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Pathfinder Air Bags
Engineers recently tested th
…
6/14/95
| Date |
6/14/95 |
| Description |
Engineers recently tested these huge, multi-lobed air bags, which will envelope and protect the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft before it impacts the surface of Mars. The air bags, manufactured by ILC Dover of Frederica, Delaware, are composed of four large bags with six smaller, interconnected spheres within each bag. The bags measure 5 meters (17 feet) tall and about 5 meters (17 feet) in diameter. As Pathfinder is descending to the Martian surface on a parachute, an onboard altimeter inside the lander will monitor its distance from the ground. The computer will inflate these large air bags about 100 meters (330 feet) above the surface of Mars. The mission, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is scheduled for launch on Dec. 2, 1996. |
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Rossby Waves TOPEX/Poseidon
This image shows three scene
…
4/12/96
| Date |
4/12/96 |
| Description |
This image shows three scenes taken from an animation created by TOPEX/Poseidon data of the ocean. The scenes show large-scale ocean waves with wavelengths of hundreds of kilometers, called Rossby waves. These waves carry a "memory" of weather changes that have happened at distant locations over the ocean. Scientists at Oregon State University are using the satellite data to track these waves as they move through the open ocean and have determined that at mid-latitudes the Rossby waves are moving two to three times faster than the existing theory predicts. Because Rossby waves can alter currents and their corresponding sea surface temperatures, the waves influence the way the oceans release heat to the atmosphere and, thus, are able to affect weather patterns. Precise information about how fast the waves travel may help forecasters improve their ability to predict the effects of El Nino events on weather patterns years in advance. The colors show variations in sea level in the Pacific Ocean. White and red indicate higher than average levels, while purple and magenta show lower than average levels. These scenes were taken by TOPEX/Poseidon in April, July and December 1993. The two small black circles in the April image show an area of warm water, called a Kelvin wave, moving along the equator toward the coast of the Americas. When this area of high sea level meets the coast, it creates two coastal waves, one traveling northward and the other traveling southward along the American coast. As these waves move poleward, Rossby waves "peel off" the coast and travel west. The solid lines show the crests of the waves (high sea level), while the dashed lines show wave troughs. TOPEX/Poseidon, a joint program of NASA and the Centre Nationale d'Etudes Spatiales, the French space agency, uses a radar altimeter to precisely measure sea-surface height. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the U.S. portion of the TOPEX/Poseidon mission for NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth. ##### |
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TOPEX/El Nino
These three panels show the
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1/24/95
| Date |
1/24/95 |
| Description |
These three panels show the evolution of sea surface elevation over the global oceans from October to December, 1994. The red- colored strips in the central and eastern tropical Pacific reflect the formation of the present El Nino condition. The images were created with the sea surface elevation data taken by the radar altimeter onboard the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite. The color coded maps show monthly sea surface elevation relative to the two-year average taken during 1993-94. Higher sea surface elevation is shown in red and yellow while lower elevation is in purple and blue. The higher sea surface elevation associated with the El Nino reflects an excessive amount of unusually warm water in the upper ocean. El Nino begins when a phenomenon called a Kelvin wave is created in the western tropical Pacific when the trade winds weaken. The Kelvin wave subsequently travels eastward along the equator carrying with it an unusually warm water mass under a bulge of high sea surface elevation. These maps show a new Kelvin wave arriving at the western coast of South America in November 1994. In December, scientists believe the trailing part of the wave was somehow reinforced, causing the wave to stagnate in its present location. The red and white feature shown in the Indian Ocean is caused by seasonal monsoon winds. TOPEX/Poseidon is a joint program of NASA and the Centre Nationale d'Etudes Spatiales, the French space agency. Scientists use the TOPEX/Poseidon sea surface elevation data to produce global maps of ocean circulation. Launched Aug. 10, 1992, the satellite has completed two and a half years of its three-year prime mission and has provided oceanographers with unprecedented global sea surface elevation that is accurate to better than 5 centimeters (2 inches). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite for NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth. ##### |
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Magellan
This hemispheric view of Ven
…
3/16/95
| Date |
3/16/95 |
| Description |
This hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 270 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 percent of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 kilometers. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth- based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degrees latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An Orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ. ##### |
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Magellan
This hemispheric view of Ven
…
3/16/95
| Date |
3/16/95 |
| Description |
This hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 0 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 percent of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 kilometers. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degrees latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An Orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ. |
|
Magellan
This hemispheric view of Ven
…
3/16/95
| Date |
3/16/95 |
| Description |
This hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 90 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 percent of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 kilometers. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth- based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degrees latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An Orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ. |
|
Magellan
This hemispheric view of Ven
…
3/16/95
| Date |
3/16/95 |
| Description |
This hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at the North Pole. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 percent of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 kilometers. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degrees latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An Orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ. ##### |
|
Radar Slice Through Subsurfa
…
| title |
Radar Slice Through Subsurface of Equatorial Deposits on Mars |
| description |
