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Earth and Mars of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from 2006
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August 2006: View of the Pla
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| Description |
August 2006: View of the Planets |
| Full Description |
Just before the eastern sky brightens with sunrise, three planets and the waning crescent moon join the starry twilight tapestry. Then, as the bright stars of Gemini and Orion fade with oncoming dawn, the planets rise and shine. About 45 minutes before sunrise on Aug. 20 to 22 the planets Venus, Mercury and Saturn dance on the ecliptic -- the plane of Earth's orbit and the imaginary line tracing it in the sky. The sun, moon and planets appear to move along this line. Venus, rising an hour and a half before sunrise, is the easiest to see in the morning sky. Two hundred forty-one million kilometers (150 million miles) distant, Venus is Earth-sized. Mercury, at a distance of 183 million kilometers (114 million miles), is the fastest and smallest of the inner planets and appears brighter than the more distant Saturn. Saturn, 1,517 million kilometers (943 million miles) distant, was at conjunction with the sun just two weeks ago and now rises nearly an hour before sunrise. On Aug. 26 and 27, Saturn pairs with much brighter Venus at dawn. What other planets can we see in late August? Mars sets 45 minutes after sunset by month's end but is lost from view in the twilight, while brilliant Jupiter remains prominent as the only planet visible for a few hours during the late August evenings. Credit: NASA/JPL |
| Date |
August 18, 2006 |
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Happy 8th Birthday, MGS
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Happy 8th Birthday, MGS |
| Description |
. The reason there is no MOC image for April 1999 is a product of the MGS spacecraft's 8-year history at Mars. MGS was certainly in orbit at the time, and it was taking data during the month of April. However, the camera did not obtain any images between 17 and 28 April because the spacecraft encountered, and then had to be recovered from, a problem. It was at this time that the spacecraft team realized that there is something obstructing the full movement of MGS's high gain antenna. A work-around was created and the mission has continued, ever since, but the down-side was that MOC did not have the opportunity in 1999 to provide detailed observations of the north polar, summertime, annular cloud. The remaining three pictures show MGS MOC views of the cloud feature, as it appeared in the subsequent 3 Mars years. Each year, the cloud appeared at about the same time or slightly earlier than in the previous year. Despite its superficial resemblance to a hurricane or cyclone on Earth, the northern summer annular cloud does not rotate. The cloud forms as different currents of air merge in the morning hours in the polar region, by afternoon, the annular cloud typically dissipates or breaks up into smaller clouds. MGS MOC has observed other repeated phenomena over the course of its 8-year mission orbiting Mars. These include dust storms that repeat, year after year, in the same location within a week or two of the time it occurred in the previous year. They also include dust devils in northern Amazonis, which start up shortly after the first day of spring, and keep occurring nearly every afternoon until a few days into the autumn season. MOC is continuing its mission to monitor the planet -- in 2006, MOC's weather observations will be used to provide guidance for the aerobraking maneuvers of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). MOC images will show whether dust storms are occurring, and whether the dust suspended by these storms will impact the density of the atmosphere at the altitudes that MRO is passing through to slow the spacecraft and change its orbit to the one desired for the MRO primary mission. Location Near: 90°N Season: Northern Summer Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) entered Mars orbit on 12 September 1997. Today, we celebrate the MGS's 8th anniversary! The 8 Earth years that MGS has been in orbit span portions of 5 martian years. One of the critical science activities that the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has been engaged in for the past 8 years has been to document daily changes in the martian weather. Each day that MOC is operating, the red and blue wide angle cameras are used to build up a daily global map. These maps provide a record of the planet's changing meteorological conditions. One of the most exciting observations that the MOC wide angle cameras have made during these 8 years is that the red planet has very repeatable weather patterns. In light of weather-related problems and disruptions that occur every year on Earth, one can only imagine how nice it would be if our planet followed a similar, repeated pattern. The four pictures shown here provide an example of one of the weather phenomena that repeat each martian year. Each picture shows the north polar region of Mars during the northern summer season. Each picture is a composite of several images acquired at different visible wavelengths to give a color view of the planet. Each picture was taken about 1 Mars year apart, and each shows an annular (circular) cloud located over the same terrain each summer. The first picture, acquired in April 1999, is actually not from the MGS MOC instrument. It was obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and was originally released by the Space Telescope Science Institute on 19 May 1999 [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/1999/22/ ] |
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is Already Breaking Records! |
| Description |
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter set the record for interplanetary missions, sending back the most data in a single day! An unprecedented amount of data - the equivalent of 13 CDs - was returned by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission in a single day! NASA's latest mission to Mars sent 75 gigabits of data back to Earth from millions of miles away, including beautiful pictures of the Moon. A preview of what's to come with this mighty mission, the spacecraft calibrated its high-resolution camera, using the Moon as its subject. Calibrations of space cameras are, essentially, adjustments to ensure optimal picture taking. On Sept. 8, 2005, the Moon - half bathed in the sun's glow and half draped in darkness - showed off all of its pocks and dimples for the powerful HiRISE camera. The successful calibration bodes well for the capture of stunning and enlightening images at the red planet. The camera took the shot while at a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from the Moon. The dark feature on the right is Mare Crisium. From that distance, the Moon would appear as a star-like point of light to the unaided eye. The test verified the camera's focusing capability and provided an opportunity for calibration. The spacecraft's Context Camera and Optical Navigation Camera also performed as expected during the test. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, 2005, is on course to reach Mars on March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science phase in November 2006. From the mission's planned science orbit about 300 kilometers (186 miles) above the surface of Mars, the high resolution camera will be able to discern features as small as one meter or yard across. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona |
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Full-Frame Reference for Tes
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Full-Frame Reference for Test Photo of Moon |
| Description |
This pair of views shows how little of the full image frame was taken up by the Moon in test images taken Sept. 8, 2005, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Mars-bound camera imaged Earth's Moon from a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) away -- 26 times the distance between Earth and the Moon -- as part of an activity to test and calibrate the camera. The images are very significant because they show that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft and this camera can properly operate together to collect very high-resolution images of Mars. The target must move through the camera's telescope view in just the right direction and speed to acquire a proper image. The day's test images also demonstrate that the focus mechanism works properly with the telescope to produce sharp images. Out of the 20,000-pixel-by-6,000-pixel full frame, the Moon's diameter is about 340 pixels, if the full Moon could be seen. The illuminated crescent is about 60 pixels wide, and the resolution is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel. At Mars, the entire image region will be filled with high-resolution information. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, 2005, is on course to reach Mars on March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science phase in November 2006. From the mission's planned science orbit about 300 kilometers (186 miles) above the surface of Mars, the high resolution camera will be able to discern features as small as one meter or yard across. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for the NASA Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, prime contractor for the project, built the spacecraft. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., built the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment instrument for the University of Arizona, Tucson, to provide to the mission. The HiRISE Operations Center at the University of Arizona processes images from the camera. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona |
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High-Resolution Mars Camera
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High-Resolution Mars Camera Test Image of Moon (Blue-Green) |
| Description |
This crescent view of Earth's Moon in blue-green wavelengths comes from a camera test by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on its way to Mars. The mission's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera took the image on Sept. 8, 2005, while at a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from the Moon. The dark feature on the right is Mare Crisium. From that distance, the Moon would appear as a star-like point of light to the unaided eye. The test verified the camera's focusing capability and provided an opportunity for calibration. The spacecraft's Context Camera and Optical Navigation Camera also performed as expected during the test. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, 2005, is on course to reach Mars on March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science phase in November 2006. From the mission's planned science orbit about 300 kilometers (186 miles) above the surface of Mars, the high resolution camera will be able to discern features as small as one meter or yard across. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona |
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High-Resolution Mars Camera
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High-Resolution Mars Camera Test Image of Moon (Infrared) |
| Description |
This crescent view of Earth's Moon in infrared wavelengths comes from a camera test by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on its way to Mars. The mission's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera took the image on Sept. 8, 2005, while at a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from the Moon. The dark feature on the right is Mare Crisium. From that distance, the Moon would appear as a star-like point of light to the unaided eye. The test verified the camera's focusing capability and provided an opportunity for calibration. The spacecraft's Context Camera and Optical Navigation Camera also performed as expected during the test. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, 2005, is on course to reach Mars on March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science phase in November 2006. From the mission's planned science orbit about 300 kilometers (186 miles) above the surface of Mars, the high resolution camera will be able to discern features as small as one meter or yard across. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona |
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North Polar Layered Deposits
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North Polar Layered Deposits in Summer |
| Description |
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this image during its first day of test imaging from the spacecraft's low-altitude mapping orbit, Sept. 29, 2006. This image of Mars' north polar layered deposits was taken during the summer season (solar longitude of 113.6 degrees), when carbon dioxide frost had evaporated from the surface. The bright spots seen here are most likely patches of water frost, but the location of the frost patches does not appear to controlled by topography. Layers are visible at the bottom of the image, mostly due to difference in slope between them. The variations in slope are probably caused by differences in the physical properties of the layers. Thinner layers that have previously been observed in these deposits are visible, and may represent annual deposition of water ice and dust that is thought to form the polar layered deposits. These deposits are thought to record global climate variations on Mars, similar to ice ages on Earth. HiRISE images such as this should allow Mars' climate record to be inferred and compared with climate changes on Earth. Image TRA_000825_2665 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on September 29, 2006. Shown here is the full image, centered at 86.5 degree latitude, 172.0 degrees east longitude. The image is oriented such that north is to the top. The range to the target site was 298.9 kilometers (186.8 miles). At this distance the image scale is 59.8 centimeters (23.5 inches) per pixel (with two-by-two binning} so objects about 1.79 meters (70 inches) across are resolved. In total the original image was 12.2 kilometers 7.58 mile, 10024 pixels) wide and 6.1 kilometers (3.79 miles, 5000 pixels) long. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:30 PM and the scene is illuminated from the southwest with a solar incidence angle of 63.5 degrees, thus the sun was about 26.5 degrees above the horizon. 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 Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. Credit: NASA/JPL/UA |
