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This image is part of THEMIS art month, taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey featuring a portion of Mars' landscape looking like a camel, or maybe a dragon. | 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!This windswept VIS image could be a camel, or maybe a dragon? Originally released as an Art image, this image of the north polar cap illustrates some of the markings that appear on the surface during spring and summer.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 area where the Mars rover Spirit is believed to have touched down. | 5 January 2004 Two Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images acquired before the spectacular January 2004 landing of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A), Spirit, show the area where the lander is currently believed to have touched down. The identification of the area shown in the two pictures above is based on the pictures acquired by Spirit's descent imaging system just before landing. The lower picture was obtained by MGS MOC on 22 July 2003, the upper picture was acquired less than a month ago on 10 December 2003. What is exciting about these two pictures is the differences in the patterns of dark, squiggly streaks. These streaks are believed to have been caused by the removal of bright dust by large, passing dust devils. Comparison of the picture from July 2003 with that of December 2003 show that a different dark streak pattern developed over a period of less than 5 months.These two MOC images suggest that the landing site is a dynamic, changing place on the time scale of several months. MGS MOC has never seen a dust devil occur in Gusev Crater, the location of the Spirit landing site. MGS always flies over Gusev around 2 p.m. local time, so this means that dust devils are not believed to be common around 2 p.m. However, the changes in the dark streaks suggest that dust devils definitely have occurred in Gusev Crater over the past 5 to 6 months, and they most likely occur earlier than 2 p.m. (perhaps closer to local 1 p.m. or noon).These two MOC images are simple cylindrical map projections (rotated somewhat; note the north arrow, N) at a scale of about 3 meters per pixel (~10 ft/pixel); the 300 meter scale bar is about two-tenths of a mile long. The images are located near 14.7°S, 184.6°W, and are illuminated from the left. | |
Polar surface winds can reach high velocities. These winds can cause clouds to form when the winds flow into troughs and become chaotic. This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows trough clouds as linear bands. | Context imagePolar surface winds can reach high velocities. These winds can cause clouds to form when the winds flow into troughs and become chaotic. This VIS image shows trough clouds as linear bands.Orbit Number: 40916 Latitude: -86.4592 Longitude: 100.949 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-03-06 07:28Please 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows gullies that occur on the layered north wall of a crater in Newton Basin on Mars. Dark sand dunes are visible. | MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-317, 8 August 2002One of the advantages of having a high resolution camera orbiting Mars is that whole new classes of martian landforms can be revealed. As first described by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) scientists in June 2000, MOC images of 1.5 to 12 meters per pixel (4.9 to 39 feet per pixel) have done just that--revealed a whole new class of martian landform, the mid-latitude gully. Mid-latitude gullies provide the most compelling evidence--though not conclusively--that Mars may have aquifers of groundwater at shallow depths (less than 500 meters, 1640 ft) below the surface. They are found most commonly on pole-facing slopes in craters and troughs at middle to high latitudes. Where multiple gullies are present, they usually emanate from the same layer in a given crater or trough wall.The gullies shown here occur on the layered north wall of a crater in Newton Basin near 41.8°S, 158.0°W. The picture was obtained by MOC in May 2002. Dark sand dunes are visible at the bottom of the image, especially at the lower right. This view has an aspect ratio of 1.5 to 1; that is, the image covers an area 4.3 km (2.7 mi) from top to bottom and 2.9 km (1.8 mi) from left to right. Nearly all of the craters in Newton Basin have a plethora of similar gullies, suggesting that Newton is the site of an aquifer. Instead of forming by seepage and runoff of groundwater, other researchers have suggested that martian gullies may form by melting of ground ice, melting of surficial snow (under climate conditions different than today), or discharge of carbon dioxide that somehow became buried under the martian surface. None of these alternatives can explain all of the observed attributes of the gullies, especially their associations with specific layers. Seeping water, potentially as a saline brine, remains the most likely explanation. | |
Still Giving Thanks for Good Health | Click on the image for Still Giving Thanks for Good Health (QTVR)NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this full-circle panorama of the region near "Husband Hill" (the peak just to the left of center) over the Thanksgiving holiday, before ascending farther. Both the Spirit and Opportunity rovers are still going strong, more than a year after landing on Mars. This 360-degree view combines 243 images taken by Spirit's panoramic camera over several martian days, or sols, from sol 318 (Nov. 24, 2004) to sol 325 (Dec. 2, 2004). It is an approximately true-color rendering generated from images taken through the camera's 750-, 530-, and 480-nanometer filters. The view is presented here in a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. Spirit is now driving up the slope of Husband Hill along a path about one-quarter of the way from the left side of this mosaic. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the dunes darker than their surroundings due to cooler temperature. | Context imageToday's VIS image was collected at the same time as yesterday's IR image. In the visible wavelengths, the dunes are darker than their surroundings. Compare to yesterday's IR image, where the dunes are bright because of their warmer temperature.Orbit Number: 51157 Latitude: -43.6777 Longitude: 34.3986 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-06-26 05:33Please 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft shows modified barchan dunes with shapes that resemble 'raptor claws.' The unusual morphology of these dunes suggests a limited supply of windblown sand. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis HiRISE image shows modified barchan dunes with shapes that resemble "raptor claws." The unusual morphology of these dunes suggests a limited supply of windblown sand.Winds likely blew from the northeast resulting in elongate dunes with an asymmetric downwind point. The transverse crests of the smaller ripples/mega-ripple bed-forms surrounding the dune, echo the dominant downwind direction towards the southwest.This locality is in the Northern Lowlands directly east of Dokka Crater in Scandia Cavi.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a cross section of Elysium Mons, including part of the summit caldera. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a cross section of Elysium Mons, including part of the summit caldera. Unlike the Tharsis volcanoes to east, there are very few identifiable lava flows on the flanks of the Elysium Mons. In profile the volcano looks like Mt. Fuji in Japan. Mt. Fuji is a stratovolcano. A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by multiple layers of lava and ash erupting solely from the summit caldera. The Tharsis volcanoes are shield volcanoes, which will host flank eruptions, but rarely ash eruptions. Elysium Mons is 12.6km (7.8 miles) tall. For comparison, Mt. Fuji is 3.7 km (2.3 miles) tall.Orbit Number: 94794 Latitude: 24.68 Longitude: 146.541 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-04-28 15:31Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Indus Vallis, located in northern Terra Sabaea. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Indus Vallis, located in northern Terra Sabaea. The valley system is over 300 km (186 miles) long.Orbit Number: 79137 Latitude: 18.6453 Longitude: 39.3279 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-10-17 11:06Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows the summit caldera of Arsia Mons. Several small volcanic vents are visible on the caldera floor. | Context imageA 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.Today's VIS image shows the summit caldera of Arsia Mons. Several small volcanic vents are visible on the caldera floor. It is not uncommon for calderas to have "flat" floors after the final explosive eruption the empties the subsurface magma chamber. There may still be some magma or superheated rock left after the collapse that will fill in part of the depression. Additionally, over time erosion will work to level the topography. Within the Arsia Mons caldera there was renewed activity from several small vents that occurred along the alignment of the NE/SW trend of the three large volcanoes. This ongoing, low volume activity is similar to the lava lake in Kilauea in Hawaii. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes. It is 450 km (270 miles) in diameter, almost 20 km (12 miles) high, and the summit caldera is 120 km (72 miles) 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.The Arsia Mons summit caldera is larger than many volcanoes on Earth.Orbit Number: 84328 Latitude: -8.58304 Longitude: 239.166 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-12-17 20:11Please 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. | |
Gullies in Sirenum Terra, Mars | This enhanced-color view shows gullies in an unnamed crater in the Terra Sirenum region of Mars. It is a sub-image from a larger view imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 3, 2006. This scene is about 254 meters (about 830 feet) wide. The upper and left regions of this scene are in shadow, yet color variations are still apparent. The high signal to noise ratio of the HiRISE camera allows for colors to be distinguished in shadows. This allows dark features to be identified as true albedo features versus topographical features. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows true-color of a banded Martian landscape. | Context image for PIA08587Martian Color #3This color treatment is the result of a collaboration between THEMIS team members at Cornell University and space artist Don Davis, who is an expert on true-color renderings of planetary and astronomical objects. Davis began with calibrated and co-registered THEMIS VIS multi-band radiance files produced by the Cornell group. Using as a guide true-color imaging from spacecraft and his own personal experience at Mt. Wilson and other observatories, he performed a manual color balance to display the spectral capabilities of the THEMIS imager within the context of other Mars observations. He also did some manual smoothing along with other image processing to minimize the effects of residual scattered light in the images.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -15.8N, Longitude 115.9E. 70 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 floor of the crater in this NASA Mars Odyssey image displays interesting textures and it appears to have been flooded by some type of material. It is unclear if this material was fluvially emplaced mud (hyperconcentrated flows) or lava. | The floor of this crater displays interesting textures and it appears to have been flooded by some type of material. It is unclear if this material was fluvially emplaced mud (hyperconcentrated flows) or lava. However, there are no volcanic constructs in the immediate region and the fact that the crater rim was breached by Labou Vallis to the east (see regional view in image context) suggests that this material may indeed be mudflows.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 -9.8, Longitude 207.6 East (152.4 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