This image combining a topographic map viewed obliquely (color portion of image) with a radargram of the subsurface (monochrome portion) shows features of mysterious Martian deposits named the Medusae Fossae Formation. The westward-looking view includes the divide between Martian highlands on the south and lowlands on the north, spanning a range from about 12 degrees south latitude (left edge of image) to 5 degrees north latitude (right edge of image). The deposits of the Medusae Fossae Formation are found in the lowlands along the divide, in the center foreground. The radar sounder on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter has revealed echoes from what is interpreted as a boundary between the overlying deposits and underlying lowland plains buried by these deposits. The radar information presented here is from downward-looking radar observations by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS, jointly funded by NASA and the Italian Space Agency) as Mars Express flew a south-to-north path at about 188 degrees east longitude. The topographic map, using 1990s data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter, extends from that transect to about 135 degrees east longitude. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages NASA's roles in Mars Express for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/Italian Space Agency/Univ. of Rome/Smithsonian |
|
Pathfinder Air Bags
| Title |
Pathfinder Air Bags |
| Full Description |
Engineers test huge, multi-lobed air bags, which will envelope and protect the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft before it impacts the surface of Mars. The air bags, manufactured by ILC Dover of Frederica, Delaware, are composed of four large bags with six smaller, interconnected spheres within each bag. The bags measure 5 meters (17 feet) tall and about 5 meters (17 feet) in diameter. As Pathfinder is descending to the Martian surface on a parachute, an onboard altimeter inside the lander will monitor its distance from the ground. The computer will inflate these large air bags about 100 meters (330 feet) above the surface of Mars. ILC Dover is the same company that manufactures spacesuits. |
| Date |
06/14/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
|
Hurricane Rita
| Title |
Hurricane Rita |
| Description |
Hurricanes form over tropical waters, encouraged by sea surface temperatures of 26.5 °C (80 °F) or higher. Over such warm waters, hurricanes can explode in size and intensity, becoming Category 4 or 5 storms by the time they make landfall. Like its predecessor Katrina, Hurricane Rita has picked up steam in its trip over a warm Gulf of Mexico. The dark grey circles show measured positions of the hurricane, while lighter grey circles show forecasted positions. Maximum sustained wind speeds at each location are shown in miles per hour (white numbers). A quartet of satellites, including NASA's Topex/Poseidon and Jason satellites, have monitored sea surface height during Rita's journey toward the Gulf Coast. This map results from a combination of data from these satellites collected on September 21, 2005. This image shows ocean circulation patterns in the Gulf of Mexico, framed by the Florida peninsula on the right and the Texas-Mexico Gulf Coast on the left (shown in gray). Red indicates strong circulation of warm waters. Sea surface height is a useful measure of potential hurricane activity because storm-fueling warm water is higher than surrounding cooler water. The area shown in red is approximately 35 to 60 centimeters (roughly 13 to 23 inches) higher than the surrounding Gulf. A hurricane's track depends primarily on the winds that steer it, and these winds are forecasted with atmospheric models. The hurricane's energy source, however, comes from the ocean. Hurricanes travel over both strong ocean currents and smaller currents running in different directions (eddies). As of September 22, 2005, Hurricane Rita was forecasted to continue crossing a circulation feature in the Gulf of Mexico known as the Loop Current, then pass near a warm-water eddy known as the Eddy Vortex. The Eddy Vortex is in the north central Gulf, south of Louisiana. The Jason satellite carries a radar altitude meter, otherwise known as an altimeter. To determine the ocean's height, the altimeter measures the time it takes for the microwave pulses to bounce off the surface and return to the spacecraft. This measure, multiplied by the speed of light, gives the range from the satellite to the ocean surface. The joint U.S.-French Topex/Poseidon mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Image courtesy NASA/JPL/University of Colorado CCAR [ http://ccar.colorado.edu/ ] |
|
Inside Mars
| Title |
Inside Mars |
| Explanation |
What's inside Mars [ http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/imagewall/MOLA/mola_3_2000.html ]? From orbit, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/realtime/mgsrt.html ] has recorded detailed images of the red planet since [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mgs_moc_archive.html ] July 1997. Still, its cameras can not look beneath the surface. But minute changes in the spacecraft's orbital velocity are produced by variations in the planet's gravitational field, and these changes are related to interior density fluctuations. When the subtle orbital changes were measured using MGS radio science [ http://nova.stanford.edu/projects/mgs/ ] experiments and combined with the accurate Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter topographical data [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990528.html ], researchers were able to produce a map of the thickness of the martian crust [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/sci/mola/mar10-2000/internal_paper.html ]. In this color cut-away diagram of the results, red colors correspond to thin and blue to thick areas of the crust which rides above the martian mantle [ http://banzai.msi.umn.edu/mars/ ]. From the global map, the crust is seen [ http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/spacesci/mars/mars.htm ] to range from about 20 to 50 miles thick and shows a dramatic difference between the generally thinner northern hemisphere to thicker southern hemisphere crust. For the newly formed planet, the thin crust would have promoted rapid cooling [ http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/imagewall/MOLA/pressrelease.txt ] and may have given rise to a large northern ocean [ http://earthsky.com/1999/es990519.html ] on early Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970627.html ]. |
|
Valles Marineris: The Grand
…
| Title |
Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars |
| Explanation |
The largest canyon in the Solar System [ http://www.nineplanets.org/overview.html ] cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ]. Named Valles Marineris [ http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/VallesMarineris/ ], the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon ] in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valles_Marineris ] remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980310.html ] billions of years ago as the planet cooled [ http://helio.estec.esa.nl/intermarsnet/redreport/node20.html ]. Recently [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020531.html ], several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/mars/interior/Valles_Marineris.html&sw=false&sn=4444&d=/mars/interior&edu=mid&br=graphic&back=/mars/exploring/MGS_altimeter_OMons.html&cd=false&tour=&fr=f ]. The above mosaic [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-mars.html ] was created [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/marsglobe1.txt ] from over 100 images of Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html ] taken by Viking [ http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/viking.htm ] Orbiters in the 1970s. |
|
The Topography of Mars
| Title |
The Topography of Mars |
| Explanation |
