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NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this view of a wee crater, informally named 'Skylab,' along the rover's route. Based on the estimated age of the area's sand ripples, the crater was likely formed within the past 100,000 years. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the exposures combined into this view of a wee crater, informally named "Skylab," along the rover's route. The component images were taken during the 2,594th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (May 12, 2011), after Opportunity had driven 239 feet (72.7 meters) that sol.This is a young crater about 30 feet (9 meters) in diameter. How young? The blocks of material ejected from the crater-digging impact sit on top of the sand ripples near the crater. This suggests, from the estimated age of the area's sand ripples, that the crater was formed within the past 100,000 years. The dark sand inside the crater attests to the mobility of fine sand in the recent era in this Meridiani Planum region of Mars.The view spans 216 degrees of the compass, from northwest on the right to south on the right. It is presented as a cylindrical projection.Opportunity successfully completed its three-month prime mission on Mars in April 2004 and has continued in bonus extended missions since then. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a wonderful case of aeolian sandstone that preserves its original sand dune bedform shapes and lies unconformably over a previously-eroded surface of layered sedimentary rock. | One of the scientific goals for taking this observation is to create a stereo pair with another HiRISE image. From stereo pairs, which are pictures of the same area but at different angles, HiRISE creates 3-D or anaglyph pictures.Known since at least 2003, this is a wonderful case of aeolian sandstone that (a) preserves its original sand dune bedform shapes and (b) lies unconformably over a previously-eroded surface of layered sedimentary rock.This caption is based on the original science rationale.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft.Originally released March 28, 2012 | |
In this image, NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft spies what looks like the letter L, or maybe someone sitting down. | Context image Do you see what I see? Looks like the letter L, or maybe someone sitting down.Orbit Number: 51294 Latitude: 40.6933 Longitude: 28.8008 Instrument: IR Captured: 2013-07-07 13:36Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) of northern Meridiani Planum shows faults that have disrupted layered deposits. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) of northern Meridiani Planum shows faults that have disrupted layered deposits. Some of the faults produced a clean break along the layers, displacing and offsetting individual beds (yellow arrow).Interestingly, the layers continue across the fault and appear stretched out (green arrow). These observations suggest that some of the faulting occurred while the layered deposits were still soft and could undergo deformation, whereas other faults formed later when the layers must have been solidified and produced a clean break. The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 54.6 centimeters (21.5 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 164 centimeters (64.6 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.This is a stereo pair with ESP_053038_1835.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows alcoves at the heads of narrow, dry landslide scars are evident in a crater wall in Xanthe Terra on Mars. | 3 May 2004Martian middle- and polar-latitude gullies are not the only places that 'alcoves' form by downslope erosion of debris. Even at equatorial latitudes, some craters exhibit these features. Alcoves at the heads of narrow, dry landslide scars are indicated in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image of a crater wall in Xanthe Terra. In both the middle/polar-latitude gully cases and in this example, alcoves form by undermining and collapse of material high on a relatively steep slope such as a crater wall. In this case, however, no fluid was involved, thus no gully or distinct apron formed. This crater wall is located near Shalbatana Vallis around 2.7°N, 43.1°W. The image is illuminated from the left; the 400 meter scale bar is about 437 yards long. For comparison, an example of martian gullies with alcoves, channels, and aprons can be seen in: Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Basic Features of Martian Gullies, 22 June 2000; see PIA01031. | |
This image acquired on October 12, 2020 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows an isolated, elongated mound (about 1 mile wide and 3.75 miles long) rising above the smooth, surrounding plains. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionAn isolated, elongated mound (about 1 mile wide and 3.75 miles long) rises above the smooth, surrounding plains. Horizontal layers are exposed at the northern end of the mound, and its surface is characterized by a very unusual quasi-circular pattern with varying colors that likely reflect diverse mineral compositions.A closer view shows that the rock has a range of textures, from massive and fractured on the left, to subtle banding or layering on the right. The origin of this mound is unknown, but its formation may be related to the clay-bearing rocks in the nearby Oxia Planum region.The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 28.5 centimeters [11.2 inches] per pixel [with 1 x 1 binning]; objects on the order of 85 centimeters [33.5 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 25 March 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a plethora of small wind tails or streaks in the lees of impact craters in northeastern Tharsis near 25.8°N, 89.0°W. The streak tails point toward the east/northeast (right), indicating that the dominant winds blow from the west/southwest (left). This February 2004 picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a dramatic view of a slope in the Amenthes Rupes region near the martian equator shows layered bedrock, smooth-surfaced debris at the slope base, and many small ripple-like dunes. | Every day, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) circles the red planet just over twelve times, and from their vantage point at 400 km altitude, the fisheye lenses of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Wide Angle (WA) cameras can see the entire surface. During typical operations, highly-summed two-color image strips are transmitted for each orbit and assembled into daily global weather maps, with a resolution of about 7.5 km (4.6 miles) per pixel. The small size and low resolution of these strips leaves most of the data bandwidth available for higher-priority narrow Angle images.During May 1999, however, the Wide Angle cameras are being used instead to map the whole planet at the intrinsic resolution of the WA camera -- 230 meters (750 feet) per pixel. While the blue WA camera continues to capture the global map so that daily weather can still be monitored, the other WA camera (with the red filter) is building up swaths of full-resolution coverage. The Deep Space Network is tracking the spacecraft 24 hours a day during this geodesy campaign, and imaging data are being returned for about two-thirds of the time at 69 kbits/sec (somewhat faster than a 56K modem). During the other third of the time, the spacecraft is transmitting back to Earth one day's worth of recorded data from the other science instruments.Geodesy is the measurement of a planet's shape and the location of features on its surface. The intent of the geodesy campaign is to acquire, during a short period of time, simultaneous measurements by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), the Radio Science (RS) investigation, and the MOC. MOLA observations provide precise, absolute measurements of a set of profiles around the planet, but their spacing is quite large relative to their resolution. RS measurements provide detailed information about the position of the spacecraft, critical to processing both the MOC and MOLA data. MOC provides both a higher resolution base map on which the other data can be overlain and, using stereoscopic measurements, provides the potential for a ten-fold improvement in the spatial resolution of the topography.Owing to the nature of the MGS orbit, the groundtrack returns to within about 30 km of a given orbit 88 orbits (about one week) later. Thus, it takes a week to build up global coverage at full resolution. Figure MOC2-127a shows the planning map of coverage during the first week of the campaign (top), and the resulting actual coverage (bottom). Gaps caused by recorder playbacks must be filled in a second week of imaging by moving the times of the playbacks. Also in the second week, stereo coverage is acquired by re-imaging areas from adjacent orbits at aside-looking angle. Figure MOC2-127b shows an example of such stereo from the Mare Tyrrhenum region, centered at 27.3°S, 227.0°W (NOTE: Red-blue glasses are needed to view the stereo effect). The crater that dominates the center of Figure MOC2-127b is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) across. Stereo coverage will be completed in the third and fourth weeks. The remaining data volume will be used to fill in gaps created by data losses, and to acquire a somewhat lower resolution global color image through the blue wide angle camera.The resulting dataset will provide global color and stereo coverage at about 300 m/pixel. Although similar coverage was obtained by the Viking mission in the late 1970s, Viking took over three years to cover the planet, and there are significant variations in lighting, weather, and surface features in the Viking images. A substantial improvement in the longitude/latitude grid is expected, which will have important benefits to future Mars exploration.Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows lava flows related to Arsia Mons. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThese lava flows are related to Arsia Mons.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -19.0N, Longitude 242.9E. 44 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the dune field on the floor of Rabe Crater. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the dune field on the floor of Rabe Crater.Orbit Number: 42268 Latitude: -43.7125 Longitude:34.756 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-06-25 14:54Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This region of Tharsis near Olympus Mons contains subtle features showing its lava flow origin. Note the 'softened' flow fronts and lava channels in this image captured by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageVolcanic flows cover the majority of the surface of Mars. In some regions, like around Arsia Mons, the flows are readily identifiable. As time passes, the flow features are covered or eroded away by other processes. This region of Tharsis near Olympus Mons contains subtle features showing its lava flow origin. Note the 'softened' flow fronts and lava channels.Orbit Number: 38754 Latitude: 12.059 Longitude: 229.652 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-09-09 08:27Please 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 the complex surfaces of some of the light- and intermediate-toned sedimentary rock exposed by erosion in eastern Sinus Meridiani on Mars. A dark feature with a rayed pattern is the product of a meteor impact. | 16 September 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the complex surfaces of some of the light- and intermediate-toned sedimentary rock exposed by erosion in eastern Sinus Meridiani. Similar rocks occur at the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, site, but they are largely covered by windblown sand and granules. The dark feature with a rayed pattern is the product of a meteor impact.Location near: 0.8°N, 355.2°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Autumn | |