This 360-degree panorama shows the vista from the location where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter inside Mars' Gusev Crater. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | This 360-degree panorama shows the vista from the location where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter inside Mars' Gusev Crater. The view combines a stereo pair so that it appears three-dimensional when seen through red-blue glasses, with the red lens on the left.The rover's overwintering location is on the northern edge of a low plateau informally called "Home Plate," which is about 80 meters or 260 feet in diameter. The images combined into this panoramic view were taken by Spirit beginning on the mission's 1,477th Martian day, or sol, (February 28, 2008) and finishing on Sol 1691 (October 5, 2008). The hill on the horizon at far right is Husband Hill, to the north. Spirit acquired a 360-degree panorama (see PIA03610) from the summit of Husband Hill during August 2005). The hill dominating the left portion of the image is McCool Hill. Husband and McCool hills are two of the seven principal hills in the Columbia Hills range within Gusev Crater. Home Plate is in the inner basin of the range.The northwestern edge of Home Plate is visible in the right foreground. The blockier, more sharply shadowed texture there is layered sandstone whose layering is tilted inward toward the edge of the Home Plate platform. The northeastern edge of Home Plate is visible in the left foreground. Spirit first climbed onto Home Plate on that region, in early 2006.Rover tracks from driving by Spirit are visible on Home Plate in the center and right of the image. These were made during Spirit's second exploration on top of the plateau, which began when Spirit climbed onto the southern edge of Home Plate in September 2007.In the center foreground, the turret of tools at the end of Spirit's robotic arm appears in duplicate because the arm was repositioned between the days when the images making up that part of the mosaic were taken. On the horizon above the turret, to the south, is a small hill capped with a light-toned outcrop. This hill is called "Von Braun," and it is a possible destination for Spirit during the upcoming Martian southern-hemisphere summer. The flat horizon in the right-hand portion of the panorama is the basaltic plain onto which Spirit landed on January 4, 2004 (Universal Time; January 3, 2004, Pacific Standard Time). | |
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 the interior deposits and floor of Firsoff Crater. | Context image The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the interior deposits and floor of Firsoff Crater.Orbit Number: 50908 Latitude: 2.67775 Longitude: 350.784 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-06-05 19:31Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a cratered surface in Isidis Planitia, a martian lowland. Light-toned squiggles in this August 2005 image are large windblown ripples. | 3 November 2005This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a cratered surface in Isidis Planitia, a martian lowland. Light-toned "squiggles" in this August 2005 image are large windblown ripples.Location near: 10.6°N, 275.2°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: lower left Season: Northern Autumn | |
Northern Plains | Image PSP_001358_2485 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 10, 2006. The complete image is centered at 68.5 degrees latitude, 73.0 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 313.2 km (195.8 miles). At this distance the image scale is 31.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~94 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:10 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 58 degrees, thus the sun was about 32 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 133.2 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 captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a small portion of Hydraotes Chaos. Chaos is defined as a distinctive area of broken terrain. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a small portion of Hydraotes Chaos. Chaos is defined as a distinctive area of broken terrain. Topographically, chaos regions have hills/mesas/plateaus surroundied by lower elevation valleys that crisscross in random directions.Orbit Number: 63872 Latitude: 1.633 Longitude: 325.687 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2016-05-08 00:41Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dust-mantled, layered remnants of sedimentary rock exposed by erosion on the floor of an unnamed crater located northeast of Crommelin Crater in Arabia Terra on Mars. | 24 June 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dust-mantled, layered remnants of sedimentary rock exposed by erosion on the floor of an unnamed crater located northeast of Crommelin Crater in Arabia Terra. Many of the low-lying areas separating the exposures are occupied by large, windblown ripples and, in some areas, by dark-toned, windblown sand.Location near: 8.3°N, 7.2°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Northern Spring | |
This image shows the portion of the rim of Endeavour crater given the informal name 'Spirit Point.' This is the location where the team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity plans to drive the rover to its arrival at the Endeavour rim. | Annotated ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis oblique view with moderate vertical exaggeration shows the portion of the rim of Endeavour crater given the informal name "Spirit Point." This is the location where the team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity plans to drive the rover to its arrival at the Endeavour rim. Endeavour crater has been the rover team's destination for Opportunity since the rover finished exploring Victoria crater in August 2008. Endeavour, with a diameter of about 14 miles (22 kilometers), offers access to older geological deposits than any Opportunity has seen before. The western rim of Endeavour has a series of ridges. Spirit Point is the southern edge of a ridge called "Cape York." This view, as if looking toward the north from an aircraft over the western edge of Endeavour, was created from computer modeling based on a stereo pair of images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The vertical dimension is exaggerated three-fold, compared to horizontal dimensions. For scale, the Cape York ridge is about 400 feet (about 120 meters) across. Between this ridge and the next ridge segment of the rim to the south lies a gap informally named "Botany Bay."Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, completed their three-month prime missions in April 2004 and continued operations in bonus extended missions. Spirit stopped communicating in March 2010 as energy available to the rover declined. Calling Opportunity's first Endeavour contact site Spirit Point honors the accomplishments of the Spirit mission. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reached Mars in 2006, completed its prime mission in 2010, and is also working in an extended mission. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows trenches dug by its robotic arm. The trench on the left is informally called 'Dodo' and was dug as a test. The trench on the right is informally called 'Baby Bear.' | NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager took this image on Sol 11 (June 5, 2008), the eleventh day after landing. It shows the trenches dug by Phoenix's Robotic Arm. The trench on the left is informally called "Dodo" and was dug as a test. The trench on the right is informally called "Baby Bear." The sample dug from Baby Bear will be delivered to the Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. The Baby Bear trench is 9 centimeters (3.1 inches) wide and 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) deep.The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | |
This pair of before (left) and after (right) images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter documents formation of a new channel on a Martian slope between 2010 and 2013, likely resulting from activity of carbon-dioxide frost. | This pair of before (left) and after (right) images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter documents the formation of a substantial new channel on a Martian slope between Nov. 5, 2010, and May 25, 2013. The location is on the inner wall of a crater at 37.45 degrees south latitude, 222.95 degrees east longitude, in the Terra Sirenum region. Gully or ravine landforms are commonly found in the mid-latitudes on Mars, particularly in the southern highlands. These features typically have an alcove at the upper end, feeding into a channel and an apron of debris that has been carried from above. Researchers using HiRISE have discovered many examples of gully activity likely driven by seasonal carbon-dioxide frost (dry ice). The changes visible by comparing the 2010 and 2013 observations at this site formed when material flowing down from the alcove broke out of an older route, eroded a new channel and formed a deposit on the apron. Although this pair of observations does not pin down the season of the event, locations HiRISE has imaged more often demonstrate that this sort of event generally occurs in winter, when liquid water is very unlikely. Despite their resemblance to water-formed ravines on Earth, carbon dioxide may play a key role in the formation of many Martian gullies.The image on the right is one product from a HiRISE observation catalogued as ESP_032011_1425. Other products from the same observation are available at http://uahirise.org/ESP_032011_1425. The image on the left is from observation ESP_020051_1420 (http://uahirise.org/ESP_020051_1420). A May 14, 2009, observation of the same slope is at http://uahirise.org/ESP_013115_1420.HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Science Laboratory projects for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This NASA Mars Odyssey image shows the intersection of Holden Crater with Uzboi Valles. This region of Mars contains a number of features that could be related to liquid water on the surface in the Martian past. | (Released 17 April 2002)The ScienceThis image, located near 27.0S and 35.5W (324.5E), displays the intersection of Holden Crater with Uzboi Valles. This region of Mars contains a number of features that could be related to liquid water on the surface in the Martian past. Holden Crater contains finely layered sedimentary units that have been subsequently dissected. The hummucky terrain in the bottom half of the image is the remnants of this terrain, though the fine layers are not visible in this image at this resolution. The sedimentary units could have formed through deposition of material in a lacustrine type environment. Alternately, these layers could also be volcanic ash deposits. Uzboi Valles, which enters the crater from the southwest, is a catastrophic outflow channel that formed in the Martian past. The streamlined nature of the topographic features at the intersection of the crater with Uzboi Valles record the erosional pattern of flowing liquid water on the surface of Mars during the episodic outflow event.The StoryMars doesn't have a shortage of rugged terrain, and this area is no exception. While things look pretty quiet now, this cratered region was once the scene of some tremendous action. Long ago in Martian history, an incoming meteoroid probably smashed into the planet and produced a giant impact crater named Holden Crater, which stretches 88 miles across the Martian surface. The history of the area around Holden Crater doesn?t stop there. At some point, a catastrophic flood burst forth on the surface, forming an impressive outflow channel called Uzboi Valles. No one knows exactly how that happened, or whether the water might even have rushed into Holden Crater at some point, forming a long-ago lake. What we do know is that there is a lot of sedimentary material that could have formed in two hypothesized ways: in an ancient lake environment or as volcanic-ash deposits.Scientists are searching for the answers by studying the region where Uzboi Valles meets the crater. You can see the rough edge of Holden Crater running diagonally down in a sharply edged swath (from the top left-hand corner of this image to the center right-hand side). Just below it, running almost smoothly down the right-hand side of the image is an intriguing channel where water may once have flowed. Much of the terrain in the bottom half of the image, in fact, seems to be cut into a swish-swash of dissected sedimentary terrain. Sliced through in such a way, the terrain ends up carrying bunches of small, rounded hills called "hummocks." Earth can boast of its own rolling, hummocky terrain too, such as that found in the ravine-cut Missouri Hills and High Plains areas of South Dakota. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of the complex caldera at the summit of Ascraeus Mons. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the complex caldera at the summit of Ascraeus Mons. Ascraeus Mons is the northernmost and tallest of the three large aligned Tharsis volcanoes. 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. Ascraeus Mons is 18 km (11 miles) tall, for comparison Mauna Kea – the tallest volcano on Earth – is 10 km tall (6.2 miles, measured from the base below sea level).Orbit Number: 89125 Latitude: 11.0029 Longitude: 256.08 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-01-16 20:38Please 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 Ingenuity helicopter can be seen on the belly of the Perseverance rover, ready to be dropped off at the helicopter's deployment location. | NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter can be seen on the belly of the Perseverance rover, ready to be dropped off at the helicopter's deployment location. This image was taken on March 25, 2021, the 35th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera on the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument, located at the end of the rover's long robotic arm.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and manages operations of Perseverance and Ingenuity for the agency. Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA. WATSON was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) in San Diego and is operated jointly by MSSS and JPL.The Mars helicopter technology demonstration activity is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate.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.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/.For more about Ingenuity: go.nasa.gov/ingenuity. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows several dark-toned mesas surrounded by light-toned sedimentary rock outcrops in Aram Chaos, a large impact basin on Mars. | 6 July 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows several dark-toned mesas surrounded by light-toned sedimentary rock outcrops in Aram Chaos, a large impact basin -- over 200 km (more than 125 mi) across. These mesas are remnants of a once more extensive rock unit. The image is located near 2.0°N, 20.2°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a section of Mamers Valles. The channel is nearly 1000 km long (600 miles). | Context imageToday's VIS image shows a section of Mamers Valles. The channel is nearly 1000 km long (600 miles). Mamers Valles originates near Cerulli Crater in northern Arabia Terra, and after a short section near the crater where flow is to the south, flows northward to empty in Deuteronilus Mensae. The steep walls of Mamers Valles can reach heights of 1200 m (4000 feet).Orbit Number: 88896 Latitude: 31.184 Longitude: 19.9349 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-12-29 00:12Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows gullies in the north wall of a crater south of Proctor Crater in Noachis Terra on Mars. Dark streaks cutting across the scene were formed by passing dust devils. | 25 May 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows gullies in the north wall of a crater south of Proctor Crater in Noachis Terra. To form, the gullies might have required liquid water. Dark streaks cutting across the scene were formed by passing dust devils.Location near: 51.4°S, 331.4°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer | |
Layering in North Polar Layered Deposits | Image PSP_001390_2660 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 86.2 degrees latitude, 232.4 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 317.0 km (198.1 miles). At this distance the image scale is 31.7 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~95 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 12:06 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 69 degrees, thus the sun was about 21 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 released on August 4, 2004 from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey shows a decorrelation stretch in Gale Crater. Pink/magenta colors usually represent basaltic dunes, cyan indicates the presence of water ice clouds, while green can represent dust. | Released August 4, 2004This image shows two representations of the same infra-red image of Gale Crater. On the left is a grayscale image showing surface temperature, and on the right is a false-color composite made from 3 individual THEMIS bands. The false-color image is colorized using a technique called decorrelation stretch (DCS), which emphasizes the spectral differences between the bands to highlight compositional variations. In the bottom of the crater, surrounding the central mound, there are extensive basaltic sand deposits. The basaltic sand spectral signature combined with the warm surface (due to the low albedo of basaltic sand) produces a very strong pink/magenta color. This color signature contrasts with the green/yellow color of soil and dust in the top of the image, and the cyan color due to the presence of water ice clouds at the bottom of the image. This migrating sand may be producing the erosional features seen on the central mound.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -4.4, Longitude 137.4 East (222.6 West). 100 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's view shows the rover's tracks visible at the original spot where the rover attempted unsuccessfully to exit its landing site crater in 2004. | This is the right-eye version of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's view on its 56th sol on Mars, before it left its landing-site crater. To the right, the rover tracks are visible at the original spot where the rover attempted unsuccessfully to exit the crater. After a one-sol delay, Opportunity took another route to the plains of Meridiani Planum. This image was taken by the rover's navigation camera. | |
An area of Pathfinder's deflated airbags is visible in the lower portion of this image, taken by NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on July 8, 1997. Misregistration at the right side of the image is due to parallax. | An area of Pathfinder's deflated airbags is visible in the lower portion of this image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 4. Misregistration at the right side of the image is due to parallax.Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this close-up view of a rock nicknamed Terra Firme that looks like the open pages of a book, on April 15, 2023, using the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the end of its robotic arm. | Figure ANASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this close-up view of a rock nicknamed "Terra Firme" that looks like the open pages of a book, on April 15, 2023, the 3,800th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, using the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the end of its robotic arm. The rock is about an inch across (2.5 centimeters).Figure A shows the same image in an anaglyph that can be viewed with red-blue 3D glasses.Rocks with unusual shapes are common on Mars, and often were formed by water seeping through cracks in a rock in the ancient past, bringing harder minerals along with them. After eons of being sand-blasted by the wind, softer rock is carved away and the harder materials are all that's left.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the Curiosity mission. Curiosity took the selfie using a camera called the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the end of its robotic arm. MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego.For more about Curiosity, visit http://mars.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This vertical-projection mosaic was assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 107 (April 21, 2004) at a region dubbed 'site 32.' Spirit is sitting east of 'Missoula Crater' on the outer plains. | This vertical projection was assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 107 (April 21, 2004) at a region dubbed "site 32." Spirit is sitting east of "Missoula Crater," no longer in the crater's ejecta field, but on outer plains. Since landing, Spirit has traveled almost exclusively over ejecta fields. This new landscape looks different with fewer angular rocks and more rounded, vesicle-filled rocks. Spirit will continue another 1,900 meters (1.18 miles) along this terrain before reaching the western base of the "Columbia Hills." | |
This image was taken by the Lander Vision System Camera (LCAM) of NASA's Perseverance rover. The camera served as part of the Terrain-Relative Navigation system, a kind of autopilot that helps the spacecraft avoid hazards. | The heat shield drops away toward Mars after being released from the Mars 2020 back shell during the spacecraft's descent through the Martian atmosphere on Feb. 18, 2021. The heat shield and back shell encapsulated NASA's Perseverance rover on its journey to the Red Planet. This image was taken by the rover's Lander Vision System Camera (LCAM), serving as part of the Terrain-Relative Navigation system. This was the first use at Mars of the system, which compared images from below the spacecraft to an onboard map, helping to guide the spacecraft to a safe landing spot in Jezero Crater. Past missions had deemed Jezero Crater too hazardous to be a landing site because of its cliffs, dunes, and boulders. The LCAM generates 1024x1024 pixel grayscale images across a 90x90-degree field of view. The exposure time for each image is just under 150 microseconds, which enables crisp images during descent.LCAM was provided by Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego; the Perseverance rover was built and is operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. JPL is a division of Caltech in Pasadena.For more information about the mission, go to: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020 | |
Component images for this stereo, 360-degree scene were taken byNASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity after a drive of about 97 feet southeastward on April 22, 2014. You need 3D glasses to view this image. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionThe component images for this stereo, 360-degree panorama were taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity after the rover drove about 97 feet (29.5 meters) during the mission's 3,642nd Martian day, or sol (April 22, 2014). The vista appears three-dimensional when seen through blue-red glasses with the red lens on the left.Opportunity drove southwestward on Sol 3642, so the tracks from this end-of-drive position recede toward the northeast. For scale, the distance between the two parallel tracks is about 3.3 feet (1 meter).The position is just west of the ridgeline of the west rim of Endeavour Crater. This stereo anaglyph combines the left-eye view in Figure 1 and the right-eye view in https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18098.JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about Spirit and Opportunity, visit http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. | |