Mars has its ups and downs. Visible on the above interactive topographic map [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/Mars_topography_from_MOLA/ ] of the surface of Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ] are giant volcanoes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000529.html ], deep valleys [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?Mars+valley ], impact craters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010108.html ], and terrain considered unusual [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010327.html ] and even mysterious [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980407.html ]. Particularly notable are the volcanoes of the Tharsis province [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990618.html ], visible on the left in (false-color) red and white, which are taller than any mountains on Earth [ http://www.highalpex.com/Peaklist/top100.html ]. Just to the left of center is Valles Marineris [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950720.html ], a canyon much longer and deeper than Earth's Grand Canyon [ http://www.nps.gov/grca/ ]. On the right in blue is the Hellas Planitia [ http://www.solarviews.com/cap/mgs/mgstopo5.htm ], a basin over 2000 kilometers wide that was likely created by a collision with an asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/asteroids.html ]. Mars has many smooth lowlands in the north [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980924.html ], and many rough highlands in the south [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991203.html ]. This map was created by the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/mola.html ] (MOLA) on board the robot Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/ ] currently orbiting Mars [ http://www.sciam.com/1196issue/1196kargel.html ]. MOLA measures heights on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html ] by precisely determining the time it takes for a low power laser beam [ http://www.howstuffworks.com/laser.htm ] to bounce off [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/measure.html ] the surface. Zoom in by clicking anywhere on the above map [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/map_lab.html ]. |
|
All of Mars
| Title |
All of Mars |
| Explanation |
From pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981216.html ] to pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991203.html ], from east to west, this is all of Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ]. The above picture [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/ngs.html ] was digitally reconstructed from over 200 million laser altimeter measurements [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/measure.html ] taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/overvu/overview.html ] currently orbiting Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html ]. The image strips Mars [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/mars.htm ] of its clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010417.html ] and dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001009.html ], and renders the whole surface visible simultaneously in its true daytime color. Particularly notable are the volcanoes [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/world.html ] of the Tharsis province [ http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/planet_volcano/mars/Shields/tharsis. html ], visible on the left, which are taller than any mountains on Earth. Just to the left of center is Valles Marineris [ http://www.solarviews.com/cap/mars/me07s078.htm ], a canyon much longer and deeper Earth's Grand Canyon [ http://www.kaibab.org/geology/gc_geol.htm ]. On the right, south of the center, is the Hellas Planitia [ http://cmex- www.arc.nasa.gov/CMEXCD/NSTA95/TeachCen/TOPO/Act3/Act3.htm ], a basin over 2000 kilometers wide that was likely created by a collision with an asteroid [ http://space.about.com/science/space/library/weekly/aa022597.htm ]. Mars has many smooth lowlands in the north, and many rough highlands in the south. Mars has just passed its closest approach [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010615.html ] to Earth since 1988 and can be seen shining brightly in the evening sky. |
|
Carving Ma'adim Vallis
| Title |
Carving Ma'adim Vallis |
| Explanation |
Just as erosion from the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon [ http://www.aqd.nps.gov/grd/parks/grca/ ] on Earth, a river of flood water may have carved Ma'adim Vallis, one of the largest canyons on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970627.html ]. Researchers have presented strong evidence [ http://www.nasm.edu/nasm/pa/nasmnews/pr/research/ 062002.htm ] for such a scenario [ http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/296/5576/2209 ] based on elevation data recorded by the MOLA [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/mola.html ] (Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter) experiment on the Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/ ] spacecraft. This false-color, detailed, topographical [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010628.html ] map of MOLA data shows in blue the area of an enormous complex of lakes that are thought [ http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/research/mars/irwin_lakes.htm ] to have existed over three and a half billion years ago in the southern highlands of Mars. As the largest lake spilled over the low point in its boundary a torrential flood would have moved north, along the direction indicated by the arrow, carving the sinuous Ma'adim Vallis. At the north end of Ma'adim Vallis, the flood waters would have poured into large, round Gusev Crater [ http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Sept98/GusevMars.html ]. Since standing bodies of surface water are thought to be favorable for ancient martian microbial life [ http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ ast11jun99_1.htm ], Gusev Crater has been suggested as a landing site for future Mars missions [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/future/ express.html ]. |
|
Valles Marineris: The Grand
…
| Title |
Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars |
| Explanation |
The largest canyon in the Solar System [ http://www.nineplanets.org/overview.html ] cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ]. Named Valles Marineris [ http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/VallesMarineris/ ], the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon [ http://www.aqd.nps.gov/grd/parks/grca/ ] in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mep/science/vm.html ] remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980310.html ] billions of years ago as the planet cooled [ http://helio.estec.esa.nl/intermarsnet/redreport/node20.html ]. Recently [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020531.html ], several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/mars/interior/Valles_Marineris.html&sw=false&sn=4444&d=/mars/interior&edu=mid&br=graphic&back=/mars/exploring/MGS_altimeter_OMons.html&cd=false&tour=&fr=f ]. The above mosaic [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-mars.html ] was created [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/marsglobe1.txt ] from over 100 images of Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html ] taken by Viking [ http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/viking.htm ] Orbiters in the 1970s. |
|
Frosty Mountains on Mars
| Title |
Frosty Mountains on Mars |
| Explanation |
What causes the unusual white color on some Martian mountains? The answer can be guessed by noticing that the bright areas disappear as springtime [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030422.html ] takes hold in the south of Mars: dry ice. Dry carbon dioxide ice [ http://www.howstuffworks.com/question264.htm ] sublimates directly to gas from its frozen state. The frosty mountains, named Charitum Montes [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/06/10/ ], have been covered with carbon dioxide [ http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/CO2/CO2.html ] ice over the Martian winter. The serene scene pictured above [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/07/02/index.html ] is not a photograph, but rather a computationally constructed digital illusion resulting from the fusion of two color images from the Mars Orbital Camera and topographic data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/sci/mola/mola.html ]. Both instruments operate from the Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/ ] robot spacecraft currently orbiting Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ]. The red planet continues to grow larger [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030724.html ] in terrestrial skies as Earth and Mars move closer to their recent-record closest approach [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/18jun_approachingmars.htm ] on August 27. |
