles Marineris to empty into the lowlands of Chryse Planitia.Orbit Number: 94813 Latitude: 11.4804 Longitude: 320.244 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-04-30 05:00Please 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. | |
Sojourner made contact with the rock 'Yogi' in this image, along with the lander's deflated airbags, were imaged by NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on July 10, 1997.The rover's left rear wheel has driven up onto the Yogi's surface. | Sojourner has made contact with the rock "Yogi" in this image, taken with the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) at 8:45 p.m. PDT on Sol 6. The rover's left rear wheel has driven up onto the Yogi's surface in an attempt to get as close as possible to the rock's surface. Sojourner will later use its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument to conduct a study of Yogi's chemical composition.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
The appearance of the dunes in the North Polar Erg (or sand sea) changes as the seasons move from winter to summer. This summer image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the dunes totally free of frost. | Context imageThe appearance of the dunes in the North Polar Erg (or sand sea) changes as the seasons move from winter to summer. This summer image shows the dunes totally free of frost.Orbit Number: 38280 Latitude: 79.0826 Longitude: 245.52 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-08-01 07:21Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows several unnamed channels located in northern Arabia Terra. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows several unnamed channels located in northern Arabia Terra.Orbit Number: 87685 Latitude: 39.6067 Longitude: 35.4683 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-09-20 07:06Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Composed of 53 images, this mosaic looks west toward the rim of Mars' Jezero Crater on July 8, 2023, the 847th Martian day, or sol, of NASA's Perseverance rover mission. | Figure A - EnhancedFigure B - AnaglyphClick on images for larger versionsMain image - maximum resolution version, 38382 x 3493 pixels (65 MB)Figure A image - maximum resolution version, 38382 x 3493 pixels (85 MB)Figure B image - maximum resolution version, 37757 x 3453 pixels (61 MB)Composed of 53 images, this mosaic looks west toward the rim of Mars' Jezero Crater on July 8, 2023, the 847th Martian day, or sol, of NASA's Perseverance rover mission. The rover's Mastcam-Z instrument captured the images when Perseverance was about halfway through a boulder field that was 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) wide. Figure A is an enhanced-color view that exaggerates subtle color differences in the scene.Figure B shows the same mosaic, now composed of 106 images, in an anaglyph that can be viewed with red-blue 3D glasses.Arizona State University leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in the distance, near the base of Jezero Crater's river delta, in this image taken Dec. 18, 2022. | Figure ANASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter near the base of Jezero Crater's river delta in this image taken Dec. 18, 2022, the 650th day, or sol, of the mission. At the time the picture was taken, the helicopter was about 1,115 feet (340 meters) northeast of the rover.Figure A is an annotated version of the image pointing out the location of the Mars Helicopter in the distance.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. Arizona State University leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Neils Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small section of Nirgal Valles. Located in Noachis Terra, Nirgal Valles is 610km long (379 miles). | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small section of Nirgal Valles. Located in Noachis Terra, Nirgal Valles is 610km long (379 miles).Orbit Number: 83514 Latitude: -28.1171 Longitude: 319.016 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-10-11 19:46Please 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 close-up view of a target rock called 'Last Chance' was acquired by NASA's Mars rover Opportunity on March 3, 2004 of Opportunity's work on Mars. The embedded spherules evident in this image were nicknamed 'blueberries.' | This close-up view of a target rock called "Last Chance" was acquired by the microscopic imager on the arm of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on March 3, 2004, during the 39th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars. The area covered in the view is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) across.The embedded spherules evident in this image reminded researchers of berries in a muffin, so they were nicknamed "blueberries." These mineral concretions and other textures in this rock provided evidence about wet environmental conditions in the ancient past at Opportunity's landing site in the Meridiani Planum region.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. | |
This map shows a close-up look at the estimated location of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit within Gusev Crater, Mars. Measurements taken during the rover's descent by the DSN predicted its landing site to be the spot marked with a black dot. | This map shows a close-up look at the estimated location of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit within Gusev Crater, Mars. Measurements taken during the rover's descent by the Deep Space Network predicted its landing site to be the spot marked with a black dot. Later measurements taken on the ground by both the Deep Space Network and the orbiter Mars Odyssey narrowed the predicted landing site to a spot marked with a white dot. When initially choosing a landing site for the rover, engineers avoided hazardous craters outlined here in yellow and red. This map consists of data from Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor. | |
This image taken at Meridiani Planum on Jan 31, 2004 shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's now-empty lander that carried the rover 283 million miles to Meridiani Planum, Mars. | This image captured by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rear hazard-identification camera shows the now-empty lander that carried the rover 283 million miles to Meridiani Planum, Mars. Engineers received confirmation that Opportunity's six wheels successfully rolled off the lander and onto martian soil at 3:01 a.m. PST, January 31, 2004, on the seventh martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover is approximately 1 meter (3 feet) in front of the lander, facing north. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Nepenthes Mensa, the region of hills and mesas north of Terra Cimmeria. | Context imageNepenthes Mensa is the region of hills and mesas north of Terra Cimmeria. The dark blue part of the image is a region of basaltic sands.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.Orbit Number: 60735 Latitude: 3.14924 Longitude: 121.592 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-08-23 16:09Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows light-toned, sedimentary rock outcrops in the Aureum Chaos region of Mars. On the brightest and steepest slope in this scene, dry talus shed from the outcrop has formed a series of dark fans along its base. | 12 November 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned, sedimentary rock outcrops in the Aureum Chaos region of Mars. On the brightest and steepest slope in this scene, dry talus shed from the outcrop has formed a series of dark fans along its base. These outcrops are located near 3.4°S, 27.5°W. The image covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across and sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
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 second 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 graphic from NASA's Curiosity mission shows an analysis of the composition of two rocks called 'Crest' and 'Rapitan' in the 'Yellowknife Bay' area of Mars. | This graphic from NASA's Curiosity mission shows an analysis of the composition of two rocks called "Crest" and "Rapitan" in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Mars. Curiosity's Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument zapped light-colored veins in these rocks with its laser and found that they contain sulfur and hydrogen. Scientists interpret these results to mean Crest and Rapitan's light-colored veins contain hydrated calcium sulfates. These minerals could be gypsum or bassanite. On Earth, calcium sulfates like gypsum form frequently in veins when relatively dilute fluid circulates at low to moderate temperatures. The ChemCam analysis helped Curiosity mission managers decide where to use the rover's drill for the first time.The ChemCam instrument took the RMI pictures and zapped lasers on Crest on Dec. 13, 2012, or the 125th sol, or Martian day, of operations. The ChemCam instrument took the RMI pictures and zapped lasers on Rapitan on Dec. 23, 2012, or the 135th sol, or Martian day, of operations. | |
High on 'West Spur' (Left Eye) | A rock outcrop with a view of the surrounding landscape beckons NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 203 (July 29, 2004) of its journey of exploration on the red planet. This view is a mosaic of images taken by the rover's navigation camera at a position labeled as Site 80, near the top of the "West Spur" portion of the "Columbia Hills." Directly ahead are rock outcrops that scientists will examine for clues that might indicate the presence of water in the past. In the upper right-hand corner is the so-called "sea of basalt," consisting of lava flows that lapped onto the flanks of the hills. The view is toward the south. The field of view is approximately 170 degrees from right to left and is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometrical seam correction. This is the left-eye view of a stereo pair.See PIA06736 for 3-D view and PIA06738 for right eye view of this left eye cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is THEMIS ART IMAGE #69 This south polar region crater on Mars contains a mitten-shaped dune field. | Context image for PIA08541THEMIS ART #69Back by popular demand: THEMIS ART IMAGE #69 This south polar region crater contains a mitten-shaped dune field.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -68.1N, Longitude 175.6E. 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. | |
