View allAll Photos Tagged MarsReconnaissanceOrbiter
This HiRISE image shows one of the many lobate deposits surrounding the 28 km diameter Tooting Crater on Mars (24oN, 208oE). Deposits such as these are often attributed to the impact event interacting with water or ice within the target rocks. The direction of flow was from the bottom to the top of the image.
There are many interesting features visible in this image. Around the perimeter of the ejecta lobe is a ridge or “rampart”. Streamers of small pits radiate away from the parent crater (which lies off the bottom of the image), and these may be secondary craters. There is also a faint alignment of blocks within the lobe which may indicate laminar flow of the ejecta.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of cliffs of ancient ice on Mars. Other than the cliffs, the terrain reminds me of snake skin...
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a crater on Mars in grayscale with a strip of color imagery overlaid it, showing the pretty (if subtle (at least until I get a hold of it)) colors.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of Barchan sand dunes and bedrock.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21934
Original caption: On the west (left) side of this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, fairly textbook-looking barchan sand dunes sit atop the bedrock. Barchan dunes pointing in the opposite direction are just a few kilometers away to the east.
In between these opposing barchan dunes are star dunes. Barchan dunes form when the sand-moving wind is fairly unidirectional. Star dunes, in contrast, form when the sand-moving wind comes from multiple directions -- not all at once, but from varying directions at different times of day or year.
Where is the sand coming from? As with most places on Mars...well, that's an area of on-going research. But the star dunes are telling us that this area seems to be accumulating sand.
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 a lava-filled crater (long since cooled off) in Elysium Planitia. NASA PR image version.
Page 2 of 2.
Computer graphics and photo.
A waiting orbiter scans for the arriving Mars lander, then takes a picture of its high speed, parachute descent. The lower image is a real photo: the lander, with its parachute deployed, heading in.
There were so many things that had to work perfectly. It didn't sound like it would happen. But the lander is there, in the polar region, taking pictures already.
SEE A VIDEO.
See the beautiful NASA video of this sequence:
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 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.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a scarp or cliff in Meridiani Planum on Mars. Color variant.
Original caption: This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is reminiscent of the rugged and open terrain of a stark shore-line, perhaps of an island nation, such as the British Isles. A close-up in enhanced color produces a striking effect, giving the impression of a cloud-covered cliff edge with foamy waves crashing against it.
The reality is that the surface of Mars is much dryer than our imaginations might want to suggest. This is only a tiny part of a much larger structure; an inverted crater -- a crater that has been infilled by material that is more resistant to erosion than the rocks around it -- surrounded by bluish basaltic dunes. The edge of these elevated light-toned deposits are degraded, irregular and cliff-forming.
Dunes visible below the cliff, give the impression of an ocean surface, complete with foam capped waves crashing against the "shore line," demonstrating the abstract similarity between the nature of a turbulent ocean and a Martian dune field.
Meridiani Planum has an overall smooth terrain, which starkly contrasts with the more common boulder- and crater-laden landscapes observed over much of the rest of Mars. This makes it relatively younger in character than many other areas of the planet. Meridiani is one of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites, and, is known for its layers and sediments. The orbital detection of hematite was one of the main reasons for sending Opportunity to this area.
Salt-bearing rocks -- also called sulphates -- were observed in the very first image from Opportunity, so perhaps it's apt that this HiRISE image reminds us of the turmoil and rugged beauty of a cliff-face, a coastline, being worn down by a relentless sea.
The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 54.7 centimeters (21.5 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 164 centimeters (64.6 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
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.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a wind-shaped hill/mountain with a crater on it on Mars.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter context image of a scarp or cliff in Meridiani Planum on Mars.
Original caption: This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is reminiscent of the rugged and open terrain of a stark shore-line, perhaps of an island nation, such as the British Isles. A close-up in enhanced color produces a striking effect, giving the impression of a cloud-covered cliff edge with foamy waves crashing against it.
The reality is that the surface of Mars is much dryer than our imaginations might want to suggest. This is only a tiny part of a much larger structure; an inverted crater -- a crater that has been infilled by material that is more resistant to erosion than the rocks around it -- surrounded by bluish basaltic dunes. The edge of these elevated light-toned deposits are degraded, irregular and cliff-forming.
Dunes visible below the cliff, give the impression of an ocean surface, complete with foam capped waves crashing against the "shore line," demonstrating the abstract similarity between the nature of a turbulent ocean and a Martian dune field.