|
3-D Mars' North Pole
| Title |
3-D Mars' North Pole |
| Explanation |
This dramatic premier [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/agu_f98.html ] three-dimensional visualization of Mars' north pole is based on elevation measurements made by an orbiting laser. During the Spring and Summer [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/npole.html ] of 1998 the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/mola.html#Introduction ] (MOLA) flashed laser pulses toward the Martian surface from the Global Surveyor spacecraft and recorded the time it took to detect the reflection [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/mola.html#Principles ]. This timing data has now been translated to a detailed topographic map of Mars' north polar terrain [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980924.html ]. The map indicates that the ice cap is is about 1,200 kilometers across, a maximum of 3 kilometers thick, and cut by canyons and troughs up to 1 kilometer deep. The measurements also [ http://earth.agu.org/pubs/toc/gl/gl_25_24.html ] indicate that the cap is composed primarily of water ice with a total volume of only about four percent of planet Earth's Antarctic ice sheet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951222.html ]. In all it represents at most a tenth of the amount of water some scientists believe once existed on ancient Mars [ http://www.sciam.com/1196issue/1196kargel.html ]. Where did all the water [ http://humbabe.arc.nasa.gov/mgcm/faq/wetmars.html ] go? |
|
Topographical Mars
| Title |
Topographical Mars |
| Explanation |
Contrasting colors trace changing elevations in this new high-resolution topographic map of Mars [ http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/spacesci/pictures/mola/mars3d.htm ]. Just released [ ftp://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/PAO/Releases/1999/99-71.txt ], the data were gathered in 1998 and 1999 by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/mola.html#Introduction ] (MOLA) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The martian topography is seen to range over 19 miles between the highest volcanic peaks (white) and the lowest regions (purple). Along with the striking difference [ http://www.msss.com/http/ps/di.html ] between the Red Planet's [ http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/online.bks/mars/contents.htm ] low northern hemisphere (top) and high southern regions, one of the most noticeable features on the map [ http://www-pdsimage.wr.usgs.gov/PDS/public/mapmaker/mapmkr.htm ] is the large blue-purple southern depression corresponding to the Hellas basin. Likely the result of an asteroid impact, Mars' deepest basin is about 1300 miles across making it one of the largest impact features [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960906.html ] in the Solar System. Explorations [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981216.html ] of MOLA's rich topographic database are expected to produce insights into water flows and the geologic history [ http://helio.estec.esa.nl/intermarsnet/redreport/node20.html ] of Mars. |
|
Southern Mars
| Title |
Southern Mars |
| Explanation |
This topographical map [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/mpl.html ] of the southern hemisphere of Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970627.html ] was generated using data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/mola.html ] (MOLA). Flying on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, MOLA has bounced a laser beam off the Martian surface over 200,000,000 times producing a wealth of detailed elevation measurements. The MOLA measurements [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/geodesy.html ] have been color-coded so, for example, the white areas at left are the highest elevations in the southern Tharsis region [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/physics.today.html ] and not snow-covered peaks. These areas are more than 6 kilometers above the hypothetical Martian "sea-level". Likewise, deep blues and purples are not water oceans [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970316.html ] but correspond to the lowest elevations (more than 4 kilometers below "sea-level"), like those found within the giant Hellas impact basin at right. In fact, liquid water is not present on Mars' surface today, but may have been [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/MENUS/lake_list.html ] in the past [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/why.html ]. NASA's Mars Polar Lander [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lander/index.html ] spacecraft is scheduled to embark on an investigation [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lander/science.html ] of the role of water in the climate history of the Red Planet. The lander is targeted to touch down [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/12_2_99_mplsite/index.html ] within the long, thin ellipse [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/12_2_99_mplcolor/index.html ] indicated here just below the Martian South Pole today at 20:00 UTC [ http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/zones2.html ]. |
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Venus - Comparison of Initia
…
| Title |
Venus - Comparison of Initial Magellan Radar Test and Data Acquired in 4/91 |
| Description |
This image compares Magellan data acquired in August 1990 during the initial test of the radar system (black and white insets) with data acquired by the spacecraft in April 1991 (color background). The area is in the southern hemisphere of Venus, and represents an area about 540 kilometers (330 miles) on a side, centered on latitude 35 degrees south and longitude 294 degrees east. The Magellan radar illuminates the surface from the left. The northern and eastern parts of the area consist of plains which appear moderately dark to dark on the radar image because they are relatively smooth at a scale comparable to the wavelength of the radar, 12.5 centimeters (about 5 inches). The bright terrain in the southwestern part of the image is about 500 to 700 meters (1640 to 2300 feet) higher than the plains, it is characterized by abundant faults and fractures, which appear as straight to gently curved bright lines. Many of these linear features are large enough to infer that they are grabens, which are troughs bounded on both sides by faults. However, many of them are too narrow to determine if they are faults or simply fractures that have roughened the surface. This elevated faulted and fractured region is part of a large east-west elongated ridge mapped by the Pioneer Venus radar altimeter, the portion shown here is about midway between Themis Regio and Tefnut Mons. The plains are probably underlain by volcanic lavas. The various shades indicate that minor differences in surface roughness are present, and these may be used to map out the distribution of different lavas. The small, bright patches on the plains represent places where the lava surfaces are relatively rough. Just left of the center of the image is a sharply defined volcanic crater about 15 kilometers (9 miles) in diameter. Immediately north of this crater are numerous round spots about 204 kilometers (102 miles) across that are small volcanic domes. |
| Date |
04.28.1991 |
|
| Description |