Relatively warmer daytime temperatures on Mars have allowed the biobarrier -- a shiny, protective film -- to peel away a little more from the robotic arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. | Relatively warmer daytime temperatures on Mars have allowed the biobarrier -- a shiny, protective film -- to peel away a little more from the robotic arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander.This image shows the spacecraft's robotic arm in its stowed configuration, with the biobarrier unpeeled on landing day, or Sol (Martian day) 0, and the lander's first full day on Mars, Sol 1.The "elbow" of the arm can be seen at the top center of the picture, and the biobarrier is the shiny film seen to the left of the arm.The biobarrier is an extra precaution to protect Mars from contamination with any bacteria from Earth. While the whole spacecraft was decontaminated through cleaning, filters and heat, the robotic arm was given additional protection because it is the only spacecraft part that will directly touch the ice below the surface of Mars.Before the arm was heated, it was sealed in the biobarrier, which is made of a trademarked film called Tedlar that holds up to baking like a turkey-basting bag. This ensures that any new bacterial spores that might have appeared during the final steps before launch and during the journey to Mars will not contact the robotic arm.After Phoenix landed, springs were used to pop back the barrier, giving it room to deploy.These images were taken on May 25, 2008 and May 26, 2008 by the spacecraft's Surface Stereo Imager. The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows dark dunes on Russel crater on Mars. | Context imageToday's VIS image was collected at the same time as yesterday's IR image. The dunes are dark in the VIS image, because the material is darker in color than the surrounding material.Latitude: -54.3016 Longitude: 13.1403 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-01-21 17:09Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This cylindrical image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the site within an alcove called 'Duck Bay' in the western portion of Victoria Crater taken in April, 2008. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings on the 1,506th through 1,510th Martian days, or sols, of Opportunity's mission on Mars (April 19-23, 2008). North is at the top.The site is within an alcove called "Duck Bay" in the western portion of Victoria Crater. Victoria Crater is about 800 meters (half a mile) wide. Opportunity had descended into the crater at the top of Duck Bay 7 months earlier. By the time the rover acquired this view, it had examined rock layers inside the rim.Opportunity was headed for a closer look at the base of a promontory called "Cape Verde," the cliff at about the 2-o'clock position of this image, before leaving Victoria. The face of Cape Verde is about 6 meters (20 feet) tall. Just clockwise from Cape Verde is the main bowl of Victoria Crater, with sand dunes at the bottom. A promontory called "Cabo Frio," at the southern side of Duck Bay, stands near the 6-o'clock position of the image.This view is presented as a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This NASA Mars Odyssey image shows a portion of a volcano called Alba Patera. This region has many unique valley features that at first glance look much like the patterns formed by rivers and tributaries on Earth, but are actually quite discontinuous. | (Released 22 April 2002)The ScienceThis image, centered near 46.5 N and 119.3 W (240.7 E), is on the northwestern flank of a large, broad shield volcano called Alba Patera. This region of Mars has a number of unique valley features that at first glance look dendritic much in the same pattern that rivers and tributaries form on Earth. A closer look reveals that the valleys are quite discontinuous and must form through a different process than surface runoff of liquid water that is common on Earth. A number of processes might have taken place at some point in the Martian past to form these features. Some of the broad valley features bear some resemblance to karst topography, where material is removed underground by melting or dissolving in groundwater causing the collapse of the surface above it. The long narrow valleys resemble surfaces where groundwater sapping has occurred. Sapping happens when groundwater reaches the surface and causes headward erosion, forming long valleys with fewer tributaries than is seen with valleys formed by surface water runoff. The volcano itself might have been a source of heat and energy, which played a role in producing surfaces that indicate an active groundwater system.The StoryFluid, oozing lava poured somewhat lazily over this area long ago. It happened perhaps thousands of times, over hundreds of thousands of Martian years, creating the nearly smooth, plaster-of-Paris-looking terrain seen today. (Small craters also dent the area, though they may deceive you and look like raised bumps instead. That's just a trick of the eye and the lighting - tilt your head to your left shoulder, and you should see the craters pit the surface as expected.)The lava flows came from a Martian "shield" volcano named Alba Patera. Shield volcanoes get their name from their appearance: from above, they look like large battle shields lying face up to the sky as if a giant, geological warrior had lain them down. Perhaps one did if you think of a volcano as a "geologic warrior," that is. These volcanoes aren't too fierce, however. Because of the gentle layering of lava over time, they don't stand tall and angry against the horizon, but instead have relatively gentle slopes and are spread out over large areas. (On Earth, the Hawaiian Islands are examples of shield volcanoes, but you can't see much of their expanse, since they rise almost three miles from the ocean floor before popping out above the water's surface.)What's most interesting in this picture are all of the branching features that lightly texture the terrain. The patterns may look like those caused by rivers here on Earth, but geologists say that no surface streams on Mars were responsible. That's no disappointment, however, to those who'd like to find water on Mars, because there are still intriguing water-related possibilities here.Some of the broad valley features in this image look like karsts, a terrain found on Earth in Karst, a limestone area on the Adriatic Sea in modern-day Croatia, and in other world regions including France, China, the American Midwest, Kentucky, and Florida. Karst terrain on Earth is barren land with all kinds of caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers that excavate the subsurface, causing the surface above it to collapse. So, perhaps it's like that in this region on Mars as well. Future Martian spelunkers should be excited, because most caves on Earth are in karst areas.Other suggestions of water here are some long, narrow valleys that resemble Earth surfaces where groundwater has sapped away the terrain. Sapping occurs when groundwater erodes slopes, creating valleys. Water action can be concentrated at valley heads, leading to what is called their "headward growth." That may be what has happened here on Alba Patera as well.All of these features suggest the action of liquid water, but Mars is so cold, you might wonder if any water would have to be as frozen as the world it is on. Well . . . that depends! Remember that this area is part of a volcano, and volcanoes can put out enough heat and energy below the surface to keep water warm enough to flow - if not now, then at least in the past when the volcano was more active. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows channels to the southeast of Hale crater on southern Mars. Channels associated with impact craters were once thought to be quite rare. | This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows channels to the southeast of Hale crater on southern Mars. Taken by the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, this view covers an area about 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide. Channels associated with impact craters were once thought to be quite rare. Scientists proposed a variety of unusual circumstances to explain them, such as impacts by comets or precipitation caused by the impact event. As more of Mars is photographed with high-resolution imagery, more craters surrounded by channel systems are being discovered.The channels in this HiRISE image are from Hale crater, an exceptionally well-preserved, 125-by-150-kilometer (78-by-93-mile) impact crater located on the northern rim of Mars' Argyre basin. Hale crater is roughly 170 kilometers (100 miles) to the southeast of the site seen here. The channels in this image are up to about 250 meters (820 feet) across, though most are much smaller. The channels appear to emanate directly from material ejected from Hale. They were likely formed by the impact event. The heat of the impact could have melted large amounts of subsurface ice and generated surface runoff capable of carving the channels.If a significant amount of water was released or mobilized by the Hale crater impact, larger impacts that formed during the early days of the Solar System may have been able to bring even more water to the surface of Mars. If this is true, a long-term, stable, warm and wet climate may not be required to explain the presence of such channels in the ancient Martian landscapes. This view is a portion of a HiRISE observation taken on Oct. 7, 2007, at 32.6 degrees south latitude and 320.5 degrees east longitude. The full-frame image is available at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_005609_1470. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the results of a small mass movement in a fretted terrain valley in the Coloe Fossae region of Mars. | 18 April 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the results of a small mass movement in a fretted terrain valley in the Coloe Fossae region of Mars (see upper right quarter of the image). The term, mass movement, is usually applied to landslides, although it is unclear in this case whether the landform resulted from a single, catastrophic landslide, or the slow creep of ice-rich debris.Location near: 35.3°N, 303.1°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Northern Summer | |