This video from NASA's Perseverance rover shows increasingly close views of an abraded rock at Wildcat Ridge in Mars' Jezero Crater. | Click here for animationThis video from NASA's Perseverance rover shows increasingly close views of an abraded rock at "Wildcat Ridge" in Mars' Jezero Crater, an area scientists consider one of the best places to search for signs of ancient microbial life. The images were taken by the cameras on the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Minerals) instrument at the end of Perseverance's robotic arm. The clip is a collection of six images taken on July 21 and 22, 2022, the 504th and 505th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.The first five images were taken by the Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering (WATSON) camera. The final image, which is colorized, was created by combining images from WATSON and the Autofocus and Context Imager (ACI) camera.The team uses the SHERLOC instrument to see how light interacts with the rock surface, revealing different components in the rock, including chemicals, minerals, and organic matter. By putting together the image and spectral information the instrument collects, SHERLOC can help scientists understand where organics and minerals are in the rock, and select samples for return to Earth.The verification of ancient life on Mars carries an enormous burden of proof.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover. WATSON and ACI were built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) in San Diego and are operated jointly by MSSS and JPL. For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/For more about the Mars Sample Return campaign: mars.nasa.gov/msr | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows transverse dunes and narrow ridges found near the channel of Huo Hsing Vallis on Mars. | Context image for PIA10317Huo Hsing VallisTransverse dunes and narrow ridges are found near the channel of Huo Hsing Vallis - which runs from the bottom to the top of this VIS image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 29.5N, Longitude 66.9E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Hephaestus Fossae. Hephaestus Fossae is a complex channel system in Utopia Planitia near Elysium Mons. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of Hephaestus Fossae. Hephaestus Fossae is a complex channel system in Utopia Planitia near Elysium Mons. It has been proposed that the channel formed by the release of melted subsurface ice during the impact event that created the crater just off the bottom right of the image – only the ejecta is seen in this image. The crater is fairly young, as there is only minimal modification of the crater floor. While it appears that the crater sits of top of the channel, the creation of the crater may have also created the channel. The impact event would have caused subsurface heating, melting any subsurface ice in the region which would have created surface flow to form the channel. Additionally, the nearby Elysium volcanic center created subsurface heating that may have played a part in creating both Hephaestus Fossae and Hebrus Valles to the north.The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, because each single-filter image is contrast enhanced before inclusion in the three-color image, the apparent color variation of the scene is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the color variation that does appear is representative of some change in color, however subtle, in the actual scene. Note that the long edges of THEMIS color images typically contain color artifacts that do not represent surface variation.Orbit Number: 86796 Latitude: 17.9392 Longitude: 125.437 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-07-09 02:13Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a pale rock called 'Esperence,' which was inspected by the rover in May 2013. | Annotated VersionClick on the image for larger versionThis image from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a pale rock called "Esperence," which was inspected by the rover in May 2013. At the specific target point "Esperance6," Opportunity used its rock abrasion tool (RAT) to remove some surface material and then used its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) to identify chemical elements in the rock. The APXS data showed that Esperance's composition is higher in aluminum and silica, and lower in calcium and iron, than other rocks Opportunity has examined in more than nine years on Mars. Preliminary interpretation points to clay mineral content due to intensive alteration by water.This image shows an area about 28 inches (70 centimeters) wide. It is a composite of three exposures taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam) through different filters during the 3,230th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Feb. 23, 2013). The view is presented in false color to make some differences between materials easier to see. | |
This 3-D image shows the upcoming science destination for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, a region dubbed 'Glenelg,' where three different types of material seen from orbit come together. | This 3D, or stereo anaglyph, view shows the upcoming science destination for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, a region dubbed "Glenelg," where three different types of material seen from orbit come together (middle of picture). The view was produced from images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as the satellite flew overhead on Aug. 12 and Sept. 8, 2012. The rover and its tracks can be seen at far left, from the latter (left-eye) image.Viewing in 3D requires the traditional red-blue glasses, with red going over the left eye.The image pairs have large stereo-convergence angles, which means that height differences in the terrain appear exaggerated; for example, the slopes look about ten times steeper than they really are. This exaggeration is useful over very flat terrain such as landing sites. The full image set for these observations can be seen at: http://uahirise.org/releases/msl-3d.php.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Richardson Crater. A large sand sheet covers most of the floor of the crater. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Richardson Crater. A large sand sheet covers most of the floor of the crater. Linear dune forms are visible on the top of the sand mound. The dunes in this image are different from crater dunes found further north, due to the amount of ice present most of the year. Richardson Crater is 89 km (55 miles) in diameter.Orbit Number: 84367 Latitude: -72.6504 Longitude: 179.957 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-12-21 01:36Please 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. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera to record this eastward horizon view. A portion of Endeavour Crater's eastern rim, in the distance, is visible over the Meridiani plain. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera to record this eastward horizon view on the 2,407th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Oct. 31, 2010).A portion of Endeavour Crater's eastern rim, nearly 30 kilometers (19 miles) in the distance, is visible over the Meridiani plain. Endeavour is about 22 kilometers (14 miles) in diameter. The rover team chose Endeavour Crater as a long-term destination for Opportunity in mid-2008, after the rover had investigated the much-smaller Victoria Crater for two years. The rover is headed for a portion of Endeavour's western rim not visible in this image. This view is presented in approximately true color by combining exposures taken through three filters of the panoramic camera (Pancam) admitting wavelengths of 752 nanometers, 535 nanometers and 432 nanometers.Opportunity completed its three-month prime mission in April 2004 and has continued working in mission extensions since then. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Rabe Crater. The appearance of the exposed side of the cliffs does not look like a volcanic, difficult to erode material, but rather an easy to erode material such as layered sediments. | Context image In this VIS image of the floor of Rabe Crater the step down into the pit is visible in the sinuous ridges on the left side of the image. The appearance of the exposed side of the cliffs does not look like a volcanic, difficult to erode material, but rather an easy to erode material such as layered sediments.Rabe Crater is 108 km (67 miles) across. Craters of similar size often have flat floors. Rabe Crater has some areas of flat floor, but also has a large complex pit occupying a substantial part of the floor. The interior fill of the crater is thought to be layered sediments created by wind and or water action. The pit is eroded into this material. The eroded materials appear to have stayed within the crater forming a large sand sheet with surface dune forms as well as individual dunes where the crater floor is visible. The dunes also appear to be moving from the upper floor level into the pit.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 34456 Latitude: -43.7164 Longitude: 34.4056 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2009-09-20 09:38Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark and somewhat crescent-shaped dunes on Mars. | Some martian sand dunes may be more active than others. In this picture, wind has caused the dark and somewhat crescent-shaped dunes to advance toward the lower left. While their movement cannot actually be seen in this April 1998snapshot, the location of their steepest slopes--their slip faces--on their southwestern sides indicates the direction of movement. Oddly, these dark dunes have moved across and partly cover sets of smaller, bright ridges that also formed by wind action.This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image illustrates an intriguing martian "find." Strangely, the two dune types have different shapes and a different relative brightness. There are two explanations for the relationship seen here, and neither can be distinguished as "the answer"--(1) it is possible that the brighter dunes are old and cemented, and represent some ancient wind activity, whereas the dark dunes are modern and are marching across the older, "fossilized" dune forms, or (2) the bright dunes are composed of grains that are much larger or more dense than those that compose the dark dunes. In the latter scenario, the bright dunes move more slowly and are over-taken by the dark dunes because their grains are harder to transport. An interpretation involving larger or denser grains is consistent with the small size and even-spacing of the bright dunes, as well, but usually on Earth such features occur on the surfaces of larger, finer-grained dunes, not under them. The actual composition of either the bright or dark materials are unknown. This example is located on the floor of an impact crater in western Arabia Terra at 10.7°N, 351.0°W. The picture is illuminated from the right. | |