*Why is Olympus Mons so big?* The main difference between the volcanoes on Mars and Earth is their size, volcanoes in the Tharsis region of Mars are 10 to 100 times larger than those anywhere on Earth. The lava flows on the Martian surface are observed to be much longer, probably a result of higher eruption rates and lower surface gravity. Another reason why the volcanoes on Mars are so massive is because the crust on Mars doesn't move the way it does on Earth. On Earth, the hot spots remain stationary but crustal plates are moving above them. The Hawaiian islands result from the northwesterly movement of the Pacific plate over a stationary hotspot producing lava. As the plate moves over the hotspot, new volcanoes are formed and the existing ones become extinct. This distributes the total volume of lava among many volcanoes rather than one large volcano. On Mars, the crust remains stationary and the lava piles up in one, very large volcano.*For more on Olympus Mons: 3-D image of Olympus Mons (you'll need 3-D glasses!)Earth and Space Network [ http://www.earthspace.net/solar_system/mars_html/mars_surface.html ]University of Michigan [ http://www.windows.umich.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/mars/interior/Martian_volcanoes.html&sw=false&sn=4444&d=/mars/interior&edu=mid&br=graphic&back=/mars/exploring/MGS_altimeter_OMons.html&cd=false&tour=&fr=f ]* |
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| Description |
*For more on Valles Marineris:University of Michigan [ http://www.windows.umich.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/mars/interior/Valles_Marineris.html&sw=false&sn=4444&d=/mars/interior&edu=mid&br=graphic&back=/mars/exploring/MGS_altimeter_OMons.html&cd=false&tour=&fr=f ]Malin Space Science Systems [ http://www.msss.com/ ]* |
|
Mars Gravity Anomoly Map
| title |
Mars Gravity Anomoly Map |
| Description |
This is a vertical gravity map of Mars color-coded in mgals based on radio tracking. Note correlations and lack of correlations with the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) global topography. This map was created using MGS data under the direction of Bill Sjogren, a member of the MGS Radio Science Team. The Radio Science Team is led by G. Leonard Tyler of Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. |
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| Description |
Browse JPG (21 kB) | Full Res JPG (674 kB) ---> |
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| Description |
Browse JPG (27 kB) | Full Res JPG (564 kB) ---> |
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| Description |
Browse JPG (109 kB) | Full Res JPG (3.54 MB) ---> |
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Location of Mars Express Rad
…
| title |
Location of Mars Express Radar Track, Orbit 1892 |
| Description |
This graphic maps the ground-range projection of a radargram of data collected by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) during the 1,892nd orbit of the European Space Agency's Mars Express. The orbit crosses the Martian lowland plains of a region named Chryse Planitia. Rim walls and interior ring structures of impact basins produce parabolic-shaded echoes. Color-coding on the base map is topographical information from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. The inset shows that parabolic-shaped echoes in the radargram project to circular arcs, indicating the presence of a buried impact basin. The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. Credit: ASI/NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Rome |
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Buried Basins Discovered by
…
| title |
Buried Basins Discovered by Radar |
| Description |
This image maps the locations of 11 ancient buried basins discovered by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. The locations and diameters inferred from the radar echoes are shown in black. Color-coding on the base map is topographical information from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. Credit: ASI/NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Rome |
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Topographic Map of Chryse Pl
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| title |
Topographic Map of Chryse Planitia with Location of Possible Buried Basin |
| Description |
This topographic map, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, shows the ground track of the 1,892nd and the 1,903rd orbits of Mars Express and the arc structures detected by that orbiter's Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS). The arc structures are interpreted to be part of a buried impact basin about 250 kilometers (155 miles) in diameter. The topographic relief represented in the image is 1 kilometer (0.6 mile), from low (purple) to high (red). The projected arcs are shown in red for orbit 1892 and white for orbit 1903. There is no obvious feature in the surface topography that corresponds to the buried feature identified with MARSIS data. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the MARSIS instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter is an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. Credit: ASI/NASA/ESA/Univ. of Rome/JPL/MOLA Science Team |
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MARSIS Uncovers Underground
…
| title |
MARSIS Uncovers Underground Ice |
| Description |
The upper image is a radargram from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), showing data from the subsurface of Mars in the layered deposits that surround the north pole. The lower image shows the position of the ground track on a topographic map of the area based on Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. The images are 458 kilometers (285 miles) wide. The MARSIS echo trace splits into two traces to the right of center, at the point where the ground track crosses from the smooth plains onto the elevated layered deposits on the right. The upper trace is the echo from the surface of the deposits, while the lower trace is interpreted to be the boundary between the lower surface of the deposits and the underlying material. The strength of the lower echo suggests that the intervening material is nearly pure water ice. The time delay between the two echoes reaches a maximum of 21 microseconds at the right of the image, corresponding to a thickness of 1.8 kilometer (1.1 mile) of ice. The total elevation difference shown in the topographic map is about 2 kilometers (1.2 mile) between the lowest surface (magenta) and the highest (orange). MARSIS is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter is an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. Credit: ASI/NASA/ESA/Univ. of Rome/JPL/MOLA Science Team |
|
Mars Topography
| title |
Mars Topography |
| Description |
These maps are global false-color topographic views of Mars at different orientations from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). The maps are orthographic projections that contain over 200,000,000 points and about 5,000,000 altimetric crossovers. The spatial resolution is about 15 kilometers at the equator and less at higher latitudes. The vertical accuracy is less than 5 meters. The right hand image view features the Hellas impact basin (in purple, with red annulus of high standing material). The left hand features the Tharsis topographic rise (in red and white). Note also the subtle textures associated with resurfacing of the northern hemisphere lowlands in the vicinity of the Utopia impact basin. These data were compiled by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team led by David Smith at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. |
|
Acheron Fossae in Visible Li
…
| title |
Acheron Fossae in Visible Light |
| Description |