These images from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft show the Becquerel crater in different lights -- visible, daytime infrared and nighttime infrared. | These images from Mars Odyssey look at the Becquerel crater in different lights -- visible, daytime infrared and nighttime infrared. The daytime images (left and center) were acquired on March 28, 2002 and the nighttime image (right) was acquired on March 2, 2002, by the thermal emission imaging system aboard Mars Odyssey. Thermal infrared is the wavelength range associated with heat. Looking at the Martian surface in the infrared wavelengths allows scientists to identify and distinguish bedrock from sand or dust covered areas.The Becquerel deposit is relatively bright in the visible wavelengths. Its surface has been scoured by windblown sand to produce the ridged topography seen in the visible image, which spans an 18-kilometer (11 mile)-wide portion of the deposit. Dark sand is seen in the lower right of the visible image. This same scene in the 32-kilometer (20 mile)-wide daytime infrared image looks remarkably similar to a photographic negative of the visible image due to the effects of solar heating. Darker tones represent cooler surfaces, brighter tones are warmer ones. During the day, visibly dark surfaces heat up much more efficiently than bright surfaces. The relatively bright sediments of the mound reflect more solar energy than the darker sand, allowing the mound to stay cooler than the sand.In the nighttime infrared image, the mound and the sand are warmer than their surroundings. The dark portions of the image represent cold surfaces that are covered in dust particles. Dust does not retain heat during the cold Martian night and quickly gives up any heat received during the day. Sand particles, because they are larger than dust particles, are able to retain heat better, producing the brighter swath around the mound. The infrared image has a resolution of 100 meters (328 feet) per pixel and is 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide. The visible image has a resolution of 18 meters per pixel and is approximately 18 kilometers (11 miles) wide. The images are centered at 21.4 degrees north latitude and 351.8 degrees east longitude.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the flank of Hecates Tholus. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the flank of Hecates Tholus.Orbit Number: 2404 Latitude: 31.0148 Longitude: 149.273 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2002-06-30 12:25Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The linear graben in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are all part of Claritas Fossae. | Context imageThe linear graben in this VIS image are all part of Claritas Fossae.Orbit Number: 56737 Latitude: -38.1365 Longitude: 254.817 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-09-28 11:12Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Meandering Tracks on | This 360-degree panorama of a section of the "Columbia Hills" shows meandering, crisscrossing wheel tracks that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit left behind while using its scientific instruments to analyze a new class of rocks in Gusev Crater on Mars. Because Spirit has been experiencing a high rate of slip on the sandy, sloped terrain on this flank of "Husband Hill," scientists are directing the rover to check its progress often to avoid getting a rock stuck in one of its wheel wells. Rocks in this region are higher in phosphorus than other rocks that Spirit has examined. This view is a mosaic of frames that Spirit took with its navigation camera during the rover's 358th and 359th martian days, or sols, (Jan. 3 and 4, 2005). It is presented here in a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This false-color image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a location in of Aureum Chaos, taken during Mars' southern fall season. | 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.This false color image is located in a different part of Aureum Chaos. Compare the surface textures with yesterday's image. This image was collected during the Southern Fall season.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -4.1, Longitude 333.9 East (26.1 West). 35 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows wind, craters, and an easily eroded material have combined to produce this interesting region of features on Mars. | Context image for PIA10841THEMIS ART #96Wind, craters, and an easily eroded material have combined to produce this interesting region of features - almost looks like a scream, ala Munch!Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -8.2N, Longitude 180.9E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to capture this image of NASA's Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars. | The High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was able to capture this image of NASA's Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars. The image was taken on Feb. 19, 2021.It is a close-up version of a larger image showing several parts of the Mars 2020 mission landing system that got the rover safely on the ground, PIA24333.These close-ups of Mars 2020 hardware were processed to make them easier to see.MRO's mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, built the spacecraft. The University of Arizona provided and operates HiRISE.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
This view of Lyot Crater is a combined mapping by NASA's Project Viking with elevation information from Mars Global Surveyor showing at least one of the nine craters in the northern lowlands of Mars with exposures of hydrated minerals detected from orbit. | Figure 1Click on the image for the larger versionLyot Crater, pictured here, is one of at least nine craters in the northern lowlands of Mars with exposures of hydrated minerals detected from orbit, according to a June 25, 2010, report.These minerals, including phyllosilicates, have previously been found in thousands of small outcrops in the southern highlands of Mars, but had not previously been identified in the northern lowlands, which cover nearly half of the planet. The plentiful outcrops in the south have been interpreted as evidence that early Mars -- about 4 billion years ago -- had wet conditions necessary for producing phyllosilicates and possibly conducive to life.The exposures in some northern craters suggest these minerals are in an older layer underneath the younger surface of northern Mars and are made visible where crater-forming impacts have exposed the underlying material. The new report by John Carter of the University of Paris and co-authors in the journal Science says that the northern finds suggest the ancient, wet conditions extended globally. Their report draws upon observations by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the OMEGA spectrometer aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. Lyot spans 236 kilometers (147 miles) in diameter, centered at 50.5 degrees north latitude, 29.3 degrees east longitude. This view of the crater combines mapping by NASA's Project Viking with elevation information from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. Annotations in Figure 1 indicate where hydrated minerals have been identified in observations by CRISM and OMEGA.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory led the effort to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. The European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, operates the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission. The principal investigator for the OMEGA experiment is at the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Orsay, France. | |
Popular Landform in Cydonia Region | Click on image for larger versionHiRISE captured this image (PSP_003234_2210) of an eroded mesa made famous by its similarity to a human face in a Viking Orbiter image with much lower spatial resolution and a different lighting geometry. Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 4 April 2007Local Mars time: 3:28 PMDegrees latitude (centered): 40.7°Degrees longitude (East): 350.5°Range to target site: 299.4 km (187.1 miles)Original image scale range: 29.9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~90 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 0.3°Phase angle: 72.8°Solar incidence angle: 73°, with the Sun about 17° above the horizonSolar longitude: 213.4°, Northern AutumnNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-540, 10 November 2003This August 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows the defrosting floor of a pit in the south polar region near 71.7°S, 1.6°W. The surface exhibits an array of cracks and bands that are emphasized by frost. Some of these are polygons similar to those that form in Earth's arctic and antarctic regions by processes of freezing and thawing of ground ice. Other bands might represent exposures of layered bedrock. Whether there is ice beneath the ground that has influenced the pattern of cracks and bands is unknown. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Tharsis face of Mars in mid-April 2005. | 5 April 2005 This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 193° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 193° occurs in mid-April 2005. The picture shows the Tharsis face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn.Season: Northern Autumn/Southern Spring | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a complete cross section of Ius Chasma. Ius Chasma is at the western end of Valles Marineris. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a complete cross section of Ius Chasma. Ius Chasma is at the western end of Valles Marineris. Valles Marineris is over 4000 kilometers long, wider than the United States. Ius Chasma is almost 850 kilometers long (528 miles), 120 kilometers wide and over 8 kilometers deep. In comparison, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is about 175 kilometers long, 30 kilometers wide, and only 2 kilometers deep. The canyons of Valles Marineris were formed by extensive fracturing and pulling apart of the crust during the uplift of the vast Tharsis plateau. Landslides have enlarged the canyon walls and created deposits on the canyon floor. Weathering of the surface and influx of dust and sand have modified the canyon floor, both creating and modifying layered materials. There are many features that indicate flowing and standing water played a part in the chasma formation. The rugged floor of Ius Chasma in this image is the result of many large landslides.Orbit Number: 92413 Latitude: -6.89657 Longitude: 272.994 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-10-14 13:17Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Large fractures have formed 'steps' in this region of Tempe Terra as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey. | Context imageLarge fractures have formed 'steps' in this region of Tempe Terra.Orbit Number: 38178 Latitude: 44.4515 Longitude: 292.228 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-07-23 21:58Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows linear features called Mareotis Fossae. They are part of a huge region of graben that comprise Tempe Terra. | Context imageThe linear features in this VIS image are called Mareotis Fossae. They are part of a huge region of graben that comprise Tempe Terra. The graben of Mareotis Fossae trend to the northeast, parallel to the fossae of Alba Mons located just to the west of Tempe Terra. Graben and are formed by extension of the crust and faulting. When large amounts of pressure or tension are applied to rocks on timescales that are fast enough that the rock cannot respond by deforming, the rock breaks along faults. In the case of a graben, two parallel faults are formed by extension of the crust and the rock in between the faults drops downward into the space created by the extension. Numerous sets of graben are visible in this THEMIS image, trending from northeast to 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 northwest/southeast direction. Mareotis Fossae is 1907km long (1185 miles).Orbit Number: 94877 Latitude: 35.3184 Longitude: 270.43 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-05-05 11:36Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a slice of the floor of Russell Crater. Russell Crater is located in Noachis Terra. | Context image This image shows a slice of the floor of Russell Crater. Russell Crater is located in Noachis Terra. The spectacular dune ridge and other dune forms on the crater floor have caused extensive imaging.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69,000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 6354 Latitude: -54.6188 Longitude: 12.9816 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2003-05-21 14:24Please 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. | |