Meridiani Planum has an overall smooth terrain, which starkly contrasts with the more common boulder- and crater-laden landscapes observed over much of the rest of Mars. This makes it relatively younger in character than many other areas of the planet. Meridiani is one of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites, and, is known for its layers and sediments. The orbital detection of hematite was one of the main reasons for sending Opportunity to this area.
Salt-bearing rocks -- also called sulphates -- were observed in the very first image from Opportunity, so perhaps it's apt that this HiRISE image reminds us of the turmoil and rugged beauty of a cliff-face, a coastline, being worn down by a relentless sea.
The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 54.7 centimeters (21.5 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 164 centimeters (64.6 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
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.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a trough on Mars with a strange feature at the bottom.
Original caption: This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a close-up of a trough, along with channels draining into the depression. Some HiRISE images show strange-looking formations. Sometimes it helps to look at Context Camera images to understand the circumstances of a scene -- like this cutout from CTX 033783_1509 -- which here shows an impact crater with a central peak, and a collapse depression with concentric troughs just north of that peak.
On the floor of the trough is some grooved material that we typically see in middle latitude regions where there has been glacial flow. These depressions with concentric troughs exist elsewhere on Mars, and their origins remain a matter of debate.
NB: The Context Camera is another instrument onboard MRO, and it has a larger viewing angle than HiRISE, but less resolution capability than our camera.
The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 51.3 centimeters (20.2 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 154 centimeters (60.6 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
"Victoria crater" is an impact crater near the equator of Mars, in the "Meridiani Planum". The crater is approximately 800 meters (about half a mile) in diameter. The rough edges indicate erosion, and layered sedimentary rocks are exposed along the edge. The ripples in the bottom of the crater are wind-blown sand dunes.
This image is a composite of two images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2005.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona [source].
Light-Toned Deposits in Northwest Iani Chaos
Acquisition date
23 July 2024
Local Mars time
14:30
Latitude (centered)
-1.488°
Longitude (East)
340.003°
Spacecraft altitude
272.1 km (169.1 miles)
Original image scale range
from 27.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 54.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning)
This image shows the northern terminus of an outflow channel located in the volcanic terrains of Amenthes Planum.
The channel sources from the Palos impact crater to the south, where water flowed into the crater from Tinto Vallis and eventually formed a paleo lake. As rising lake levels breached the crater's rim and inundated the plains to the north, the resulting high velocity, large discharge floods plucked out and eroded the volcanic plains, scouring out the "Palos Outflow Channel" and the streamlined mesa-islands on its floor.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image of a crater with a very bumpy, lumpy floor. Color/processing variant.
Large craters, like this 50-kilometer diameter one, can uplift material from below and form a mountain-like central peak. Craters of this size on Mars become unstable as they form and collapse due to gravity. Craters with central peaks and terraced rims are referred to as “complex” craters.
Geologists study these central peaks because the uplifted bedrock was once deep within the Martian crust. This 3D-perspective shows heavily-fractured bedrock exposed within the peak, and also dark-toned and fragmental rocks that formed during the impact process.
McLaughlin Crater Dunes
Acquisition date
26 October 2023
Local Mars time
15:37
Latitude (centered)
21.659°
Longitude (East)
337.419°
Spacecraft altitude
286.4 km (178.0 miles)
Original image scale range
28.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~86 cm across are resolved
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image of the landing site of Opportunity in 2004.
Original caption: The bright landing platform left behind by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2004 is visible inside Eagle Crater, at upper right in this April 8, 2017, observation by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived at Mars in March 2006, more than two years after Opportunity's landing on Jan. 25, 2004, Universal Time (Jan. 24, PDT). This is the first image of Eagle Crater from the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, which has optics that include the most powerful telescope ever sent to Mars.
Eagle Crater is about 72 feet (22 meters) in diameter, at 1.95 degrees south latitude, 354.47 degrees east longitude, in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. The airbag-cushioned lander, with Opportunity folded-up inside, first hit Martian ground near the crater, then bounced and rolled right into the crater. The lander structure was four triangles, folded into a tetrahedron until after the airbags deflated. The triangular petals then opened, exposing the rover. A week later, the rover drove off (see PIA05214), and the landing platform's job was done.
The spacecraft's backshell and parachute, jettisoned during final descent, are visible near the lower left corner of this scene. The blue tint of the backshell is an effect of exaggerated color, because HiRISE combines color information from red, blue-green and infrared portions of the spectrum, rather than three different visible-light colors, so its color images are not true color.