This visible-light image, taken by the thermal emission imaging system's camera on NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, shows the highly fractured, faulted and deformed Acheron Fossae region of Mars. The scarps visible in this image are approximately one kilometer (3,300 feet) high, based on topography derived from the laser altimeter instrument on Mars Global Surveyor. Dark streaks only 50 meters (164 feet) across can be seen on some of the cliff faces. These streaks may be formed when the pervasive dust mantle covering this region gives way on steep slopes to create dust avalanches. The image also shows impact craters as small as 500 meters (1,640 feet) in diameter, as well as smooth and textured plains. Acheron Fossae is located 1,050 kilometers (650 miles) north of the large shield volcano Olympus Mons. This image covers an area about 18 by 9 kilometers (11 by 6 miles) centered at 37 degrees north, 131 degrees west. North is to the top of this image, which was acquired on February 19, 2002, at about 3:15 p.m. local Martian 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 was provided by Arizona State University, Tempe. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Photo Credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Arizona State University |
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| Description |
*Full Res(984 kB)**High View of Melas* Soaring high above Valles Marineris, the "Grand Canyon of Mars," viewers look down and catch a sight resembling parts of the desert West of the United States, but on a vastly greater scale. Here the canyon averages over a hundred miles wide, and its floor is heaped with rocks, sediments, and landslide debris. Within the canyon walls lie possibly hundreds of layers filling many pages of Mars' geologic record. This scene comes from "Flight Through Mariner Valley," an exciting video produced for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The video takes viewers on a simulated flight into Valles Marineris, where they explore its scenic wonders as their imaginary scout ship dives low over landslides and races through winding canyons. The video features high-resolution images from Arizona State University's Thermal Emission Imaging System multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey. The images, which show details as small as 300 meters (1,000 feet) across, were taken at infrared wavelengths during the Martian daytime. Scientists joined hundreds of individual frames from the camera into a giant mosaic, then colored the mosaic to approximate how Mars would appear to the human eye. To give the mosaic depth and height, moviemakers fitted it to a computerized topographic model for Valles Marineris. This was developed using hundreds of thousands of altitude measurements by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University |
|
First HiRISE Image of Mars:
…
| title |
First HiRISE Image of Mars: Topographic Model from Photoclinometry |
| Description |
http://www.nasa.gov/mro [ http://www.nasa.gov/mro ] or http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu [ http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu ]. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov [ http://www.nasa.gov ]. 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 is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/USGS, This is a topographic map of part of the area covered by the first image of Mars obtained by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. The image was processed at the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, by a technique called photoclinometry (or, more descriptively, "shape-from-shading"). This method allows elevations to be reconstructed from a single image by noting how surfaces sloping toward the sun appear brighter than areas that slope away from it. This image is almost ideal for such interpretation because the low sun angle reveals even subtle slopes with dramatic contrast, and variations in the brightness of surface materials (which could be confused with slopes) are minimal. At left is the region of the image that was analyzed, tinted to approximate the visual appearance of the Martian surface. This region is a square 20.4 kilometers (12.7 miles) wide (8,192 pixels by 8,192 pixels at a scale of 2.49 meters or 8.17 feet per pixel). At right is a color-coded topographic contour map of the same area. The total range of elevations is 1.6 kilometers (1 mile), with low areas shown in purple and high areas in red. Contours mark each 20-meter (66-foot) change in elevation. Photoclinometry gives relative rather than absolute heights, but the overall height and shape of features in this map, such as the ridge Ogygis Rupes in the center, agree reasonably well with results from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, an instrument with high absolute accuracy but relatively low spatial resolution. The real value of mapping by photoclinometry, however, is that it reveals the details of the smallest topographic features resolved by the image. In this example, the image was resampled by a factor of 2 before processing, so the topographic map has a scale of 5 meters (16 feet) per pixel and resolves features as small as 15 meters (49 feet). Computer-generated three-dimensional close-ups of the surface provide one way to visualize these small but important clues to Martian geologic history. This illustration shows a subset of AEB_000001_0000_Red, which was taken by the HiRISE camera on March 24, 2006. The image is oriented such that north is 7 degrees to the left of up. The range to the target was 2,493 kilometers (1,549 miles). At this distance the image scale is 2.49 meters (8.17 feet) per pixel, so objects as small as 7.5 meters (24.6 feet) are resolved. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 07:33 and the scene is illuminated from the upper right with a solar incidence angle of 78.1 degrees, thus the sun was about 11.9 degrees above the horizon. At an Ls of 29 degrees (with Ls an indicator of Mars' position in its orbit around the sun), the season on Mars is southern autumn. Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: |
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| Description |
*Full Res(683 kB)**Winding Side Canyon (Louros Valles)* Viewers experience roller-coaster twists and turns as they fly up a winding tributary valley that feeds into Valles Marineris, the "Grand Canyon of Mars." Geologists think channels such as these were carved by water as it escaped through faults and cracks in the subsurface. This caused the ground above it to collapse, leaving a meandering channel that resembles a stream valley on Earth. This scene comes from "Flight Through Mariner Valley," an exciting video produced for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The video takes viewers on a simulated flight into Valles Marineris, where they explore its scenic wonders as their imaginary scout ship dives low over landslides and races through winding canyons. The video features high-resolution images from Arizona State University's Thermal Emission Imaging System multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey. The images, which show details as small as 300 meters (1,000 feet) across, were taken at infrared wavelengths during the Martian daytime. Scientists joined hundreds of individual frames from the camera into a giant mosaic, then colored the mosaic to approximate how Mars would appear to the human eye. To give the mosaic depth and height, moviemakers fitted it to a computerized topographic model for Valles Marineris. This was developed using hundreds of thousands of altitude measurements by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University |
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| Description |