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High-Resolution Mars Camera
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High-Resolution Mars Camera Test Image of Moon (Red) |
| Description |
This crescent view of Earth's Moon in red wavelengths comes from a camera test by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on its way to Mars. The mission's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera took the image on Sept. 8, 2005, while at a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from the Moon. The dark feature on the right is Mare Crisium. From that distance, the Moon would appear as a star-like point of light to the unaided eye. The test verified the camera's focusing capability and provided an opportunity for calibration. The spacecraft's Context Camera and Optical Navigation Camera also performed as expected during the test. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, 2005, is on course to reach Mars on March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science phase in November 2006. From the mission's planned science orbit about 300 kilometers (186 miles) above the surface of Mars, the high resolution camera will be able to discern features as small as one meter or yard across. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona |
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First HiRISE image of Mars
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First HiRISE image of Mars |
| Description |
. 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, The first image of Mars by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a story of geologic change in the eastern Bosporos Planum region. Old stream valleys cut into the flanks of a gently sloping mountain range in the center of the image. Layers of smooth-textured deposits have mantled the stream valleys and many impact craters. Wind and sublimation of water or carbon dioxide ice have partially eroded patches of the smooth-textured deposits, leaving behind areas of layered and hummocky terrain. A prominent ridge that extends from the top to the bottom of the image dominates the scene. This ridge formed above a thrust fault, a type of fault that occurs when the surface of a planet is compressed. On planetary surfaces, such fault-related ridges are termed "wrinkle ridges." They are commonly observed on Mars, as well as on Earth's moon and on Venus and Mercury. The wrinkle ridge imaged here is named Ogygis Rupes. This wrinkle ridge has deformed several valleys and impact craters. Throughout the scene, geologically young sand dunes are present within stream valleys and some impact craters. The area is also sprinkled with many small young impact craters, which are distinguished by sharp crater rims and bright or dark halos of ejected material. This image demonstrates how a single HiRISE image can capture a multitude of geologic processes. Image AEB_000001_0000_Red was taken by HiRISE on March 24, 2006. The image is centered at 33.65 degrees south latitude, 305.07 degrees east longitude. It 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. In total this image is 49.92 kilometers (31.02 miles) or 20,081 pixels wide and 23.66 kilometers (14.70 miles) or 9,523 pixels long. 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 degrees, thus the sun was 12 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: 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 ] |
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Spirit Says Goodbye to 'Home
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PIA02044
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Spirit Says Goodbye to 'Home Plate' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
For the past several weeks, Spirit has been examining spectacular layered rocks exposed at "Home Plate." The rover has been driving around the northern and eastern edges of Home Plate, on the way to "McCool Hill." Before departing, Spirit took this image showing some of the most complex layering patterns seen so far at this location. The layered nature of these rocks presents new questions for the rover team. In addition to their chemical properties, which scientists can study using Spirit's spectrometers, these rocks record a detailed history of the physical properties that formed them. In the center of this image, one group of layers slopes downward to the right. The layers above and below this group are more nearly horizontal. Where layers of different orientations intersect, other layers are truncated. This indicates that there were complex patterns of alternating erosion and deposition occurring when these layers were being deposited. Similar patterns can be found in some sedimentary rocks on Earth. Physical relationships among the various layers exposed at Home Plate are crucial evidence in understanding how these Martian rocks formed. Scientists suspect that the rocks at Home Plate were formed in the aftermath of a volcanic explosion or impact event, and they are investigating the possibility that wind may also have played a role in redistributing materials after such an event. Images like this one from panoramic camera (Pancam), which shows larger-scale layering, as well as those from the microscopic imager, which reveal the individual sand-sized grains that make up these rocks, are essential to understanding the geologic history of Home Plate. This view is a false-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-namometer, and 432-nanometer filters, enhanced to emphasize color differences among the rocks and soils. It was taken during Spirit's 774th Martian day (March 8, 2006). |
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Spirit Says Goodbye to 'Home
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PIA02055
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Spirit Says Goodbye to 'Home Plate' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
For the past several weeks, Spirit has been examining spectacular layered rocks exposed at "Home Plate." The rover has been driving around the northern and eastern edges of Home Plate, on the way to "McCool Hill." Before departing, Spirit took this image showing some of the most complex layering patterns seen so far at this location. The layered nature of these rocks presents new questions for the rover team. In addition to their chemical properties, which scientists can study using Spirit's spectrometers, these rocks record a detailed history of the physical properties that formed them. In the center of this image, one group of layers slopes downward to the right. The layers above and below this group are more nearly horizontal. Where layers of different orientations intersect, other layers are truncated. This indicates that there were complex patterns of alternating erosion and deposition occurring when these layers were being deposited. Similar patterns can be found in some sedimentary rocks on Earth. Physical relationships among the various layers exposed at Home Plate are crucial evidence in understanding how these Martian rocks formed. Scientists suspect that the rocks at Home Plate were formed in the aftermath of a volcanic explosion or impact event, and they are investigating the possibility that wind may also have played a role in redistributing materials after such an event. Images like this one from panoramic camera (Pancam), which shows larger-scale layering, as well as those from the microscopic imager, which reveal the individual sand-sized grains that make up these rocks, are essential to understanding the geologic history of Home Plate. This view is an approximately true-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-namometer, and 432-nanometer filters during Spirit's 774th Martian day (March 8, 2006). |
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2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
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PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
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2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
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PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
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2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
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PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
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2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
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PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
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High-Resolution Mars Camera
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PIA08002
Earth
HiRISE
| Title |
High-Resolution Mars Camera Test Image of Moon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This crescent view of Earth's Moon in infrared, blue-green, and red wavelengths comes from a camera test by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on its way to Mars. The mission's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera took the image on Sept. 8, 2005, while at a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from the Moon. The dark feature on the right is Mare Crisium. From that distance, the Moon would appear as a star-like point of light to the unaided eye. The three images of the Moon in different colors all look similar because the Moon has an overall grey color, but further processing will reveal the subtle color variations. The test verified the camera's focusing capability and provided an opportunity for calibration. The spacecraft's Context Camera and Optical Navigation Camera also performed as expected during the test. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, 2005, is on course to reach Mars on March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science phase in November 2006. From the mission's planned science orbit about 300 kilometers (186 miles) above the surface of Mars, the high resolution camera will be able to discern features as small as one meter or yard across. |
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High-Resolution Mars Camera
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PIA08002
Earth
HiRISE
| Title |
High-Resolution Mars Camera Test Image of Moon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This crescent view of Earth's Moon in infrared, blue-green, and red wavelengths comes from a camera test by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on its way to Mars. The mission's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera took the image on Sept. 8, 2005, while at a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from the Moon. The dark feature on the right is Mare Crisium. From that distance, the Moon would appear as a star-like point of light to the unaided eye. The three images of the Moon in different colors all look similar because the Moon has an overall grey color, but further processing will reveal the subtle color variations. The test verified the camera's focusing capability and provided an opportunity for calibration. The spacecraft's Context Camera and Optical Navigation Camera also performed as expected during the test. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, 2005, is on course to reach Mars on March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science phase in November 2006. From the mission's planned science orbit about 300 kilometers (186 miles) above the surface of Mars, the high resolution camera will be able to discern features as small as one meter or yard across. |
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High-Resolution Mars Camera
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PIA08002
Earth
HiRISE
| Title |
High-Resolution Mars Camera Test Image of Moon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This crescent view of Earth's Moon in infrared, blue-green, and red wavelengths comes from a camera test by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on its way to Mars. The mission's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera took the image on Sept. 8, 2005, while at a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from the Moon. The dark feature on the right is Mare Crisium. From that distance, the Moon would appear as a star-like point of light to the unaided eye. The three images of the Moon in different colors all look similar because the Moon has an overall grey color, but further processing will reveal the subtle color variations. The test verified the camera's focusing capability and provided an opportunity for calibration. The spacecraft's Context Camera and Optical Navigation Camera also performed as expected during the test. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, 2005, is on course to reach Mars on March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science phase in November 2006. From the mission's planned science orbit about 300 kilometers (186 miles) above the surface of Mars, the high resolution camera will be able to discern features as small as one meter or yard across. |
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Celebrating 8 Years at Mars:
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PIA05079
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Celebrating 8 Years at Mars: Repeated Weather Events |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