The discontinuous channels in this image are collapsed lava tubes on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA02154Collapse TubesThe discontinuous channels in this image are collapsed lava tubes.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -19.7N, Longitude 317.5E. 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows Mars' northern hemisphere among the mesas and buttes of the Nilosyrtis Mensae. | As many people on Earth celebrated the dawn of a new year, a new century, and a new millennium, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) continued its journey that began with a proposal to NASA nearly 15 years earlier in 1985. As the clock rolled over to 2000 A.D., MOC was busily snapping its daily global weather maps and a variety of higher-resolution images such as the two shown here.On December 25, 1999, Mars passed its northern hemisphere winter solstice, marking the beginning of northern winter (and summer in the southern hemisphere). The pictures shown here are from the northern hemisphere among the mesas and buttes of the Nilosyrtis Mensae. This region, if it were on Earth, would be located in western Afghanistan around 33° N latitude, 63° E longitude (297°W on Mars). The picture was one of the first high resolution views of Mars taken by the MGS MOC on January 1, 2000, at 06:42 UTC (6 hours, 42 minutes after the new year began in the Greenwich Time Zone).The picture on the left is a context frame that covers an area 115 km (71 mi) across. The white box shows the location of the new millennium Mars image, which also appears on the right. This high resolution view shows a wide variety of surface textures caused mainly by unknown, possibly uniquely "martian" geologic processes. The view also includes small, bright, windblown drifts. The high resolution view covers an area 3 km across at a resolution of 4.5 meters (15 feet) per pixel. The sun illuminates both scenes from the lower left.The MGS MOC began taking pictures from Mars orbit in September 1997. It's primary mission will last through January 2001. After that, an extended mission might be approved by NASA -- this would allow the camera to continue its activities well into 2002 or beyond. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a relatively young impact crater on the floor of the outflow channel system of Mangala Valles on Mars. The impact ejecta blanket in this case is quite bouldery. Some windblown sediment has partially filled the crater. | 29 November 2004Meteor impact craters are common the surfaces of most solid objects in the Solar System. They are least common on the volcanically-active moon of Jupiter, Io, and on Earth, where volcanism, tectonism, and erosion have all acted to erase the record of impact cratering. On Mars, erosion has also been vigorous enough to destroy craters. In other areas on Mars, craters have been filled and buried within the planet's bedrock. This October 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a relatively young impact crater on the floor of the outflow channel system of Mangala Valles. The impact ejecta blanket in this case is quite bouldery. Some windblown sediment has partially filled the crater. These features are located near 15.1°S, 149.3°W. The crater is just over 300 meters across, about one third the diameter of the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona. The 300 meter scale bar is about 328 yards long. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's rock abrasion tool, also known as 'rat' (circular device in center), located on its instrument deployment device, or 'arm.' | This image taken on Mars by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's rock abrasion tool, also known as "rat" (circular device in center), located on its instrument deployment device, or "arm." The image was acquired on the ninth martian day or sol of the rover's mission. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Ariadnes Colles. The term colles means hills or knobs. The hills appear brighter than the surrounding lowlands, likely due to relatively less dust cover. | 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 Ariadnes Colles. The term colles means hills or knobs. The hills appear brighter than the surrounding lowlands, likely due to relatively less dust cover. Ariadnes Colles is located in Terra Cimmeria.Orbit Number: 75346 Latitude: -34.4184 Longitude: 172.08 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-12-09 05:43Please 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. | |
Now that summer has arrived in the northern hemisphere of Mars, the dunes near the polar cap have shed all their winter frost, as shown in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageNow that summer has arrived in the northern hemisphere of Mars, the dunes near the polar cap have shed all their winter frost.Orbit Number: 54555 Latitude: 81.1207 Longitude: 140.061 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-04-01 21:03Please 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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons. | Context image Today's VIS image show lava flows that originated from Arsia Mons.Orbit Number: 67798 Latitude: -13.539 Longitude: 239.341 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-03-27 10:03Please 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 from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a region of plains to the west of Alba Mons. Numerous windstreaks are visible. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a region of plains to the west of Alba Mons. Numerous windstreaks are visible. The bright material forming "tails" behind the craters were created by surface winds funneled over and around the crater. The raised rims and bowls of impact craters causes a complex interaction such that the wind vortex in the lee of the crater can both scour away the surface dust and deposit it back in the center of the lee. The "tail" shows the direction of the wind, in this case blowing from the lower right to the upper left or from southeast to northwest. Also visible in this image are lava flows from Alba Mons and linear graben.Orbit Number: 81738 Latitude: 38.9682 Longitude: 239.118 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-05-18 15:10Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
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 part of Iani Chaos. | 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 Iani Chaos.Orbit Number: 10025 Latitude: -2.65344 Longitude: 342.424 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-03-18 19:01Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This full-circle, 3-D panorama shows the terrain around the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the northern portion of 'Matijevic Hill' on the 'Cape York' segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. | This full-circle, stereo panorama shows the terrain around the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the 3,105th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Oct. 18, 2012). It was assembled from images taken by the rover's navigation camera. The view appears in three dimensions when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left.South is at the center. North is on both ends.Opportunity had driven about 61 feet (18.5 meters) westward earlier on Sol 3105 to reach this location, which is on the northern portion of "Matijevic Hill" on the "Cape York" segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The wheel tracks created by the drive are visible. For scale, the distance between the two parallel tracks is about 3.3 feet (1 meter). The basin of Endeavour Crater is in the left half of the image. Opportunity has been working on the western rim of Endeavour since mid-2011.The stereo panorama is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a small section of Hebrus Vallis. | Context image for PIA11300Hebrus VallisA small section of Hebrus Vallis is seen in this VIS image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 20.0N, Longitude 127.2E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the northeastern rim of Jezero Crater. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of the northeastern rim of Jezero Crater. The Perserverance Rover is located on the northwestern part of the crater – near a delta deposit formed by the influx of silt laden water into the crater at a time during Mars' past that was wetter. The crater most likely hosted a lake for a period of time. The channel in the center of this image was formed by the flow of water exiting the crater.Orbit Number: 93804 Latitude: 18.3721 Longitude: 78.2125 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-02-06 03:55Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This polar projection image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows tracks from the drive extend northward across dark-toned sand ripples and light-toned patches of exposed bedrock in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. | NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,803rd and 1,804th Martian days, or sols, of Opportunity's surface mission (Feb. 18 and 19, 2009). South is at the center; north at both ends. The rover had driven 55 meters on Sol 1803 before beginning to take the frames in this view. Tracks from that drive recede northward. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 1 meter (about 40 inches). The terrain in this portion of Mars' Meridiani Planum region includes dark-toned sand ripples and lighter-toned bedrock.This view is presented as a polar projection with geometric seam correction. | |
This image shows a small portion of Nirgal Vallis on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA11910Nirgal VallisThis VIS image shows a small portion of Nirgal Vallis.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -28.2N, Longitude 319.5E. 20 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This is the first image taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (morning of Aug. 6 EDT). It was taken through a 'fisheye' wide-angle lens on one of the rover's front right Hazard-Avoidance cameras. | This is one of the first images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (morning of Aug. 6 EDT). It was taken through a "fisheye" wide-angle lens on one of the rover's front Hazard-Avoidance cameras at one-quarter of full resolution. The camera is the right eye of a stereo pair positioned at the middle of the rover's front side.
The clear dust cover on the camera is still on in this view, and dust can be seen around its edge, along with three cover fasteners. The rover's shadow is visible in the foreground.