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of a meteoroid impact that was later associated with a seismic event detected by the agency's InSight lander using its seismometer. This crater was formed on May 27, 2020. | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of a meteoroid impact that was later associated with a seismic event detected by the agency's InSight lander using its seismometer. This crater was formed on May 27, 2020.MRO's Context Camera originally located the impact. Then, the spacecraft's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera captured this scene in color. The ground is not actually blue; this enhanced-color image highlights certain hues in the scene to make details more visible to the human eye – in this case, dust and soil disturbed by the impact.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages both InSight and MRO for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado.InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris). Significant contributions for SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spain's Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) supplied the temperature and wind sensors. | |
The channel in this image is called Apsus Vallis and it is located near the Elysium volcanic complex. Lava may have played a part in the formation of Apsus Vallis on Mars as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA02170Apsus VallisThe channel in this image is called Apsus Vallis and it is located near the Elysium volcanic complex. Lava may have played a part in the formation of Apsus Vallis.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 35.3N, Longitude 134.9E. 19 meter/pixel resolution.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
The 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 the delta deposit in Eberswalde Crater. | Context image The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows the delta deposit in Eberswalde Crater. Channels from the crater rim hosted material entering the crater.Orbit Number: 44018 Latitude: -23.9442 Longitude: 326.361 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-11-16 16:04Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a complex of channels, part of Iberus Vallis, a lava channel system in the Elysium Volcanic complex. | This complex of channels is part of Iberus Vallis, a lava channel system in the Elysium Volcanic complex.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 21.2N, Longitude 151.9E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This map from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on Dec 8, 2003 shows the estimated lower limit of the water content of the upper meter of Martian soil. Highest water-mass fractions, exceeding 30 percent to well over 60 percent, are in the polar region. | December 8, 2003This map shows the estimated lower limit of the water content of the upper meter of Martian soil. The estimates are derived from the hydrogen abundance measured by the neutron spectrometer component of the gamma ray spectrometer suite on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft.The highest water-mass fractions, exceeding 30 percent to well over 60 percent, are in the polar regions, beyond about 60 degrees latitude north or south. Farther from the poles, significant concentrations are in the area bound in longitude by minus 10 degrees to 50 degrees and in latitude by 30 degrees south to 40 degrees north, and in an area to the south and west of Olympus Mons (30 degrees to 0 degrees south latitude and minus 135 degrees to 110 degrees longitude).NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for the NASA Office of Space Science in Washington. Investigators at Arizona State University in Tempe, the University of Arizona in Tucson and NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, operate the science instruments. The gamma-ray spectrometer was provided by the University of Arizona in collaboration with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, which provided the high-energy neutron detector, and the Los Alamos National Laboratories, New Mexico, which provided the neutron spectrometer. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, 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. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Claritas Fossae is a graben filled highland, located between the lava plains of Daedalia Planum and Solis Planum. | Context imageLocated between the lava plains of Daedalia Planum and Solis Planum, Claritas Fossae is a graben filled highland. Graben are formed by tectonic activity, where extensional forces stretch the surface allowing blocks of material to slide down between paired faults. These linear grabens are termed fossae. This region of Mars had very active tectonism and volcanism, resulting in the huge volcanos like Arsia Mons and deep chasmata of Valles Marineris. Claritas Fossae was formed prior to the large lava flows of the Tharsis region.Orbit Number: 91646 Latitude: -14.0577 Longitude: 249.123 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-08-12 10:26Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) covers diverse surface units on the floor of eastern Coprates Chasma in eastern Valles Marineris. The bedrock has diverse minerals producing wonderful color contrasts. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThis image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) covers diverse surface units on the floor of eastern Coprates Chasma in eastern Valles Marineris.The bedrock has diverse minerals producing wonderful color contrasts. In over 10 years of orbiting Mars, HiRISE has acquired nearly 50,000 large images, but they cover less than 3 percent of the Martian surface.The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 53.1 centimeters (20.9 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 159 centimeters (62.6 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory driving the agency's Perseverance rover use visualization software to plan how the rover moves around on Mars. This clip from their visualization shows the rover's first drive on March 4, 2021. | Click here for animationEngineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory driving the agency's Perseverance rover use visualization software to plan how the rover moves around on Mars. This clip from their visualization shows the rover's first drive on March 4, 2021.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ | |
The soft soil exposed when wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit dug into a patch of ground dubbed 'Troy' exhibit variations in hue visible in this image, in which the colors have been stretched to emphasize the differences. | The soft soil exposed when wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit dug into a patch of ground dubbed "Troy" exhibit variations in hue visible in this image, in which the colors have been stretched to emphasize the differences.Spirit used its panoramic camera during the 1,892nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (April 29, 2009) to take the three images combined into this composite image. The three images were taken through filters centered at wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers. Spirit had become embedded at Troy by about a week later.The two rocks near the upper right corner of this view are each about 10 centimeters (4 inches) long and 2 to 3 centimeters (1 inch) wide. | |
This 2001 Mars Odyssey image shows a portion of the dune field located on the floor of Kaiser Crater on Mars. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThis VIS image shows a portion of the dune field located on the floor of Kaiser Crater.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -46.2N, Longitude 19.6E. 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a contact between a dust-covered plain and a dust-mantled, textured upland in the Memnonia Sulci region of Mars. | 28 June 2006This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a contact between a dust-covered plain and a dust-mantled, textured upland in the Memnonia Sulci region of Mars. The dominant landforms in this scene are yardangs-they are the product of extensive wind erosion of a relatively poorly-consolidated, sand-bearing material (e.g., deposits of volcanic ash or poorly cemented sedimentary rocks).Location near: 9.3°S, 172.9°W Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Autumn | |
The impact crater in this NASA Mars Odyssey image is a model illustration of the effects of erosion on Mars. The degraded crater rim and several landslides observed in crater walls are evidence of the mass wasting of materials. | The impact crater in this THEMIS image is a model illustration to the effects of erosion on Mars. The degraded crater rim and several landslides observed in crater walls is evidence to the mass wasting of materials. Layering in crater walls also suggests the presence of materials that erode at varying rates.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 31.6, Longitude 44.3 East (315.7 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. | |
This image was taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera during the rover's grinding of the rock dubbed 'Mazatzal' with its rock abrasion tool. The exposed, dark surface is a second coating beneath a top white veneer. | This image was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera during the rover's grinding of the rock dubbed "Mazatzal" with its rock abrasion tool. The picture shows the rock after two targets dubbed "New York" (left) and "Illinois" were brushed on sol 81. The exposed, dark surface is a second coating beneath a top white veneer. This approximate true-color image was created using the panoramic camera's red, green and blue filters. | |
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 an unnamed crater located on the floor of Newton Crater. | Context image The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows an unnamed crater located on the floor of Newton Crater in Terra Sirenum.Orbit Number: 57962 Latitude: -42.1218 Longitude: 201.814 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-01-07 07:47Please 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 stereo view is from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as it was investigating a rock called 'Mazatzal' on the rim of 'Bonneville Crater.' 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Figure 1Figure 2This stereo view was taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on the rover's 82nd martian day, or sol (March 27, 2004). At that point in its primary mission, Spirit was investigating a rock called "Mazatzal" on the rim of "Bonneville Crater." The image shows rocky terrain surrounding the crater. The rover had to pick its way through that terrain on its way to the "Columbia Hills," in the distance on the left. Rolling terrain is apparent in the mid-distance. Barely visible to the right of the hills is the outline of the distant rim of Gusev Crater.This view is presented as cylindrical-perspective projection. It combines images from the left and right eyes of the panoramic camera, taken through blue filters on both sides.Figure 1 is the left-eye view of a stereo pair and Figure 2 is the right-eye view of a stereo pair. | |
This is the first 360-degree panorama in color of the Gale Crater landing site taken by NASA's Curiosity rover. The panorama was made from thumbnail versions of images taken by the Mast Camera. | This is the first 360-degree panorama in color of the Gale Crater landing site taken by NASA's Curiosity rover. The panorama was made from thumbnail versions of images taken by the Mast Camera. Scientists will be taking a closer look at several splotches in the foreground that appear gray. These areas show the effects of the descent stage's rocket engines blasting the ground. What appeared as a dark strip of dunes in previous, black-and-white pictures from Curiosity can also be seen along the top of this mosaic, but the color images also reveal additional shades of reddish brown around the dunes, likely indicating different textures or materials.The images were taken late Aug. 8 PDT (Aug. 9 EDT) by the 34-millimeter Mast Camera. This panorama mosaic was made of 130 images of 144 by 144 pixels each. Selected full frames from this panorama, which are 1,200 by 1,200 pixels each, are expected to be transmitted to Earth later. The images in this panorama were brightened in the processing. Mars only receives half the sunlight Earth does and this image was taken in the late Martian afternoon.