12 September 2005 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) entered Mars orbit on 12 September 1997. Today, we celebrate the MGS's 8th anniversary! The 8 Earth years that MGS has been in orbit span portions of 5 martian years. One of the critical science activities that the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has been engaged in for the past 8 years has been to document daily changes in the martian weather. Each day that MOC is operating, the red and blue wide angle cameras are used to build up a daily global map. These maps provide a record of the planet's changing meteorological conditions. One of the most exciting observations that the MOC wide angle cameras have made during these 8 years is that the red planet has very repeatable weather patterns. In light of weather-related problems and disruptions that occur every year on Earth, one can only imagine how nice it would be if our planet followed a similar, repeated pattern. The four pictures shown here provide an example of one of the weather phenomena that repeat each martian year. Each picture shows the north polar region of Mars during the northern summer season. Each picture is a composite of several images acquired at different visible wavelengths to give a color view of the planet. Each picture was taken about 1 Mars year apart, and each shows an annular (circular) cloud located over the same terrain each summer. The first picture, acquired in April 1999, is actually not from the MGS MOC instrument. It was obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and was originally released by the Space Telescope Science Institute on 19 May 1999. The reason there is no MOC image for April 1999 is a product of the MGS spacecraft's 8-year history at Mars. MGS was certainly in orbit at the time, and it was taking data during the month of April. However, the camera did not obtain any images between 17 and 28 April because the spacecraft encountered, and then had to be recovered from, a problem. It was at this time that the spacecraft team realized that there is something obstructing the full movement of MGS's high gain antenna. A work-around was created and the mission has continued, ever since, but the down-side was that MOC did not have the opportunity in 1999 to provide detailed observations of the north polar, summertime, annular cloud. The remaining three pictures show MGS MOC views of the cloud feature, as it appeared in the subsequent 3 Mars years. Each year, the cloud appeared at about the same time or slightly earlier than in the previous year. Despite its superficial resemblance to a hurricane or cyclone on Earth, the northern summer annular cloud does not rotate. The cloud forms as different currents of air merge in the morning hours in the polar region, by afternoon, the annular cloud typically dissipates or breaks up into smaller clouds. MGS MOC has observed other repeated phenomena over the course of its 8-year mission orbiting Mars. These include dust storms that, repeat, year after year, in the same location within a week or two of the time it occurred in the previous year. They also include dust devils in northern Amazonis, which start up shortly after the first day of spring, and keep occurring nearly every afternoon until a few days into the autumn season. MOC is continuing its mission to monitor the planet -- in 2006, MOC's weather observations will be used to provide guidance for the aerobraking maneuvers of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). MOC images will show whether dust storms are occurring, and whether the dust suspended by these storms will impact the density of the atmosphere at the altitudes that MRO is passing through to slow the spacecraft and change its orbit to the one desired for the MRO primary mission. "Location near": 90°N "Season": Northern Summer |
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Northern Plains Scene
PIA06108
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Northern Plains Scene |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
30 January 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a typical view of the martian northern plains during northern summer. In spring and summer, dust devils crisscross the plains, creating dark, filamentary streaks such as those shown here. MOC has rarely observed actual active dust devils on the northern plains, suggesting that these probably occur at a time of day that is different than the ~2 p.m. local time when MGS flies over these surfaces. As with high latitudes on Earth, daytime lasts longer in summer than at lower latitudes, thus, dust devils might occur earlier or later in the afternoon than is common in equatorial settings. "Location near": 69.5°N, 66.5°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Summer |
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Concentric Crater Fill in th
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PIA09662
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Concentric Crater Fill in the Northern Plains |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Click on image for larger version This HiRISE image (PSP_001926_2185 [ http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_001926_2185 ]) shows part of an unnamed crater located in the Northern Plains. The intriguing landforms in the floor of this crater are known as "concentric crater fill." Such landforms are found at high latitudes (approximately above 30o from the equator), where theoretical calculations indicate that ice may exist under the surface, mixed with rocks and soil. Examples of concentric crater fill were first observed in the 1970s, in images acquired by cameras on board the Viking orbiters. The roughly concentric ridges and throughs in the crater's floor are believed to result from compression caused by viscous flow of a thick mixture of rocks, soils, and ice inward from the crater's walls. Impact craters with concentric fill are usually shallower than other craters. The crater shown here is approximately 12 km (7.5 miles) in diameter, and 200-400 m (220-440 yards) deep, other Martian craters (see PIA09659 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09659 ]) of similar diameter but without concentric fill may be as deep as 700 m (765 yards). Unlike in "regular" craters, the slopes of the walls of craters with concentric fill tend to be convex, and the crater's rim is more rounded. All these characteristics are consistent with deformation of an ice-rock mixture similar to what's observed in rock glaciers on Earth. Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 12 December 2006 Local Mars time: 3:28 PM Degrees latitude (centered): 38.3° Degrees longitude (East): 60.5° Range to target site: 295.0 km (184.4 miles) Original image scale range: 29.5 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~89 cm across are resolved Map-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is up Map-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAR Emission angle: 1.2° Phase angle: 55.4° Solar incidence angle: 54°, with the Sun about 36° above the horizon Solar longitude: 155.5°, Northern Autumn NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Concentric Crater Fill in th
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PIA09662
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Concentric Crater Fill in the Northern Plains |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Click on image for larger version This HiRISE image (PSP_001926_2185 [ http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_001926_2185 ]) shows part of an unnamed crater located in the Northern Plains. The intriguing landforms in the floor of this crater are known as "concentric crater fill." Such landforms are found at high latitudes (approximately above 30o from the equator), where theoretical calculations indicate that ice may exist under the surface, mixed with rocks and soil. Examples of concentric crater fill were first observed in the 1970s, in images acquired by cameras on board the Viking orbiters. The roughly concentric ridges and throughs in the crater's floor are believed to result from compression caused by viscous flow of a thick mixture of rocks, soils, and ice inward from the crater's walls. Impact craters with concentric fill are usually shallower than other craters. The crater shown here is approximately 12 km (7.5 miles) in diameter, and 200-400 m (220-440 yards) deep, other Martian craters (see PIA09659 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09659 ]) of similar diameter but without concentric fill may be as deep as 700 m (765 yards). Unlike in "regular" craters, the slopes of the walls of craters with concentric fill tend to be convex, and the crater's rim is more rounded. All these characteristics are consistent with deformation of an ice-rock mixture similar to what's observed in rock glaciers on Earth. Observation Toolbox Acquisition date: 12 December 2006 Local Mars time: 3:28 PM Degrees latitude (centered): 38.3° Degrees longitude (East): 60.5° Range to target site: 295.0 km (184.4 miles) Original image scale range: 29.5 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~89 cm across are resolved Map-projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and north is up Map-projection: EQUIRECTANGULAR Emission angle: 1.2° Phase angle: 55.4° Solar incidence angle: 54°, with the Sun about 36° above the horizon Solar longitude: 155.5°, Northern Autumn NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Frosty Dunes
PIA08069
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Frosty Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
12 April 2006 Today, the MOC Team celebrates the 45th anniversary of the first human flight into space, that of Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961, and the 25th anniversary of the first NASA Space Shuttle flight on 12 April 1981, by briefly pondering the wonders of our Solar System and the opportunities of the age in which we live. Although humans have not ventured to the Moon in more than 30 years, and have not yet gone to Mars, we can all go there through the eyes of our robotic explorers. Mars, perhaps the most Earth-like (yet so very different!) planet in our star's system, is tilted on its axis by about 25°-not all that different than Earth's ~23.5°. Thus, Mars, like Earth, experiences a changing of seasons as the planet revolves around the Sun. At high latitudes in each hemisphere during autumn and winter, carbon dioxide frost accumulates on the surface. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dunes covered and delineated by seasonal frost in the north polar region of Mars. The winds responsible for the formation of these dunes blew primarily from the northwest (upper left), with additional influences from the north and northeast. During the late spring and summer seasons, these dunes would look much darker than their surroundings, but in this late winter image, the dunes and the plains on which they occur are all covered with carbon dioxide frost. "Location near": 78.4°N, 76.7°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Winter |
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
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PIA04143
| Title |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Lifts Off |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
At 7:43 a.m. EDT an Atlas V launch vehicle, 19 stories tall, with a two-ton Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on top, lifts off the pad on Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. All systems performed nominally for NASA's first launch of an Atlas V on an interplanetary mission. MRO established radio contact with controllers 61 minutes after launch and within four minutes of separation from the upper stage. Initial contact came through an antenna at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan. Mars is 72 million miles from Earth today, but the spacecraft will travel more than four times that distance on its outbound-arc trajectory to intercept the red planet on March 10, 2006. The orbiter carries six scientific instruments for examining the surface, atmosphere and subsurface of Mars in unprecedented detail from low orbit. NASA expects to get several times more data about Mars from MRO than from all previous Martian missions combined. Researchers will use the instruments to learn more about the history and distribution of Mars' water. That information will improve understanding of planetary climate change and will help guide the quest to answer whether Mars ever supported life. The orbiter will also evaluate potential landing sites for future missions. |
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
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PIA04142
| Title |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Roars Away |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
With the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop, an Atlas V launch vehicle, 19 stories tall, with a two-ton Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on top, roars away from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:43 a.m. EDT. All systems performed nominally for NASA's first launch of an Atlas V on an interplanetary mission. MRO established radio contact with controllers 61 minutes after launch and within four minutes of separation from the upper stage. Initial contact came through an antenna at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan. Mars is 72 million miles from Earth today, but the spacecraft will travel more than four times that distance on its outbound-arc trajectory to intercept the red planet on March 10, 2006. The orbiter carries six scientific instruments for examining the surface, atmosphere and subsurface of Mars in unprecedented detail from low orbit. NASA expects to get several times more data about Mars from MRO than from all previous Martian missions combined. Researchers will use the instruments to learn more about the history and distribution of Mars' water. That information will improve understanding of planetary climate change and will help guide the quest to answer whether Mars ever supported life. The orbiter will also evaluate potential landing sites for future missions. |
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
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PIA04144
| Title |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Multipurpose Mission Successfully Launched |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) launches at 7:43 a.m. EDT atop a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Aug. 12. All systems performed nominally for NASA's first Atlas V launch. The spacecraft will arrive at Mars in March 2006. Once in orbit around Mars, various instruments on the MRO will convey detailed observations of the Martian surface, subsurface and atmosphere. Researchers will use the data to study the history and distribution of Martian water. Learning more about what has happened to the water will focus searches for possible past or present Martian life. Observations by the orbiter will also support future Mars missions by examining potential landing sites and providing a communications relay between the Martian surface and Earth. |
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
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PIA04141
