View allAll Photos Tagged MarsReconnaissanceOrbiter
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of cliffs of ancient ice on Mars. Color/processing variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of channels near Jezero Crater. Perseverance is not visible in this image.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a sharply-angled fracture on the flank of the volcano Pavonis Mons on Mars. Color/processing variant.
This is an IRB (Infrared, Red, Blue) image, meaning some infrared features not visible in human-seeable colors are visible.
This is of a feature I requested to be imaged via the HiWish web site. This site lets anyone suggest a location on Mars to be imaged as long as you can come up with a plausible justification (eg, "interesting-looking right-angle bend in a fracture" or "Marvin the Martian's Summer Home in Utopia Planitia" (although the last one may be ignored)). I've had three or four of my suggestions accepted and it's always a thrill to see them published.
JPL's title for this image is "Fractures and Pits on Flank of Pavonis Mons."
Image source: www.uahirise.org/ESP_056616_1800
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of light sand dunes and dark sand dunes in Nili Fossae. Color/processing variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a source of gypsum on sand (gypsum) dunes on Mars. Color variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of avalanches from a cliff on a the north polar ice cap on Mars. (Larger version of what I posted earlier.)
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of the central peak of Alga Crater. Color/processing variant.
This targeted image from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) shows a region of heavily altered rock in Mars' ancient cratered highlands. The featured region is just south of Mawrth Vallis, a channel cut by floodwaters deep into the highlands.
CRISM acquired the image at 1216 UTC (8:16 a.m. EDT) on Oct. 2, 2006, near 25.4 degrees north latitude, 340.7 degrees east longitude. It covers an area about 13 kilometers (8 miles) long and, at the narrowest point, about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) wide. At the center of the image, the spatial resolution is as good as 35 meters (115 feet) per pixel. The image was taken in 544 colors covering 0.36-3.92 micrometers.
This image includes four renderings of the data, all map-projected. At top left is an approximately true-color representation. At top right is false color showing brightness of the surface at selected infrared wavelengths. In the two bottom views, brightness of the surface at different infrared wavelengths has been compared to laboratory measurements of minerals, and regions that match different minerals have been colored. The bottom left image shows areas high in iron-rich clay, and the bottom right image shows areas high in aluminum-rich clay.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of part of a very straight and large crack on Mars - part of Cerberus Fossae. Processing variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of layers and ridges in a crater on Mars. Color/processing variant.
Although large gullies (ravines) are concentrated at higher latitudes, there are gullies on steep slopes in equatorial regions, as seen in this image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). An enhanced-color close-up shows part of the rim and inner slope of Krupac Crater located just 7.8 degrees south of the equator.
The colors of the gully deposits match the colors of the eroded source materials. Krupac is a relatively young impact crater, but exposes ancient bedrock. Krupac Crater also hosts some of the most impressive recurring slope lineae (RSL) on equatorial Mars outside of Valles Marineris.
Another close look shows some RSL flowing downhill (to the left). The RSL leave bright deposits when inactive from previous years; this year's active RSL are the thin dark lines.
The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 26.3 centimeters (10.4 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 79 centimeters (31.1 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter context image of a Martian north polar scarp where an avalanche of carbon dioxide frost was caught in the act. The grayscale image was created by NASA and is the red channel. Lots of really interesting detail to see!
Original caption: This scarp at the edge of the North Polar layered deposits of Mars is the site of the most frequent frost avalanches seen by HiRISE. At this season, northern spring, frost avalanches are common and HiRISE monitors the scarp to learn more about the timing and frequency of the avalanches, and their relationship to the evolution of frost on the flat ground above and below the scarp.
This picture managed to capture a small avalanche in progress, right in the color strip. See if you can spot it in the browse image, and then click on the cutout to see it at full resolution. The small white cloud in front of the brick red cliff is likely carbon dioxide frost dislodged from the layers above, caught in the act of cascading down the cliff. It is larger than it looks, more than 20 meters across, and (based on previous examples) it will likely kick up clouds of dust when it hits the ground.
The avalanches tend to take place at a season when the North Polar region is warming, suggesting that the avalanches may be triggered by thermal expansion. The avalanches remind us, along with active sand dunes, dust devils, slope streaks and recurring slope lineae, that Mars is an active and dynamic planet.
Written by: Paul Geissler (30 September 2015)
Image and caption source: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_042572_2640
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of Curiosity in Gale Crater. This is an enlarged part of a much larger image (see following images) that shows Curiosity and some of her tracks in the sand. Color/processing variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of inverted channels with lots of colors in Kasimov Crater on Mars.
Edited NASA PR image from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showing the Curiosity Rover near the base of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23341
Original caption: NASA's Curiosity Mars rover can be seen in this image taken from space on May 31, 2019, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). In the image, Curiosity appears as a bluish speck.
The image shows Curiosity at a location called "Woodland Bay." It's just one of many stops the rover has made in an area referred to as the "clay-bearing unit" on the side of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain inside of Gale Crater.
Look carefully at the inset image, and you can make out what it is likely Curiosity's "head," technically known as the remote sensing mast. A bright spot appears in the upper-left corner of the rover. At the time this image was acquired, the rover was facing 65 degrees counterclockwise from north, which would put the mast in about the right location to produce this bright spot.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image Addition Date:
2019-07-12
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a sharply-angled fracture on the flank of the volcano Pavonis Mons on Mars.