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. | |
Ius Chasma is unique from the other chasmata of Valles Marineris in possessing mega gullies on both sides of the chasma. The largest mega gullies are located in Sinai Planum. This image was obtained by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context image Ius Chasma is unique from the other chasmata of Valles Marineris in possessing mega gullies on both sides of the chasma. The largest mega gullies are located in Sinai Planum, dissecting those plains and emptying into the canyon. These mega gullies are called Louros Valles. Mega gullies are thought to be sapping channels caused by groundwater flow and erosion. The Earth analog is springs - water that flows underground and then breaches the surface creating channels. The morphology of the Mars gullies mirrors terrestrial springs. The channel is fairly uniform in width and the "head" of the channel is rounded like an amphiteater. The channel lengthens by erosion at the "head" backwards as the surface where the spring emerges is undercut. For Mars it is theorized that subsurface water would stay liquid due to underground heating. The "X" in the lower half of the image and the channel at the very bottom are parts of the two largest mega gullies.Ius Chasma is at the western end of Valles Marineris, south of Tithonium Chasma. Valles Marineris is over 4000 kilometers long, wider than the United States. Ius Chasma is almost 850 kilometers long (528 miles), 120 kilometers wide and over 8 kilometers deep. In comparison, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is about 175 kilometers long, 30 kilometers wide, and only 2 kilometers deep. The canyons of Valles Marineris were formed by extensive fracturing and pulling apart of the crust during the uplift of the vast Tharsis plateau. Landslides have enlarged the canyon walls and created deposits on the canyon floor. Weathering of the surface and influx of dust and sand have modified the canyon floor, both creating and modifying layered materials. There are many features that indicate flowing and standing water played a part in the chasma formation.The 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: 11138 Latitude: -7.92828 Longitude: 275.477 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2004-06-18 10:19Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the eastern flank of Elysium Mons. The small channels were likely created due to the flow of lava, rather than water. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the eastern flank of Elysium Mons. The small channels were likely created due to the flow of lava, rather than water.Orbit Number: 44248 Latitude: 24.2191 Longitude: 151.509 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-12-05 16:06Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a circular feature buried in an impact crater in southern Noachis Terra on Mars. | 29 September 2004The circular feature in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image is the location of a buried impact crater in southern Noachis Terra near 55.4°S, 325.1°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across; thus the crater is roughly 2 km in diameter, or twice the size of the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona. A visitor to the Arizona Crater would be quite impressed by the height of its raised rims and the depth of and distance across its bowl, relative to a person. At the human scale It is challenging to imagine a crater twice that size that has been filled and buried by sediment and debris, yet the crater shown here is simply an example. On Mars, craters over 100 km in diameter have been buried, and some have been exhumed. This image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. | |
This false-color image taken on June 7, 2006, shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's had become embedded within an unexpectedly deep and very fine-grained ripple, named 'Jammerbugt' and spent the next eight sols extricating itself. | This false-color image was generated from images obtained by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on sol 842 (June 7, 2006) using the panoramic camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanomter, and 430-nanometer filters. As winter has descended over Meridiani Planum, the availability of solar power for the rovers has diminished greatly. One consequence of less power for Opportunity is that there are fewer telecommunications links via the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft because the rover needs to use the "deep sleep" mode overnight to conserve energy. As a result, images that are not needed specifically to help plan the next sol of operations often stay onboard for much longer time than the science team has been used to. For example, on sol 833 Opportunity became embedded within an unexpectedly deep and very fine-grained ripple, named "Jammerbugt" by the operations team, and spent the next eight sols (834-841) extricating itself. A series of images from the hazard avoidance camera were quickly returned because they were needed to help plan the drive sequences. However, once the rover was free from the ripple, the science team commanded these panoramic camera image mosaics on sol 842 to show complete coverage of the wheel tracks that were left by Opportunity during the extraction process. The images are of great scientific value but were not critical for planning operations. Accordingly, they were not fully downlinked until sol 864 (June 29, 2006), about three weeks after they were obtained. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows part of Hydaspis Chaos, one of many regions of chaos in Margaritifer Terra. | Context imageToday's VIS image shows part of Hydaspis Chaos, one of many regions of chaos in Margaritifer Terra. Chaos terrain is typified by mesas and valleys. The initial breakup of the surface can be due to tectonic forces, although on Mars it is thought that the mode of formation involves release of melted subsurface ice. With time and erosion the valleys widen and the mesas grow smaller. Hydaspis Chaos is is part of the huge outflow system flowing from Valles Marineris to Chryse Planitia. The channel in the center of the image becomes part of the larger Tiu Valles channel.Orbit Number: 87600 Latitude: 3.42796 Longitude: 332.822 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-09-13 06:56Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows an ejecta blanket surrounding this relatively fresh crater on Mars clearly showing the multiple layers that can be formed during the impact event. | Context image for PIA10044Ejecta BlanketThe ejecta blanket surrounding this relatively fresh crater clearly shows the multiple layers that can be formed during the impact event.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -50.9N, Longitude 25.0E. 96 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image, part of an images as art series from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey released on March 2, 2004 shows a martian landscape resembling a witch's hat, or maybe a shark fin cresting the surface. | Released 2 March 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. Perhaps a witch's hat, or maybe a shark fin cresting the surface...Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows a section of one of the many channel forms found radial to the Elysium Mons volcanic complex. | Context imageToday's VIS image contains a section of one of the many channel forms found radial to the Elysium Mons volcanic complex. In this case the fossae is located to the southeast of the volcano. The channel feature is thought to have both a tectonic and volcanic origin. The linear depression at the upper left of the image resembles a graben (formed by tectonic forces) and the smaller sinuous channels below the large linear depression more closely resemble features caused by fluid flow – either lava or water created by melting subsurface ice by volcanic heating. The linear depression is called Elysium Fossae, and the sinuous channel is called Iberus Vallis. Iberus Vallis is 87 km long (54 miles).Orbit Number: 88018 Latitude: 21.5352 Longitude: 151.454 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-10-17 17:04Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the margin of the north polar cap. Layering of the ice is visible in the top half of the image. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the margin of the north polar cap. Layering of the ice is visible in the top half of the image. Small dunes located on the plains surrounding the cap can be seen in the upper left corner of the image.Orbit Number: 60884 Latitude: 82.9278 Longitude: 110.009 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-09-04 23:05Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This panorama is the view NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity gained from the top of the 'Cape Tribulation' segment of the rim of Endeavour Crater. | This panorama is the view NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity gained from the top of the "Cape Tribulation" segment of the rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover reached this point three weeks before the 11th anniversary of its January 2004 landing on Mars.The component images were taken with Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam) during the week after the rover's arrival at the summit on Jan. 6, 2015, the 3,894th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars.This location is the highest elevation Opportunity has reached since departing the Victoria Crater area in 2008 on a three-year, down-slope journey to Endeavour Crater. Endeavour spans about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter, with its interior and rim laid out in this 245-degree panorama centered toward east-northeast. Rover tracks imprinted during the rover's approach to the site appear on the left. The far horizon in the right half of the scene includes portions of the rim of a crater farther south, Iazu Crater. An orbital image showing the regional context is at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13082. The rover climbed about 440 feet (about 135 meters) in elevation from a lower section of the Endeavour rim that it crossed in mid-2013, "Botany Bay," in its drive to the Tribulation summit. It departed the summit on Jan. 17, 2015 (Sol 3902), continuing toward a science destination at "Marathon Valley."At the summit, Opportunity held its robotic arm so that the U.S. flag would be visible in the scene. The flag is printed on the aluminum cable guard of the rover's rock abrasion tool, which is used for grinding away weathered rock surfaces to expose fresh interior material for examination. The flag is intended as a memorial to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. The aluminum used for the cable guard was recovered from the site of the twin towers in the weeks following the attacks. Workers at Honeybee Robotics in lower Manhattan, less than a mile from the World Trade Center, were making the rock abrasion tool for Opportunity and NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, in September 2001.This version of the image is presented in approximate true color by combing exposures taken through three of the Pancam's color filters, centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near-infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). The left edge is toward west-northwest and the right edge is southward.Opportunity landed on Mars on Jan. 25, 2004, Universal Time (evening of Jan. 24, 2004, PST). JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about Spirit and Opportunity, visit http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov.Photojournal Note: Also available is the full resolution TIFF file PIA19109_full.tif. This file may be too large to view from a browser; it can be downloaded onto your desktop by right-clicking on the previous link and viewed with image viewing software. | |