| Title |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Launches |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) launches at 7:43 a.m. EDT atop a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Aug. 12. All systems performed nominally for NASA's first Atlas V launch. The spacecraft will arrive at Mars in March 2006. Once in orbit around Mars, various instruments on the MRO will convey detailed observations of the Martian surface, subsurface and atmosphere. Researchers will use the data to study the history and distribution of Martian water. Learning more about what has happened to the water will focus searches for possible past or present Martian life. Observations by the orbiter will also support future Mars missions by examining potential landing sites and providing a communications relay between the Martian surface and Earth. |
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Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder
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PIA08439
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit began collecting images for a 360-degree panorama of new terrain, the rover captured this view of a dark boulder with an interesting surface texture. The boulder sits about 40 centimeters (16 inches) tall on Martian sand about 5 meters (16 feet) away from Spirit. It is one of many dark, volcanic rock fragments -- many pocked with rounded holes called vesicles -- littering the slope of "Low Ridge." The rock surface facing the rover is similar in appearance to the surface texture on the outside of lava flows on Earth. Spirit took this false-color image with the panoramic camera on the rover's 810th sol, or Martian day, of exploring Mars (April 13, 2006). This image is a false-color rendering using camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. |
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Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder
PIA08440
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit began collecting images for a 360-degree panorama of new terrain, the rover captured this view of a dark boulder with an interesting surface texture. The boulder sits about 40 centimeters (16 inches) tall on Martian sand about 5 meters (16 feet) away from Spirit. It is one of many dark, volcanic rock fragments -- many pocked with rounded holes called vesicles -- littering the slope of "Low Ridge." The rock surface facing the rover is similar in appearance to the surface texture on the outside of lava flows on Earth. Spirit took this approximately true-color image with the panoramic camera on the rover's 810th sol, or Martian day, of exploring Mars (April 13, 2006), using the camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. |
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First HiRISE Image of Mars
PIA08060
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
First HiRISE Image of Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
. JPL, 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., The first image of Mars by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a story of geologic change in the eastern Bosporos Planum region. Old stream valleys cut into the flanks of a gently sloping mountain range in the center of the image. Layers of smooth-textured deposits have mantled the stream valleys and many impact craters. Wind and sublimation of water or carbon dioxide ice have partially eroded patches of the smooth-textured deposits, leaving behind areas of layered and hummocky terrain. A prominent ridge that extends from the top to the bottom of the image dominates the scene. This ridge formed above a thrust fault, a type of fault that occurs when the surface of a planet is compressed. On planetary surfaces, such fault-related ridges are termed "wrinkle ridges." They are commonly observed on Mars, as well as on Earth's moon and on Venus and Mercury. The wrinkle ridge imaged here is named Ogygis Rupes. This wrinkle ridge has deformed several valleys and impact craters. Throughout the scene, geologically young sand dunes are present within stream valleys and some impact craters. The area is also sprinkled with many small young impact craters, which are distinguished by sharp crater rims and bright or dark halos of ejected material. This image demonstrates how a single HiRISE image can capture a multitude of geologic processes. This view results from further processing of an image released quickly after the data was received from the camera. See PIA08014 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08014 ]. It was taken by HiRISE on March 24, 2006. The image is centered at 33.65 degrees south latitude, 305.07 degrees east longitude. It 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. In total this image is 49.92 kilometers (31.02 miles) or 20,081 pixels wide and 23.66 kilometers (14.70 miles) or 9,523 pixels long. 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 degrees, thus the sun was 12 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: 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 ] |
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North Polar Cliff
PIA09374
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
North Polar Cliff |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This full HiRISE image shows a cliff-face that has been eroded into the ice-rich polar layered deposits at the head of the large canyon, Chasma Boreale. In a similar way to layers in the Earth's ice caps, these Martian layers are thought to record variations in climate, which makes them very interesting to scientists. This particular cliff-face is several hundred meters high and the layers exposed here are the deepest (and so the oldest) in the polar layered deposits. The lower layers exposed in this scarp appear to be rich in dark sand, and erosion of these layers has produced the sand dunes that cover sections of this cliff-face. A close examination of the layers in the center of the image shows they have curved shapes and intersect each other. Scientists call this cross-bedding and it may indicate that these sandy layers were laid down as a large dunefield before being buried. At the bottom of the image, the floor of Chasma Boreale in this area appears to have been swept clean of sandy material. There is a complex history of erosion and deposition of material at this location. On the right of the image one can see a smooth material that covers the lower layers and which must have been deposited after the main cliff face was initially eroded. Closer to the center of the image, this smooth mantling material is in turn being eroded away to once again expose the layers beneath it. Image PSP_001334_2645 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 8, 2006. The complete image is centered at 84.4 degrees latitude, 343.5 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 317.4 km (198.4 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 31.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 63.5 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 1:38 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 67 degrees, thus the sun was about 23 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 132.3 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Layers in Melas Chasma
PIA09365
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Layers in Melas Chasma |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Click on image for larger annotated version This scene of layered deposits is from Melas Chasma, part of the Valles Marineris valley network. The area consists of a series of plateaus and cliffs that form a step-like terrain similar to the Grand Staircase-Escalante region of southwest Utah. The upper-right half of the image covers the highest plateau, and lower cliffs and plateaus step down in elevation toward the lower left of the image. Dunes of dark sand commonly cover the flat plateaus and distinct layers of bedrock are exposed in the cliffs. The orientations of these layers may help scientists to understand how the layers formed and the kind of environment that the layers formed in. Black rectangles on the left side of the image are areas where the image data was lost during transmission from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to Earth. This subscene [above] shows a series of boulder tracks on the left side of the image. The boulders fell from the cliffs above and left behind a series of small depressions. Each depression was made as the boulder bounced and rolled along the surface. In many cases, the tracks can be followed to the specific boulder that made them. Also visible in this subscene are cross-sections through the layered bedrock. This bedrock likely formed through settling of sand-sized particles out of the air or out of a body of water that has since drained away. These layers are 'cross-bedded', which means that subsequent layers are not parallel to each other but are instead oriented at an angle to other layers. The fact that these layers are cross-bedded indicates that the sand-sized particles were moved horizontally along the surface as they settled, just like sand dunes or ripples at the bottom of a stream. The size and shape of these cross-beds may help scientists to determine if the layers formed underwater or on land. Image PSP_001377_1685, was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 11, 2006. The complete image is centered at -11.3 degrees latitude, 286.3 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 257.7 km (161.0 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 25.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 51.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here [below] has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:32 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 60 degrees, thus the sun was about 30 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 133.9 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Layers in Melas Chasma
PIA09365
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Layers in Melas Chasma |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Click on image for larger annotated version This scene of layered deposits is from Melas Chasma, part of the Valles Marineris valley network. The area consists of a series of plateaus and cliffs that form a step-like terrain similar to the Grand Staircase-Escalante region of southwest Utah. The upper-right half of the image covers the highest plateau, and lower cliffs and plateaus step down in elevation toward the lower left of the image. Dunes of dark sand commonly cover the flat plateaus and distinct layers of bedrock are exposed in the cliffs. The orientations of these layers may help scientists to understand how the layers formed and the kind of environment that the layers formed in. Black rectangles on the left side of the image are areas where the image data was lost during transmission from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to Earth. This subscene [above] shows a series of boulder tracks on the left side of the image. The boulders fell from the cliffs above and left behind a series of small depressions. Each depression was made as the boulder bounced and rolled along the surface. In many cases, the tracks can be followed to the specific boulder that made them. Also visible in this subscene are cross-sections through the layered bedrock. This bedrock likely formed through settling of sand-sized particles out of the air or out of a body of water that has since drained away. These layers are 'cross-bedded', which means that subsequent layers are not parallel to each other but are instead oriented at an angle to other layers. The fact that these layers are cross-bedded indicates that the sand-sized particles were moved horizontally along the surface as they settled, just like sand dunes or ripples at the bottom of a stream. The size and shape of these cross-beds may help scientists to determine if the layers formed underwater or on land. Image PSP_001377_1685, was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 11, 2006. The complete image is centered at -11.3 degrees latitude, 286.3 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 257.7 km (161.0 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 25.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 51.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here [below] has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:32 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 60 degrees, thus the sun was about 30 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 133.9 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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North Polar Layered Deposits
PIA09370
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
North Polar Layered Deposits |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows an exposure of the north polar layered deposits (dark) and adjacent residual ice cap (bright) in an area that has not been well observed by previous Mars orbiters. It is one of a stereo pair of images that can be used to accurately measure the topography of this exposure of polar layered deposits and the residual ice. Topographic information is needed to measure the slopes and thickness of individual layers, which are thought to record Martian climate variations, similar to ice ages on Earth. Topographic information can also be used to determine whether the bright and dark banding that highlights the layers in places is caused by various amounts of water frost. Detailed comparison of this image with its stereo pair (taken one Mars day later, PSP_001379_2680 [ http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001379_2680/ ]) will show whether there were any rapid changes in frost distribution. Spacecraft orbits around Mars are often designed to be "sun synchronous," so that targets on the surface are always visible at the same time of day. A sun-synchronous orbit does not quite pass over the Martian poles, so that the areas within 3 degrees (latitude) of each pole cannot be observed without rolling the entire spacecraft to one side. The Mars Global Surveyor and 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft typically keep their instruments pointing straight down at Mars, so that there is a gap in image and topographic data within 180 km (110 miles) of each pole. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is designed to be able to frequently roll off nadir, making it easier to observe high-latitude targets such as the one shown in this image. The HiRISE team has therefore initiated a campaign to image specific targets near the north pole in stereo. Image PSP_001365_2720, was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 10, 2006. The complete image is centered at 88.1 degrees latitude, 135.6 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 319.4 km (199.6 miles). At this distance the image scale is 63.9 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~192 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 50 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 8:11 AM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 71 degrees, thus the sun was about 19 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 133.5 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Light Layered Deposits in Va
…
PIA09397
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Light Layered Deposits in Valles Marineris |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows bright layered deposits near the junction of Coprates Chasma and Melas Chasma, part of Valles Marineris. The outcrop shown here is in a wide alcove in the northern wall and forms a broad mound several kilometers wide, dark, wind-blown material covers it in places. Similar light-toned rock occurs in many places in Valles Marineris. An important question is when these materials formed: were they deposited within the troughs after they opened and then eroded, or are they remnants of the wall rock? Analysis of the orientation of the layers using HiRISE images may help scientists answer this question. There are no fresh impact craters preserved on the outcrop surface, suggesting that the layered deposits are being eroded rapidly enough to erase the craters. In many places, the light rocks have regular fractures called joints. Joints are common in rocks on Earth, and HiRISE images show them in many places on Mars as well. These can provide information about the forces which have affected the rock since it formed, which helps unravel the geologic history of this outcrop. Image PSP_001456_1695 [ http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001456_1695/ ] was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 17, 2006. The complete image is centered at -10.2 degrees latitude, 291.2 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 258.4 km (161.5 miles). At this distance the image scale is 25.9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~78 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:33 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 59 degrees, thus, the sun was about 31 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 136.9 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Faulting in Amazonis Planiti
…
PIA09393
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Faulting in Amazonis Planitia |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This HiRISE image is centered on a long "strike-slip" fault on the young plains in the Amazonis region of Mars. The most famous example of a strike-slip fault on the Earth is probably the San Andreas Fault in California. The smooth plains here have few large craters, indicating that it has been resurfaced relatively recently. The fact that the faults have cut these plains indicates that tectonic processes (and Mars-quakes) have occurred even more recently. Of course, "recently" on Mars is a relative term, it is likely that both the surfaces and the faulting are more than a billion years old. Other interesting features are the moats around knobs and craters in the plains (most prominently near the southern edge of the image) and convoluted depressions that might mark a channel along the western edge of the image. Image PSP_001578_2000 [ http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001578_2000/ ] was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 27, 2006. The complete image is centered at 19.7 degrees latitude, 198.7 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 286.9 km (179.3 miles). At this distance the image scale is 57.4 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~172 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 50 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:26 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 49 degrees, thus the sun was about 41 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 141.7 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Faults and Pits in the North
…
PIA09394
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Faults and Pits in the North Polar Residual Ice Cap |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This full HiRISE image shows faults and pits in the north polar residual cap that have not been previously recognized. The faults and depressions between them are similar to features seen on Earth where the crust is being pulled apart. Such tectonic extension must have occurred very recently, as there the north polar residual cap is very young, as indicated by the paucity of impact craters on its surface. Alternatively, the faults and pits may be caused by collapse due to removal of material beneath the surface. The pits are aligned along the faults, either because material has drained into the subsurface along the faults or because gas has escaped from the subsurface through them. Image PSP_001513_2650 [ http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001513_2650/ ] was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 22, 2006. The complete image is centered at 85.1 degrees latitude, 137.6 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 319.9 km (199.9 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 32.0 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 64.0 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 1:29 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 69 degrees, thus the sun was about 21 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 139.1 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Scarp within Chasma Boreale
PIA09385
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Scarp within Chasma Boreale |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This HiRISE image is of the north polar layered deposits (PLD) and underlying units exposed along the margins of Chasma Boreale. Chasma Boreale is the largest trough in the north PLD, thought to have formed due to outflow of water from underneath the polar cap, or due to winds blowing off the polar cap, or a combination of both. At the top and left of the image, the bright area with uniform striping is the gently sloping surface of the PLD. In the middle of the image this surface drops off in a steeper scarp, or cliff. At the top of this cliff we see the bright PLD in a side view, or cross-section. From these two perspectives of the PLD it is evident that the PLD are a stack of roughly horizontal layers. The gently sloping top surface cuts through the vertical sequence of layers at a low angle, apparently stretching the layers out horizontally and thus revealing details of the brightness and texture of individual layers. The surface of the PLD on the scarp is also criss-crossed by fine scale fractures. The layers of the PLD are probably composed of differing proportions of ice and dust, believed to be related to the climate conditions at the time they were deposited. In this way, sequences of polar layers are records of past climates on Mars, as ice cores from terrestrial ice sheets hold evidence of past climates on Earth. Further down the scarp in the center of the image the bright layers give way suddenly to a much darker section where a few layers are visible intermittently amongst aprons of dark material. The darkest material, with a smooth surface suggestive of loose grains, is thought to be sandy because similar exposures elsewhere show it to be formed into dunes by the wind. An intermediate-toned material also appears to form aprons draped over layers in the scarp, but its surface contains lobate structures that appear hardened into place and its edges are more abrupt in places, suggesting it may contain some ice or other cementing agent that makes it more competent, or resistant. At the base of the cliff, especially visible on the right side of the image, are several prominent bright layers with regular, rectangular-shaped polygons. Due to similarities in brightness and surface fracturing with the upper PLD, these bottom layers are also likely to be ice rich. The presence of sandy material sandwiched in between the upper PLD and these bottom layers suggests that the climate was once much different from the times during which the icier layers were deposited. The scattered bright and dark points are boulder-sized blocks that are likely pieces of the fractured PLD or other darker layers that have broken off and fallen downhill. At the bottom and right of the image, the floor of Chasma Boreale is dark, with a knobby texture and irregular polygons. Several circular features surrounded by an area that is slightly smoother, lighter, and raised relative to the chasm floor may be impact craters that have been modified after their formation in, ice-rich ground. Image PSP_001412_2650 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 14, 2006. The complete image is centered at 84.7 degrees latitude, 4.0 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 320.9 km (200.6 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 32.1 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 128.4 cm/pixel (with 4 x 4 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 12:52 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 67 degrees, thus the sun was about 23 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.3 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Lobate Debris Apron in Tempe
…
PIA09401
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Lobate Debris Apron in Tempe Terra/Mareotis Fossae |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows a portion of a large lobate debris apron along the bottom of a hill in the Tempe Terra/Mareotis Fossae region of Mars. Debris aprons were first discovered in regions of "fretted terrain" from analyses of images sent back by the Viking Orbiter spacecrafts in the 1970s. Features in areas of fretted terrain appear "softened" as if some geologic process(es) had smoothed and rounded features that normally would be sharply defined, such the crest of a narrow, steep ridge. Scientists inferred that the processes causing this degradation must have involved the incorporation and creep of ice in the surface materials. If so, these mixtures of ice and debris could have flowed away from topographically high areas leaving features much less sharply-defined. The flow behavior described here is similar to slow-moving glacial or permafrost features on Earth. The debris apron in the upper left of the image also has several subtle "ridge" features on its surface from low sun illumination. The ridges are roughly parallel to the base of the hill and their shapes mimic one another along their lengths. Similar ridges are seen on other debris aprons in this region where the aprons are located directly below large piles of debris accumulating along the bottom of hillslopes. These observations have led to the hypothesis that ridges on debris aprons are accumulated piles of debris from a period of abnormally high erosion. If this was indeed the case, each ridge may indicate a change in the climate or local environment that would have implications for our overall understanding of the Martian climate. Image PSP_001390_2290 [ http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001390_2290/ ] was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 12, 2006. The complete image is centered at 48.9 degrees latitude, 283.9 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 300.6 km (187.9 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 30.1 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 60.1 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:20 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 51 degrees, thus the sun was about 39 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 134.4 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Alluvial Fans in Mojave Crat
…
PIA09399
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Alluvial Fans in Mojave Crater: Did It Rain on Mars? |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Click on image for larger version This HiRISE image at up to 29 cm/pixel scale supports the alluvial fan interpretation, in particular by showing that the sizes of the largest rocks decrease away from the mouths of the fans. Aptly-named Mojave crater in the Xanthe Terra region has alluvial fans that look remarkably similar to landforms in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California and portions of Nevada and Arizona. Alluvial fans are fan-shaped deposits of water-transported material (alluvium). They typically form at the base of hills or mountains where there is a marked break, or flattening of slope. They typically deposit big rocks near their mouths (close to the mountains) and smaller rocks at greater distances. Alluvial fans form as a result of heavy desert downpours, typically thundershowers. Because deserts are poorly vegetated, heavy and short-lived downpours create a great deal of erosion and nearby deposition. There are fans inside and around the outsides of Mojave crater on Mars that perfectly match the morphology of alluvial fans on Earth, with the exception of a few small impact craters dotting this Martian landscape. Channels begin at the apex of topographic ridges, consistent with precipitation as the source of water, rather than groundwater. This remarkable landscape was first discovered from Mars Orbital Camera images. Mars researchers have suggested that impact-induced atmospheric precipitation may have created these unique landscapes. Image PSP_001415_1875 [ http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001415_1875/ ] was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 14, 2006. The complete image is centered at 7.6 degrees latitude, 327.4 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 273.5 km (170.9 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 27.4 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 109.4 cm/pixel (with 4 x 4 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:29 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 52 degrees, thus the sun was about 38 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.4 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Alluvial Fans in Mojave Crat
…
PIA09399
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
| Title |
Alluvial Fans in Mojave Crater: Did It Rain on Mars? |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Click on image for larger version This HiRISE image at up to 29 cm/pixel scale supports the alluvial fan interpretation, in particular by showing that the sizes of the largest rocks decrease away from the mouths of the fans. Aptly-named Mojave crater in the Xanthe Terra region has alluvial fans that look remarkably similar to landforms in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California and portions of Nevada and Arizona. Alluvial fans are fan-shaped deposits of water-transported material (alluvium). They typically form at the base of hills or mountains where there is a marked break, or flattening of slope. They typically deposit big rocks near their mouths (close to the mountains) and smaller rocks at greater distances. Alluvial fans form as a result of heavy desert downpours, typically thundershowers. Because deserts are poorly vegetated, heavy and short-lived downpours create a great deal of erosion and nearby deposition. There are fans inside and around the outsides of Mojave crater on Mars that perfectly match the morphology of alluvial fans on Earth, with the exception of a few small impact craters dotting this Martian landscape. Channels begin at the apex of topographic ridges, consistent with precipitation as the source of water, rather than groundwater. This remarkable landscape was first discovered from Mars Orbital Camera images. Mars researchers have suggested that impact-induced atmospheric precipitation may have created these unique landscapes. Image PSP_001415_1875 [ http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001415_1875/ ] was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 14, 2006. The complete image is centered at 7.6 degrees latitude, 327.4 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 273.5 km (170.9 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 27.4 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 109.4 cm/pixel (with 4 x 4 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:29 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 52 degrees, thus the sun was about 38 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.4 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. |
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Mira Soars Through the Sky
PIA09958
Ultraviolet/Visible Camera
| Title |
Mira Soars Through the Sky |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
New ultraviolet images from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows a speeding star that is leaving an enormous trail of "seeds" for new solar systems. The star, named Mira (pronounced my-rah) after the latin word for "wonderful," is shedding material that will be recycled into new stars, planets and possibly even life as it hurls through our galaxy. In figure 1, the upper panel shows Mira's full, comet-like tail as seen only in shorter, or "far" ultraviolet wavelengths, while the lower panel is a combined view showing both far and longer, or "near" ultraviolet wavelengths. The close-up picture at bottom gives a better look at Mira itself, which appears as a pinkish dot, and is moving from left to right in this view. Shed material appears in light blue. The dots in the picture are stars and distant galaxies. The large blue dot on the left side of the upper panel, and the large yellow dot in the lower panel, are both stars that are closer to us than Mira. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer discovered the strange tail during part of its routine survey of the entire sky at ultraviolet wavelengths. When astronomers first saw the picture, they were shocked because Mira has been studied for over 400 years yet nothing like this has ever been documented before. Mira's comet-like tail stretches a startling 13 light-years across the sky. For comparison, the nearest star to our sun, Proxima Centauri, is only about 4 light-years away. Mira's tail also tells a tale of its history -- the material making it up has been slowly blown off over time, with the oldest material at the end of the tail being released about 30,000 years ago (figure 2). Mira is a highly evolved, "red giant" star near the end of its life. Technically, it is called an asymptotic giant branch star. It is red in color and bloated, for example, if a red giant were to replace our sun, it would engulf everything out to the orbit of Mars. Our sun will mature into a red giant in about 5 billion years. Like other red giants, Mira will lose a large fraction of its mass in the form of gas and dust. In fact, Mira ejects the equivalent of the Earth's mass every 10 years. It has released enough material over the past 30,000 years to seed at least 3,000 Earth-sized planets or 9 Jupiter-sized ones. While most stars travel along together around the disk of our Milky Way, Mira is charging through it. Because Mira is not moving with the "pack," it is moving much faster relative to the ambient gas in our section of the Milky Way. It is zipping along at 130 kilometers per second, or 291,000 miles per hour, relative to this gas. Mira's breakneck speed together with its outflow of material are responsible for its unique glowing tail. Images from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer show a large build-up of gas, or bow shock, in front of the star, similar to water piling up in front of a speeding boat. Scientists now know that hot gas in this bow shock mixes with the cooler, hydrogen gas being shed from Mira,, causing it to heat up as it swirls back into a turbulent wake. As the hydrogen gas loses energy, it fluoresces with ultraviolet light, which the Galaxy Evolution Explorer can detect. Mira, also known as Mira A, is not alone in its travels through space. It has a distant companion star called Mira B that is thought to be the burnt-out, dead core of a star, called a white dwarf. Mira A and B circle around each other slowly, making one orbit about every 500 years. Astronomers believe that Mira B has no effect on Mira's tail. Mira is also what's called a pulsating variable star. It dims and brightens by a factor of 1,500 every 332 days, and will become bright enough to see with the naked eye in mid-November 2007. Because it was the first variable star with a regular period ever discovered, other stars of this type are often referred to as "Miras." Mira is located 350 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus, otherwise known as the whale. Coincidentally, Mira and its "whale of a tail" can be found in the tail of the whale constellation. These images were between November 18 and December 15, 2006. |
|
Mira Soars Through the Sky
PIA09958
Ultraviolet/Visible Camera
| Title |
Mira Soars Through the Sky |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
New ultraviolet images from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows a speeding star that is leaving an enormous trail of "seeds" for new solar systems. The star, named Mira (pronounced my-rah) after the latin word for "wonderful," is shedding material that will be recycled into new stars, planets and possibly even life as it hurls through our galaxy. In figure 1, the upper panel shows Mira's full, comet-like tail as seen only in shorter, or "far" ultraviolet wavelengths, while the lower panel is a combined view showing both far and longer, or "near" ultraviolet wavelengths. The close-up picture at bottom gives a better look at Mira itself, which appears as a pinkish dot, and is moving from left to right in this view. Shed material appears in light blue. The dots in the picture are stars and distant galaxies. The large blue dot on the left side of the upper panel, and the large yellow dot in the lower panel, are both stars that are closer to us than Mira. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer discovered the strange tail during part of its routine survey of the entire sky at ultraviolet wavelengths. When astronomers first saw the picture, they were shocked because Mira has been studied for over 400 years yet nothing like this has ever been documented before. Mira's comet-like tail stretches a startling 13 light-years across the sky. For comparison, the nearest star to our sun, Proxima Centauri, is only about 4 light-years away. Mira's tail also tells a tale of its history -- the material making it up has been slowly blown off over time, with the oldest material at the end of the tail being released about 30,000 years ago (figure 2). Mira is a highly evolved, "red giant" star near the end of its life. Technically, it is called an asymptotic giant branch star. It is red in color and bloated, for example, if a red giant were to replace our sun, it would engulf everything out to the orbit of Mars. Our sun will mature into a red giant in about 5 billion years. Like other red giants, Mira will lose a large fraction of its mass in the form of gas and dust. In fact, Mira ejects the equivalent of the Earth's mass every 10 years. It has released enough material over the past 30,000 years to seed at least 3,000 Earth-sized planets or 9 Jupiter-sized ones. While most stars travel along together around the disk of our Milky Way, Mira is charging through it. Because Mira is not moving with the "pack," it is moving much faster relative to the ambient gas in our section of the Milky Way. It is zipping along at 130 kilometers per second, or 291,000 miles per hour, relative to this gas. Mira's breakneck speed together with its outflow of material are responsible for its unique glowing tail. Images from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer show a large build-up of gas, or bow shock, in front of the star, similar to water piling up in front of a speeding boat. Scientists now know that hot gas in this bow shock mixes with the cooler, hydrogen gas being shed from Mira,, causing it to heat up as it swirls back into a turbulent wake. As the hydrogen gas loses energy, it fluoresces with ultraviolet light, which the Galaxy Evolution Explorer can detect. Mira, also known as Mira A, is not alone in its travels through space. It has a distant companion star called Mira B that is thought to be the burnt-out, dead core of a star, called a white dwarf. Mira A and B circle around each other slowly, making one orbit about every 500 years. Astronomers believe that Mira B has no effect on Mira's tail. Mira is also what's called a pulsating variable star. It dims and brightens by a factor of 1,500 every 332 days, and will become bright enough to see with the naked eye in mid-November 2007. Because it was the first variable star with a regular period ever discovered, other stars of this type are often referred to as "Miras." Mira is located 350 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus, otherwise known as the whale. Coincidentally, Mira and its "whale of a tail" can be found in the tail of the whale constellation. These images were between November 18 and December 15, 2006. |
|
Mira Soars Through the Sky
PIA09958
Ultraviolet/Visible Camera
| Title |
Mira Soars Through the Sky |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
New ultraviolet images from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows a speeding star that is leaving an enormous trail of "seeds" for new solar systems. The star, named Mira (pronounced my-rah) after the latin word for "wonderful," is shedding material that will be recycled into new stars, planets and possibly even life as it hurls through our galaxy. In figure 1, the upper panel shows Mira's full, comet-like tail as seen only in shorter, or "far" ultraviolet wavelengths, while the lower panel is a combined view showing both far and longer, or "near" ultraviolet wavelengths. The close-up picture at bottom gives a better look at Mira itself, which appears as a pinkish dot, and is moving from left to right in this view. Shed material appears in light blue. The dots in the picture are stars and distant galaxies. The large blue dot on the left side of the upper panel, and the large yellow dot in the lower panel, are both stars that are closer to us than Mira. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer discovered the strange tail during part of its routine survey of the entire sky at ultraviolet wavelengths. When astronomers first saw the picture, they were shocked because Mira has been studied for over 400 years yet nothing like this has ever been documented before. Mira's comet-like tail stretches a startling 13 light-years across the sky. For comparison, the nearest star to our sun, Proxima Centauri, is only about 4 light-years away. Mira's tail also tells a tale of its history -- the material making it up has been slowly blown off over time, with the oldest material at the end of the tail being released about 30,000 years ago (figure 2). Mira is a highly evolved, "red giant" star near the end of its life. Technically, it is called an asymptotic giant branch star. It is red in color and bloated, for example, if a red giant were to replace our sun, it would engulf everything out to the orbit of Mars. Our sun will mature into a red giant in about 5 billion years. Like other red giants, Mira will lose a large fraction of its mass in the form of gas and dust. In fact, Mira ejects the equivalent of the Earth's mass every 10 years. It has released enough material over the past 30,000 years to seed at least 3,000 Earth-sized planets or 9 Jupiter-sized ones. While most stars travel along together around the disk of our Milky Way, Mira is charging through it. Because Mira is not moving with the "pack," it is moving much faster relative to the ambient gas in our section of the Milky Way. It is zipping along at 130 kilometers per second, or 291,000 miles per hour, relative to this gas. Mira's breakneck speed together with its outflow of material are responsible for its unique glowing tail. Images from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer show a large build-up of gas, or bow shock, in front of the star, similar to water piling up in front of a speeding boat. Scientists now know that hot gas in this bow shock mixes with the cooler, hydrogen gas being shed from Mira,, causing it to heat up as it swirls back into a turbulent wake. As the hydrogen gas loses energy, it fluoresces with ultraviolet light, which the Galaxy Evolution Explorer can detect. Mira, also known as Mira A, is not alone in its travels through space. It has a distant companion star called Mira B that is thought to be the burnt-out, dead core of a star, called a white dwarf. Mira A and B circle around each other slowly, making one orbit about every 500 years. Astronomers believe that Mira B has no effect on Mira's tail. Mira is also what's called a pulsating variable star. It dims and brightens by a factor of 1,500 every 332 days, and will become bright enough to see with the naked eye in mid-November 2007. Because it was the first variable star with a regular period ever discovered, other stars of this type are often referred to as "Miras." Mira is located 350 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus, otherwise known as the whale. Coincidentally, Mira and its "whale of a tail" can be found in the tail of the whale constellation. These images were between November 18 and December 15, 2006. |
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Panorama from 'Cape Verde' (
…
PIA09103
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Panorama from 'Cape Verde' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this vista of "Victoria Crater" from the viewpoint of "Cape Verde," one of the promontories that are part of the scalloped rim of the crater. Opportunity drove onto Cape Verde shortly after arriving at the rim of Victoria in September 2006. The view combines hundreds of exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam). The camera began taking the component images during Opportunity's 970th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Oct. 16, 2006). Work on the panorama continued through the solar conjunction period, when Mars was nearly behind the sun from Earth's perspective and communications were minimized. Acquisition of images for this panorama was completed on Opportunity's 991st sol (Nov. 7, 2006). The top of Cape Verde is in the immediate foreground at the center of the image. To the left and right are two of the more gradually sloped bays that alternate with the cliff-faced capes or promontories around the rim of the crater. "Duck Bay," where Opportunity first reached the rim, is to the right. Beyond Duck Bay counterclockwise around the rim, the next promontory is "Cabo Frio," about 150 meters (500 feet) from the rover. On the left side of the panorama is "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise from Cape Verde and about 40 meters (130 feet) from the rover. The vantage point atop Cape Verde offered a good view of the rock layers in the cliff face of Cape St. Mary, which is about 15 meters or 50 feet tall. By about two weeks after the Pancam finished collecting the images for this panorama, Opportunity had driven to Cape St. Mary and was photographing Cape Verde's rock layers. The far side of the crater lies about 800 meters (half a mile) away, toward the southeast. This view combines images taken through three of the Pancam's filters, admitting light with wavelengths centered at 750 nanometers (near infrared), 530 nanometers (green) and 430 nanometers (violet). It is presented in false color to emphasize differences among materials in the rocks and soils. |
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Panorama from 'Cape Verde'
PIA09104
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Panorama from 'Cape Verde' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this vista of "Victoria Crater" from the viewpoint of "Cape Verde," one of the promontories that are part of the scalloped rim of the crater. Opportunity drove onto Cape Verde shortly after arriving at the rim of Victoria in September 2006. The view combines hundreds of exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam). The camera began taking the component images during Opportunity's 970th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Oct. 16, 2006). Work on the panorama continued through the solar conjunction period, when Mars was nearly behind the sun from Earth's perspective and communications were minimized. Acquisition of images for this panorama was completed on Opportunity's 991st sol (Nov. 7, 2006). The top of Cape Verde is in the immediate foreground at the center of the image. To the left and right are two of the more gradually sloped bays that alternate with the cliff-faced capes or promontories around the rim of the crater. "Duck Bay," where Opportunity first reached the rim, is to the right. Beyond Duck Bay counterclockwise around the rim, the next promontory is "Cabo Frio," about 150 meters (500 feet) from the rover. On the left side of the panorama is "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise from Cape Verde and about 40 meters (130 feet) from the rover. The vantage point atop Cape Verde offered a good view of the rock layers in the cliff face of Cape St. Mary, which is about 15 meters or 50 feet tall. By about two weeks after the Pancam finished collecting the images for this panorama, Opportunity had driven to Cape St. Mary and was photographing Cape Verde's rock layers. The far side of the crater lies about 800 meters (half a mile) away, toward the southeast. This approximately true-color view combines images taken through three of the Pancam's filters, admitting light with wavelengths centered at 750 nanometers (near infrared), 530 nanometers (green) and 430 nanometers (violet). |
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Groundwater May be Source fo
…
PIA09031
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Groundwater May be Source for Erosion in Martian Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Since their discovery early during the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera investigation, as first reported in June 2000, Martian gullies have presented a puzzle for the Mars science community: what fluid was responsible for the erosion that created the channels, and where did it come from? The gullies seem to be quite young in a geologic sense (millions of years or less), yet modern and geologically-recent Mars is an extremely dry place, where water ice sublimates directly to gas when the temperature is warm enough. Since June 2000, many hypotheses have been discussed at scientific meetings, in the scientific journals and elsewhere. The original June 2000 hypothesis held that the fluid was liquid water (either pure, salty, acidic, etc.) that came to the surface where slopes intersected conduits of groundwater. Such slopes include crater walls, valley walls, hills, massifs and crater central peaks. Later investigators explored the possibility that rather than liquid groundwater, the source was ground ice, which, under some climate conditions, melted to produce liquid runoff. Still others noted that thick mantles covered a fraction of the gully-bearing slopes, suggesting that the mantles were ancient, dust-covered snow or ice packs that might melt at the base to make liquid water runoff. Water was not the only fluid considered by various colleagues, carbon dioxide can be fluid at some pressures and temperatures. Fluid carbon dioxide was also proposed as a candidate fluidizing agent. Even dry mass movement, or land sliding, of unconsolidated granular material can exhibit some fluid-like behavior. Such mass movements were considered as an explanation for the gullies. The presence of channels primarily formed by erosion but also displaying features representing along-channel deposition, such as levees and meanders, and terminal depositional aprons consisting of dozens to hundreds of individual flow lobes, contributed to the general acceptance of the hypothesis that gullies involved the action of liquid water. Throughout the Mars Global Surveyor mission, the Mars Orbiter Camera team continued to image gullies at every opportunity, looking for new gullies, taking higher resolution images of previously identified gullies, and monitoring the gullies for changes that might occur. Among the results of this extensive survey are numerous examples of gullies that have geological relations to other things in their vicinity. This provides support for the hypothesis that the fluid responsible for the gullies came from beneath the ground, either as groundwater or melting of ice in the Martian subsurface. Three of the best examples are presented here. Figure A: The first picture shows a pair of gully channels that emerge, fully-born at nearly their full width, from beneath small overhangs on the north wall of Dao Vallis. These overhangs are probably created by the presence of a hard-rock layer. Liquid, probably water, percolated through permeable, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]., layers just beneath these harder, more resistant rock layers. The arrow points to the place where one of the two neighboring channels emerges. This is a sub-frame of an image acquired on Jan. 10, 2006, located near 34.2 degrees south latitude, 268.1 degrees west longitude. The 150-meter scale bar is about 164 yards wide. Figure B: The second picture shows a gully that formed on the wall of a crater that intersected a mare-type ridge. The term, mare, is from the dark volcanic plains of Earth's moon, for example Mare Tranquilitatis was the plain on which the Apollo 11 crew landed in 1969. The lunar maria (maria is the plural form of mare), when viewed from above, have many "wrinkle" ridges. These ridges are the surface expression of thrust faults. The mare-type ridge in the picture shown here is thus the product of faulting, as rocks on the west (left) side of the image were thrust toward the east (right). Finding a gully associated with a fault is excellent evidence for the groundwater hypothesis, because ground water percolates through cracks and pores in the ground. On Earth, springs (where groundwater comes to the surface) are often found along fault lines. What is most important about this particular Martian gully is that it occurs equatorward of 30 degrees south, which is extremely unusual. The only gully in this crater is the one associated with the fault. It is essentially the site of a spring, now dried up perhaps. This picture is a sub-frame of an image located near 29.1 degrees south latitude, 207.5 degrees west longitude, acquired on Jan. 17, 2005. Figure C: The third picture shows a small crater on the rim of a larger crater. Only a small portion of the wall of this larger crater is captured in the image. Immediately beneath the small crater occurs a group of gullies. The presence of these gullies also supports the groundwater hypothesis because impacting meteors will fracture the rocks into which they form a crater. In this case, there would be an initial set of subsurface fractures caused by the large impact that created the original, large crater. Then, when the smaller crater formed, it would have created additional fractures in its vicinity. These extra fractures would then have provided pathways, or conduits, through which ground water would come to the surface on the wall of the larger crater, thus creating the gullies observed. One might speculate that the group of gullies was formed by the impact that made the small crater, because of the heat and fracturing of rock during the impact process. However, the gullies are much younger than the small crater, the ejecta from the small crater has been largely eroded away or buried, and the crater partially filled, while the gullies appear sharp, crisp and fresh. This is a portion of an image located near 33.9 degrees south latitude, 160 degrees west longitude, acquired on March 31, 2006. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, |
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Groundwater May be Source fo
…
PIA09031
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Groundwater May be Source for Erosion in Martian Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Since their discovery early during the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera investigation, as first reported in June 2000, Martian gullies have presented a puzzle for the Mars science community: what fluid was responsible for the erosion that created the channels, and where did it come from? The gullies seem to be quite young in a geologic sense (millions of years or less), yet modern and geologically-recent Mars is an extremely dry place, where water ice sublimates directly to gas when the temperature is warm enough. Since June 2000, many hypotheses have been discussed at scientific meetings, in the scientific journals and elsewhere. The original June 2000 hypothesis held that the fluid was liquid water (either pure, salty, acidic, etc.) that came to the surface where slopes intersected conduits of groundwater. Such slopes include crater walls, valley walls, hills, massifs and crater central peaks. Later investigators explored the possibility that rather than liquid groundwater, the source was ground ice, which, under some climate conditions, melted to produce liquid runoff. Still others noted that thick mantles covered a fraction of the gully-bearing slopes, suggesting that the mantles were ancient, dust-covered snow or ice packs that might melt at the base to make liquid water runoff. Water was not the only fluid considered by various colleagues, carbon dioxide can be fluid at some pressures and temperatures. Fluid carbon dioxide was also proposed as a candidate fluidizing agent. Even dry mass movement, or land sliding, of unconsolidated granular material can exhibit some fluid-like behavior. Such mass movements were considered as an explanation for the gullies. The presence of channels primarily formed by erosion but also displaying features representing along-channel deposition, such as levees and meanders, and terminal depositional aprons consisting of dozens to hundreds of individual flow lobes, contributed to the general acceptance of the hypothesis that gullies involved the action of liquid water. Throughout the Mars Global Surveyor mission, the Mars Orbiter Camera team continued to image gullies at every opportunity, looking for new gullies, taking higher resolution images of previously identified gullies, and monitoring the gullies for changes that might occur. Among the results of this extensive survey are numerous examples of gullies that have geological relations to other things in their vicinity. This provides support for the hypothesis that the fluid responsible for the gullies came from beneath the ground, either as groundwater or melting of ice in the Martian subsurface. Three of the best examples are presented here. Figure A: The first picture shows a pair of gully channels that emerge, fully-born at nearly their full width, from beneath small overhangs on the north wall of Dao Vallis. These overhangs are probably created by the presence of a hard-rock layer. Liquid, probably water, percolated through permeable, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]., layers just beneath these harder, more resistant rock layers. The arrow points to the place where one of the two neighboring channels emerges. This is a sub-frame of an image acquired on Jan. 10, 2006, located near 34.2 degrees south latitude, 268.1 degrees west longitude. The 150-meter scale bar is about 164 yards wide. Figure B: The second picture shows a gully that formed on the wall of a crater that intersected a mare-type ridge. The term, mare, is from the dark volcanic plains of Earth's moon, for example Mare Tranquilitatis was the plain on which the Apollo 11 crew landed in 1969. The lunar maria (maria is the plural form of mare), when viewed from