Figure 1 is an annotated version covering a broader area from the same HiRISE observation, ESP_050177_1780.
Opportunity examined Eagle Crater for more than half of the rover's originally planned three-month mission, before driving east and south to larger craters. At Eagle, it found headline-making evidence that water once flowed over the surface and soaked the subsurface of the area. By the time this orbital image of the landing site was taken, about 13 years after the rover departed Eagle, Opportunity had driven more than 27 miles (44 kilometers) and was actively exploring the rim of Endeavour Crater, which is about 1,000 times as wide as Eagle.
Before leaving its lander platform out of sight, Opportunity took a memorable look-back image of Eagle Crater, online at PIA05755 .
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 and Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Image Addition Date:
2017-04-21
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was originally meant to track the movement of sand dunes near the North Pole of Mars, but what's on the ground in between the dunes is just as interesting!
The ground has parallel dark and light stripes from upper left to lower right in this area. In the dark stripes, we see piles of boulders at regular intervals.
What organized these boulders into neatly-spaced piles? In the Arctic back on Earth, rocks can be organized by a process called "frost heave." With frost heave, repeatedly freezing and thawing of the ground can bring rocks to the surface and organize them into piles, stripes, or even circles. On Earth, one of these temperature cycles takes a year, but on Mars it might be connected to changes in the planet's orbit around the Sun that take much longer.
The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 32 centimeters (12.6 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 96 centimeters (37.8 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
Layers in the lower portion of two neighboring buttes within the Noctis Labyrinthus formation on Mars are visible in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The view covers an area about 1 km wide. Dune fields blanket the ground in the upper left of the image and a portion of the ground between the buttes. Exposures of brighter and darker materials are also visible in the portion of that area not covered by the dunes. ASU-IPF-3026
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.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image (the colors indicate the general types of minerals in the area and not the surface color) of the delta (long since desiccated) of the river (also long since dried up) flowing into Jezero Crater on Mars. this is the intended landing area of the Perseverance rover in February of 2021. Color/processing variant.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23239
Original caption: This image is of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was taken by instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which regularly takes images of potential landing sites for future missions.
On ancient Mars, water carved channels and transported sediments to form fans and deltas within lake basins. Examination of spectral data acquired from orbit show that some of these sediments have minerals that indicate chemical alteration by water. Here in Jezero Crater delta, sediments contain clays and carbonates.
The image combines information from two instruments on MRO: the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and the Context Camera (CTX). The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, led the work to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates CTX.
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. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL
Image Addition Date:
2019-05-15
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image of the very large volcano Arsia Mons on Mars.
Original caption: New NASA research reveals that the giant Martian shield volcano Arsia Mons produced one new lava flow at its summit every 1 to 3 million years during the final peak of activity. The last volcanic activity there ceased about 50 million years ago—around the time of Earth’s Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction, when large numbers of our planet’s plant and animal species (including dinosaurs) went extinct.
Located just south of Mars’ equator, Arsia Mons is the southernmost member of a trio of broad, gently sloping shield volcanoes collectively known as Tharsis Montes. Arsia Mons was built up over billions of years, though the details of its lifecycle are still being worked out. The most recent volcanic activity is thought to have taken place in the caldera—the bowl-shaped depression at the top—where 29 volcanic vents have been identified. Until now, it’s been difficult to make a precise estimate of when this volcanic field was active.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/USGS
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been working on Mars since landing inside Eagle Crater on Jan. 25, 2004 (Universal Time; evening of Jan. 24, PacificStandard Time). The gold line on this image shows Opportunity's route from the landing site, in upper left, to the area it is investigating on the western rim of Endeavour Crater as the date approaches for the rover's 10th anniversary on Mars, in Earth years.
The map shows Opportunity's location as of the 3,486th Martian day, or sol, of its exploration of Mars (Nov. 13, 2013). By that sol, it had driven 24.01 miles (38.64 kilometers) and was ascending "Murray Ridge" above "Solander Point" on the rim of Endeavour Crater. The features are all within the Meridiani Planum region of equatorial Mars, which was chosen as Opportunity's landing area because of earlier detection of the mineral hematite from orbit.
