Charitum Montes imaged during revolution 10778 on 18 June 2012 by ESA’s Mars Express using the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). Data from HRSC’s nadir channel and one stereo channel have been combined to produce this anaglyph 3D image that can be viewed using stereoscopic glasses with red–green or red–blue filters. Centered at around 53°S and 334°E, the image has a ground resolution of about 20 m per pixel.
How exactly can we tell if an impact crater is new?
In this observation, we see a dark spot with a larger, rayed "blast zone" that was also apparent in a Context Camera image taken in 2011 (an instrument with a larger footprint than HiRISE and also on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). However, a THEMIS image of the same area acquired in 2009 does not show the dark spot at all.
This is a great example of using three different instruments to view the same area not only to look for changes in the Martian landscape, but also to use the resolution of HiRISE to determine if this is indeed a new impact site.
While HiRISE has imaged slope streaks before, bright streaks are not as common as dark ones, so they're of high interest.
Slope streaks are generally small features, and have an interior roughness that is finer than the width of the streak itself. A high resolution image can help identify the characteristics of this roughness.
Additionally, studying these streaks can shed light on the "life cycle" of a streak and the geologic processes that created them. We may also be able to study the photometric properties of the streaks.
(Note: the above image is not map-projected, so north is approximate down).
As the name suggests, pedestal craters usually have ejecta (material thrown out from impact) that is above the surrounding terrain. In some cases, the material can be more erosion-resistant. Some suggest that these units were once rich in volatiles (e.g., water ice).
This specific pedestal in Malea Planum is one of the largest on Mars, and fine layering is visible along its margins.
This image shows large sand dunes in the North Polar sand sea on Mars. It is one of a series of repeat images of the same dunes, taken at different times, in order to determine the type and extent of changes in the dunes over time.
Dunes tend to migrate slowly on Earth under continuous wind regimes (on the order of several to tens of meters per year), and we are just starting to verify movement on Martian dunes with these repeat HiRISE images.
In addition to migration of the dune, we will also use these repeat images to look for changes in the dune shape and avalanches down the slip face. Analyzing these changes will help us better understand the interaction between the atmosphere and the surface of Mars.
Small spherical objects fill the field in this mosaic combining four images from the Microscopic Imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The view covers an area about 2.4 inches (6 centimeters) across, at an outcrop called "Kirkwood" in the Cape York segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The individual spherules are up to about one-eighth inch (3 millimeters) in diameter.
The Microscopic Imager took the component images during the 3,064th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (September 6, 2012). For a color view of the Kirkwood outcrop as Opportunity was approaching it two weeks earlier, see PIA16128.
Opportunity discovered spherules at its landing site more than eight-and-a-half years earlier. Those spherules were nicknamed "blueberries." They provided important evidence about long-ago wet environmental conditions on Mars because researchers using Opportunity's science instruments identified them as concretions rich in the mineral hematite deposited by water saturating the bedrock. A picture of the "blueberries" from the same Microscopic Imager is PIA05564.
The spherules at Kirkwood do not have the iron-rich composition of the blueberries. They also differ in concentration, distribution and structure. Some of the spherules in this image have been partially eroded away, revealing concentric internal structure. Opportunity's science team plans to use the rover for further investigation of these spherules to determine what evidence they can provide about ancient Martian environmental conditions.
This image of a wind streak monitoring site northwest of Uranius Tholus shows dramatic differences from earlier images and evidence for two distinct processes of Martian wind erosion.
Located near the northern end of the Tharsis rise at a moderate elevation (1800 meters above datum), the site is in a region of high albedo and low thermal inertia that suggest a thick mantle of dust. The first subimage shows some of the changes that have occurred since the site was last imaged in January, 2009 (ESP_011465_2075). Bright dust has been scoured from the surface by strong southerly winds (blowing from the top right in these unprojected images). Bright streaks trail downwind from impact craters, protected from the wind in the lee of the crater rims. Sharp dark streaks edged upwind as the dust was stripped away. At least two different episodes of erosion with slightly different wind directions can be inferred from the orientations of the dark streaks. Yet another wind direction is indicated by the few dune-like ripples that can be seen in the floor of the valley. These features were shaped by much older winds that were probably controlled by local topography.
The second subimage shows the second erosion process, the tracks of dust-devils across the newly cleaned surface (just south of the first subimage). What makes these tracks interesting is that they are bright! Most dust-devil tracks on Mars are dark, forming when a whirlwind lifts bright dust off the surface and exposes a darker substrate. These tracks were neither visible in the earlier HiRISE image, nor in an earlier image (PSP_002222_2075) acquired in January, 2007. The cause of the bright tracks is unclear.