above, have many "wrinkle" ridges. These ridges are the surface expression of thrust faults. The mare-type ridge in the picture shown here is thus the product of faulting, as rocks on the west (left) side of the image were thrust toward the east (right). Finding a gully associated with a fault is excellent evidence for the groundwater hypothesis, because ground water percolates through cracks and pores in the ground. On Earth, springs (where groundwater comes to the surface) are often found along fault lines. What is most important about this particular Martian gully is that it occurs equatorward of 30 degrees south, which is extremely unusual. The only gully in this crater is the one associated with the fault. It is essentially the site of a spring, now dried up perhaps. This picture is a sub-frame of an image located near 29.1 degrees south latitude, 207.5 degrees west longitude, acquired on Jan. 17, 2005. Figure C: The third picture shows a small crater on the rim of a larger crater. Only a small portion of the wall of this larger crater is captured in the image. Immediately beneath the small crater occurs a group of gullies. The presence of these gullies also supports the groundwater hypothesis because impacting meteors will fracture the rocks into which they form a crater. In this case, there would be an initial set of subsurface fractures caused by the large impact that created the original, large crater. Then, when the smaller crater formed, it would have created additional fractures in its vicinity. These extra fractures would then have provided pathways, or conduits, through which ground water would come to the surface on the wall of the larger crater, thus creating the gullies observed. One might speculate that the group of gullies was formed by the impact that made the small crater, because of the heat and fracturing of rock during the impact process. However, the gullies are much younger than the small crater, the ejecta from the small crater has been largely eroded away or buried, and the crater partially filled, while the gullies appear sharp, crisp and fresh. This is a portion of an image located near 33.9 degrees south latitude, 160 degrees west longitude, acquired on March 31, 2006. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, |
|
Groundwater May be Source fo
…
PIA09031
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Groundwater May be Source for Erosion in Martian Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Since their discovery early during the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera investigation, as first reported in June 2000, Martian gullies have presented a puzzle for the Mars science community: what fluid was responsible for the erosion that created the channels, and where did it come from? The gullies seem to be quite young in a geologic sense (millions of years or less), yet modern and geologically-recent Mars is an extremely dry place, where water ice sublimates directly to gas when the temperature is warm enough. Since June 2000, many hypotheses have been discussed at scientific meetings, in the scientific journals and elsewhere. The original June 2000 hypothesis held that the fluid was liquid water (either pure, salty, acidic, etc.) that came to the surface where slopes intersected conduits of groundwater. Such slopes include crater walls, valley walls, hills, massifs and crater central peaks. Later investigators explored the possibility that rather than liquid groundwater, the source was ground ice, which, under some climate conditions, melted to produce liquid runoff. Still others noted that thick mantles covered a fraction of the gully-bearing slopes, suggesting that the mantles were ancient, dust-covered snow or ice packs that might melt at the base to make liquid water runoff. Water was not the only fluid considered by various colleagues, carbon dioxide can be fluid at some pressures and temperatures. Fluid carbon dioxide was also proposed as a candidate fluidizing agent. Even dry mass movement, or land sliding, of unconsolidated granular material can exhibit some fluid-like behavior. Such mass movements were considered as an explanation for the gullies. The presence of channels primarily formed by erosion but also displaying features representing along-channel deposition, such as levees and meanders, and terminal depositional aprons consisting of dozens to hundreds of individual flow lobes, contributed to the general acceptance of the hypothesis that gullies involved the action of liquid water. Throughout the Mars Global Surveyor mission, the Mars Orbiter Camera team continued to image gullies at every opportunity, looking for new gullies, taking higher resolution images of previously identified gullies, and monitoring the gullies for changes that might occur. Among the results of this extensive survey are numerous examples of gullies that have geological relations to other things in their vicinity. This provides support for the hypothesis that the fluid responsible for the gullies came from beneath the ground, either as groundwater or melting of ice in the Martian subsurface. Three of the best examples are presented here. Figure A: The first picture shows a pair of gully channels that emerge, fully-born at nearly their full width, from beneath small overhangs on the north wall of Dao Vallis. These overhangs are probably created by the presence of a hard-rock layer. Liquid, probably water, percolated through permeable, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]., layers just beneath these harder, more resistant rock layers. The arrow points to the place where one of the two neighboring channels emerges. This is a sub-frame of an image acquired on Jan. 10, 2006, located near 34.2 degrees south latitude, 268.1 degrees west longitude. The 150-meter scale bar is about 164 yards wide. Figure B: The second picture shows a gully that formed on the wall of a crater that intersected a mare-type ridge. The term, mare, is from the dark volcanic plains of Earth's moon, for example Mare Tranquilitatis was the plain on which the Apollo 11 crew landed in 1969. The lunar maria (maria is the plural form of mare), when viewed from above, have many "wrinkle" ridges. These ridges are the surface expression of thrust faults. The mare-type ridge in the picture shown here is thus the product of faulting, as rocks on the west (left) side of the image were thrust toward the east (right). Finding a gully associated with a fault is excellent evidence for the groundwater hypothesis, because ground water percolates through cracks and pores in the ground. On Earth, springs (where groundwater comes to the surface) are often found along fault lines. What is most important about this particular Martian gully is that it occurs equatorward of 30 degrees south, which is extremely unusual. The only gully in this crater is the one associated with the fault. It is essentially the site of a spring, now dried up perhaps. This picture is a sub-frame of an image located near 29.1 degrees south latitude, 207.5 degrees west longitude, acquired on Jan. 17, 2005. Figure C: The third picture shows a small crater on the rim of a larger crater. Only a small portion of the wall of this larger crater is captured in the image. Immediately beneath the small crater occurs a group of gullies. The presence of these gullies also supports the groundwater hypothesis because impacting meteors will fracture the rocks into which they form a crater. In this case, there would be an initial set of subsurface fractures caused by the large impact that created the original, large crater. Then, when the smaller crater formed, it would have created additional fractures in its vicinity. These extra fractures would then have provided pathways, or conduits, through which ground water would come to the surface on the wall of the larger crater, thus creating the gullies observed. One might speculate that the group of gullies was formed by the impact that made the small crater, because of the heat and fracturing of rock during the impact process. However, the gullies are much younger than the small crater, the ejecta from the small crater has been largely eroded away or buried, and the crater partially filled, while the gullies appear sharp, crisp and fresh. This is a portion of an image located near 33.9 degrees south latitude, 160 degrees west longitude, acquired on March 31, 2006. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, |
|
Groundwater May be Source fo
…
PIA09031
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Groundwater May be Source for Erosion in Martian Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Since their discovery early during the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera investigation, as first reported in June 2000, Martian gullies have presented a puzzle for the Mars science community: what fluid was responsible for the erosion that created the channels, and where did it come from? The gullies seem to be quite young in a geologic sense (millions of years or less), yet modern and geologically-recent Mars is an extremely dry place, where water ice sublimates directly to gas when the temperature is warm enough. Since June 2000, many hypotheses have been discussed at scientific meetings, in the scientific journals and elsewhere. The original June 2000 hypothesis held that the fluid was liquid water (either pure, salty, acidic, etc.) that came to the surface where slopes intersected conduits of groundwater. Such slopes include crater walls, valley walls, hills, massifs and crater central peaks. Later investigators explored the possibility that rather than liquid groundwater, the source was ground ice, which, under some climate conditions, melted to produce liquid runoff. Still others noted that thick mantles covered a fraction of the gully-bearing slopes, suggesting that the mantles were ancient, dust-covered snow or ice packs that might melt at the base to make liquid water runoff. Water was not the only fluid considered by various colleagues, carbon dioxide can be fluid at some pressures and temperatures. Fluid carbon dioxide was also proposed as a candidate fluidizing agent. Even dry mass movement, or land sliding, of unconsolidated granular material can exhibit some fluid-like behavior. Such mass movements were considered as an explanation for the gullies. The presence of channels primarily formed by erosion but also displaying features representing along-channel deposition, such as levees and meanders, and terminal depositional aprons consisting of dozens to hundreds of individual flow lobes, contributed to the general acceptance of the hypothesis that gullies involved the action of liquid water. Throughout the Mars Global Surveyor mission, the Mars Orbiter Camera team continued to image gullies at every opportunity, looking for new gullies, taking higher resolution images of previously identified gullies, and monitoring the gullies for changes that might occur. Among the results of this extensive survey are numerous examples of gullies that have geological relations to other things in their vicinity. This provides support for the hypothesis that the fluid responsible for the gullies came from beneath the ground, either as groundwater or melting of ice in the Martian subsurface. Three of the best examples are presented here. Figure A: The first picture shows a pair of gully channels that emerge, fully-born at nearly their full width, from beneath small overhangs on the north wall of Dao Vallis. These overhangs are probably created by the presence of a hard-rock layer. Liquid, probably water, percolated through permeable, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]., layers just beneath these harder, more resistant rock layers. The arrow points to the place where one of the two neighboring channels emerges. This is a sub-frame of an image acquired on Jan. 10, 2006, located near 34.2 degrees south latitude, 268.1 degrees west longitude. The 150-meter scale bar is about 164 yards wide. Figure B: The second picture shows a gully that formed on the wall of a crater that intersected a mare-type ridge. The term, mare, is from the dark volcanic plains of Earth's moon, for example Mare Tranquilitatis was the plain on which the Apollo 11 crew landed in 1969. The lunar maria (maria is the plural form of mare), when viewed from above, have many "wrinkle" ridges. These ridges are the surface expression of thrust faults. The mare-type ridge in the picture shown here is thus the product of faulting, as rocks on the west (left) side of the image were thrust toward the east (right). Finding a gully associated with a fault is excellent evidence for the groundwater hypothesis, because ground water percolates through cracks and pores in the ground. On Earth, springs (where groundwater comes to the surface) are often found along fault lines. What is most important about this particular Martian gully is that it occurs equatorward of 30 degrees south, which is extremely unusual. The only gully in this crater is the one associated with the fault. It is essentially the site of a spring, now dried up perhaps. This picture is a sub-frame of an image located near 29.1 degrees south latitude, 207.5 degrees west longitude, acquired on Jan. 17, 2005. Figure C: The third picture shows a small crater on the rim of a larger crater. Only a small portion of the wall of this larger crater is captured in the image. Immediately beneath the small crater occurs a group of gullies. The presence of these gullies also supports the groundwater hypothesis because impacting meteors will fracture the rocks into which they form a crater. In this case, there would be an initial set of subsurface fractures caused by the large impact that created the original, large crater. Then, when the smaller crater formed, it would have created additional fractures in its vicinity. These extra fractures would then have provided pathways, or conduits, through which ground water would come to the surface on the wall of the larger crater, thus creating the gullies observed. One might speculate that the group of gullies was formed by the impact that made the small crater, because of the heat and fracturing of rock during the impact process. However, the gullies are much younger than the small crater, the ejecta from the small crater has been largely eroded away or buried, and the crater partially filled, while the gullies appear sharp, crisp and fresh. This is a portion of an image located near 33.9 degrees south latitude, 160 degrees west longitude, acquired on March 31, 2006. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, |
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