As planned, the rover's early engineering images are lower resolution. Larger color images are expected later in the week when the rover's mast, carrying high-resolution cameras, is deployed. | |
The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took measurement on a rock outcrop (Spot 39) and on loose soil (Spot 40) within the 'Yellowknife Bay' area of Mars' Gale Crater. | The image, at lower left, is annotated to show where the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took measurement on a rock outcrop (Spot 39) and on loose soil (Spot 40) within the "Yellowknife Bay' area of Mars' Gale Crater. The graph, at upper right, and the table, at lower right, show that the DAN measurements indicated more water in the subsurface at the loose-soil spot than at the rock outcrop. DAN detects even very small amounts of water in the ground beneath the rover, primarily water bound into the crystal structure of hydrated minerals. The image at lower left was taken by the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam). 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 the western portions of Melas and Candor Chasms in the Valles Marineris canyon system. Hints of layers in the canyon walls are evident. | During its March 1999 operations, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) captured this stunning wide-angle camera view of the western portions of Melas and Candor Chasms in the Valles Marineris canyon system. This view covers an area that is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) wide and 220 kilometers (137 miles) long. Melas Chasma is located at the bottom of the image, Candor at the top. Hints of layers in the canyon walls are evident in this image. Color and albedo (brightness) variations on the floors of each chasm indicate the relative distribution of dark sand and brighter sediments and/or rocks. Dark sand on the floor of Melas Chasma was also seen by MOC in March 1999 (see MOC2-104) and bright layered material was observed in Candor Chasma in April 1998 (see MOC2-59).The colors shown here are not true colors as they would appear to the human eye. The MOC has cameras that obtain images in red and blue portions of the visible spectrum; the green portion is synthesized using the combined average values of the red and blue channels (a relationship understood from Viking Orbiter imaging in the 1970s). Illumination is from the upper left.Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. | |
The channels in this image are draining the rim of an unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA11920ChannelsThe channels in this VIS image are draining the rim of an unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -23.7N, Longitude 27.9E. 20 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image, part of an images as art series from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on Feb 5, 2004 shows an area on Mars that looks like lace. | Released 5 February 2004Humanity is a very visual species. We rely on our eyes to tell us what is going on in the world around us. Put any image in front of a person and that person will examine the picture looking for anything familiar. Even if the examiner has no idea what he/she is looking at in a picture, he/she will still be able to make a statement about the picture, usually preceded by the words "it looks like..." The image above is part of the surface of Mars, but is presented for its artistic value rather than its scientific value. When first viewed, this image solicited a statement that "it looks like..." something seen in everyday life.Despite being named for the Roman god of war, Mars also can have a delicate side, as shown by this area that looks like lace.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the interior of this crater on Mars has undergone at least two episodes of modification. At some time the crater interior was filled by material to approximately the high of the crater rim. | The interior of this crater has undergone at least two episodes of modification. At some time the crater interior was filled by material to approximately the high of the crater rim. Then erosion occurs, removing some of the infill but leaving the two plateaus in the center. Finally, the crater has been infilled a second time. The latest fill is lava.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 13.5, Longitude 284.3 East (75.7 West). 36 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 2001 Mars Odyssey daytime infrared image shows dunes found in craters and on the plains of Terra Cimmeria on Mars. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLADunes are found in craters and on the plains in this daytime infrared image of Terra Cimmeria.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -61.0N, Longitude 131.3E. 112 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face of Mars in mid-March 2006. | 28 March 2006This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 25° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 25° occurred in mid-March 2006. The picture shows the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn.Season: Northern Spring/Southern Autumn | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows channels that were likely carved by flowing lavas from Elysium Mons. | Context image for PIA10305Lava ChannelsThe channels in this image were likely carved by flowing lavas from Elysium Mons.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 24.2N, Longitude 151.1E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The channels in this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft show draining from Coracis Fossae toward Bosporos Planum. | Context imageThe channels in this VIS image are draining from Coracis Fossae toward Bosporos Planum.Orbit Number: 49937 Latitude: -32.5376 Longitude: 288.085 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-03-17 20:01Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Arena Colles. The term colles means hills. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Arena Colles. The term colles means hills. Arena Colles is located on the margin where Terra Sabaea steps down in elevation into Utopia Planitia.Orbit Number: 77476 Latitude: 25.1573 Longitude: 81.0592 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-06-02 16:28Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This beautiful fan deposit is located at the end of a mega-gully that empties into the southern trough of Coprates Chasma on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA03692Layered FanThis beautiful fan deposit is located at the end of a mega-gully that empties into the southern trough of Coprates Chasma.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.9N, Longitude 299.8E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows complex dune forms located on the floor of Russell Crater. | Context imageThe complex dune forms in this VIS image are located on the floor of Russell Crater. The large ridge dune is unique to Russell Crater. Russell Crater is located in Noachis Terra and is 135km (83miles) in diameter.Orbit Number: 82807 Latitude: -54.2373 Longitude: 13.1536 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-08-14 15:11Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a portion of an unnamed channel located in northern Terra Sabaea on Mars. | Context image for PIA11277Terra Sabaea ChannelThis image shows a portion of an unnamed channel located in northern Terra Sabaea.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 36.4N, Longitude 35.7E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark north polar dunes overlying other materials in the north polar region of Mars. | 19 March 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark north polar dunes overlying other materials in the north polar region.Location near: 79.1°N, 228.8°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Summer | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a cluster of impact craters and large, light-toned, windblown ripples occurring in many of the depressions in this portion of the Amenthes Fossae region of Mars. | 22 June 2004This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a cluster of impact craters, some of which damaged a portion of an old valley that runs roughly left to right in the lower half of the scene. The crater cluster most likely resulted from secondary impact of debris thrown from a much larger asteroid or comet impact, elsewhere on Mars. Large, light-toned, windblown ripples occur in many of the depressions in this portion of the Amenthes Fossae region. The picture is located near 7.3°N, 259.4°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the terrain from the left/upper left. | |
CRISM's Global Mapping of Mars, Part 2 | After a year in Mars orbit, CRISM has taken enough images to allow the team to release the first parts of a global spectral map of Mars to the Planetary Data System (PDS), NASA's digital library of planetary data.CRISM's global mapping is called the "multispectral survey." The team uses the word "survey" because a reason for gathering this data set is to search for new sites for targeted observations, high-resolution views of the surface at 18 meters per pixel in 544 colors. Another reason for the multispectral survey is to provide contextual information. Targeted observations have such a large data volume (about 200 megabytes apiece) that only about 1% of Mars can be imaged at CRISM's highest resolution. The multispectral survey is a lower data volume type of observation that fills in the gaps between targeted observations, allowing scientists to better understand their geologic context.The global map is built from tens of thousands of image strips each about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) wide and thousands of kilometers long. During the multispectral survey, CRISM returns data from only 72 carefully selected wavelengths that cover absorptions indicative of the mineral groups that CRISM is looking for on Mars. Data volume is further decreased by binning image pixels inside the instrument to a scale of about 200 meters (660 feet) per pixel. The total reduction in data volume per square kilometer is a factor of 700, making the multispectral survey manageable to acquire and transmit to Earth. Once on the ground, the strips of data are mosaicked into maps. The multispectral survey is too large to show the whole planet in a single map, so the map is divided into 1,964 "tiles," each about 300 kilometers (186 miles) across. There are three versions of each tile, processed to progressively greater levels to strip away the obscuring effects of the dusty atmosphere and to highlight mineral variations in surface materials. This is the first version of tile 750, one of 209 tiles just delivered to the PDS. It shows a part of the planet called Tyrrhena Terra in the ancient, heavily cratered highlands. The colored strips are CRISM multispectral survey data acquired over several months, in which each pixel has a calibrated 72-color spectrum of Mars. The three wavelengths shown are 2.53, 1.50, and 1.08 micrometers in the red, green, and blue image planes respectively. At these wavelengths, rocky areas appear brown, dusty areas appear tan, and regions with hazy atmosphere appear bluish. Note that there is a large difference in brightness between strips, because there is no correction for the lighting conditions at the time of each observation. The gray areas between the strips are from an earlier mosaic of the planet taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument on Mars Odyssey, and are included only for context. Ultimately the multispectral survey will cover nearly all of this area.CRISM is one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Led by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., the CRISM team includes expertise from universities, government agencies and small businesses in the United States and abroad. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Science Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter. | |