This image taken on June 4, 1998 by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows Kasei Vallis, a system of giant channels thought to have been carved by catastrophic floods that occurred more than a billion years ago. | Mars Global Surveyor's high resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) is providing scientists with a whole new way of looking at Mars. Able to see objects down to the size of automobiles and houses, results from the first year of MOC operations are suggesting that the red planet has had a complicated history that was very different from that of the only two places that geologists have visited in person: the Earth and the Moon.An example of the complexity of martian geologic history is shown by a crater in Kasei Vallis that was imaged during the 345th orbit of Mars Global Surveyor at 5:44 p.m. PDT on June 4, 1998. MOC image 34504 (above) shows a 6 kilometer (4 mile) diameter crater that was once buried by about 3 kilometers (2 miles) of martian "bedrock."Kasei Vallis, seen in this Viking 1 Orbiter mosaic, is actually a system of giant channels thought to have been carved by catastrophic floods that occurred more than a billion years ago . A similar scenario was proposed to explain the Ares Vallis channel, where Mars Pathfinder landed in July 1997.The Kasei Valles floods carved a deep and wide system of channels into the northern portion of Lunae Planum--a vast, relatively flat plain made up of layered rock that formed some time before the floods.The crater shown above (and in local context in this Viking 1 Orbiter image 226a08) was partly excavated by the Kasei Valles floods. The crater is poking out from beneath an "island" in the Kasei Valles. The mesa was created in part by the flood, and by subsequent retreat--by small landslides--of the scarp that encircles it. A "mote" or trench partly encircles the crater to the west and south. This moat formed were the turbulence of the floodwaters interacting with the obstacle represented by the crater rim eroded material in front of, and along the side, of the crater. The rim was too high for the flood to overtop, and the flood lasted too short a time for the erosion to breach the crater rim and destroy it.The crater seen here was most likely formed early in Mars history, perhaps as long as 3.5 billion years ago. Sometime after it formed by meteor impact, it was buried by the material that comprises Lunae Planum (the large plains unit of which the island appears to be part). The material composing the island is, at least in places, hard rock, since the brink of the cliff is sharp and the erosional ridges that extend down from the brink stand out in sharp relief. However, the processes that emplaced the rock were sufficiently gentle that the crater was not destroyed by that emplacement, nor by the burial. In that respect, the crater is like a giant fossil. Likewise, the process or processes that exposed the crater--the Kasei floods and retreat of the mesa scarp-- were also sufficiently "gentle" so that much of the crater's original appearance has been preserved.This exhumed crater is one of many seen by MOC during its first year of operations. This particular crater was first suspected to have been exhumed when it was seen in images from Mariner 9 in 1972. The close-up view provided by MOC confirms that the crater has emerged from beneath the mesa, and that it suffered little damage from the Kasei floods.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. | |
Although Mars' soloar cap survives each warm summer season, it is constantly changing its shape due to sublimation of carbon dioxide from steep slopes and deposition onto flat areas as seen in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThe South Polar residual cap (the part that lasts through the summer) is composed of carbon dioxide ice. Although the cap survives each warm summer season, it is constantly changing its shape due to sublimation of carbon dioxide from steep slopes and deposition onto flat areas.This observation was acquired on 23 March 2015, in the summer of Mars Year 32. The same area was imaged in another observation on 28 August 2007, (PSP_005095_0935) in the summer of Mars Year 28. You can barely recognize that this is the same area! The high-standing mesas have shrunk to about half of their size in 2007, but the low areas between mesas have filled in with new carbon dioxide material.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took this approximate true-color image on Aug. 16, 2004 to determine if a stuck pebble had jammed its rock abrasion tool. | Figure 1In the quest to determine if a pebble was jamming the rock abrasion tool on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, scientists and engineers examined this up-close, approximate true-color image of the tool. The picture was taken by the rover's panoramic camera, using filters centered at 601, 535, and 482 nanometers, at 12:47 local solar time on sol 200 (August 16, 2004).Colored spots have been drawn on this image corresponding to regions where panoramic camera reflectance spectra were acquired (see chart in Figure 1). Those regions are: the grinding wheel heads (yellow); the rock abrasion tool magnets (green); the supposed pebble (red); a sunlit portion of the aluminum rock abrasion tool housing (purple); and a shadowed portion of the rock abrasion tool housing (brown). These spectra demonstrated that the composition of the supposed pebble was clearly different from that of the sunlit and shadowed portions of the rock abrasion tool, while similar to that of the dust-coated rock abrasion tool magnets and grinding heads. This led the team to conclude that the object disabling the rock abrasion tool was indeed a martian pebble. | |
Researchers used the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover to gain this detailed view of layers in 'Vera Rubin Ridge' from just below the ridge. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionResearchers used the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover to gain this detailed view of layers in "Vera Rubin Ridge" from just below the ridge. The scene combines 70 images taken with the Mastcam's right-eye, telephoto-lens camera, on Aug. 13, 2017, during the 1,785th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. This and other Mastcam panoramas show details of the sedimentary rocks that make up the "Vera Rubin Ridge." This distinct topographic feature located on the lower slopes of Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons) is characterized by the presence of hematite, an iron-oxide mineral, which has been detected from orbit. The Mastcam images show that the rocks making up the lower part of the ridge are characterized by distinct horizontal stratification with individual rock layers of the order of several inches (tens of centimeters) thick. Scientists on the mission are using such images to determine the ancient environment these rocks were deposited in. The repeated beds indicate progressive accumulation of sediments that now make up the lower part of Mount Sharp, although from this distance it is not possible to know if they were formed by aqueous or wind-blown processes. Close-up images collected as the rover climbs the ridge will help answer this question. The stratified rocks are cross cut by veins filled with a white mineral, likely calcium sulfate, that provide evidence of later episodes of fluid flow through the rocks.The panorama has been white-balanced so that the colors of the rock materials resemble how they would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. It spans from southeast on the left to west on the right. The Sol 1785 location just north of the ridge is shown in a Sol 1782 traverse map. The ridge was informally named in early 2017 in memory of Vera Cooper Rubin (1928-2016), whose astronomical observations provided evidence for the existence of the universe's dark matter.Figure 1 is an annotated version of the scene. On it, two scale bars of 2 meters (6.6 feet) provide size information for features near the bottom of the ridge and at the highest point visible.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
This is a 3-D model of the trench excavated by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the 23rd day, or sol, of its mission. An oblique view of the trench from a bit above and to the right of the rover's right wheel is shown. | This is a 3-D model of the trench excavated by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the 23rd day, or sol, of its mission. An oblique view of the trench from a bit above and to the right of the rover's right wheel is shown. The model was generated from images acquired by the rover's front hazard-avoidance cameras. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows linear and barchan sand dunes in Chasma Boreale, a broad erosional trough in the martian north polar region. | 30 March 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows linear and barchan sand dunes in Chasma Boreale, a broad erosional trough in the martian north polar region. Winds responsible for these dunes generally blow from upper right toward the lower left. Martian dunes tend to be darker than their counterparts on Earth because they are composed of darker, iron-bearing minerals and rock fragments.Location near: 84.2°N, 37.9°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Summer | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a region of flat-topped mesas on Mars separated by valleys or troughs of similar depth and width. Valley floors are covered by a material showing thin cracks and collapse pits aligned along some of these cracks. | This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a region of flat-topped mesas separated by valleys or troughs of similar depth and width. The valley floors have been covered by a material that has subsequently developed thin cracks and collapse pits aligned along some of these cracks. A few outcrops of layered material occur in the valleys as well. The valleys probably originally formed by faulting; the origin of the mantling material is unknown. The image covers an area approximately 2.3 km (1.4 miles) wide and was acquired in May 2001. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft of Eumenides Dorsum on Mars shows erosion of the surface material by wind action. | Context imageThis image of Eumenides Dorsum shows erosion of the surface material by wind action.Orbit Number: 46256 Latitude: 0.568527 Longitude: 202.817 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-05-18 22:55Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows channels and streamlined islands, part of Hebrus Valles on Mars. | Context image for PIA10347Hebrus VallesThese channels and streamlined islands are part of Hebrus Valles.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 20.7N, Longitude 125.8E. 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 taken by the hazard avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's front wheels in stowed configuration. | This image taken by the hazard avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's front wheels in stowed configuration. | |