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured these sun rays shining through clouds at sunset on Feb. 2, 2023. It was the first time that sun rays, also known as crepuscular rays, have been viewed so clearly on Mars. | NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured these "sun rays" shining through clouds at sunset on Feb. 2, 2023, the 3,730th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. It was the first time that sun rays, also known as crepuscular rays, have been viewed so clearly on Mars. Crepuscular is taken from the Latin word for "twilight," as these rays appear near sunset or sunrise. These clouds were captured as part of a follow-on imaging campaign to study noctilucent, or "night-shining" clouds, which started in 2021. While most Martian clouds hover no more than 37 miles (60 kilometers) above the ground and are composed of water ice, these clouds appear to be higher in elevation, where it's very cold. That suggests these clouds are made of carbon dioxide, or dry ice.This scene made up of 28 individual images captured by the rover's Mast Camera, or Mastcam. The images have been processed to emphasize the highlights.Curiosity was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam.For more about Curiosity, visit http://mars.nasa.gov/msl or https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html. | |
This image taken by NASA's Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) is of a landform informally called Jenkins Dune and is thought to be a small barchan dune. This feature is less than 1 foot tall and perhaps 2-3 meters wide. Sol 1 began on July 4, 1997. | This image is of a landform informally called Jenkins Dune and is thought to be a small barchan dune. This feature is less than 1 foot (0.3 m) tall and perhaps 2-3 meters wide. Inferred wind direction is from the left to the right. Near the crest of the feature is a demarcation that may represent the exposure of a crust on the sediments; similar features were seen on sediments on the rock Big Joe at the Viking 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 a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998. | |
Perseverance scientist Vivian Sun was excited to see certain geologic features in imagery of Jezero Crater's Delta Scarp because they provide evidence of a watery past. | Figure 1Composed of five images, this mosaic of the Jezero Crater's "Delta Scarp" was taken on March 17, 2021, by the Remote Microscopic Imager (RMI) camera aboard NASA's Perseverance rover from 1.4 miles (2.25 kilometers) away. Scientists believe the 377-foot-wide (115-meter-wide) escarpment is a portion of the remnants of a fan-shaped deposit of sediments that resulted from the confluence between an ancient river and an ancient lake. An annotated version of the same image (Figure 1) reveals location of a conglomerate (rock composed of coarse-grained pebbles mixed with sand) and examples of crossbedding (tilted layers of sedimentary rock that can result from water passing over a loose bed of sediment).Part of the SuperCam instrument, the RMI is able to spot an object the size of a softball from nearly a mile away, allowing scientists to take images of details from a long distance. It also provides fine details of nearby targets zapped by SuperCam's laser.SuperCam is led by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where the instrument's Body Unit was developed. That part of the instrument includes several spectrometers as well as control electronics and software.The Mast Unit was developed and built by several laboratories of the CNRS (the French research center) and French universities under the contracting authority of CNES (the French space agency).A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ and nasa.gov/perseverance | |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the hundreds of images during Aug. 24 to 27, 2005 and combined them into this 360-degree view of 'Husband Hill Summit.' Spirit can be seen on Mar's red surface rocks and soils. | Click on the image for Summit Panorama with Rover (QTVR)The panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the hundreds of images combined into this 360-degree view, the "Husband Hill Summit" panorama. The images were acquired on Spirit's sols 583 to 586 (Aug. 24 to 27, 2005), shortly after the rover reached the crest of "Husband Hill" inside Mars' Gusev Crater. This is the largest panorama yet acquired from either Spirit or Opportunity. The panoramic camera shot 653 separate images in 6 different filters, encompassing the rover's deck and the full 360 degrees of surface rocks and soils visible to the camera from this position. This is the first time the camera has been used to image the entire rover deck and visible surface from the same position. Stitching together of all the images took significant effort because of the large changes in resolution and parallax across the scene.The image is an approximately true-color rendering using the 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters for the surface, and the 600-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters for the rover deck. Image-to-image seams have been eliminated from the sky portion of the mosaic to better simulate the vista a person standing on Mars would see.This panorama provided the team's first view of the "Inner Basin" region (center of the image), including the enigmatic "Home Plate" feature seen from orbital data. After investigating the summit area, Spirit drove downhill to get to the Inner Basin region. Spirit arrived at the summit from the west, along the direction of the rover tracks seen in the middle right of the panorama. The peaks of "McCool Hill" and "Ramon Hill" can be seen on the horizon near the center of the panorama. The summit region itself is a broad, windswept plateau. Spirit spent more than a month exploring the summit region, measuring the chemistry and mineralogy of soils and rocky outcrops at the peak of Husband Hill for comparison with similar measurements obtained during the ascent. | |
This false-color image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity taken Jan. 31, 2008 shows bedrock within a stratigraphic layer dubbed 'Gilbert' after the rover examined a bright band around the inside of Victoria Crater. | This view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows bedrock within a stratigraphic layer informally named "Gilbert," which is the rover's next target after completing an examination of three stratigraphic layers forming a bright band around the inside of Victoria Crater. The rover will descend deeper into the crater to reach the Gilbert layer.Opportunity used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to capture this image with low-sun angle at a local solar time of 3:30 p.m. during the rover's 1,429th Martian day, of sol (Jan. 31, 2008).This view combines separate images taken through the Pancam filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers, 535 nanometers and 432 nanometers. It is presented in a false-color stretch to bring out subtle color differences in the scene. | |
At the center of this view of an area of mid-latitude northern Mars, a fresh crater about 6 meters (20 feet) in diameter holds an exposure of bright material, blue in this false-color image observed by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. | At the center of this view of an area of mid-latitude northern Mars, a fresh crater about 6 meters (20 feet) in diameter holds an exposure of bright material, blue in this false-color image. The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter made this observation on June 20, 2010.Previous HiRISE images of fresh craters in the middle to high northern latitudes show exposed water ice on the poleward-facing slopes (see: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/news/mro-20090924r.html). Here is another example. This crater formed sometime between April 2004 and January 2010, as determined from before-and-after images acquired by the Thermal Emission Imaging System camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter and the Context Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This HiRISE image was acquired in northern Mars' early summer, when frost at this latitude is not expected. Scientists propose that the bright material at the crater is subsurface ice exposed by the impact that excavated the crater. This image spans a distance of about 170 meters (about 560 feet) and is presented in false color, which aids in distinguishing among surface materials and textures. It is a portion of the HiRISE observation catalogued as ESP_018273_2245, of an area at 44 degrees north latitude, 180 degrees east longitude.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
Dark slope streaks are common throughout Lycus Sulci as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Originally released on Oct. 14, 2013Context imageDark slope streaks are common throughout Lycus Sulci.Orbit Number: 51837 Latitude: 19.097 Longitude: 212.486 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-08-21 06:00Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image shows part of the sand sheet and dunes on the floor of Rabe Crater as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageThis VIS image shows part of the sand sheet and dunes on the floor of Rabe Crater.Orbit Number: 52206 Latitude: -43.6487 Longitude: 34.9565 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2013-09-20 13:07Please 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. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 20 January 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows layer outcrops near the rim of South Crater, in the south polar region of Mars. These ancient layered materials surround an even older knob--the rounded feature at right/center. This picture is located near 78.0°S, 336.0°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. | |
Diversity in Mawrth Region, Mars | This view shows diverse materials and morphologies in the region south of Mawrth Vallis on Mars. The color is composed of infrared, red, and blue-green color images, and has been enhanced to accentuate the color differences. The bright material may be rich in clays and date back to a time when Mars had a wetter environment. This is a sub-image of a larger view imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 1, 2006. The resolution is 25 centimeters (10 inches) per pixel, and the scene is 352 meters (385 yards) wide. | |