Bright dust-devil tracks were also spotted by the Mars Orbital Camera in southern Schiaparelli Crater, a region also dominated at the time by wind streaks. One way to make bright tracks would be to excavate through dark material (such as a lag of basaltic sand) to a brighter substrate. Another possibility is that the dust-devils stir up the remaining pockets of bright dust that are hiding from the prevailing winds in the shelter of topographic obstacles.
This enhanced-color image shows a surface with diverse colors just southwest of Nili Fossae. The color diversity of this mesa suggests that the surface has a varied composition, perhaps recording chemical processes of ancient Mars.
Much of the surface shows a chaotic mix of colors, but the northern impact crater exposes distinct layers. Different layers have different colors. There are several possible reasons for this: the events that formed the layers could have drawn material from different sources, or the layers could have been altered differently after they formed, for reasons such as varying porosity.
This is a stereo pair with ESP_019898_2000.
The mounds in this observation may have been formed by a process called "diapirism," where material at depth is more buoyant (i.e., lower density) than the surrounding rocks so it rises to the surface.
Why might this be of interest? At HiRISE resolution, we might be able to study the uplifted material more closely, such as if there are clays or other aqueous materials present. If these mounds were formed by diapirism, it offers a deeper window into the Martian past. This area could also be an interesting site for a future exploration rover.
This is a stereo pair with ESP_026284_2060.
Observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have detected carbon-dioxide snow clouds on Mars and evidence of carbon-dioxide snow falling to the surface.
Deposits of small particles of carbon-dioxide ice are formed by snowfall from carbon-dioxide clouds. This map shows the distribution of small-grain carbon-dioxide ice deposits formed by snowfall over the south polar cap of Mars. It is based on infrared measurements by the Mars Climate Sounder instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
This 3-D image from NASA's Curiosity was taken from the rover's Bradbury Landing site inside Gale Crater, Mars, using the left and right eyes of its Navigation camera. Between the rover on the right, and its shadow on the left, looms the rover's eventual target: Mount Sharp. The mountain's highest peak is not visible to the rover from the landing site.
This full-resolution, 360-degree stereo panorama was taken on sols 2 and 12 of the mission, or the 2nd and 12th Martian days since landing (Aug. 8 and 18, 2012). It requires viewing with the traditional red-blue 3-D glasses, with red going over the left eye.
After a rocket-powered descent stage, also known as the sky crane, delivered NASA's Curiosity rover to Mars on August 5 PDT (August 6 EDT), 2012, it flew away and fell to the surface. Possible multiple impacts from that collision are revealed in blue in this enhanced-color view taken by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The main crash site is seen at right, shaped like a fan. Farther from the site are several smaller dark spots, which are thought to be secondary impacts from debris that continued to travel outward. The impact sites are darker because the lighter, reddish top layer of soil was disturbed, revealing darker basaltic sands underneath.
The full image for these observations can be seen at http://uahirise.org/releases/msl-tracks.php.
This 360-degree panorama assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exporation Rover Opportunity shows terrain surrounding the position where the rover spent its 3,000th Martian day, or sol, working on Mars (July 2, 2012). Opportunity completed its 90-sol prime mission in April 2004. It has continued to explore the Meridiani Planum region of Mars for more than eight years of bonus extended missions.
The Sol 3000 site is near the northern tip of the Cape York segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. Bright toned material lines the perimeter of Cape York.
This panoramic view is centered to the south, with north at both ends. The component images were taken during sols 2989 through 2991.
Opportunity arrived at this location on Sol 2989 (June 20, 2012) with a drive bringing the mission's total driving distance as of Sol 3000 to 21.432 miles (34,492 meters). Here it examined a rock target called "Grasberg" with its microscopic imager and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, both before and after grinding the surface off the target with the rover's rock abrasion tool. Opportunity departed this location with an eastward drive of about 105 feet (32 meters) on Sol 3008 (July 10, 2012).
The scene is presented as a cylindrical projection in this image.
Rock fins up to about 1 foot (30 centimeters) tall dominate this scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The component images were taken during the 3,058th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (August 23, 2012). The view spans an area of terrain about 30 feet (9 meters) wide.
Orbital investigation of the area has identified a possibility of clay minerals in this area of the Cape York segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater.
The view combines exposures taken through Pancam filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). It [the top image] is presented in approximate true color, the camera team's best estimate of what the scene would look like if humans were there and able to see it with their own eyes.