Gusev Rocks Solidified from Lava (False Color) | In recent weeks, as NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has driven through the basin south of "Husband Hill," it has been traversing mainly sand and dune deposits. This week, though, Spirit has been maneuvering along the edge of an arc-shaped feature called "Lorre Ridge" and has encountered some spectacular examples of basaltic rocks with striking textures. This panoramic camera (Pancam) image shows a group of boulders informally named "FuYi." These basaltic rocks were formed by volcanic processes and may be a primary constituent of Lorre Ridge and other interesting landforms in the basin.Spirit first encountered basalts at its landing site two years ago, on a vast plain covered with solidified lava that appeared to have flowed across Gusev Crater. Later, basaltic rocks became rare as Spirit climbed Husband Hill. The basaltic rocks that Spirit is now seeing are interesting because they exhibit many small holes or vesicles, similar to some kinds of volcanic rocks on Earth. Vesicular rocks form when gas bubbles are trapped in lava flows and the rock solidifies around the bubbles. When the gas escapes, it leaves holes in the rock. The quantity of gas bubbles in rocks on Husband Hill varies considerably; some rocks have none and some, such as several here at FuYi, are downright frothy.The change in textures and the location of the basalts may be signs that Spirit is driving along the edge of a lava flow. This lava may be the same as the basalt blanketing the plains of Spirit's landing site, or it may be different. The large size and frothy nature of the boulders around Lorre Ridge might indicate that eruptions once took place at the edge of the lava flow, where the lava interacted with the rocks of the basin floor. Scientists hope to learn more as Spirit continues to investigate these rocks.As Earth approaches the Chinese New Year (The Year of the Dog), the Athena science team decided to use nicknames representing Chinese culture and geography to identify rocks and features investigated by Spirit during the Chinese New Year celebration period. In ancient Chinese myth, FuYi was the first great emperor and lived in the east. He explained the theory of "Yin" and "Yang" to his people, invented the net to catch fish, was the first to use fire to cook food, and invented a musical instrument known as the "Se" to accompany his peoples' songs and dances. Other rocks and features are being informally named for Chinese gods, warriors, inventors, and scientists, as well as rivers, lakes, and mountains.Spirit took this image on the rover's Martian day, or sol, 731 (Jan. 23, 2006). This is a false-color composite combining images taken with the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. | |
This image, taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, shows a portion of the rim and floor of Gale Crater. The crater rim is dissected by a channel, and dunes are located on the floor at the rim margin. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a portion of the rim and floor of Gale Crater. The crater rim is dissected by a channel, and dunes are located on the floor at the rim margin.Orbit Number: 35863Please 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 beautiful windstreak is located on the lava flows from Arsia Mons on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA03287WindstreakThis beautiful windstreak is located on the lava flows from Arsia Mons.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -17.0N, Longitude 229.2E. 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. | |
Kasei Valles is one of the largest outflow channels on Mars. This NASA Mars Odyssey image is of the northern branch of Kasei Valles and shows the channel floor and northern channel wall. | (Released 9 May 2002)Kasei Valles (Kasei is the Japanese word for Mars) is one of the largest outflow channels on Mars. Kasei Valles stretches some 2,000 km across the face of Mars and empties into the Chryse basin. This THEMIS image is of the northern branch of Kasei Valles and shows the channel floor and northern channel wall. The plateau surface located at the top of this image is more heavily cratered than the channel floor which indicates that the plateau is older than the channel floor. The wall of the plateau has spur and gully topography present. The floor of the channel has evidence of fluvial scour including a smaller inner channel. These features were probably carved out during waning stage flow. The probable causes of Martian floods are massive releases of subsurface water/ice due to possible subsurface volcanic activity. Martian outflow channels begin at point sources (chaotic terrain and box canyons) and then flow unconfined into a basin region. | |
Rock Outcrop Under Spirit's Wheels | After months of traveling across a cratered plain, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this image of a large, continuous rock outcrop at the base of the "Columbia Hills." The image was taken on sol 189 (July 15, 2004) with the rover's rear hazard-avoidance camera. Spirit's left rear wheel is visible in the image, along with rocks that have a somewhat layered appearnce. The rover drove over this area backward on five wheels -- a new strategy that will conserve the rover's sixth, aging wheel for those times when it is needed most. Spirit is on its way to the north-facing slope of the hills, where it can look at rock outcrop in more detail, using more solar power. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark, windblown sand dunes in a crater in the Hesperia region of Mars. | 30 June 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark, windblown sand dunes in a crater in the Hesperia region of Mars. The steepest slopes on the dunes -- their slipfaces -- point toward the south-southwest, indicating that the winds responsible for the dunes blew from the north-northeast (top/upper right).Location near: 12.4°S, 236.5°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season Southern Spring | |
This image shows the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) instrument onboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. | This is a cylindrical mosaic of all data, as of the end of sol 2, from the right eye of the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) instrument on board the Phoenix lander.The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This image released on Sept 21, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows the bordering areas between Ophir Chasma and Candor Chasma on Mars. Wind etched surfaces, and dunes are present on the floor of Ophir Chasma. | The Odyssey spacecraft has taken some great pictures of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the solar system. If this canyon were on Earth, it would stretch from New York to Los Angeles. For the next several weeks, the Image of the Day will tour some of the canyons that make up this vast system. We will start with Ius Chasma in the west, and end with Coprates Chasma to the east. For more information on Vallis Marineris, please see http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mep/science/vm.html.This image shows the bordering areas between Ophir Chasma (northern half) and Candor Chasma (southern half). Wind etched surfaces, and dunes are present on the floor of Ophir Chasma.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -4.4, Longitude 286 East (74 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows light-toned, ripple-like, windblown bedforms and ridges with dark talus accumulations on their slopes in the western portion of the vast Valles Marineris trough system on Mars. | 17 October 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned, ripple-like, windblown bedforms and ridges with dark talus accumulations on their slopes in the western portion of the vast Valles Marineris trough system. These features are located near Oudemans Crater around 7.6°S, 91.2°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
This 3-D image combines computer-generated models of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit and its lander with real surface data from the rover's panoramic camera. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | This 3-D image combines computer-generated models of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit and its lander with real surface data from the rover's panoramic camera. It shows Spirit's position just after it rolled off the lander on Jan. 15, 2004. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small portion of the immense lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a small portion of the immense lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the three large aligned volcanoes in the Tharsis region. Arsia Mons' last eruption was 10s of million years ago. The different surface textures are created by differences in the lava viscosity and cooling rates. The lobate margins of each flow can be traced back to the start of each flow — or to the point where they are covered by younger flows. Flows in Daedalia Planum can be as long as 180 km (111 miles). For comparison the longest Hawaiian lava flow is only 51 km (˜31 miles) long. The total area of Daedalia Planum is 2.9 million square km – more than four times the size of Texas.Orbit Number: 90885 Latitude: -14.5451 Longitude: 243.782 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-06-10 18:34Please 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. | |