These Mars global maps show the likely distribution of water ice buried within the upper 3 feet (1 meter) of the planet's surface and represent the latest data from the SWIM project. | These Mars global maps show the likely distribution of water ice buried within the upper 3 feet (1 meter) of the planet's surface and represent the latest data from the Subsurface Water Ice Mapping project, or SWIM. SWIM uses data acquired by science instruments aboard three NASA orbital missions to estimate where ice may be hiding below the surface. Superimposed on the globes are the locations of ice-exposing meteoroid impacts, which provide an independent means to test the mapping results. The ice-exposing impacts were spotted by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), a camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. While other instruments at Mars can only suggest where buried water ice is located, HiRISE's imagery of ice-exposing impacts can confirm where ice is present. Most of these craters are no more than 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter, although in 2022 HiRISE captured a 492-foot-wide (150-meter-wide) impact crater that revealed a motherlode of ice that had been hiding beneath the surface. This crater is indicated with a circle in the upper-left portion of the right-most globe above.Scientists can use mapping data like this to decide where the first astronauts on Mars should land: Buried ice will be a vital resource for the first people to set foot on Mars, serving as drinking water and a key ingredient for rocket fuel. It would also be a major scientific target: Astronauts or robots could one day drill ice cores much as scientists do on Earth, uncovering the climate history of Mars and exploring potential habitats (past or present) for microbial life.The need to look for subsurface ice arises because liquid water isn't stable on the Martian surface: The atmosphere is so thin that water immediately vaporizes. There's plenty of ice at the Martian poles – mostly made of water, although carbon dioxide, or dry ice, can be found as well – but those regions are too cold for astronauts (or robots) to survive for long.SWIM is led by the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. | |
This magnified view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity of a portion of a martian rock called 'Upper Dells' shows fine layers (laminae) that are truncated, discordant and at angles to each other. Eight spherules are embedded in the rock. | Figure 1This magnified view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity of a portion of a martian rock called "Upper Dells" shows fine layers (laminae) that are truncated, discordant and at angles to each other. In Figure 1, interpretiveblack lines trace cross-lamination that indicates the sediments that formed the rock were laid down in flowing water; the interpretive blue lines point to boundaries between possible sets of cross-laminae.This rock, like another called "Last Chance," (see PIA05482) preserves evidence for trough cross-lamination, likely produced when flowing water shaped sinuous ripples in underwater sediment and pushed the ripples to migrate in one direction. The direction of the ancient flow would have been toward or away from the viewer.Several frames taken with Opportunity's microscopic imager during the rover's 41st sol on Mars (March 5, 2004) are stitched together to make this mosaic view. Eight spherules can be seen embedded in the rock, and one larger pebble sits on the present-day surface of the rock. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the southern latitude Hale Crater, a rather large, pristine elliptical crater possessing sharp features, impact melt bodies ponded throughout the structure and few overprinting impact craters. | Figure 1Click on the image for larger versionThis observation shows the southern latitude Hale Crater, a rather large, pristine elliptical crater approximately 125 x 150 kilometer (77 x 93 miles) in diameter.Hale Crater possesses sharp features, impact melt bodies ponded throughout the structure and few overprinting impact craters. These attributes indicate that it is relatively young and certainly well-preserved -- likely the youngest crater of this size on Mars.Present on the crater walls are a large number of gullies, some with light-toned deposits. The gullies visible here are very well developed, and many are cut deeply into the crater walls. Several have braided channels suggestive of repeated flow. Some of the gullies have boulders littered throughout their channels. This could be a result of a fluid preferentially transporting smaller particles and leaving larger rubble behind. The composition of the light-toned deposits are currently unknown. The CRISM visible-infrared spectrometer, HiRISE's sister instrument on MRO, may be able to shed some light on the composition of these materials.In one place along the crater rim gullies are visible on both sides of the rim (Figure 1). This has only been seen in a few locations on Mars.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, built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows Mars' unusual polar texture resembling bird tracks in snow that developed during summer heating. | Context image for PIA10834THEMIS ART #89Could it be bird tracks in the snow? No, just another unusual polar texture that developed during the summer heating.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -72.9N, Longitude 183.0E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This 3D anaglyph, from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, shows a microscopic image taken of the rock called Adirondack. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | This is a 3-D anaglyph showing a microscopic image taken of an area measuring 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across on the rock called Adirondack. The image was taken at Gusev Crater on the 33rd day of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's journey (Feb. 5, 2004), after the rover used its rock abrasion tool to drill into the rock. Debris from the use of the tool is visible to the left of the hole. | |
This image from the front hazard-avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a side view of 'Endurance Crater.' Opportunity took the image on Aug. 4, 2004. | This picture from the rear hazard-avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a side view of "Endurance Crater." Opportunity took the image on sol 188 (Aug. 4, 2004), before transmitting it and other data to the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. The orbiter then relayed the data to Earth. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a portion of the northern cliff face and complex floor deposits of Ophir Chasma. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a portion of the northern cliff face and complex floor deposits of Ophir Chasma.Orbit Number: 56486 Latitude: -4.23093 Longitude: 289.476 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2014-09-07 19:25 Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 27 January 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows layers of sedimentary rock in a crater in western Arabia Terra. Layered rock records the history of a place, but an orbiter image alone cannot tell the entire story. These materials record some past episodes of deposition of fine-grained material in an impact crater that is much larger than the image shown here. The picture is located near 3.4°N, 358.7°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi.) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows | 9 January 2004 The four arrows in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image point to active dust devils captured around 2 p.m. local time on a flat plain west of the large basin, Schiaparelli. This image is located near 5.1°S, 348.9°W; and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The dust devil shadows point toward the northeast (upper right) because sunlight illuminates the scene from the southwest (lower left). | |
This 360-degree view of the terrain surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was taken on the rover's 171st sol on Mars (July 17, 2004). It was assembled from images taken by the rover's navigation camera . | This 360-degree view of the terrain surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was taken on the rover's 171st sol on Mars (July 17, 2004). It was assembled from images taken by the rover's navigation camera at a position referred to as "site 33." Opportunity had driven 11 meters (36 feet) into "Endurance Crater." The view is a cylindrical projection with geometrical seam correction. | |
The debris shield, a protective covering on the bottom of NASA's Perseverance rover, was released on March 21, 2021. The debris shield protects the agency's Ingenuity helicopter during landing. | Click here for animationThe debris shield, a protective covering on the bottom of NASA's Perseverance rover, was released on March 21, 2021, the 30th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The debris shield protects the agency's Ingenuity helicopter during landing; releasing it allows the helicopter to rotate down out of the rover's belly. This image was taken by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera on the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument, located at the end of the rover's long robotic arm.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and manages operations of Perseverance and Ingenuity for the agency. Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA. WATSON was built by Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, and is operated jointly by MSSS and JPL.The Mars helicopter technology demonstration activity is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. 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.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/.For more about Ingenuity: go.nasa.gov/ingenuity. | |
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captures light-toned ridges found in a large fracture located east of Holden Crater forming a curious box-like pattern. | Map Projected Browse ImageClick on the image for larger versionThese light-toned ridges are found in a large fracture located east of Holden Crater and form a curious box-like pattern.A hair-line fracture runs along the axis of each ridge line. The overall pattern spans several hundred meters across and individual ridges are several meters wide. Scientists are not sure how they formed yet, but some possible explanations suggest that mineral-rich ground water flowed out of the hairline fractures and deposited minerals at or near the surface as the water evaporated.In addition, these minerals may have formed a cement along the fractures, making these patterns more resistant to subsequent erosion by wind or other processes. The resulting cemented ridges then stand high above the surrounding plains. HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. | |
This image, taken by the microscopic imager onboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, reveals an imprint left on martian soil by another instrument, the Moessbauer spectrometer. The imprint is within the rover wheel track named 'Middle of Road.' | This image, taken by an instrument called the microscopic imager on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, reveals an imprint left by another instrument, the Moessbauer spectrometer. The imprint is at a location within the rover wheel track named "Middle of Road." Both instruments are located on the rover's instrument deployment device, or "arm."Not only was the Moessbauer spectrometer able to gain important mineralogical information about this site, it also aided in the placement of the microscopic imager. On hard rocks, the microscopic imager uses its tiny metal sensor to determine proper placement for best possible focus. However, on the soft martian soil this guide would sink, prohibiting proper placement of the microscopic imager. After the Moessbauer spectrometer's much larger, donut-shaped plate touches the surface, Spirit can correctly calculate where to position the microscopic imager.Scientists find this image particularly interesting because of the compacted nature of the soil that was underneath the Moessbauer spectrometer plate. Also of interest are the embedded, round grains and the fractured appearance of the material disturbed within the hole. The material appears to be slightly cohesive. The field of view in this image, taken on Sol 43 (February 16, 2004), measures approximately 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across. | |