This is an IRB (Infrared, Red, Blue) image, meaning some infrared features not visible in human-seeable colors are visible.
This is of a feature I requested to be imaged via the HiWish web site. This site lets anyone suggest a location on Mars to be imaged as long as you can come up with a plausible justification (eg, "interesting-looking right-angle bend in a fracture" or "Marvin the Martian's Summer Home in Utopia Planitia" (although the last one may be ignored)). I've had three or four of my suggestions accepted and it's always a thrill to see them published.
JPL's title for this image is "Fractures and Pits on Flank of Pavonis Mons."
Image source: www.uahirise.org/ESP_056616_1800
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of Curiosity in Gale Crater. This is the much larger image of Gale Crater with Curiosity (this is the RGB version).
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of the internal structure of the residual south polar ice cap. Processing variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image of a layer of rocky material cut by some process (perhaps flowing water a billion or two years ago) and now filled by sand dunes. Color/processing variant.
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the north-facing wall of a moat-like depression in the middle of Terby Crater, exposing a beautiful 400 meter-high sequence of light-toned, repetitive sedimentary layers. These deposits are often obscured by darker-toned patches of material as well as ripples and dunes.
The deposits in Terby, located on the northern rim of Hellas Planitia, are consistent with deposition in a standing body of water. The layers have been proposed as science targets for future landed missions.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a central uplift and sand dunes in a crater in the Hesperia region of Mars.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of frost on gullies in a crater on the northern plains of Mars.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of part of Gale Crater and Curiosity sitting a bit above the middle of the image. Processing variant.
The yellow circle shows where you can see Curiosity.
This image, taken by HiRISE, shows a lobate tongue on the Northwest Hellas rim.
Lobate features such as these are located in the mid-latitudes (30-60 degrees), indicative of viscous flow, are reminiscent of terrestrial glaciers and have long been interpreted as evidence for subsurface ice.
Recent ground penetrating radar observations by SHARAD (Shallow Subsurface Radar) of other lobate features in this latitude belt also support the notion that these features have cores with ice.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image of a blue sand dune on Mars. Color/processing variant.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22512
Original caption: Sand dunes often accumulate in the floors of craters. In this region of Lyot Crater NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows a field of classic barchan dunes.
Just to the south of the group of barchan dunes is one large dune with a more complex structure. This particular dune, appearing like turquoise blue in enhanced color, is made of finer material and/or has a different composition than the surrounding.
The map is projected above at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 34.7 centimeters (13.7 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 104 centimeters (40.9 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
This is a stereo pair with ESP_053406_2295.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Image Addition Date:
2018-06-11
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a mound surrounded by (and affecting) an ancient flow of lava.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image (very big!) of lobes of material in a crater on Mars. Color/processed variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of part of Candor Chasma showing swirly rock and sand layers. Color/processing variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of part of Gale Crater and Curiosity sitting a bit above the middle of the image.
This is probably the largest (in terms of file size) image I've ever uploaded to Flickr.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a small mound (for unmeasured amounts of "small") mound in Chryse Planitia.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a possible location of a geyser on Mars (but no geyser visible).
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of part of Candor Chasma showing swirly rock and sand layers.
Although the rim of this well-preserved crater and its smooth walls are very impressive, note also the spectacular collection of ridges draping the underlying topography on the floor of this crater.
What can account for the formation of the terrain at the crater floor? One possible reason might be the former icy flows at this latitude. High-resolution images like this can give us better insight
into these features.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image layers of sulfates with varying levels of hydration on the surface of Mars.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21935
Original caption: In this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, layering within the light-toned sulfate deposit is the result of different states of hydration. Some of the layers have sulfates with little water (known as monohydrated sulfates) whereas other layers have higher amounts of water (called polyhydrated sulfates). The different amounts of water within the sulfates may reflect changes in the water chemistry during deposition of the sulfates, or may have occurred after the sulfates were laid down when heat or pressure forced the water out of some layers, causing a decrease in the hydration state.
Many locations on Mars have sulfates, which are sedimentary rocks formed in water. Within Valles Marineris, the large canyon system that cuts across the planet, there are big and thick sequences of sulfates.
The CRISM instrument on MRO is crucial for telling scientists which type of sulfate is associated with each layer, because each hydration state will produce a spectrum with absorptions at specific wavelengths depending upon the amount of water contained within the sulfate.
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.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Image Addition Date:
2017-09-04
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of part of Gale Crater and Curiosity sitting a bit above the middle of the image. Processing variant.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of Shalbatana Valles on Mars. Color/processing variant.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22182
Original caption: Layers, probably sedimentary in origin, have undergone extensive erosion in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) of Shalbatana Valles, a prominent channel that cuts through Xanthe Terra.
This erosion has produced several small mesas and exposed light-toned material that may differ in composition from the surrounding material.
The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 27.5 centimeters (10.8 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 82 centimeters (32.3 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Image Addition Date:
2018-01-23
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of snow (I presume carbon dioxide snow but certainly could be wrong) on the tops of sand dunes on Mars. Color/processing variant, cropped to better show the snow.