The base image for the map is a mosaic of images taken by the Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The 5-kilometer scale bar is 3.1 miles long, and the diameter of Endeavour Crater is about 14 miles (22 kilometers). North is up.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of Eagle Crater, which is where Opportunity ended up after her landing and bouncing (she was surrounded by huge air bags when she landed and bounced around quite a bit). Annotation by NASA.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21494
Original caption: The bright landing platform left behind by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2004 is visible inside Eagle Crater, at upper right in this April 8, 2017, observation by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived at Mars in March 2006, more than two years after Opportunity's landing on Jan. 25, 2004, Universal Time (Jan. 24, PDT). This is the first image of Eagle Crater from the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, which has optics that include the most powerful telescope ever sent to Mars.
Eagle Crater is about 72 feet (22 meters) in diameter, at 1.95 degrees south latitude, 354.47 degrees east longitude, in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. The airbag-cushioned lander, with Opportunity folded-up inside, first hit Martian ground near the crater, then bounced and rolled right into the crater. The lander structure was four triangles, folded into a tetrahedron until after the airbags deflated. The triangular petals then opened, exposing the rover. A week later, the rover drove off (see PIA05214), and the landing platform's job was done.
The spacecraft's backshell and parachute, jettisoned during final descent, are visible near the lower left corner of this scene. The blue tint of the backshell is an effect of exaggerated color, because HiRISE combines color information from red, blue-green and infrared portions of the spectrum, rather than three different visible-light colors, so its color images are not true color.
Figure 1 is an annotated version covering a broader area from the same HiRISE observation, ESP_050177_1780.
Opportunity examined Eagle Crater for more than half of the rover's originally planned three-month mission, before driving east and south to larger craters. At Eagle, it found headline-making evidence that water once flowed over the surface and soaked the subsurface of the area. By the time this orbital image of the landing site was taken, about 13 years after the rover departed Eagle, Opportunity had driven more than 27 miles (44 kilometers) and was actively exploring the rim of Endeavour Crater, which is about 1,000 times as wide as Eagle.
Before leaving its lander platform out of sight, Opportunity took a memorable look-back image of Eagle Crater, online at PIA05755 .
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 and Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Image Addition Date:
2017-04-21
Spider-shaped features in the south polar region of Mars are carved by vaporizing dry ice in a dynamic seasonal process. This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter includes several of the distinctive features in an area 1.2 km wide. The features are cut into the ground, not built up above the surrounding surface. Sunlight is coming from the right, from about 15 degrees above the horizon. ASU-IPF-3028
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a small mound (for unmeasured amounts of "small") mound in Chryse Planitia. Inverted grayscale variant (which makes it a lot easier to make out the details).
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image of part of Jezero Crater on Mars, the intended landing site for Mars 2020.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23239
Original caption: This image is of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was taken by instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which regularly takes images of potential landing sites for future missions.
On ancient Mars, water carved channels and transported sediments to form fans and deltas within lake basins. Examination of spectral data acquired from orbit show that some of these sediments have minerals that indicate chemical alteration by water. Here in Jezero Crater delta, sediments contain clays and carbonates.
The image combines information from two instruments on MRO: the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and the Context Camera (CTX). The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, led the work to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates CTX.
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. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL
Image Addition Date:
2019-05-15
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image of either Oxia or Mawrth Vallis - the caption is surprisingly vague...
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22805
Original caption: HiRISE plays an important role in finding suitable landing sites for future rover missions. Scientists have narrowed down the candidate landing sites for the upcoming European ExoMars rover mission to two regions: the plains of Oxia and Mawrth Vallis.
Images covering these areas aid scientists in picking a location that will be both scientifically interesting and a safe place to land and operate. HiRISE pictures help to assess the risk for each particular location so that a final landing site can be selected.
If you look very closely, the image may appear hazy. This is due to additional dust lingering in the atmosphere from the massive summer global dust storm at the time we acquired this observation. ExoMars is due to launch to Mars in 2020.
The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 28.3 centimeters (11.1 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 85 centimeters (33.5 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.
The University of Arizona, 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/University of Arizona
Image Addition Date:
2018-10-29
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image (the colors indicate the general types of minerals in the area and not the surface color) of the delta (long since desiccated) of the river (also long since dried up) flowing into Jezero Crater on Mars. this is the intended landing area of the Perseverance rover in February of 2021. Color/processing variant.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23239
Original caption: This image is of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was taken by instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which regularly takes images of potential landing sites for future missions.
On ancient Mars, water carved channels and transported sediments to form fans and deltas within lake basins. Examination of spectral data acquired from orbit show that some of these sediments have minerals that indicate chemical alteration by water. Here in Jezero Crater delta, sediments contain clays and carbonates.