This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows an outcrop with finely layered rocks within the 'Murray Buttes' region on lower Mount Sharp. | This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows an outcrop with finely layered rocks within the "Murray Buttes" region on lower Mount Sharp.The buttes and mesas rising above the surface in this area are eroded remnants of ancient sandstone that originated when winds deposited sand after lower Mount Sharp had formed. Curiosity closely examined that layer -- called the "Stimson formation" -- during the first half of 2016, while crossing a feature called "Naukluft Plateau" between two exposures of the Murray formation. The layering within the sandstone is called "cross-bedding" and indicates that the sandstone was deposited by wind as migrating sand dunes.The image was taken on Sept. 8, 2016, during the 1454th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.For more information about Curiosity, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. | |
This image, combining data from two instruments aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, depicts an orbital view of the north polar region of Mars. To the right of center, a large canyon, Chasma Boreale, almost bisects the white ice cap. | This image, combining data from two instruments aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, depicts an orbital view of the north polar region of Mars. The ice-rich polar cap (the quasi-circular white area at center) is approximately 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) across. The white cap is riven with dark, spiral-shaped bands. These are deep troughs that are in shadow. They do not reflect sunlight as well or have more internal layers exposed. To the right of center, a large canyon, Chasma Boreale, almost bisects the ice cap. Chasma Boreale is about the length of the United States' famous Grand Canyon and up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) deep. New findings from the shallow radar instrument aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed subsurface geology in this region, allowing scientists to reconstruct the formation process of the large chasm and spiral troughs (see PIA13164).The image synthesizes topographic data from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and images from the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC). Mars Global Surveyor, launched in 1996, operated longer at Mars than any other spacecraft in history. It went silent in November 2006, after gathering data at Mars for more than four times as long as originally planned. | |
The dunes in this unnamed crater in Aonia Terra are coalescing into a sand sheet in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. | Context imageThe dunes in this unnamed crater in Aonia Terra are coalescing into a sand sheet.Orbit Number: 43209 Latitude: -56.0901 Longitude: 250.361 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-09-11 02:09Please 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. | |
Dirty Rotten Rocks | This false-color image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows a collection of rocks (upper right) at Gusev Crater that have captured the attention of scientists for their resemblance to rotting loaves of bread. The insides of the rocks appear to have been eroded, while their outer rinds remain more intact. These outer rinds are reminiscent of those found on rocks at Meridiani Planum's "Eagle Crater." This image was captured on sol 158 (June 13, 2004). | |
The anaglyph is helpful to see that the dark streaks really do occur on a slope in this image taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor 1999. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image. | Changes between 1 February 1998 and 18 November 1999--PIA023793-D Anaglyph ViewThe picture on the left shows a comparison of the southeastern crater wall as it appeared on February 1, 1998, and again on November 18, 1999. (Note that the picture has been rotated relative to the context image at lower left). During the time between the two images, three new dark slope streaks formed (arrows, top right). The older streaks are lighter and fainter than these new, dark ones, suggesting that streaks fade with time. This means that, at least for the crater walls shown here, any streak that is dark is younger than any streak that is pale. The stereo anaglyph (requires red-blue "3-D glasses") at the lower right uses the two images of the crater rim to provide a 3-dimensional view. The anaglyph is helpful to see that the dark streaks really do occur on a slope. In addition, by viewing the anaglyph without 3-d glasses, one can easily identify the three new streaks because they appear as blue and have no red counterpart.These three new slope streaks formed sometime between February 1998 and November 1999. Similar streaks were observed in the highest-resolution images from the Viking orbiters in the late 1970s, but for more than 20 years no one has known how recent these features might be, or how often they might form. Now, MOC is providing some exciting answers. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows unnamed craters in Terra Sirenum. | Context image Today's VIS image shows unnamed craters in Terra Sirenum.Orbit Number: 68429 Latitude: -40.8094 Longitude: 196.569 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-05-18 10:31Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a typical example of a crater partially filled with layered material in the northern mid-latitude of Mars. | 18 April 2004Unlike southern mid-latitude craters, many northern mid-latitude craters do not have gullies but are instead partially filled with layered material. Often, the crater ejecta blankets are also partially covered. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a typical example located near 38.9°N, 185.3°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. | |
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter spotted this location, nicknamed Raised Ridges, during its ninth flight, on July 5. Scientists hope to visit Raised Ridges with the Perseverance rover in the future. | NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter spotted this location, nicknamed "Raised Ridges," during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021, the 133rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Scientists are hoping to visit Raised Ridges with the Perseverance rover in the future. A portion of the helicopter's landing gear can be seen at top left, and its shadow is visible bottom center.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages the technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science, Aeronautics Research, and Space Technology mission directorates. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. | |
These clouds hide the south polar region of Mars. This storm occurred during late summer as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey. | Context image for PIA02034Cloud TopsThese clouds hide the south polar region. This storm occurred during late summer.Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -76.4N, Longitude 230.4E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a portion of Nilus Chaos. Located north of Kasei Vallis, this chaos formed at the elevation boundary between Kasei Valles and the surrounding plains. | Context imageThis VIS image shows a portion of Nilus Chaos. Located north of Kasei Vallis, this chaos formed at the elevation boundary between Kasei Valles and the surrounding plains.Orbit Number: 62289 Latitude: 25.7934 Longitude: 283.427 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-12-29 15:41Please 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. | |
In this footage captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard the Perseverance Mars rover on April 19, 2021, the Ingenuity helicopter lifts of from Mars' surface, hovers for 30 seconds, then touches back down. | Click here for animationIn this footage captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard the Perseverance Mars rover on April 19, 2021, the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter lifts of from the Martian surface, hovers for 30 seconds, then touches back down. Lasting a total of 39.1 seconds, the flight marks the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet.The solar-powered helicopter first became airborne at 3:34 a.m. EDT (12:34 a.m. PDT) — 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time) — a time the Ingenuity team determined would have optimal energy and flight conditions. Altimeter data indicate Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds. It then descended. Flying in a controlled manner on Mars is far more difficult than flying on Earth. The Red Planet has significant gravity (about one-third that of Earth's), but its atmosphere is just 1% as dense as Earth's at the surface.Stitched together from multiple images, the mosaic is not white balanced; instead, it is displayed in a preliminary calibrated version of a natural-color composite, approximately simulating the colors of the scene as it would appear on Mars.Arizona State University in Tempe leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego.The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages this technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and Space Technology Mission Directorate. NASA's Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development.A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ and nasa.gov/perseverance | |
The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows an unnamed crater in Acidalia Planitia. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows an unnamed crater in Acidalia Planitia.Orbit Number: 3022 Latitude: 42.5734 Longitude: 328.68 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2002-08-20 09:17Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This 2001 Mars Odyssey image shows an extensive sand sheet near Mar's south polar cap. | Context imageCredit: NASA/JPL/MOLAThis daytime infrared image shows an extensive sand sheet near the south polar cap.Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -67.5N, Longitude 138.8E. 111 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 the floor of Matara Crater. A large sand sheet dominates the floor of this crater located in Noachis Terra. | Context imageThe THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows the floor of Matara Crater. A large sand sheet dominates the floor of this crater located in Noachis Terra. The top of the sand sheet has been sculpted by the wind, creating dune forms. Matara Crater is 48km (30 miles) in diameter.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: 83817 Latitude: -49.4554 Longitude: 34.8949 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-11-05 19:05Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. | |
This false-color image (purple surface and blue rock) taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity highlights the spherules, or tiny spheres, that speckle the rock dubbed Stone Mountain. | This false-color image taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity highlights the spherules, or tiny spheres, that speckle the rock dubbed Stone Mountain. The colors in this picture were exaggerated or stretched to enhance the real difference in color between Stone Mountain and its collection of granular spherules. |
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