*Full Res (1.3 MB)**Mars Canyon with Los Angeles for Scale* A "Grand Canyon of Mars" slices across the Red Planet near its equator. This canyon -- Valles Marineris, or the Mariner Valley -- is 10 times longer and deeper than Arizona's Grand Canyon, and 20 times wider. As the picture shows, you could drop the whole Los Angeles basin into a small part of Valles Marineris and leave plenty of room to spare. In length, the canyon extends far enough that it could reach across the United States from East Coast to West Coast, while its rim stands more than 25,000 feet high, nearly as tall as Earth's Mount Everest. This scene comes from "Flight Through Mariner Valley," an exciting video produced for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The video takes viewers on a simulated flight into Valles Marineris, where they explore its scenic wonders as their imaginary scout ship dives low over landslides and races through winding canyons. The video features high-resolution images from Arizona State University's Thermal Emission Imaging System multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey. The images, which show details as small as 300 meters (1,000 feet) across, were taken at infrared wavelengths during the Martian daytime. Scientists joined hundreds of individual frames from the camera into a giant mosaic, then colored the mosaic to approximate how Mars would appear to the human eye. To give the mosaic depth and height, moviemakers fitted it to a computerized topographic model for Valles Marineris. This was developed using hundreds of thousands of altitude measurements by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University |
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| Description |
*Full Res(1.2 MB)**Mars Canyon View* Flying through the canyons and over the ridges of Valles Marineris, viewers can experience some of the thrills that gripped explorers who pushed into unknown regions on Earth. Buried in the rocks of this magnificent Martian canyon lies a history book of Mars that scientists have just begun to open. This scene comes from "Flight Through Mariner Valley," an exciting video produced for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The video takes viewers on a simulated flight into Valles Marineris, where they explore its scenic wonders as their imaginary scout ship dives low over landslides and races through winding canyons. The video features high-resolution images from Arizona State University's Thermal Emission Imaging System multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey. The images, which show details as small as 300 meters (1,000 feet) across, were taken at infrared wavelengths during the Martian daytime. Scientists joined hundreds of individual frames from the camera into a giant mosaic, then colored the mosaic to approximate how Mars would appear to the human eye. To give the mosaic depth and height, moviemakers fitted it to a computerized topographic model for Valles Marineris. This was developed using hundreds of thousands of altitude measurements by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University |
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| Description |
*Full Res(797 MB)**Landslide Run-Out* Ages ago, a giant earthquake shook the walls of Valles Marineris, the "Grand Canyon of Mars," and triggered a catastrophic landslide that crashed down 15,000 feet. Diving into the canyon on a simulated aerial flight, viewers fly over this billion-ton rockslide that extends for nearly a hundred miles. This scene comes from "Flight Through Mariner Valley," an exciting video produced for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The video takes viewers on a simulated flight into Valles Marineris, where they explore its scenic wonders as their imaginary scout ship dives low over landslides and races through winding canyons. The video features high-resolution images from Arizona State University's Thermal Emission Imaging System multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey. The images, which show details as small as 300 meters (1,000 feet) across, were taken at infrared wavelengths during the Martian daytime. Scientists joined hundreds of individual frames from the camera into a giant mosaic, then colored the mosaic to approximate how Mars would appear to the human eye. To give the mosaic depth and height, moviemakers fitted it to a computerized topographic model for Valles Marineris. This was developed using hundreds of thousands of altitude measurements by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University |
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Radar Slice Through Subsurfa
…
| title |
Radar Slice Through Subsurface of Equatorial Deposits on Mars |
| Description |
This image combining a topographic map viewed obliquely (color portion of image) with a radargram of the subsurface (monochrome portion) shows features of mysterious Martian deposits named the Medusae Fossae Formation. The westward-looking view includes the divide between Martian highlands on the south and lowlands on the north, spanning a range from about 12 degrees south latitude (left edge of image) to 5 degrees north latitude (right edge of image). The deposits of the Medusae Fossae Formation are found in the lowlands along the divide, in the center foreground. The radar sounder on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter has revealed echoes from what is interpreted as a boundary between the overlying deposits and underlying lowland plains buried by these deposits. The radar information presented here is from downward-looking radar observations by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS, jointly funded by NASA and the Italian Space Agency) as Mars Express flew a south-to-north path at about 188 degrees east longitude. The topographic map, using 1990s data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter, extends from that transect to about 135 degrees east longitude. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/Italian Space Agency/Univ. of Rome/Smithsonian |
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Carbon-Dioxide Frost Settlin
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| title |
Carbon-Dioxide Frost Settling from Seasonal Outbursts on Mars (Movie) |
| Description |
Carbon-Dioxide Frost Settling from Seasonal Outbursts on Mars (Movie) This movie, constructed by overlaying a time series of images taken by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), shows seasonal changes and unearthly processes that occur in Mars' south polar seasonal frost cap. More >> [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/gallery/video/index.html#CarbonDioxideFrost ] |
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Pacific Climate Calm: Image
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
In early 2006, a weak eartho
…
ssh_jas_2006144
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-05-21 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image courtesy NASA/JPL Ocean Surface Topography from Space team |
| identifier |
ssh_jas_2006144 |
|
Hurricane Rita: Natural Haza
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Hurricanes form over tropica
…
rita_jas_2005266
| mediatype |
MISC |
| mediatype |
texts |
| date |
2005-09-22 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
rita_jas_2005266 |
|
Hurricane Rita: Natural Haza
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Hurricanes form over tropica
…
rita_jas_2005266
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
texts |
| date |
2005-09-22 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
rita_jas_2005266 |
|
El Nino May Be Morphing to L
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
New data of sea level height
…
PIA09208
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-02-12 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA image by JPL sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/ Ocean Surface Topography Team. |
| identifier |
PIA09208 |
|
Virtual Slice Through Icy La
…
PIA09223
Sol (our sun)
MARSIS, MOLA
| Title |