High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) nadir and color channel data taken during revolution 10572 on 9 April 2012 by ESA’s Mars Express have been combined to form a natural-color view of Hadley Crater. Centered at around 19°S and 157°E, the image has a ground resolution of about 19 m per pixel. The image shows the main 120 km wide crater, with subsequent impacts at later epochs within it. Evidence of these subsequent impacts occurring over large timescales is shown by some of the craters being buried.
Coprates Chasma exposes several kilometers of rock that tell scientists about processes that occurred in the ancient past and in the subsurface. In this HiRISE image, rocks that display several colors and brightness are visible along the chasma wall.
Some of the brighter rocks could be minerals that formed when basaltic rock was altered by water flowing deep underground a long time ago before the chasma opened up. Alternatively, the light-toned rocks may be sediments that were deposited when water filled up portions of the chasma.
Dark dunes that could still be active are at the bottom of the image, attesting to more recent activity in this location.
This is a stereo pair with ESP_025441_1650.
Mars Express HRSC (High Resolution Stereo Camera) image of Phobos taken on 9 January 2011 at a distance of 100 km with a resolution of 8.1 m/pixel. Use red-blue glasses to fully appreciate this image.
Phobos is approximately 27 × 22 × 18 km and orbits Mars at a distance of 6000 km above the planet’s surface, or 9400 km from the center of the planet.
This color image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows an area excavated by the blast of the Mars Science Laboratory's descent stage rocket engines. This is part of a larger, high-resolution color mosaic made from images obtained by Curiosity's Mast Camera.
With the loose debris blasted away by the rockets, details of the underlying materials are clearly seen. Of particular note is a well-defined, topmost layer that contains fragments of rock embedded in a matrix of finer material. Shown in the inset in the figure are pebbles up to 1.25 inches (about 3 centimeters) across (upper two arrows) and a larger clast 4 inches (11.5 centimeters) long protruding up by about 2 inches (10 centimeters) from the layer in which it is embedded. Clast-rich sedimentary layers can form in a number of ways. Their mechanisms of formation can be distinguished by the size, shape, surface textures and positioning with respect to each other of the fragments in the layers.
The images in this mosaic were acquired by the 34-millimeter Mastcam over about an hour of time on August 8, 2012 PDT (Aug. 9, 2012 EDT), each at 1,200 by 1,200 pixels in size.
In the main version, the colors portrayed are unmodified from those returned by the camera. The view is what a cell phone or camcorder would record since the Mastcam takes color pictures in the exact same manner that consumer cameras acquire color images. The second version (Figure 1), shows the colors modified as if the scene were transported to Earth and illuminated by terrestrial sunlight. This processing, called "white balancing," is useful for scientists to be able to recognize and distinguish rocks by color in more familiar lighting.
This computer-generated perspective view was created using data obtained from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express. Centered at around 18°S and 329°E, this image has a ground resolution of about 20 m per pixel. Sigli and Shambe dominate this image, which highlights the deep fracturing within the crater walls. The shape of the craters leads scientists to believe they were formed from the same impactor, which fragmented into two pieces just before hitting Mars.
This color image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows part of the wall of Gale Crater, the location on Mars where the rover landed on August 5, 2012 PDT (August 6, 2012 EDT). This is part of a larger, high-resolution color mosaic made from images obtained by Curiosity's Mast Camera.
This image of the crater wall is north of the landing site, or behind the rover. Here, a network of valleys believed to have formed by water erosion enters Gale Crater from the outside. This is the first view scientists have had of a fluvial system -- one relating to a river or stream -- from the surface of Mars. Known and studied since the 1970s beginning with NASA's Viking missions, such networks date from a period in Martian history when water flowed freely across the surface. The main channel deposit seen here resembles a dirt road ascending into the mountains, which are actually the north wall and rim of Gale Crater. The colors in a second version (Figure 1) have been modified as if the scene were transported to Earth and illuminated by terrestrial sunlight. This processing, called "white balancing," is useful for scientists to be able to recognize and distinguish rocks by color in more familiar lighting.
Although Curiosity is about 11 miles (18 kilometers) away from this area and the view is obscured somewhat by dust and haze, the image provides new insights into the style of sediment transport within this system. Curiosity has no current plans to visit this valley system, since the primary objective of the rover is south of the landing site. But images taken later and with the 100-millimeter Mastcam are likely to allow scientists to study the area in significantly more detail.
The images in this mosaic were acquired by the 34-millimeter MastCam over about an hour of time on August 8, 2012 PDT (Aug. 9, 2012 EDT), each at 1,200 by 1,200 pixels in size.