This image is part of THEMIS art month, taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey featuring a portion of Mars' landscape looking somewhat like a fearsome dragon, or maybe an eel. | Welcome to the second annual THEMIS ART MONTH. From Jan. 31 through March 4 we will be showcasing images for their aesthetic value, rather than their science content. Portions of these images resemble things in our everyday lives, from animals to letters of the alphabet. We hope you enjoy our fanciful look at Mars!A fearsome dragon, or maybe an eel?Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of a large sandsheet with dune forms in Terra Cimmeria on Mars. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThis daytime IR image shows a large sandsheet with dune forms in Terra Cimmeria.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -62.2N, Longitude 162.8E. 121 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Portions of the lander's deflated airbags and a petal are at lower left in this image from NASA's Mars Pathfinder. 3D glasses are necessary to identify surface detail. | Portions of the lander's deflated airbags and a petal are at the lower area of this image, taken in stereo by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. 3D glasses are necessary to identify surface detail. This image is part of a 3D "monster" panorama of the area surrounding the landing site.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.Click below to see the left and right views individually.LeftRight
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 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows two landslide deposits located on the southern side of Columbus Crater in Terra Sirenum. | Context imageTwo landslide deposits are located on the southern side of Columbus Crater in Terra Sirenum. Both landslides began high on the rim of the crater, marked by the location of circular indentations in the crater rim. Landslides occur when gravity overcomes the strength of the rock.Orbit Number: 42637 Latitude: -30.4264 Longitude: 193.484 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-07-25 23:55Please 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. | |
Gullies | Image PSP_001389_2225 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 12, 2006. The complete image is centered at 42.2 degrees latitude, 312.0 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 297.5 km (185.9 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 29.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 119.0 cm/pixel (with 4 x 4 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:21 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 49 degrees, thus the sun was about 41 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 134.4 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a panoramic view of the crater informally referred to as 'Eagle Crater,' which is approximately 72 feet in diameter. Opportunity's lander and track marks are visible. | This image mosaic, compiled from navigation and panoramic camera images during the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's 33rd, 35th, and 36th sols on Mars, shows a panoramic view of the crater where the rover had been exploring since its dramatic arrival in late January 2004. The crater, now informally referred to as "Eagle Crater," is approximately 22 meters (72 feet) in diameter. Opportunity's lander is visible in the center of the image. Track marks reveal the rover's progress. The rover cameras recorded this view as Opportunity climbed close to the crater rim as part of a soil survey campaign. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows two small impact craters located in Meridiani Planum on Mars. Small boulders on the floor and walls of the left-side crater. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThe map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel.[The original image scale is 27.4 centimeters (10.8 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 82 centimeters (32.3 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows two small impact craters located in Meridiani Planum. This is an example of the geologic principle of superposition: figuring out what happened first by looking at how features interact with each other. We can see that one of the craters must have hit the surface after the other was already there, but which came first?We can see that the ejecta blankets look rougher on the right side of the image than they do on the left. This could mean that the right side ejecta is newer, and has not been exposed to the wind as much as the left side has.Zooming in, we see small boulders on the floor and walls of the left-side crater, and they even seem to match the rough material in the ejecta on the right. With these clues, we can hypothesize that the crater on the left was here first. After some time another asteroid hit, formed the crater on the right, which threw material onto the floor of the left, where it remains to this day.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
Many different surface textures are found on the polar caps. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the surface of the south polar cap. | Context imageMany different surface textures are found on the polar caps. This VIS images shows part of the surface of the south polar cap.Orbit Number: 48511 Latitude: -86.8588 Longitude: 274.799 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2012-11-20 11:47Please 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. | |
This image released on Oct 25, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows Reull Vallis, located in the Martian southern highlands, just east of Hellas Basin. | This week we will be examining images of Reull Vallis. Reull Vallis is located in the Martian southern highlands, just east of Hellas Basin. This extensive channel system records an interesting fluvial and mass wasting geologic history of the area. In many images show interesting patterns of mass wasted material in the bottom of the channel. For more information on the geology of Reull Vallis see http://viking.eps.pitt.edu/public/IcarusPub/Geol_RVR_Icarus.html.Image information:VIS instrument. Latitude -41.4, Longitude 107 East (253 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. | |
Floor of Kasei Valles | This HiRISE image shows a wonderfully complex surface on the floor of this ancient flood-carved canyon. In this area, the water flowed from the west to the east. However, the floor does not show the kinds of landforms scientist expect from flood erosion. Instead, the floor of the valley has been covered, sometime after the flood, by some kind of flow with giant ridged plates. Some of the plates are more than a kilometer (0.6 miles) across. The ridges appear to have formed when the solid crust on the flow was crumpled during flow. The plates are pieces of the crust that had rafted apart. Very large lava flows can produce this kind of surface, but ice and frozen mud are also capable of forming similar features. Image PSP_001456_2010 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 17, 2006. The complete image is centered at 20.7 degrees latitude, 287.2 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 280.3 km (175.2 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 28.0 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 56.1 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:27 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 49 degrees, thus the sun was about 41 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 136.9 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows cracks layered, light-toned outcrops of sedimentary rock in Becquerel Crater. The outcrops are juxtaposed against a dark-toned substrate which occupies the upper (northern) portion of the image. | 4 September 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows layered, light-toned outcrops of sedimentary rock in Becquerel Crater. The outcrops are juxtaposed against a dark-toned substrate which occupies the upper (northern) portion of the image. Dark dunes and patches of windblown sand superpose both the light-toned rock and darker substrate; dark sand trapped among the layers of sedimentary rock enhances their appearance.Location near: 21.5°N, 8.4°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Spring | |
Dusty Volcanic Vent in Syria Planum | Click on image for larger versionPrevious images of this area by other space missions indicate that this is a shield volcano with very shallow slopes. What HiRISE reveals is that it is completely covered by a blanket of dust.While volcanic featues remain obscure, the dust does exhibit some very strange patterns. As you zoom into the middle of the image, the ground appears covered with a fine network of light and dark polygons. But at full resolution, it can be seen that these polygons are actually the edges of small scallops.The dust is apparently held together by some unknown means, giving it sufficient strength to be carved into this strange pattern.This is HiRISE image is PSP_001840_1660.Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 12 December 2006Local Mars time: 3:40 PMDegrees latitude (centered): -13.9°Degrees longitude (East): 255.8°Range to target site: 252.8 km (158.0 miles)Original image scale range: 25.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~76 cm across are resolvedMap-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is upMap-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAREmission angle: 5.3°Phase angle: 55.7°Solar incidence angle: 60°, with the Sun about 30° above the horizonSolar longitude: 152.0°, Northern SummerNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
These abrasion targets, nicknamed Guillaumes and Bellegarde, are from the first and second rocks drilled by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. These images were taken by the rover's Mastcam-Z camera system. | These abrasion targets, nicknamed "Guillaumes" (left) and "Bellegarde" (right), are from the first and second rocks drilled by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. These images were taken by the rover's Mastcam-Z camera system. The rover abrades rocks using a tool on its robotic arm before drilling them in order to clear away dust and weathering rinds, allowing other instruments to study the rocks and determine if scientists want to grab a sample of them. Arizona State University in Tempe leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover. | |
This graph compares a typical daily pattern of changing atmospheric pressure (blue) with the pattern during a regional dust storm hundreds of miles away (red). The data are by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) on NASA's Curiosity rover. | This graph compares a typical daily pattern of changing atmospheric pressure (blue) with the pattern during a regional dust storm hundreds of miles away (red). The data are by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) on NASA's Curiosity rover. Pressure is a measure of the amount of air in the whole column of atmosphere sitting above the rover.The altered pattern in pressure variation during the storm results from changes both in large-scale atmospheric heating due to dust in the air and from more local atmospheric heating due to an increase in local dustiness.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 rover. For more information about Curiosity and its mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
These windstreaks are located in the southern part of Syrtis major on Mars. This image was taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA02889WindstreaksThese windstreaks are located in the southern part of Syrtis major.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 0.1N, Longitude 65.0E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows a crater called Gusev in the southern hemisphere of Mars. This crater may have been the site of an ancient lake. | Released 11 June 2003Yesterday, a Delta II rocket successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying the Mars Exploration Rover named Spirit. Its destination is a crater called Gusev in the southern hemisphere of Mars. This crater may have been the site of an ancient lake whose sediments could be sampled by Spirit. The THEMIS image covers a portion of the center of the elliptical region in which the rover is expected to land nearly seven months from now. The scene contains wispy dark streaks that probably arise from the removal by wind of a layer of bright dust. Just to the south of the dark streaks is a boundary that may represent the edge of a layer of material that has flowed in from the south. With luck, Spirit will have access to a variety of interesting rock types and terrains that will settle the question of whether Gusev crater hosted a lake.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.7, Longitude 175.5 East (184.5 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image of the floor of Kaiser Crater captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft contains a large variety of sand dune shapes and sizes. The 'whiter' material is the hard crater floor surface. | Context image This VIS image of the floor of Kaiser Crater contains a large variety of sand dune shapes and sizes. The "whiter" material is the hard crater floor surface. 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: 35430 Latitude: -46.8699 Longitude: 19.4731 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2009-12-09 14:09Please 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 image acquired on January 27, 2019 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the extensive central peak complex of Hale Crater. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger versionThis long image is entirely over the extensive central peak complex of Hale Crater. Of particular interest are bedrock outcrops and associated fine-grained sediments with different colors. This 153-kilometer diameter crater was named after American astronomer George Ellery Hale. The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 51.4 centimeters [20.2 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 154 centimeters [60.6 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a portion of Tinto Vallis. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a portion of Tinto Vallis.Orbit Number: 42303 Latitude: -4.90518 Longitude: 111.269 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-06-28 11:51Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Aureum Chaos. | Context imageThe THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Aureum Chaos.Orbit Number: 43169 Latitude: -4.0356 Longitude: 333.393 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-09-07 18:50Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
As wind is the only active geologic process on Mars today, sand and dust continue to be moved around the surface. Most craters host a sand dune or two, like this unnamed crater in Tyrrhena Terra. This image is from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context imageAs the wind is the only active geologic process on Mars today, sand and dust continue to be moved around the surface. Most craters host a sand dune or two, like this unnamed crater in Tyrrhena Terra.Orbit Number: 41692 Latitude: -16.5793 Longitude: 96.5938 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-05-09 04:33Please 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 MAHLI camera on NASA's Curiosity rover is carried at an angle when the rover's arm is stowed for driving. Still, the camera is able to record views of the terrain Curiosity is crossing in Gale Crater. | The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on NASA's Curiosity rover is carried at an angle when the rover's arm is stowed for driving. Still, the camera is able to record views of the terrain Curiosity is crossing in Gale Crater, and rotating the image 150 degrees provides this right-side-up scene. The scene is toward the south, including a portion of Mount Sharp and a band of dark dunes in front of the mountain. It was taken on the 340th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars, shortly after Curiosity finished a 329.1-foot (100.3-meter) drive on that sol. The drive was twice as long as any previous sol's drive by Curiosity.When the robotic arm, turret, and MAHLI are stowed, the MAHLI is looking out from the front left side of the rover. This is much like the view from the driver's side of cars sold in the USA.The main purpose of Curiosity's MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site. The camera is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity. This means it can, as shown here, also obtain pictures of the Martian landscape.Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates MAHLI. 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 dust devil tracks in this image are located in Terra Cimmeria on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA11913Dust Devil TracksThe dust devil tracks in this VIS image are located in Terra Cimmeria.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -55.8N, Longitude 179.5E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover began close-up investigation of a target called 'Marimba,' on lower Mount Sharp, during the week preceding the fourth anniversary of the mission's dramatic sky-crane landing. | NASA's Curiosity Mars rover began close-up investigation of a target called "Marimba," on lower Mount Sharp, during the week preceding the fourth anniversary of the mission's dramatic sky-crane landing.The Navigation Camera (Navcam) on Curiosity's mast took this image on Aug. 2, 2016, during the 1,418th Martian day, or sol, since Curiosity landed inside Gale Crater on Aug. 6, 2012, Universal Time (Aug. 5, PDT). In this scene, the rover has extended its arm over a patch of bedrock selected as the target for rover's next drilling operation. The drilling collects rock powder for onboard laboratory analysis. The arm is positioned with the rover's wire-bristle Dust Removal Tool above the target.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover and the rover's Navcam.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 a region of wind etched materials. In regions of poorly cemented surface materials it is possible to create large features due to just the action of the wind. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a region of wind etched materials. In regions of poorly cemented surface materials it is possible to create large features due to just the action of the wind. The equatorial region between Olympus Mons and Apollinaris Mons is dominated by wind etched regions. The direction of the wind aligns with the ridges and valleys. The dominant wind direction in this region is southeast to northwest; however, the wind direction for the upper right of the image is to the other direction. The long linear wind etched valleys are called yardangs. These features are created by long term winds scouring a poor cemented surface material into linear ridges and valleys. These yardangs are part of the Medusa Fossae Formation. It has been suggested that this region of Mars provides a large percentage of the surface dust seen around the planet. Ash falls from nearby volcanoes may have been the source of the surface materials eroded into these and other wind eroded landforms.Orbit Number: 94817 Latitude: -0.841679 Longitude: 206.486 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-04-30 12:50Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows channelized flows on the southwestern flank of the volcano. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows channelized flows on the southwestern flank of the volcano.Orbit Number: 40364 Latitude: 14.511 Longitude: 222.647 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-01-19 22:05Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The northern margin of Terra Sabaea is a complex area between a cratered highland and complexly eroded lower plains. This image of the region captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows just one of the numerous unnamed channels. | Context image The northern margin of Terra Sabaea is a complex area between a cratered highland and complexly eroded lower plains. This VIS image of the region shows just one of the numerous unnamed channels. The 90 degree bends indicate tectonic fractures have played a part in the channel formation.Orbit Number: 71863 Latitude: 32.1944 Longitude: 59.4512 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-02-25 09:02Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows terrain southwest of Meroe Patera in Syrtis Major Planum, Mars. Impact craters are common throughout the scene, including a small impact crater with light-toned ejecta radiating outward from its rim. | 12 July 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows terrain southwest of Meroe Patera in Syrtis Major Planum, Mars. Wind streaks formed in the lee -- i.e., the downwind side -- of impact craters are common throughout the scene, including the small impact crater near the center of the image with light-toned ejecta radiating outward from its rim. Near the bottom (south) of the image, three light-toned slope streaks, created by dry mass movements of dust, extend down the sloping side walls of two overlapping impact craters.Location near: 5.3°N, 295.4°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Winter | |
The feature that crosses this image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is a graben. Graben are formed by tectonic action, where a block of material moves downward between a pair of faults. | Context image The feature that crosses this VIS image is a graben. Graben are formed by tectonic action, where a block of material moves downward between a pair of faults. The northern part of the Tharsis plateau is full of graben, most notably surrounding Alba Mons. The section of Labeatis Fossae seen in this image is directly south of Uranius Mons.Orbit Number: 71332 Latitude: 23.3233 Longitude: 267.467 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-01-12 15:07Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image of a region east of Acheron Fossae shows an unusual texture - with bumps and old stabilized dunes on Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08773Unusual TextureThis image of a region east of Acheron Fossae shows an unusual texture - with bumps and old stabilized dunes.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 33.9N, Longitude 223.4E. 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 lower portion of a mountain inside Gale crater on Mars contains layers that may be examined by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory. A landing site in Gale, close to the foot of the mountain, has been selected for the mission. | The lower portion of a mountain inside Gale crater on Mars contains layers that may be examined by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory. A landing site in Gale, close to the foot of the mountain, has been selected for the mission. The mission will launch during the period Nov. 25 to Dec. 18, 2011 and land the rover Curiosity on Mars in August 2012. Researchers will use tools on Curiosity to study whether the landing region has had environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and for preserving clues about whether life existed. This view of the mountain in Gale was generated from a three-dimensional model, with the vertical dimension exaggerated three-fold. Information for the model came from a pair of observations by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The scale bar is 1 kilometer (0.6 mile). NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter projects for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the High Resolution Science Imaging Experiment. | |
The crosscutting relationships observed in this image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft can be used to determine the relative timing of graben and channel formations. | Released 21 April 2003The crosscutting relationships observed in this THEMIS image can be used to determine the relative timing of graben and channel formations. Several north-west/south-east trending fractures are observed to crosscut north-east/south-west formations.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 43.2, Longitude 269.4 East (90.6 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Arabia 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 part of Arabia Terra.Orbit Number: 76892 Latitude: 10.6919 Longitude: 13.1897 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-04-15 14:10Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image taken on Dec. 23, 2004 by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows remains of the heat shield that protected the spacecraft as it barreled through the martian atmosphere. | This image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows remains of the heat shield that protected the spacecraft as it barreled through the martian atmosphere. The image was taken on the rover's 325th martian day, or sol, (Dec. 22, 2004). The picture features the main heat shield debris when Opportunity was approximately 40 meters (about 131 feet) away from it. Many rover-team engineers were taken aback when they realized the heat shield had inverted, or turned itself inside out. The height of the pictured debris is about 1.3 meters (about 4.3 feet). The original diameter was 2.65 meters (8.7 feet), though it has obviously been deformed. The fact that the heat shield is now inside out makes it more challenging to evaluate the state of the thermal protection system that is now on the inside. In coming sols, Opportunity will investigate the debris with its microscopic imager. Engineers who designed and built the heat shield are thrilled to see the hardware on the surface of Mars. This provides a unique opportunity to look at how the thermal protection system material survived the actual Mars entry. Team members hope this information will allow them to compare their predictions to what really happened. The image is an approximately true-color rendering generated using the panoramic camera's 600, 530 and 480 nanometer filters. | |
This panoramic view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the 'Karatepe' ingress at the edge of 'Endurance Crater' on Mars. | Click on the image for Crater of Clues (QTVR)
Figure 1
Opportunity Escape Plan
The labeled image (see figure 1) from the panoramic camera on NASA's
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the potential plan for
Opportunity's exit from "Endurance Crater." Opportunity may attempt
to leave Endurance via the route marked as the escape hatch, if
scientists and engineers consider it safe after taking a closer look.
Before leaving, however, scientists plan to investigate the rock to the
right dubbed "Wopmay," measuring 1 meter (3.3 feet) across, as well
as other rocks near "Burns Cliff." Scientists are interested in Wopmay
because its unusual texture is unlike any others observed so far at
Meridiani Planum. Once out of the crater, Opportunity may head to the
heat shield, indicated on the left. This image was taken on the rover's
249th martian day, or sol (Sept. 14, 2004). This is an approximate true-
color composite generated from the panoramic camera's 750-, 530-,
and 430-nanometer filters.
Figure 2
Trekking Down 'Endurance'
The panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity
produced this approximate true-color mosaic image from a position at
the edge of "Endurance Crater." The image shows the "Karatepe"
ingress, where the rover began its traverse down into the crater on sol
159 (July 5, 2004). The rover is currently about 10 meters (32.8 feet) into
the crater. One of the major goals motivating the rover team to carefully
drive the rover further down into the crater is to follow up on clues observed
so far involving the element chlorine and the mineral pyroxene. The rover
has found that chlorine and pyroxene (a signature of basaltic, or volcanic,
rocks) increase in concentration with deepening layers of rock. Scientists
also hope to study the dunes, or "ripples," visible at the bottom right of this
image. These dunes show strong signatures for basalt and could further
develop the history of this area of Meridiani Planum. | |
This image of Victoria crater is looking north from Duck Bay towards the dramatic promontory called Cape Verde. This is an enhanced false color rendering of images taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on Sept. 28, 2006. | This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is a false color rendering (enhanced to bring out details from within the shadowed regions of the scene) of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. | |
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey captured this image of a channel entering Eberswalde Crater and depositing a fan-shaped delta on the crater floor. | Context imageThe channel entering Eberswalde Crater has deposited a fan-shaped delta on the crater floor.Orbit Number: 36680 Latitude: -23.6675 Longitude: 326.457 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2010-03-22 12:09Please 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 image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the complex caldera at the summit of Ascraeus Mons on Mars. | Context image This image shows part of the complex caldera at the summit of the volcano. Calderas are found at the tops of volcanoes and are the source region for magma that rises from an underground lava source to erupt at the surface. Volcanoes are formed by repeated flows from the central caldera. The final eruptions can pool within the summit caldera, leaving a flat surface as they cool. Calderas are also a location of collapse, creating rings of tectonic faults that form the caldera rim. Ascraeus Mons has several caldera features at its summit.The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 52847 Latitude: 11.2724 Longitude: 255.564 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-11-12 08:41Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Flows in Athabasca Valles Source Region | Click on image for larger versionThin flows cover the plains just north of the source region for the Athabasca Valles channel system. The flows are mostly confined by a scarp (cliff) in the northwest corner of the image. The more heavily cratered terrain above the scarp is part of a tectonic ridge known as a wrinkle ridge. A few flows can be seen atop the wrinkle ridge, but they are not as ubiquitous as those on the plains below. The flows on the plains frequently intersect, with younger ones cutting across older ones. The prominent dark swathes along their edges have particularly rough textures. The darker shade is due to thousands of shadows cast by small bumps on the surface, which HiRISE is able to resolve. Dozens of bright, narrow rifts (cracks) zigzag across the flows. They appear bright because they are filled with light-toned, windblown material. Wind-sculpted knobs and ridges of similar light-toned material are scattered throughout the imaged area. The orientations of the ridges indicate that the winds primarily blow from the southeast. Several impact craters are captured in this image, the largest being about 50 meters (160 feet) in diameter. Many bear the distinctive bright rays characteristic of secondary craters associated with the larger impact crater, Zunil. Some craters penetrated the surface of the flows, and the boulders strewn around them suggest that the material they excavated was rocky.Image PSP_001408_1900 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 10.0 degrees latitude, 158.0 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 274.3 km (171.4 miles). At this distance the image scale is 27.4 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~82 cm across are resolved. 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 3:29 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 51 degrees, thus the sun was about 39 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.1 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. | |
These two images, taken five Martian days (sols) apart by the front hazard-avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, document the Martian sky above the rover's Endeavour Crater location becoming dustier. | These two images, taken five Martian days (sols) apart by the front hazard-avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, document the Martian sky above the rover's Endeavour Crater location becoming dustier.
The image on the left was taken during Sol 3296 of Opportunity's mission on Mars (May 2, 2013). The one on the right was taken during Sol 3301 (May 7, 2013) with the rover at the same location but its arm in a different position. In between those dates, local-scale dust storm activity west of Opportunity's location had reduced clarity of the sky over Opportunity. Effects can be seen in the Sol 3301 image. Note the softened shadow of the rover and the obscured horizon on the right.
The location of the rover when these images were taken was on the "Cape York" segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. During this period Opportunity was investigating the rock target "Esperance," which is on the pale patch of rock just to the left of the shadow of the rover's arm. After that investigation, the last planned for Cape York, the rover team plans to drive Opportunity toward a segment of the rim to the south, called "Solander Point." | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a section of an unnamed channel in Arabia Terra. This channel empties into Madler Crater. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a section of an unnamed channel in Arabia Terra. This channel empties into Madler Crater.Orbit Number: 82907 Latitude: -11.1198 Longitude: 1.33091 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-08-22 21:02Please 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 crater captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has a strange appearance, as if the crater has feet with toes sticking out of two sides, likely caused by a highly oblique impact event. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis feature has a strange appearance, as if the crater has feet with toes sticking out of two sides. Let's try to explain this.First, there was a highly oblique impact event, with the bolide (or meteorite) striking the ground while flying almost horizontally over the surface. Such oblique impacts tend to send ejecta in two directions to the sides of the bolide trajectory, rather than in all directions around the crater. However, there was ice near the surface, covered and protected by the ejecta, and the unprotected ice sublimated at some later time, so the ejecta now appears especially thick.Also, there were layers of dust (maybe along with ice) deposited inside the crater. Or maybe something else happened, but likely involving the ice that comes and goes in the middle latitude regions of Mars.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. | |
The large graben in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is part of a series of graben located on the southern flank of Alba Mons. This collection of graben is called Ceraunius Fossae. The term fossae means long, linear depressions. | Context imageThe large graben in this VIS image is part of a series of graben located on the southern flank of Alba Mons. This collection of graben is called Ceraunius Fossae. The term fossae means long, linear depressions.Orbit Number: 54146 Latitude: 35.0747 Longitude: 249.803 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-02-27 06:03Please 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 collage of six images taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, shows examples of the daytime temperature patterns of Martian dunes. | This collage of six images taken by the camera system on NASA's Mars Odyssey, shows examples of the daytime temperature patterns of martian dunes seen by the infrared camera. The dunes can be seen in this daytime image because of the temperature differences between the sunlit (warm and bright) and shadowed (cold and dark) slopes of the dunes. The temperatures in each image vary, but typically range from approximately -35 degrees Celsius (-31 degrees Fahrenheit) to -15degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit). Each image covers an area approximately 32 by 32 kilometers (20 by 20 miles) and was acquired using the infrared Band 9, centered at 12.6 micrometers. Clockwise from the upper left, these images are: (a) Russell crater, 54 degrees south latitude, 13 degrees east longitude; (b) Kaiser crater. 45degrees south latitude, 19 degrees east longitude; (c) Rabe crater, 43south latitude, 35 east longitude; (d) 22 north latitude, 66 degrees east longitude; (e) Proctor crater. 47 degrees south latitude, 30 degrees east longitude; (f) 61 degrees south latitude, 201 degrees east longitude.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science in Washington, D.C. Investigators at Arizona State University in Tempe, the University of Arizona in Tucson and NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, operate the science instruments. Additional science partners are located at the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and at Los Alamos National Laboratories, New Mexico. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL. | |
The three large aligned Tharsis volcanoes are Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons and Ascreaus Mons (from south to north). This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the northeastern flank of Arsia Mons at the summit caldera. | Context image The three large aligned Tharsis volcanoes are Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons and Ascreaus Mons (from south to north). There are collapse features on all three volcanoes, on the southwestern and northeastern flanks. This alignment may indicate a large fracture/vent system was responsible for the eruptions that formed all three volcanoes. The flows originating from Arsia Mons are thought to be the youngest of the region. This VIS image shows part of the northeastern flank of Arsia Mons at the summit caldera. In this region the summit caldera does not have a steep margin most likely due to renewed volcanic flows within this region of the caldera. The scalloped depressions at the top of the image are most likely created by collapse of the roof of lava tubes. Lava tubes originate during eruption event, when the margins of a flow harden around a still flowing lava stream. When an eruption ends these can become hollow tubes within the flow. With time, the roof of the tube may collapse into the empty space below. The tubes are linear, so the collapse of the roof creates a linear depression.Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes. It is 270 miles (450km) in diameter, almost 12 miles (20km) high, and the summit caldera is 72 miles (120km) wide. For comparison, the largest volcano on Earth is Mauna Loa. From its base on the sea floor, Mauna Loa measures only 6.3 miles high and 75 miles in diameter. A large volcanic crater known as a caldera is located at the summit of all of the Tharsis volcanoes. These calderas are produced by massive volcanic explosions and collapse. The Arsia Mons summit caldera is larger than many volcanoes on Earth. The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions. Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all. For the next several months the image of the day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!Orbit Number: 17716 Latitude: -8.11179 Longitude: 240.245 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2005-12-12 00:29Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
Dust slides occur within the larger craters on Mars in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image for PIA08088Dust SlidesDust slides occur within the larger craters in this image.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 18.8N, Longitude 18.5E. 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. | |
These views captured by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor are from northwestern Elysium Planitia in the martian northern hemisphere thought to dry gullies. | How recent is "recent"? The small martian gullies discovered in Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) pictures of certain craters, troughs, and valleys between latitudes 30° and 70° appear to be geologically young. This means that, on the scale of a planet that is 4.5billion years old, the gullies may be only a few million, or less, years old. The youth of these gullies relative to the history of Mars is indicated by the lack of impact craters--formed by meteors--on the alcoves, channels, or aprons of these features. However, other evidence suggests that the gullies may, in many cases, be much younger than a few million years--in fact, some might be actively seeping water in modern times.The first picture, "Apron Covering Dunes," shows a deep, prominent martian gully in a south-facing wall in Nirgal Vallis near 29.4°S, 39.1°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. At the bottom of the picture is a series of evenly-spaced, almost parallel ridges. These ridges are dunes created by windblown sand. The apron--the fanlike deposit at the lower end of the deep channel--at this location is seen covering some of the dunes. The sand dunes are thus older than the apron of debris that came from the channel. The dune field has no small meteor impact craters on it, so it, like the gully landforms, is geologically young--yet older than the apron. If the dunes are active in the modern environment--which is uncertain despite the apparent youth of the dunes--then the apron would have had to form within the past few centuries or less. This picture was taken in September 1999.The second picture, "Apron on Polygons," shows aprons deposited at the base of the south-facing slope in an impact crater at 54.8°S, 342.5°W, in Noachis Terra. The slope and plains surrounding the apron materials have a bumpy pattern of evenly-spaced polygons. Polygonal patterns like this are common in the middle and high latitude regions of Mars, and, like their counterparts in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of Earth, probably form by stresses induced by seasonal and daily freezing and warming cycles of ice in the ground. Such polygons, where found on Earth, are usually only several to tens of thousands of years old, at most. The fact than an apron of debris covers such polygons, and no new polygons have formed on top of the apron, all suggest that the apron--and therefore the gully involved in slope erosion at this location--may be no more than a few tens of thousands of years old, and could be much, much younger. The aprons shown here are from the same July 1999 picture as shown in an accompanying release, "Basic Features of Martian Gullies;" the picture is illuminated from the upper left.The third picture, "Fresh, Dust-free Surfaces," shows a January 2000 view of small, dark channels eroded into one of the gully alcoves found in the "Aerobraking Crater" located at 65°S, 15°W. Two aspects of this picture indicate that two of the processes that contribute to martian gully formation--liquid water seepage and downslope movement of dry, as well as wet, debris--have probably occurred in the near-recent past. In this case, near-recent could mean "within a few days of when the picture was taken" to "within a few years of when the picture was taken." One aspect is the sharp contrast between dark-toned and light-toned surfaces. On Mars, fine, bright dust can settle out of the atmosphere and eventually coat surfaces so that the contrast between dark and light terrains is hidden from view. There was an experiment on the Sojourner Rover in 1997, for example, that found dust to be settling out of the atmosphere almost all of the time during Mars Pathfinder's 83-day mission. If dust were settling on the alcoves and small channels shown here, they would not appear to be so dark relative to the surrounding, bright, dust-covered terrain. The other attribute of the picture that suggests relative youth is the preponderance of boulders and their sharp, crisp relief which indicates that they have not yet broken into finer debris, nor have they been covered up and mantled by sand or dust. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper right. | |
This series of images shows simulated views of a darkening Martian sky blotting out the Sun from NASA's Opportunity rover's point of view, with the right side simulating Opportunity's current view in the global dust storm (June 2018). | This series of images shows simulated views of a darkening Martian sky blotting out the Sun from NASA's Opportunity rover's point of view, with the right side simulating Opportunity's current view in the global dust storm (June 2018). The left starts with a blindingly bright mid-afternoon sky, with the sun appearing bigger because of brightness. The right shows the Sun so obscured by dust it looks like a pinprick. Each frame corresponds to a tau value, or measure of opacity: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.For more information about Opportunity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rovers and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. |
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