The image combines information from two instruments on MRO: the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and the Context Camera (CTX). The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, led the work to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates CTX.
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. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL
Image Addition Date:
2019-05-15
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of dark sand dunes and layers. The interesting part of this image is in the upper-right where a depression with rings can be seen.
Original caption: The target of this observation is a circular depression in a dark-toned unit associated with a field of cones to the northeast.
At the image scale of a Context Camera image, the depression appears to expose layers especially on the sides or walls of the depression, which are overlain by dark sands presumably associated with the dark-toned unit. HiRISE resolution, which is far higher than that of the Context Camera and its larger footprint, can help identify possible layers.
This caption is based on the original science rationale.
Written by: HiRISE Science Team (audio: Tre Gibbs) (8 April 2015)
Image source: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_039581_1520
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a lava-filled crater (long since cooled off) in Elysium Planitia.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of layers of material inside Orson Well. Color/processing variant.
The latest weather report from Mars includes dusty and cloudy skies in many locations. In this image, the Valles Marineris canyon is seen at the lower left part of the planet, filled to the brim with dusty air.
Sent by: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | From: Mars | Sent: Oct, 2008 | Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS
Added to www.ridingwithrobots.org Nov 7, 2008.
Located to the west of Nili Fossae at 24.5°N, 72.5°E, this image shows both layering and dunes within the old highlands of Mars. The site is not too far away from the landing site for the Mars 2020 rover, at Jezero Crater, and so may show some of the same characteristics that the rover could encounter.
This annotated image shows where features seen in a 2014 observation by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have been interpreted as hardware from the Dec. 25, 2003, arrival at Mars of the United Kingdom's Beagle 2 Lander.
Beagle 2 was released by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter but never heard from after its expected landing. Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have been interpreted as showing the Beagle 2 did make a soft landing and at least partially deployed its solar panels.
The 0.1-kilometer scale bar indicates a dimension of 328 feet. The location is approximately 11.5 degrees north latitude, 90.4 degrees east latitude.
The criss-crossing spiderweb of canyons on Mars called Noctis Labyrinthus (the “labyrinth of night”) not only has the coolest place name in the entire solar system—it also boasts a richer assortment of water-related minerals than almost any place on Mars.
Explorers studying the Red Planet used sensitive instruments on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to peer deep into the labyrinth, and they have found a striking variety of minerals on the canyon’s floor. In findings published in this month’s issue of Geology, scientists from the Planetary Science Institute report that groundwater, hydrothermal activity, and melting snow or ice are all plausible sources for the water that created these minerals.
“These places were potentially habitable zones for life,” they wrote. Of course, this was billions of years in the past, but it adds another intriguing page to the story as Mars slowly yields up its secrets. Could there have been life in this labyrinth?
Learn more on the awesome Red Planet Report.
Sent by: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | From: Mars | Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS | Added to Riding with Robots on September 19, 2011
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a volcanic fissure on Mars. The color images are almost monochromic making detailed processing more fun.
Mars' Victoria crater viewed from orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Victoria is about a half mile across.
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter PR image of part of Jezero Crater on Mars, the intended landing site for Mars 2020. Color/processing variant.
Image source: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23239
Original caption: This image is of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was taken by instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which regularly takes images of potential landing sites for future missions.
On ancient Mars, water carved channels and transported sediments to form fans and deltas within lake basins. Examination of spectral data acquired from orbit show that some of these sediments have minerals that indicate chemical alteration by water. Here in Jezero Crater delta, sediments contain clays and carbonates.
The image combines information from two instruments on MRO: the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and the Context Camera (CTX). The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, led the work to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates CTX.
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. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL
Image Addition Date:
2019-05-15
Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of part of Jezero Crater on Mars. This crater is the future landing site of the Mars 2020 Rover (a near twin to Curiosity) and features an ancient river bed and delta and most likely used to be a large lake (similar to Gale Crater). Inverted grayscale variant.