Virtual Slice Through Icy Layered Deposits Near Mars' South Pole |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Annotated Version The upper image is a radargram from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), showing data from the subsurface of Mars in the ice-rich layered deposits that surround the south pole. The lower image shows the position of the ground track (white line) on a topographic map of the area based on Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. The images are 1,580 kilometers (980 miles) wide. The MARSIS echo trace splits into two traces near the left edge of the image, at the point where the ground track crosses from the surrounding plains onto the elevated layered deposits. The upper trace is the echo from the surface of the deposits, while the lower trace is interpreted to be the boundary between the lower surface of the deposits and the underlying material. The strength of the lower echo suggests that the intervening material is nearly pure water ice. Near the image center, several bright bands between the echo traces are likely caused by interaction of the radar waves with internal layers of the deposits. The time delay between the upper and lower traces in the banded area is 20 microseconds, corresponding to a thickness of 1.6 kilometers (1.0 miles) of ice. The total elevation difference shown in the topographic map is about 3 kilometers (2.5 miles) between the lowest surface (dark blue) and the highest (yellow). MARSIS is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter flew on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. |
|
Virtual Slice Through Icy La
…
PIA09223
Sol (our sun)
MARSIS, MOLA
| Title |
Virtual Slice Through Icy Layered Deposits Near Mars' South Pole |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Annotated Version The upper image is a radargram from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), showing data from the subsurface of Mars in the ice-rich layered deposits that surround the south pole. The lower image shows the position of the ground track (white line) on a topographic map of the area based on Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. The images are 1,580 kilometers (980 miles) wide. The MARSIS echo trace splits into two traces near the left edge of the image, at the point where the ground track crosses from the surrounding plains onto the elevated layered deposits. The upper trace is the echo from the surface of the deposits, while the lower trace is interpreted to be the boundary between the lower surface of the deposits and the underlying material. The strength of the lower echo suggests that the intervening material is nearly pure water ice. Near the image center, several bright bands between the echo traces are likely caused by interaction of the radar waves with internal layers of the deposits. The time delay between the upper and lower traces in the banded area is 20 microseconds, corresponding to a thickness of 1.6 kilometers (1.0 miles) of ice. The total elevation difference shown in the topographic map is about 3 kilometers (2.5 miles) between the lowest surface (dark blue) and the highest (yellow). MARSIS is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter flew on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. |
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Bright Lower Echo in Radargr
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PIA09222
Sol (our sun)
MARSIS, MOLA
| Title |
Bright Lower Echo in Radargram of South Polar Layered Deposits |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Annotated Version The upper image is a radargram from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), showing data from the subsurface of Mars in the ice-rich layered deposits that surround the south pole. The lower image shows the position of the ground track (white line) on a topographic map of the area based on Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. The images are 1,250 kilometers (775 miles) wide. The MARSIS echo trace splits into two traces on the left side of the image, at the point where the ground track crosses from the surrounding plains onto the elevated layered deposits. The upper trace is the echo from the surface of the deposits, while the lower trace is interpreted to be the boundary between the lower surface of the deposits and the underlying material. The strength of the lower echo suggests that the intervening material is nearly pure water ice. Near the image center, the bright lower echo abruptly disappears for unknown reasons. The time delay between the two echoes reaches a maximum of 42 microseconds left of center, corresponding to a thickness of 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) of ice. The total elevation difference shown in the topographic map is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) between the lowest surface (purple) and the highest (red). MARSIS is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter flew on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. |
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Bright Lower Echo in Radargr
…
PIA09222
Sol (our sun)
MARSIS, MOLA
| Title |
Bright Lower Echo in Radargram of South Polar Layered Deposits |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Annotated Version The upper image is a radargram from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), showing data from the subsurface of Mars in the ice-rich layered deposits that surround the south pole. The lower image shows the position of the ground track (white line) on a topographic map of the area based on Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. The images are 1,250 kilometers (775 miles) wide. The MARSIS echo trace splits into two traces on the left side of the image, at the point where the ground track crosses from the surrounding plains onto the elevated layered deposits. The upper trace is the echo from the surface of the deposits, while the lower trace is interpreted to be the boundary between the lower surface of the deposits and the underlying material. The strength of the lower echo suggests that the intervening material is nearly pure water ice. Near the image center, the bright lower echo abruptly disappears for unknown reasons. The time delay between the two echoes reaches a maximum of 42 microseconds left of center, corresponding to a thickness of 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) of ice. The total elevation difference shown in the topographic map is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) between the lowest surface (purple) and the highest (red). MARSIS is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter flew on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. |
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Upper Surface of Icy Layers
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PIA09226
Sol (our sun)
MARSIS, MOLA
| Title |
Upper Surface of Icy Layers Covering Mars' South Polar Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Annotated Version This map shows the topography of the south polar region of Mars. The data were collected by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter between 1997 and 2001. The elevation of the terrain is shown by colors, with purple and blue representing the lowest areas, and orange and red the highest. The total range of elevation shown is about 5 kilometers (3 miles). The black line shows the boundary of the south polar layered deposits, an ice-rich geologic unit that was probed by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. The radar data indicate that the deposit is more than 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles) thick in places, and that the material consists of nearly pure water ice, with only a small component of dust. The MARSIS team also determined that the total volume of ice in the layered deposits is equivalent to a water layer 11 meters (36 feet) deep, if spread evenly across the planet. The boundary of the layered deposits was mapped by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey. The dark circle in the upper center is the area poleward of 87 degrees south latitude, where MARSIS data cannot be collected. The image covers an area 1,670 by 1,800 kilometers (1,035 by 1,115 miles). MARSIS is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter flew on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. |
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