In this region of the Olympus Mons aureole, located to the southwest of the volcano, the surface has been eroded by the wind into linear landforms called yardangs, which can be seen in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | In this region of the Olympus Mons aureole, located to the SW of the volcano, the surface has been eroded by the wind into linear landforms called yardangs. These ridges generally point in direction of the prevailing winds that carved them, in this case winds from the southeast. Yardangs typically occur on surfaces that are easily erodable, such as wind-blown dust or volcanic ash. The northeast - southwest trending ridges and valleys in the northwest corner of the image are typical of the Olympus Mons aureole. The varying concentration and shape of the yardangs in this area may be controlled by the motion of winds around these topographic features.Some crater outlines are visible near the top of this image. The rims of these craters appear to have been stripped away - indicating that the wind erosion is younger than these craters. There are two round knobs in the image, one on the bottom on the right side of the image and another about midway down on the left. These may be inverted craters, formed because the impacts caused materials underneath the crater to become harder to erode than the surrounding materials.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a section of martian terrain in Indus Vallis. Indus Vallis is located in Terra Sabaea. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a section of Indus Vallis. Indus Vallis is located in Terra Sabaea.Orbit Number: 72450 Latitude: 18.8141 Longitude: 38.999 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-04-14 17:31Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This false-color image shows the area inside 'Endurance Crater' examined by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The rover is investigated the distinct layers of rock that make up this region. | This false-color image shows the area inside "Endurance Crater" that the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been examining. The rover is currently investigating the distinct layers of rock that make up this region. Each layer is defined by subtle color and texture variations and represents a separate chapter in Mars' history. The deeper the layer, the farther back in time the rocks were formed. Scientists are "reading" this history book by systematically studying each layer with the rover's scientific instruments. So far, data from the rover indicates that the top layers are sulfate-rich, like the rocks observed in "Eagle Crater." This image was taken on sol 134 (June 9, 2004) by Opportunity's panoramic camera with the 750-, 530- and 430-nanometer filters. | |
A southward-looking panorama combining images from both cameras of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows diverse geological textures on Mount Sharp. | A southward-looking panorama combining images from both cameras of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows diverse geological textures on Mount Sharp. Three years after landing on Mars, the mission is investigating this layered mountain for evidence about changes in Martian environmental conditions, from an ancient time when conditions were favorable for microbial life to the much-drier present.Gravel and sand ripples fill the foreground, typical of terrains that Curiosity traversed to reach Mount Sharp from its landing site. Outcrops in the midfield are of two types: dust-covered, smooth bedrock that forms the base of the mountain, and sandstone ridges that shed boulders as they erode. Rounded buttes in the distance contain sulfate minerals, perhaps indicating a change in the availability of water when they formed. Some of the layering patterns on higher levels of Mount Sharp in the background are tilted at different angles than others, evidence of complicated relationships still to be deciphered.The scene spans from southeastward at left to southwestward at right. The component images were taken on April 10 and 11, 2015, the 952nd and 953rd Martian days (or sols) since the rover's landing on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, UTC (Aug. 5, PDT). Images in the central part of the panorama are from Mastcam's right-eye camera, which is equipped with a 100-millimeter-focal-length telephoto lens. Images used in outer portions, including the most distant portions of the mountain in the scene, were taken with Mastcam's left-eye camera, using a wider-angle, 34-millimeter lens.A poster with annotations about some features in this image is online at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/files/mep/CuriosityPoster.pdf. Curiosity's Sol 952 location, relative to prior and subsequent drives, is mapped at http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=7400.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/.Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA19803_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. | |
Potato-size Rock in Spirit's Wheel Well | In recent days, controllers directed NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit to back up and turn to try to dislodge a potato-size rock from Spirit's right rear wheel. The rock did not present a threat -- it was sort of like having a pebble stuck in your shoe -- but the rover team was taking no chances that the rock might work its way deeper inside the rover's wheel well. The rock can be seen in the lower left side of this image, which Spirit took with its right rear hazard avoidance camera on martian day, or sol, 345 (Dec. 21, 2004). By the following day, the rock had rolled out onto the martian sand. | |
NASA's Viking 2's soil sampler collector arm successfully pushed a rock on the surface of Mars during the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 8, 1977. | Viking's soil sampler collector arm successfully pushed a rock on the surface of Mars during the afternoon of Friday, October 8. The irregular-shaped rock was pushed several inches by the Lander's collector arm, which displaced the rock to the left of its original position, leaving it cocked slightly upward. Photographs and other information verified the successful rock push. Photo at left shows the soil sampler's collector head pushing against the rock, named 'Mister Badger' by flight controllers. Photo at right shows the displaced rock and the depression whence it came. Part of the soil displacement was caused by the collector s backhoe. A soil sample will be taken from the site Monday night, October 11. It will then be delivered to Viking s organic chemistry instrument for a series of analyses during the next few weeks. The sample is being sought from beneath a rock because scientists believe that, if there are life forms on Mars, they may seek rocks as shelter from the Sun s intense ultraviolet radiation. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey highlights individual dunes located on the floor of Moreaux Crater. | Context imageThese individual dunes are located on the floor of Moreaux Crater.Orbit Number: 36739 Latitude: 41.7971 Longitude: 44.8756 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-03-27 10:21Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Xanthe Chaos. Xanthe Chaos is a small region of mesas located within Shalbatana Vallis. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of Xanthe Chaos. Xanthe Chaos is a small region of mesas located within Shalbatana Vallis.In planetary nomenclature, the descriptor term chaos means "distinctive area of broken terrain". The general morphology of chaos is steep-sided mesas with intervening small valleys. With time and erosion the valleys widen and the mesas grow smaller. While on many planets chaos terrain results from tectonic forces, on Mars it is most likely that chaos terrain results from the release of melted subsurface ice.Orbit Number: 86415 Latitude: 11.6822 Longitude: 317.621 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-06-07 17:18Please 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. | |
At certain times in spring, fans take on a gray or blue appearance. This is the time in Inca City when this phenomenon happens, as seen in this image acquired by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionAt certain times in spring, fans take on a gray or blue appearance. This is the time in Inca City when this phenomenon happens.On the ridge at the top of the image fans have lengthened and now look more gray than the blotches on the araneiforms. At the bottom of the image they are distinctly blue in color.Two theories have been suggested: perhaps fine particles sink into the seasonal layer of ice so they no longer appear dark. Or, maybe the gas that is released from under the ice condenses and falls to the surface as a bright fresh layer of frost. It is quite likely that both of these theories are correct.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera for this view of the flank piece of the spacecraft's heat shield on the rover's 332nd martian day, or sol (Dec. 29, 2004). | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera for this view of the flank piece of the spacecraft's heat shield on the rover's 332nd martian day, or sol (Dec. 29, 2004). The team that designed the descent and landing systems for the rovers is trying to characterize heat-shield performance by examining the wreckage of Opportunity's heat shield. | |
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 part of Iani Chaos. | 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 part of Iani Chaos.Orbit Number: 44854 Latitude: -0.717905 Longitude: 342.194 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-01-24 11:21Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this mosaic as it explored the clay-bearing unit on Jan. 23, 2019 (Sol 2299). | The hills and troughs in this little valley, carved between a ridge and cliffs higher up Mount Sharp, almost look like undulating waves. The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this mosaic as it explored the "clay-bearing unit" on Jan. 23, 2019 (Sol 2299).At the top left corner is part of the Vera Rubin Ridge, from which Curiosity departed earlier this year; the rocky hill at center left has been nicknamed "Knockfarril Hill." The science team is trying to figure out how this landscape formed over billions of years. At present, the clearest takeaway is that the clay-bearing unit is softer than the ridge: The former has eroded into a valley between the ridge and Mount Sharp, while the ridge has resisted erosion.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. | |
At different locations on the surface of the same rock, scientists can use the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to measure the amount of reflected light at a series of different wavelengths. | At different locations on the surface of the same rock, scientists can use the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to measure the amount of reflected light at a series of different wavelengths. This yields spectral information that can be an indicator of composition.The inset photograph in the lower center of this graphic shows two locations on a rock target called "Knorr," where Mastcam spectral measurements were made: A light-toned vein and part of the host rock. Knorr is in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Gale Crater, close to Curiosity's "John Klein" rock drilling site.The main graph shows the spectra recorded at those two points, with increasing wavelengths of visible light and near-infrared light from left to right, and with increasing intensity of reflectance from bottom to top. The bright vein shows greater reflectance through the range of wavelengths assessed. The shapes of the two curves also differ, especially where the vein spectrum dips in the near-infrared wavelengths. The range of wavelengths included in box-outlined portion of the vein spectrum is shown at the top of the group of reference spectra to the right. These reference spectra show how the dip in reflectance at those wavelengths in the vein material corresponds to dips in those wavelengths in several types of hydrated minerals -- minerals that have molecules of water bound into their crystalline structure, including hydrated calcium-sulfates. Mastcam is not sensitive to all hydrated minerals, however, including many phyllosilicates.Curiosity's Mastcam was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the mission's Curiosity rover for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. | |
The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple many ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a crater in Noachis Terra. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows a crater in Noachis Terra.Orbit Number: 10125 Latitude: -32.8453 Longitude: 333.619 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-03-27 00:47Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity captured this 3-D view of the rock-studded terrain Curiosity has traversed since October 2013, accelerating the pace of wear and tear on the rover's wheels. | NASA's Mars rover Curiosity captured this stereo 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). The scene appears three dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left. It spans 360 degrees, with south at the center and north at both ends.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-perspective projection.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/. | |
This image acquired on November 22, 2022 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows mass wasting activity within a very steep (more than 60 degrees) scarp. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThis very steep (more than 60 degrees) scarp shows mass wasting activity every year in the early northern spring, when it is first illuminated after the period of winter darkness. This observation was an attempt to image in late northern winter, in spite of poor illumination.The solar incidence angle is 91.3 degrees, meaning that the Sun is just below the horizon and there was no direct lighting when this image was acquired. However, the atmosphere scatters light to create some diffuse lighting, and the surface is very bright from winter frost deposition, so a useful image of the surface was obtained.The image reveals relatively dark streaks down the steep slope, so mass wasting activity has already started. There is some direct illumination here close to noontime at this time of year, which may be sufficient to initiate some activity.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 63.3 centimeters [24.9 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 190 centimeters [74.8 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
The Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this set of images before and after it drilled a rock on Saturday, April 6, 2019. | Click here for animationThe Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this set of images before and after it drilled a rock nicknamed "Aberlady," on Saturday, April 6, 2019 (the 2,370th Martian day, or sol, of the mission). The rock and others nearby appear to have moved when the drill was retracted. This was the first time Curiosity has drilled in the long-awaited "clay-bearing unit."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 NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on March 31, 2004 shows part of the Tinia Vallis region on Mars. The image shows a small channel with a delta. | Released 31 March 2004The Odyssey spacecraft has completed a full Mars year of observations of the red planet. For the next several weeks the Image of the Day will look back over this first mars year. It will focus on four themes: 1) the poles - with the seasonal changes seen in the retreat and expansion of the caps; 2) craters - with a variety of morphologies relating to impact materials and later alteration, both infilling and exhumation; 3) channels - the clues to liquid surface flow; and 4) volcanic flow features. While some images have helped answer questions about the history of Mars, many have raised new questions that are still being investigated as Odyssey continues collecting data as it orbits Mars.The channel shown on the image is part of the Tinia Vallis region. It was collected July 11, 2002 during southern autumn season. The local time is 4pm. The image shows a small channel with a delta.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -4.8, Longitude 211 East (149 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. | |
These channels in Utopia Planitia are called Hephaestus Fossae on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA09120Hephaestus FossaeThese channels in Utopia Planitia are called Hephaestus Fossae.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 21.7N, Longitude 125.5E. 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. | |
Exposed Layers in Central Valles Marineris | Click on image for larger versionThis HiRISE image (PSP_004858_1670) shows a landslide scarp on the northern wall of central Valles Marineris, a large canyon system equivalent in length from California to New York. The landslide has exposed a fresh wall of the canyon so that individual layers of rock can be seen. The texture of these layers suggests that some of the darker rock layers are more resistant to erosion than the lighter layers. The variation in brightness and friability of the different layers suggests compositional differences. These layers may have a volcanic origin, having been deposited as ash layers, or a sedimentary origin, either being deposited by water or blown by the wind (aeolian). This image is a little hazy because this image was taken in August 2007, when the large dust storm covered the surface of Mars and filled the atmosphere with fine dust particles. The extra dust in the atmosphere reflects more light into the camera.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 8 August 2007Local Mars time: 2:31 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -12.8°Degrees longitude (East): 301.1°Range to target site: 259.8 km (162.4 miles)Original image scale range: 26.0 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~78 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 5.6°Phase angle: 32.0°Solar incidence angle: 37°, with the Sun about 53 ° above the horizonSolar longitude: 292.6°, Northern WinterNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
The intersecting ridges in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are called Angustus Labyrinthus. They were formed due to tectonic activity. | Context imageThe intersecting ridges in this VIS image are called Angustus Labyrinthus. They were formed due to tectonic activity.Orbit Number: 58571 Latitude: -81.4906 Longitude: 297.295 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-02-26 11:02Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This old crater in Terra Sabaea has patterned floor material that is indicative of having a volitile component. At high latitudes the volitile is most likely ice on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA01868Terra SabaeaThis old crater in Terra Sabaea has patterned floor material that is indicative of having a volitile component. At high latitudes the volitile is most likely ice.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 42.5N, Longitude 66.8E. 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. | |
The channels in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft are part of Granicus Valles. Granicus Valles is located just west of the Elysium Mons Volcanic Complex and was liked formed by the flow of lava rather than water. | Context imageThe channels in this VIS image are part of Granicus Valles. Granicus Valles is located just west of the Elysium Mons Volcanic Complex and was liked formed by the flow of lava rather than water.Orbit Number: 54562 Latitude: 28.0545 Longitude: 135.055 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-04-02 11:04Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the contact between the Lycus Sulci uplands and Amazonis Planitia lowlands on Mars. | This picture is the first MOC high resolution image that showed the contact between the Lycus Sulci uplands and Amazonis Planitia lowlands. In this subframe of MOC image SPO 1-225/03, Amazonis and Lycus Sulci are separated by a subtle rise that runs diagonally across the scene from near the lower left toward the upper right. The Amazonis plains are toward the top of the picture, the Lycus Sulci uplands are toward the bottom. Both surfaces have been cratered by small meteoroid impacts. The Amazonis plains surface has many small, nearly parallel ridges that may have formed by wind erosion. These ridges are not found on the Lycus Sulci surface. None of the features seen in this image look like typical seashore landforms found on Earth -- i.e., there are no beaches, windblown coastal dunes, or even the wave-cut cliff that was thought to exist on the basis of previous Viking images. The picture is illuminated from the lower right and was acquired in April 1998.Lycus Sulci is the name of a region of hills and ridges located north and northwest of the famous giant volcano, Olympus Mons (see inset, above). Viking images of the area where the western margin of the Lycus Sulci meets the smooth Amazonis plains (upper left in the figure above) led some researchers to conclude that the two surfaces were in contact along a cliff. The proposed cliff faces toward the smooth plains, and thus it was suggested that this might be the kind of cliff that forms from erosion by waves in a body of water as they break against a coastline. During the first year that Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was orbiting the red planet (1997-1998), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) acquired three high-resolution images along the contact between the Lycus Sulci hills and the Amazonis plains. The location of the portion of each image that is illustrated below is shown in this figure by a small, white box identified by the archival image number (e.g., "SPO2-428/03" refers to the 3rd image taken on the 428th orbit during the Science Phasing Orbits 2 phase of the MGS mission). The regional context view shown here is a portion of Viking orbiter image 851A29; its center is near 32°N, 114°W and it is illuminated from the right.MRPS 95319Lycus Sulci and Amazonis Planitia are shown here separated by a rise that runs diagonally across the scene from near the lower left toward the upper right. This picture is a subframe of MOC image SPO2-428/03, taken in July 1998. The Lycus Sulci uplands here are more roughly-textured than in the previous image, and the flat Amazonis plains appear to be more smooth and lack the small parallel ridges seen in the earlier view. The lack of the small ridges might be real, or they might be present but cannot be seen because this picture has a lower resolution than the previous one. This image, too, shows that the contact between Amazonis and Lycus Sulci is not a cliff, and once again there are no features that can be unambiguously identified as coastal landforms.MRPS 95320This is the third MOC image obtained during the first year of MGS operations that shows the contact between Lycus Sulci and Amazonis Planitia. This picture, a subframe of SPO2-483/08, was taken in August 1998. The Lycus Sulciup lands at this location dominate the lower half of the picture, while the Amazonis plains cover the upper half. The uplands here exhibit many small buttes (bumps or knobs in lower right of the scene), and the contact zone between the upland and lowland includes a triangular-shaped ridge (center/right). As with the earlier views of the contact between Lycus Sulci and Amazonis, no features of obvious origin by coastal processes (e.g., erosion by waves crashing against ashore) are seen. The scene is illuminated from the right. The first picture above shows the regional context of a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) high-resolution image that was targeted in August 1998 with the intent to test the hypothesis that the northern plains of Mars were once the site of a vast ocean of liquid water. The second picture shows the resulting MOC image, numbered SPO2-515/05 and located at 40.0°N, 6.0°W in the transition zone between the Cydonia region and Acidalia Planitia, Mars.The context image (first picture) includes several dark lines, some of which are labeled I and some are labeled G. These dark lines were proposed in previous, peer-reviewed scientific papers to be possible ocean shorelines located along the margins of the martian northern plains. Line I was called the Interior Plains Boundary, and line G was called the Gradational Boundary. The MGS MOC high resolution image was targeted such that it would examine the nature of line I, the Interior Plains Boundary.The second figure shows the MOC high resolution view. The picture on the left side of the figure (second image) is the full MOC image and the white box indicates the location of the expanded view to the right. In the expanded view (the center of the figure), the location of line I -- the proposed shoreline -- is shown by a dashed curve. The dashed curve follows a subtle, shallow trough. None of the types of coastal landforms common on Earth -- such as a beach, wave-cut cliff or terrace, or coastal dune fields, are seen at this location. If an ocean had once been present, then the water would have covered the top 2/3 of the expanded view -- i.e., water would have lapped up against the rounded mounds in the lower 1/3 of this picture. Instead of coastal landforms, the MOC image exhibits a dark surface in its upper 1/3. The dark surface covers older, rounded hills and has a low, lobate escarpment along its southern margin. This escarpment faces south -- that is, it faces toward the once-proposed coastline. In other words, the escarpment faces in a direction opposite of what would be expected for a coastal environment.The context picture uses Viking orbiter image 561a24 as a base.MRPS 50586Mars Global Surveyor's (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) took the above picture (second of the two) of some massifs and mesas in the Cydonia region of Mars in early September 1998. The purpose of this image -- number SPO2-532/04 -- was to test the hypothesis that the martian northern plains were once the site of an ocean or large sea. According to this hypothesis, and according to peer-reviewed and published maps, each one of the mesas and massifs in the two pictures above should have shorelines around their margins. The hypothesis holds that these were once islands and that waves would lap -- and sometimes crash -- against these landforms, rip off huge chunks of rock, and create steep cliffs and stair-stepped terraces in the rock.The first picture above shows the regional context of the MOC high resolution view in Cydonia. The context picture, from Viking orbiter image 227S11, is illuminated from the right. The second picture above is a figure that shows the full SPO2-532/04 MOC image and two expanded views of portions of this image. Mesas are flat-topped uplands, and massifs are the more triangular, massive peaks. If an ocean had been present in this region, terraces that indicate erosion or bathtub rings of salt or carbonate deposits left by the retreat of this ocean as it dried up might be found around each mesa and massif. No such features are found, nor is it at all obvious why these mesas and massifs were portrayed in previously published figures as having shorelines around them. The MOC image is illuminated from the left.If the northern plains of Mars had ever been the site of a vast ocean, then any highlands that protrude above these plains might be expected to exhibit shorelines. The somewhat curved, flat-topped mesa seen in Viking image 026A72 (first image) is bounded by a dark band. Prior to the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission, this mesa was interpreted by some researchers as having been a possible island in an ancient, northern plains ocean. The dark band was interpreted to be a shoreline resulting from the action of waves lapping against the island's coast.A high resolution image of the banded mesa -- located on the Acidalia plains around 45°N, 7°W -- was acquired by the MGS Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in August 1998, over twenty years after the Viking image was taken. A subframe of this image -- SPO2-515/06 -- is shown in the second image. In the MOC image, the dark band resolves into a series of narrower bright and dark bands. Each band has a slightly different texture and brightness. Furthermore, what appeared to be a sunlit escarpment bounding the north side of the mesa in the Viking image appears in the MOC image to be only a shallow slope rather than a scarp or cliff. The origin of the different bands is not known, but the most likely explanation that would be consistent with other MOC observations of Mars is that the mesa consists of layered rock, and that each band is an outcropping of a different layer of this rock. The different textures would result from the differing resistance to erosion of each layer. Both images shown here are illuminated from the left. | |
Mars Exploration Rover Landing Site at Meridiani Planum | Click on image for larger annotated versionThis HiRISE image shows the landing site of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The prominent impact crater on the right-hand side of the image is "Endurance crater" where Opportunity spent about ten months of its now nearly three-year mission. The bright irregularly-shaped feature in area "a" of the image is Opportunity's parachute, now lying on the martian surface. Near the parachute is the cone-shaped "backshell" that helped protect Opportunity's lander during its seven-month journey to Mars. Dark surface material may have been disturbed when the backshell touched down, exposing the lighter-toned materials seen next to the backshell. Area "b" of the image shows the impact point and the broken remnants of Opportunity's heat shield. The heat shield protected the vehicle during its fiery descent through the martian atmosphere, and then was released from the spacecraft during the final stages of the descent, breaking into two pieces when it hit the martian surface. Also visible is the small crater formed at the heat shield's impact point. Opportunity visited the heat shield during its drive southward from Endurance crater. Area "c" of the image shows "Eagle crater," the small martian impact crater where Opportunity's airbag-cushioned lander came to rest. The lander is still clearly visible on the floor of the crater. Opportunity spent about 60 martian days exploring rock outcrops and soils in Eagle crater before setting off to explore more of Meridiani Planum. Image PSP_001414_1780 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 14, 2006. The complete image is centered at -2.0 degrees latitude, 354.5 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 278.1 km (173.8 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 27.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 55.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here [below] has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:26 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 54 degrees, thus the sun was about 36 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.3 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
The Curiosity engineering team created this cylindrical projection view from images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover front hazard avoidance cameras underneath the rover deck on Sol 0. Pictured here are are the 'pigeon-toed' the wheels. | The Curiosity engineering team created this view from images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover front hazard avoidance cameras underneath the rover deck on Sol 0. This type of image is known as a cylindrical projection. The simplest way to imagine a cylinder projection is to think of an image that has been wrapped around a cylinder and then flattened out.When the Hazcam image is projected in this way, it creates the impression that the viewer is sitting underneath the rover and slightly behind the cameras. Pictured here are the wheels, which appear sort of "pigeon-toed" and in their stowed position from when the rover was tucked inside the spacecraft (aeroshell) on its way to Mars. Before driving for the first time, Curiosity will stretch her legs (wheels) and straighten them to their forward position.Scientists create a cylindrical projection by remapping each pixel from the original image onto a cylinder. From the rover's reference frame, each pixel is assigned an elevation (an angle measured from the horizon) and an azimuth (a compass angle expressed in degrees, which represents direction, such as north = 0º, east=90º, south=180º, and west = 270º). Pixels in the same row of this image are at the same elevation, and pixels in the same column of this image are at the same azimuth.
JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology
in Pasadena.
For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows details on large lava flows in the Tharsis volcanic region of Mars. | 24 April 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows details on large lava flows in the Tharsis volcanic region of Mars. The image is located near 25.4°N, 123.7°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the large sand sheet and dune forms on the floor of Russell Crater on Mars. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThis VIS image of the dunes in Russell Crater was collected at the same time as yesterday's IR image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -54.6N, Longitude 12.6E. 22 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.