Original data label: PDS_VERSION_ID = PDS3
/* Identification Information */
DATA_SET_ID = "MRO-M-CTX-HiROC-V1.0"
PRODUCT_ID = "G14_023669_1985_XN_18N282W"
PRODUCER_INSTITUTION_NAME = "UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA"
PRDOUCER_ID = "UA"
PRODUCER_FULL_NAME = "ALFRED MCEWEN"
SOURCE_PRODUCT_ID = NULL
MISSION_NAME = "MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER"
SPACECRAFT_NAME = "MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER"
INSTRUMENT_NAME = "CONTEXT CAMERA"
INSTRUMENT_ID = "MRO-CTX"
TARGET_NAME = "Mars"
START_TIME = "2011-08-14T19:34:08.183"
ORBIT_NUMBER = 23669
SPACECRAFT_CLOCK_START_COUNT = "0997817680:148"
PRODUCT_CREATION_TIME = 2012-06-08T17:27:02
SOFTWARE_NAME = "CTX_Finalizer (1.7 2011/06/20 22:58:41)"
NOTE = "Special map product for HiROC"
OBJECT = IMAGE_MAP_PROJECTION
MAP_PROJECTION_TYPE = "EQUIRECTANGULAR"
PROJECTION_LATITUDE_TYPE = PLANETOCENTRIC
A_AXIS_RADIUS = 3396.19
B_AXIS_RADIUS = 3396.19
C_AXIS_RADIUS = 3376.2
FIRST_STANDARD_PARALLEL = "N/A"
SECOND_STANDARD_PARALLEL = "N/A"
COORDINATE_SYSTEM_NAME = PLANETOCENTRIC
POSITIVE_LONGITUDE_DIRECTION = EAST
KEYWORD_LATITUDE_TYPE = PLANETOCENTRIC
CENTER_LATITUDE = 15
CENTER_LONGITUDE = 0.0
LINE_FIRST_PIXEL = 1
LINE_LAST_PIXEL = 9217
SAMPLE_FIRST_PIXEL = 1
SAMPLE_LAST_PIXEL = 7000
MAP_PROJECTION_ROTATION = 0.0
MAP_RESOLUTION = 11850.226464032
MAP_SCALE = 0.005
MAXIMUM_LATITUDE = 18.739542971219
MINIMUM_LATITUDE = 17.961737344561
EASTERNMOST_LONGITUDE = 77.822516364177
WESTERNMOST_LONGITUDE = 77.211038906293
LINE_PROJECTION_OFFSET = 222068.5
SAMPLE_PROJECTION_OFFSET = -883790.5
END_OBJECT = IMAGE_MAP_PROJECTION
/* The JPEG2000 image data file associated with this label. */
OBJECT = COMPRESSED_FILE
FILE_NAME = "G14_023669_1985_XN_18N282W.JP2"
RECORD_TYPE = UNDEFINED
ENCODING_TYPE = "JP2"
ENCODING_TYPE_VERSION_NAME = "ISO/IEC15444-1:2004"
INTERCHANGE_FORMAT = BINARY
/* The name of the original source file. */
UNCOMPRESSED_FILE_NAME = "G14_023669_1985_XN_18N282W.16966.img"
/* The amount of original image data. */
REQUIRED_STORAGE_BYTES = 64519000
^DESCRIPTION = "JP2INFO.TXT"
END_OBJECT = COMPRESSED_FILE
/* The source image data definition. */
OBJECT = UNCOMPRESSED_FILE
FILE_NAME = "G14_023669_1985_XN_18N282W.16966.img"
RECORD_TYPE = FIXED_LENGTH
RECORD_BYTES = 7000
FILE_RECORDS = 9217
^IMAGE = "G14_023669_1985_XN_18N282W.16966.img"
OBJECT = IMAGE
LINES = 9217
LINE_SAMPLES = 7000
BANDS = 1
CENTER_FILTER_WAVELENGTH = 0.65
BANDWIDTH = 0.15
BAND_STORAGE_TYPE = BAND_SEQUENTIAL
OFFSET = 0.10441122950408
SCALING_FACTOR = 1.41139055405187e-04
SAMPLE_BITS = 8
SAMPLE_BIT_MASK = 2#11111111#
SAMPLE_TYPE = MSB_UNSIGNED_INTEGER
CORE_NULL = 0
CORE_LOW_REPR_SATURATION = 1
CORE_LOW_INSTR_SATURATION = 1
CORE_HIGH_REPR_SATURATION = 255
CORE_HIGH_INSTR_SATURATION = 255
END_OBJECT = IMAGE
END_OBJECT = UNCOMPRESSED_FILE
END
Monitor Crater Slopes
Science Theme: Mass Wasting Processes
Acquisition date
04 July 2024
Local Mars time
14:51
Latitude (centered)
-38.632°
Longitude (East)
168.831°
Spacecraft altitude
252.2 km (156.8 miles)
Original image scale range
from 25.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 50.7 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning)